In the aftermath of killing Agent Sebso -- err, of Agent Sebso's death from a heart attack -- Van Alden is planning to leave the den of temptation that is Atlantic City. Only he asks for a sign from God if he's indeed meant to stay. I'm sure this is the only time in history Lucy Danziger will be described as a gift from God, but she does show up telling Van Alden she's pregnant.
Margaret's been living at poor, pathetic Nan's house ever since moving out of Nucky's. But on a Halloween parade through the cemetery (oh, those Catholics), Margaret discovers that Nucky had a son who died at six days old. She goes to him, and he tells her the sad story of his wife and son's demise. They share a tearful "goodbye," but obviously they're back making eyes at each other by the end of the episode.
In New York, the sudden pariah Arnold Rothstein is preparing to flee to Scotland when Luciano and Lansky convince him to reach out to one last life line: Nucky Thompson. Well, this could be awkward. Torrio mediates a roadside summit, where Nucky proves surprisingly amenable to a deal (Jimmy's shocked, anyway): a million dollars, plus the D'Alessios' heads on a platter. Rothstein agrees, so while Jimmy and Capone and Harrow are busy Godfathering their way through the brothers from Philly, Nucky is skillfully placing all the blame for AC's recent wave of crime on them. The scapegoating must work, because Bader and the Republicans win the election (as does Warren G. Harding). During the celebration, Bader (per Nucky) fires Halloran and re-hires Eli as sheriff. Nice gesture from Nucky to his ill-tempered bro, right?
Well, maybe too late. See, the Commodore is on the road to recovery from the arsenic poisoning -- which gets blamed on poor Louanne, who Nucky sends on her way with some money rather than railroading her through the AC "justice" system. It's probably not the reason why the Commodore is planning a coup to re-take control of Atlantic City, but I'm sure it doesn't help. The old man plays on Jimmy's increasingly obvious resentment of Nucky to get his son on his side ... along with his other conspirator, Eli Thompson. Well THAT should set Season 2 into motion quite nicely.
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Hey, did you guys realize Agent Sebso died last week from a heart attack? So says Agent Van Alden! How did he manage to come to that conclusion -- and have others do the same -- after it really looked like he drowned the guy like a rat in the river. Anyway, Van Alden is speaking in front of a dozen or so fresh-faced bureau recruits who Supervisor Elliott has assembled to be Van Alden's possible replacements. See, Van Alden now sees Atlantic City as the ultimate corrupting agent -- Carthage to his Saint Augustine -- and he warns the replacements that AC will present to them all manner of bribery, corruption, and sin. "Bring on the dancing girls!" cracks one of the recruits, which earns him a predictable crack across the face from Crazy-Eyes Van Alden. He dismisses the men, and when they're gone, Elliott takes one more opportunity to as Van Alden to reconsider (rather than sit quietly, with his fingers crossed, happy to be almost rid of this volcano of rageful unpredictability and bible quotes). Van Alden says there's nothing left for him here.
Nucky's in his office with the usual gaggle of idiot politicians (and, okay, Chalky), telling them to buy their constituents drinks, bribe them, coerce them, whatever -- just make sure they vote Republican. O'Neill chimes in that he still thinks firing Eli was a mistake, but Nucky shoots right back that he doesn't "still" think anything, as he never raised an objection 'til now. Anyway, he continues the electioneering speech, reminding them that male AND female votes count. "Hell, Nucky," one of the yahoos offers, "you'll even get the spooks to vote." Chalky: "The fuck you just say?" Of course, the yahoo means dead people (uh, this time), which leads Bader to crack a few jokes about dead voters and "talk about your absentee ballots." Nucky's eyes flash furious, and he snaps, "I hope you're half as amusing during your concession speech!" This silences the room, and when Chalky tells Nucky they have to talk in private, the crackers disperse. Chalky says he's been approached by Fletcher and the Democrats to switch sides. He took their money, but he intends to stick with Nucky. He'd just like to be rewarded for such loyalty: ten grand, a new car, and an invite to the fancy victory party. Nucky tells him that last one's going to be a tall order. Chalky: "So's getting you 100% of the colored vote."
Margaret is now living with Nan Nan the Harding Fan, and she's helping the kids make Halloween-themed treats of some kind. She's also reciting for them a Robert Burns poem, which she tells Nan they used to recite every All Hallows Eve in the old country. Nan asks if they'll say it at the church service tonight, but Margaret says that'll be more of a religious thing, to pray for the souls of the departed. Nan: "You Catholics certainly have a flair for the dramatic." HA! Even Margaret has to chuckle a bit as she rolls her eyes. I would think, despite Nan's hospitality in this situation, Margaret still does quite a bit of eye rolling in her new living arrangement. Case in point: Nan inquires where Margaret will go week, since after "Warren" wins the election, he's obviously going to send for her. Margaret has been mulling this over, and she has a few unglamorous options, most of which involve finding work. She's surprisingly upbeat about it all, and says she'll see what she pulls out of the "barnbrack," a traditional Irish cake wherein one bakes sixpence (for wealth), a ring (for marriage), and a piece of rag (for poverty). Whatever you pull out is what you get. I love it, it's like MASH with a cake. Nan just smiles at the silly Irish lady with her superstitions and fantasies. Then asks Margaret if she'll come visit her at the White House.
At the Commodore's mansion, the doctor from last week is giving his assessment of the arsenic poisoning. Assembled are the 'Dore himself (looking remarkably healthier, though still a bit wheezy), Gillian, Jimmy, Nucky, Sheriff Halloran ... and Louanne, who's being blamed for this. Everyone but Nucky is badgering her until she erupts with a confession. Why'd she do it? ""Cause if I'da used the shotgun, I'da had to clean the mess up myself." On first view, this seemed like a coerced confession offered up in anger and knowing she'd never get a fair shake. But watching it back, I kind of buy it. So ... Gillian wasn't poisoning him? Even though she had a bottle of poison on her last week? Anyway, whatever, I'm enjoying Louanne finally standing up for herself. Commodore wants her arrested, but Nucky intervenes. He calls her aside, hands her some money, and tells her to leave town, pronto. Change her name. Never return. Commodore's furious at this miscarriage of justice, but it sure seems that Nucky's authority in this matter is final. "Bless you," Louanne tells Nucky. "And you be careful."
In New York City, Arnold Rothstein walks to his car with Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano holding umbrellas for him. You can tell the World Series scandal has gotten worse even before he speaks (and even if you've never seen Eight Men Out) just from the way Rothstein's walking. He looks slower. Shorter. Defeated. Michael Stulbarg didn't have a big enough slice of the story to really run away with the season like I thought he would, but there right again is some great acting. Anyway, Rothstein's planning on fleeing to Scotland until this whole mess blows over. Lucky wonders if there isn't anybody in Chicago who he can buy off, but Rothstein says he's not exactly Mr. Popular in Chicago, for obvious reasons. Johnny Torrio is too new in town to give him much headway, but Lucky says Torrio could connect him to Nucky, who has the kind of sway he could use. Rothstein's like, "Oh, but remember how I've been trying to have Nucky Thompson killed for five episodes now?" Lucky and Lansky share a look, like they've been waiting to bring this up for a while, and Lansky proceeds with it: There's "no percentage" in their current war against Nucky. Maybe they should cut their losses with the D'Alessios and start fresh. Rothstein doesn't seem happy about it, but he can't really argue against it on the merits.
Jimmy returns home from work, and clearly he and Angela are still on supremely awkward terms since her attempted fleeing. Jimmy says if he were another kind of man, he'd be giving her more than just the cold shoulder. Also, he feels Tommy is being "disrespectful" to him by not answering him when he talks. Angela says Tommy's afraid of him -- that they both are. She says he's been having night terrors where he screams out at night. Jimmy looks ashamed by this revelation, especially the part about him screaming out in German. He says he wants to protect Angela, and Tommy. He sits her down and tries to explain about his time in the war, but he can only get out half-sentences about the trenches and imagining her to him. He says they both did things when they were apart -- then he asks her if she was in love with Mary. So it looks like Angela's note didn't pull any punches. Angela only says she was lonely with him gone. Jimmy says he wants them to go back to where they were. Aw, nobody tell Jimmy what this show is actually about. There's no going back. Angela agrees to try, of course, but look at her face.
Out with the Dramatic Catholics and their ceremonial hoo-hah, Margaret, Nan, and the kids join the congregation as they traipse through the cemetery, throwing holy water on all the stones. At least all the children got to dress up in their costumes. While Nan idly asks Margaret questions about what she prays for, Margaret spots one headstone that makes her stop short: It's for Mabel Thompson, and her son Nucky Thompson Jr. "So you have that in common," Nan says, telling Margaret (and reminding us) that Nucky told her about his dead child when they met in Chicago. This is all news to Margaret, of course, and she reacts to it like a giant piece of the Nucky puzzle has finally been put into place.
Nucky's on the phone with Torrio while Eddie clumsily shines his shoes. Torrio's asking for some trust as he tries to set up a meeting with Rothstein. Nucky, understandably, is reluctant to make this particular leap of faith. Though, honestly, I don't think Nucky mistrusts Torrio. I think he's just trying to play up what a wide gulf this is for him to cross. He's already negotiating. Torrio says he'll set up a meeting out Nucky's way. Eddie fumbles around Nucky's shoes, and Nucky yelps, "Ow, goddammit!" Torrio: "The train! How you think?" Ah, Terrence Winter. That was a Paulie Walnuts line if I ever heard one. Eddie goes to answer the door as Nucky dons his Lone-Ranger style mask for the Halloween party.
Of course, who else ever shows up at Nucky's door but Margaret, this time telling him she knows about his dead son. She's armed with sympathy and she's not afraid to use it! Even Nucky recognizes the pattern here: He pours his heart out, she "pretends to be sympathetic," and they wind up in bed. Margaret coolly assures him that's not going to happen this time. Now's the time for real talk. So Nucky tells her the story: Almost eight years ago, when he was brand new to the treasurer's job, Mabel gave birth to "tiny, frail" Nucky Jr. But Nucky was very busy with county stuff. One night, he came home and found Mabel rocking in her chair with the baby in her arms. Finally, Nucky found the strength to want to hold his own son, only to discover that the baby in Mabel's arms was dead and had been for several days. Margaret starts to cry at this, though Nucky continues, talking about Mabel's sad mental deterioration. She couldn't accept that their baby had died, even after they buried him. "She had broken with reality," Nucky says. "I saw it. I knew it. The doctor said time would heal her. And I was very, very busy." Nucky says this with the slow, clipped grimness of a man who hasn't forgiven himself for what happened . A few weeks later, Mabel slashed her wrists with Nucky's razor. "The times with you and the children in the house," Nucky tells Margaret. "I've never been happier. Or more terrified." Margaret wipes tears from her eyes. "And you thought I needed saving," she muses. He asks if she's leaving Atlantic City, and she says she thinks it might be for the best. He goes to help her out, but she pulls back. Still choked up, she tells him, "There's a kindness in you. ...How can you do what you do?" That's the question, right? And Nucky gives the answer: "We all have to decide how much sin we can live with." And so "Mr. Thompson" and "Mrs. Schroeder" part ways with the same greetings as when they met. Margaret adds, "I'm pleased to have finally made your acquaintance."
Casa Van Alden. After turning down molasses to go with his biscuit (it hurts his teeth! Also he might experience pleasure and thus have to thrash his skin open with hooks!), Nelson tells Rose that he was offered a full-time position in Atlantic City, but he's going to turn it down. Instead, he's planning on taking up the reins at his uncle's feed business in Schenectady. (Nelson: "You enjoyed our time there -- the winter with the show shoes.") Strangely, Rose isn't exactly psyched. "I like being the wife of a federal agent," she tells him, but that's clearly not an argument that's going to sway Nelson Van Alden. So she tries telling him that he's going God's work here. Van Alden says he's not happy here, particularly since Sebso's death. If this is truly God's will, he says, he'll need a sign.
Angela returns home with the mail, and there's a postcard (Eiffel tower on the front) from Mary. "Forgive me, but don't forget me," it reads. Look, I'm going to say it if nobody else is: Angela's ugly hat is becoming a problem.
On a secluded ocean-side road (not unlike the one where Sebso dispatched Billy Winslow), we get our "Sorry 'Bout That" Summit. Torrio (with Capone) is the mediator between Rothstein (with Luciano) and Nucky (with Jimmy). Shades of the first episode of the season, only now Jimmy and Capone get to be at the table, so to speak. Torrio references this earlier meeting, and the man who was there but isn't here now: Big Jim Colosimo. Torrio says Big Jim wasn't able to look ahead. "Wasn't able to look behind, either, what I heard," Lucky cracks, which earns him a rebuke from Suit 'n Tie Capone, which is kind of rich. Nucky's sour at the thought of striking a deal, but Rothstein says they can go on fighting for years and it won't benefit either of them (Jimmy sneers that he's not surprised Rothstein wants peace, the way things are going). He brings up his upcoming indictment and his troubles finding friendly faces in Chicago. Nucky realizes this means he wants a favor ... and indicates he's open to it. This earns a shocked double-take from Jimmy, which makes sense. He sat in a trench for a year. Your enemy is your enemy. Anyway, Nucky silences Jimmy, then works out the deal: one million in cash, plus the location of the remaining D'Alessio brothers; in exchange, Nucky will talk to his good friend, the state's attorney in Chicago. Rothstein makes sure all his bases are covered: "Any bad blood or past transgressions of whatever nature, business or personal, are hereby nullified." We get the requisite shots of Lucky and Jimmy so we all know Rothstein's referring to Lucky shtupping Jimmy's mom. Nucky and Rothstein shake on it, then go their separate ways. Jimmy, Capone, and Lucky hang back to talk D'Alessios, while Nucky tells Eddie to get Eli on the phone and order an emergency press conference.
Montage Time! In true Godfather style, we see Nucky giving his speech, which is kind hilarious in its grandiosity ("Gentlemen of the Fourth Estate..."), while Jimmy and Capone (with a big assist from Richard Harrow) get to the business of dispatching D'Alessios. Nucky's speech acknowledges the violence that has been on the rise since Prohibition kicked in, but he lays the blame for that violence straight at the feet of outsiders -- brothers from Philadelphia who meant to do Atlantic City harm. Oh, and they were in league with Hans Schroeder, who at this point is about as convenient a scapegoat as you can get. Nucky does manage to give Eli full credit for uncovering this criminal scourge and bringing them to justice. Speaking of which, the assassinations are pretty thorough. Jimmy uses his fancy war knife to slice Doogie Howser's pal's throat open while he's in a barber's chair, for instance. Harrow even kills the kid. The righteous killings certainly make for potent newspaper headline's on Election Day.
Nucky's glad-handing voters -- and making a point to congratulate the women -- on the Boardwalk voting lines. As we see person after person pass through Nucky's line of sight, nearly everyone getting a by-name greeting from Nucky, we get a sense of just how hard Nucky has to work at this consummate-politician thing. I'd like to see Eli charm this many people at once. Nucky spots Margaret on the line, wearing a lovely purple velvet hat (purple certainly seems to be the color of her liberation), and though he doesn't stop to speak to her, they share a look. Then Nucky proceeds to tell the rest of the line to make sure to vote Republican.
Jimmy returns home -- fresh from a trip full of out-of-state murdering -- and finds that Angela has cut her hair into a flapper 'do, to match the style of the time. Is this foreshadowing for Angela getting into some Roxie Hart style shenanigans season?
Up at the AC Republican Club and Back-Slapping Association, the local pols and ward bosses receive the increasingly sunny-looking returns and thus are given towards drink and merriment. Jimmy, sitting off in the corner, is merely given towards the drink. And the scowling. Eddie brings Nucky the news that Arnold Rothstein wouldn't be indicted. When he leaves Nucky's office, it's just Nucky and Eli, who has still not gotten over ... anything. I'd wager Eli Thompson has not gotten over one thing in his entire life. Despite the fact that Nucky is giving him a cut of Rothstein's million-dollar payout. Despite Nucky's assurances that all will be made right, with regard to Eli's "resignation" from his sheriff's post. Despite all that, Eli still insists on being bitter, towards Nucky and his "magic scepter" and way with words. Of course, Nucky doesn't help his cause much. When Eli tells him, "Your words actually affect people," Nucky responds, "What's that? Dale Carnegie?" Still, it's hard not to side with Nucky against Eli's petty grousing. "Blood is thicker than water," Nucky assures his brother. Eli, of course, asks, "Why did it have to be my blood?"
Moments later, Nucky emerges from his office to tell his assembled flunkies that the returns are in and Atlantic City has a new mayor: Edward Bader. Congratulations all around, and Nucky pulls Bader in to whisper something in his ear. Bader then thanks his cohorts for their support, then turns to Sheriff Halloran, thanks him for his "long and meritorious service to Atlantic City," then promptly relieves him of his duties. Halloran thinks this is maybe a joke, but O'Neill turns to him: "Relax, kid. It's what Nucky wants." Bader then reinstates Eli as sheriff. Nucky offers a toast to his brother, who is conspicuous in his lack of reaction.
Jimmy crosses the room, not reacting much to Nucky's "There's a new sheriff in town" pleasantries. Paddy Ryan -- that up-and-comer who Nucky wanted to make Jimmy second-in-command to in the pilot episode -- greets Jimmy, who is clearly not going to give this guy anything approaching warmth or good humor. Paddy remarks that Nucky's been real good to him. Jimmy, looking to start a fight, says Nucky's must've pimped out Paddy's mother too, then. Nucky hauls Jimmy off into the foyer, where Jimmy rattles off some more complaints about how Nucky will use anyone to advance his agenda, down to 13-year-old girls. Jimmy's starting to sound like Eli with all the whining. Again, Nucky maybe could do better than to defend himself by saying the Commodore "took good care" of Gillian when she was but an orphan. But still, Jimmy kvetches that Nucky looking out for him was out of guilt. Nucky's like, "Guilt, duty, the fuck difference did it make to you?" Jimmy says he thought Nucky loved him; Nucky says he's not his father. Jimmy decides to maybe go take it up with the man who IS his father, despite Nucky's urging that he go home, sober up, and be with his wife. Jimmy yanks his arm away and says, "Stop pretending you give a shit!"
Margaret, Nan, and the kids sit at home and eat their Irish Fortune Cake. Nan, of course, finds the ring in her slice of cake, taking it as iron-clad proof that Warren will make her his bride. "First Lady of the United States," she muses aloud, like the damn fool she is. Margaret asks what she'll do if Harding doesn't send for her, which of course offends Nan greatly. And then Margaret pulls the rag out of her cake, underlining her greatest fears. Oh, Ireland. You can even make dessert mournful and desperate.
Van Alden's boxing up his things in his office when he gets a visit from Lucy Danziger, drowning in fox fur and rouge. Surprise, surprise! She's pregnant! Is this demon spawn growing in her belly the sign from God that Van Alden asked for? Does this mean he needs to stick around for season? Will he take Lucy SHOPPING for maternity clothes?
At the Casa Commodore, Gillian is sweetly giving the old man milk to drink, so he can start rebuilding his stomach lining. Isn't it just the cutest thing? Jimmy, because he's in a mood, bitches about the "happy family" thing they've got going. Gillian fixes him with a look and says, "You don't have to be so fretful all the time." That is the sweetest way to say "Stop being such a bitch" I have ever heard. She then exits, leaving the Commodore room to maneuver with his son. Jimmy gives the old man the (ill-advised) bourbon he's been clamoring for, then the 'Dore starts grousing about Nucky letting Louanne go, which transitions to grousing about Nucky being the reason he went to jail -- for election-rigging, it turns out. Apparently, Woodrow Wilson (the then-governor) struck a deal that would send only one of the Commodore and Nucky to jail. The plan was for the 'Dore to take the fall, have Nucky run things, and then "square things up" when he got out. But we all know how things turned out. Of course, there's no doubt that the Commodore raised Nucky in his own image. Jimmy talks about being afraid to come to the mansion when he was a kid, and Nucky telling him it was his duty, to be there for his mom. "Manipulative son of a bitch!" Commodore hacks. Again, it's kind of hilarious to watch these two twist their petty grudges into proof of operatic machinations on Nucky's part. They'd fit in well with Eli. Which is probably for the best, because when the Commodore finally pitches Jimmy on the idea of wresting control of AC back from Nucky -- playing on Jimmy's resentment that he's got to be the murdering muscle behind Nucky's fancy suits and decorum -- it's Eli who he brings out as their silent partner. Jimmy and Eli have never gotten along, it's true; but it looks like common enemies are making some strange bedfellows.
At Babbette's, Eddie Cantor presides over a raucous election-night celebration. Nucky sees that Anabelle has latched herself onto a new man: George Baxter, he of the Scary Roadside Handjob. Seems Anabelle hasn't upped her standards in the looks department since Sweaty O'Ponzi-scheme. Giving us a break from all that desperate awfulness is Margaret, who walks into the party wearing a gorgeous gold flapper dress and immediately catches Nucky's eye. He's pleased to see her, obviously, and she congratulates him on Bader's win. Even asks for a glass of champagne -- "Good news just isn't the same without it." Nucky obliges, through raised eyebrows, and asks about the children. "They miss their Uncle Nucky," she says, kindness radiating from her face. She can be a right bitch when it's called for, but I can understand how Nucky is so drawn to her when she's like this. In the middle of Atlantic City, she must seem like an oasis. Nucky is obviously moved that the children miss him.
Then Babbette quiets everyone so they can crowd around the wireless to hear that Warren G. Harding has been elected President. Nan should be expecting that call any minute now. The crowd hushes again to hear the newsman read the text of Harding's speech, the one where he made his famed call for a "Return to Normalcy," a plea for calm in the post-war times. Of course, a brilliant man once said that the world only spins forward. And we've already talked about how Harding's Presidency ended up, history-wise. Still, if his words did nothing else, they moved Nucky and Margaret to kiss on the dancefloor.
Eddie Cantor then sings us out of the season, as we peek in on Van Alden with his Bible; the Commodore, Jimmy, and Eli scheming; Gillian in the room looking agitated and displeased (it'll sure be interesting to see where she falls in the new order of things); Lansky and Luciano continuing to do business the only way they know how -- by murdering some poor sap truck driver; Chalky White regarding his fellow revelers at the post-election party like they're encased in glass; Nan trying on her Irish cake ring and dreaming of Warren; Arnold Rothstein getting the good news of his non-indictment while the prosecutor on the other end of the phone looks at the fat stacks of money Nucky sent his way; Angela sits alone in her dark kitchen and despairs; and Jimmy Darmody walks the beach just before sunrise, pondering the coup d'état to come. Nucky and Margaret laugh it up with the other revelers as they exit Babbette's, then cross the Boardwalk to look out over the water as the sun comes up. Happy for now.
Joe R is disappointed we never saw much of Mrs. McGarry in the season's second half. He hopes for more of her as Margaret's birth-control mentor in Season 2! He can be reached for lavish praise and nothing but at joseph.reid21@gmail.com, and you can listen to him yammer on to his heart's content on the Extra Hot Great podcast.