Episode Report Card Daniel: B | 45 USERS: A- YOU GRADE IT I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Deutschland Über Alles
By Daniel | Season 4 | Episode 6 | Aired on 10.13.2013
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.Margaret returns, having been contacted by Nucky to meet at the train station on his way back down to Tampa. She's vague about what she's doing and where she lives, but is clear about the boundaries with Nucky, which are, essentially: Leave me alone. Nucky thought she'd want to know about Eddie, and while Margaret's saddened to hear of his death, she still can't believe Nucky dragged her all the way out to Pennsylvania Station for it. But Nucky did it as much for himself, because he's feeling guilty/sorry for himself over Eddie's death, for not knowing about the person who, per Margaret, knew best how to take care of him. Not to mention wondering if whatever prompted Eddie's suicide poses any danger to Nucky personally. Anyway, thanks for coming, Margaret. Sorry about Nucky's incredibly poor choice of words when, after giving Margaret a birthday gift for Teddy that she's worried is a pet, he says, "I wouldn't put something living in a box."
Eddie's death ripples out over Knox and Eli too; Hoover wants to pull the plug on Knox's operation, wanting to focus more on the "anarchists" and "agitators" like Emma Goldman and Marcus Garvey. Knox convinces Hoover to let him try again, but first he's got to figure out if Eddie blew Knox's cover. He feels out Eli, who — feeling much more immediate grief over Eddie, especially when he finds out Eddie had kids too — weaves Knox a little closer into confidence, taking advantage of Knox's law-enforcement position to get the safe-deposit box in Eddie's name out of the bank. But when Eli has a good little cry over Eddie (and his own paternal worries, especially for Willie, whose roommate is apparently in little trouble up at school), Knox hands him a handkerchief with a monogram that has initials that don't match up to any name Eli knows for Knox.
Things don't go great in Tampa either, with Nucky not being aware that Tucker has, er, gone missing. Some of the local thugs seem sure that McCoy knows more than he's letting on, but McCoy has found another investor, a "Pierce," who is in reality Vincenzo Petrocelli. Petrocelli, as it turns out, is Joe Masseria's cousin, which is a problem for Luciano, down in Tampa with Nucky, who's worried that Joe's going to find out Luciano's going behind his back on something. Lucky wants to whack Petrocelli but Meyer won't let him. And Meyer's not backing out of the deal either, which means they're not partnering on this. Meyer's going to cover Charlie's part, though, and the deal's going ahead — Sally Wheet will watch over things on Nucky's behalf, an arrangement arrived at after Nucky have a drunken fistfight (really) and then sex.
Speaking of violence leading to sex: Chalky's simmering anger at Daughter (really directed at Narcisse) boils over after he chews her out over a downbeat performance that he thinks won't have people opening up their wallets. They argue, and then start making out. At least Daughter doesn't give Chalky a black eye like Sally did Nucky.
Paul Sagorsky, who unsurprisingly turns out to have cirrhosis of the liver, bumps into Richard Harrow, and manages to make Richard feel better and set a reunion with Julia in motion by telling a story about shooting a 13-year-old Filipina in the face. Much like Richard's sister, Julia's a little gun-shy (no pun intended) about welcoming Richard back into the fold, but she does. Follow the North Star* home, Richard. (*Well, the Hercules constellation. Tommy's really into astronomy now.)
Daniel is a writer in Newfoundland with a wife and a daughter. Eli's crying. Hide your hanky, Warren. Follow him on Twitter (@DanMacEachern) or email him at danieljdaniel@gmail.com.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Nucky's in a train station in New York, wondering about the ripples in his coffee, that a hovering waiter helpfully tells him are due to the trains rumbling along underneath them, and not, as I hoped, due to a Tyrannosaurus rex stomping around somewhere nearby. Nucky's never noticed them before, but no, he doesn't need a refill on his Kessler au lait thank you very much.
And then — nearly midway through the season! — there's Margaret, coming to see him. It's as completely uncomfortable as you can imagine, with Nucky asking questions about where it was she came from, and Margaret evades being specific about where she's living or working. Margaret remarks on how he's going to Florida, and Nucky says, "But I'm supposed to tell you?" like what a big goddamn baby he is, and Margaret points out that Nucky himself told her that, when he called and said there was something he thought she'd want to know. Nucky's all, oh right! And he tells her that Eddie Kessler's gone. But Margaret doesn't get it at first, thinking that Eddie isn't working for Nucky anymore. I mean, he isn't, but… Nucky changes the subject, to the package he brought for Teddy, but Margaret realizes something's happened with Eddie, and Nucky, without actually saying it, lets her know that Eddie's dead, even if he doesn't manage to admit that Eddie took a swan dive out the window.
So Margaret says she's got a good job, and the kids are doing well -- but she can't keep up the façade of normalcy for long, and says whatever happened to Nucky's friend, he can't turn up to tell her things about his business like this. "I work, I pay my brother rent, a picture at the Loew's Kings if I stay awake. I'm trying to get on with it," she explains, asking if he understands. Rather than saying he does, Nucky asks if she'll give the package to Teddy. Wearily, she asks if it's some sort of creature; they haven't the room. "I wouldn't put something alive in a box," says Nucky, which has to be in the running for most unfortunate choice of words in history. Although, in Nucky's defense, it's highly unlikely that Owen was alive when he was stuffed in a box. Somehow, I don't think that would carry a lot of weight with Margaret, who gives Nucky a sharp look. After eventually agreeing to take the package to Teddy, Margaret checks her watch and tells Nucky she's got to get back to work. They both stand up, and Margaret says she's genuinely sorry: "No one knew how to look after you like Mr. Kessler." Nucky takes every inch of that pointed comment, and sits back down after Margaret leaves.