- Jimmy's supporters fail to break up Chalky's strikers and negotiations fail as Margaret thinks she can buy Emily's recovery and Manny Horvitz exacts revenge.
- Offerings accepted or spurned: after club-wielding thugs fail to bring the striking Black workers back to their jobs, Jimmy asks Chalky for his demands; Jimmy sends Mickey to pay his debt to Manny with whiskey; Margaret shows her devotion to the Church in hopes that Emily will walk again. Nucky fires his lawyer and goes to New York City to hire a new one; Esther Randolph rehearses Van Alden for his testimony; Raymond places a call; and, Angela tells Jimmy a joke before inviting him to bed.—<jhailey@hotmail.com>
- Undercut by Nucky, who has a new source for alcohol, Jimmy and his partners look to cultivate a new revenue stream in Atlantic City. With the peak tourist season approaching, the Commodoreʼs crew faces a choice in dealing with the cityʼs striking workers: negotiate or fight back. Fearing that sin has led to misfortune, Margaret approaches Father Brennan with an "act of devotion." Nucky gets a new lawyer; Van Alden faces an uncertain future; Manny Horvitz takes exception to a debt payment.—HBO Publicity
- Dock workers at the bustling Port of Hoboken are unloading crates of Feeney's Irish Oats, but the jovial jazz music in the background -- and the fact that Owen Slater is overseeing the workers -- makes it clear that Nucky Thompson is back in business. The Irish Oats crates themselves are actually falsely labeled to cover up the fact that they are transporting real Irish whiskey straight to Atlantic City.
Black workers are striking on the boardwalk while Owen carries a crate through the crowd and gets a nod from Dunn Purnsley (Erik LaRay Harvey), who signals the men to let Owen through the doors at the Ritz. In an empty, dark kitchen, Owen shows the manager the goods, and promises to sell it for half-off. The manager is skeptical as to who will serve his liquor when he has no one to serve it, but Owen (who admits to not knowing anything about labor relations) assures him that customers will come. The manager asks for 400 cases.
Van Alden briefly chats up the live-in nanny, but is upset when he sees a letter from his wife that the nanny, Sigrid, hadn't shown it to him. He opens it and finds a petition for divorce with a note from Rose that reads, "Please attend to this as soon as your activities allow."
Margaret, Nucky and Teddy stop in at the hospital and learn that Emily has had a "bit of a rough patch." Dr. Holt tells Margaret about Emily's condition, but won't have more information until some more tests are done. Margaret heads into Emily's room, but first stops to look at a young boy learning to walk with braces. Margaret and Nucky tend to Emily while Teddy looks on.
On Jimmy's side of things, Mickey Doyle (Paul Sparks) is running things again, with crates of booze marked "Spiritus Frumenti: Medicinal Alcohol -- Property of the U.S. Government" in a new warehouse. He has workers watering down the stuff that was provided by George Remus and his deal with Jimmy, Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky and Al Capone. As they work, Mickey asks Jimmy about Manny Horvitz, and Jimmy tells Mickey to go pay Manny the debts he owes him.
Off in a corner, Lucky and Meyer show Jimmy and Capone some heroin and talk about how much easier it is to handle than booze, and also turns a very hefty profit. Lucky slips Jimmy a bit and tells him to get it out to the locals. Jimmy agrees, provided Lucky gets the booze out to the locals first.
Nucky's lawyer Isaac Ginsberg (Peter Van Wagner) tells Nucky that Esther Randolph is "relentless" and he's not thrilled with how the case is going. Running out of time, Nucky asks Ginsberg to find something to get a change of venue so that his trial will take place in Atlantic County, where Nucky can influence the judge and jury. Ginsberg tries to suggest an excuse of "medical hardship" (owing to his shooting), but Nucky finds this ridiculous and fires Ginsberg. After Ginsberg leaves, Nucky sees in the paper that the Block Sox trial is about to start and realizes that he might be better off hiring Bill Fallon, Rothstein's lawyer.
At the Commodore's mansion, the old, powerful brokers are upset about how the strike is ruining the tourist season, and the Commodore is getting worked up and struggling to speak. Jimmy assures them he'll handle it. Jimmy suggests they negotiate and offer a salary raise. The businessmen protest and walk out. When most of the men leave, Eli suggests the use of brute force: 50 strikebreakers armed with baseball bats and billy clubs be deployed to attack the strikers. When he mentions Halloran will be on site when the strikebreakers arrive, Neary tells Eli about how Halloran has been talking to Esther Randolph. Leander Whitlock takes control of the conversation, reminding Jimmy that Nucky knows how to pacify the black workers, so he should do the same. , Jimmy stands up and reminds him he's not Nucky. He wants to end it peacefully, and that's when the Commodore finds his voice. He quite colorfully tells Jimmy that he might as well "lift up (his) dress" and let himself get, well, taken advantage of. Eli thinks but says nothing, knowing he needs to send a message to Halloran.
Teddy is saying his nightly prayers and when Margaret suggests a special prayer for Emily, he dutifully adds, "And please make my sister Emily get better." Margaret kisses Teddy goodnight and he says he can't move his legs. She panics and he starts to giggle. He's not laughing for long, though. Margaret slaps him hard across the face, leaving Teddy crying. She tells Nucky that Teddy has "his father's cruelty." Nucky says he's going to New York to find a new lawyer, and he'll take Teddy along for the trip.
At the boardwalk, the black workers are marching with signs in hand, when the strikebreakers show up with batons and bats to bust them up. A brawl ensues as the deputies stand by and do nothing. A couple of them go straight for Halloran (Adam Mucci), who is knocked down and beaten savagely.
In New York, Nucky is accompanied by Arnold Rothstein for a meeting with Fallon (David Aaron Baker), who gives Teddy a baseball signed by Ty Cobb that was sitting on his desk. After having Teddy dismissed, Fallon pulls another Ty Cobb autographed ball out from a drawer that has others in it, and puts it on his desk to replace the one he gave Teddy. The conversation turns to business as Fallon questions Nucky's original choice in lawyers. He also gives an honest analysis: it's too late to get a change of venue to move the trial to Atlantic City, but Fallon can utilize his other assets, including his effectiveness to charm a jury, and for $80 an hour, his "uncanny ability to make friends with judges." Before shaking hands on the deal, Nucky asks Rothstein for final input. Rothstein assures him, "No one likes a long shot more than a gambler." Convinced, Nucky agrees to take Fallon on as his attorney.
Halloran has been severely injured by the beating, with his jaw wired shut, forcing him to eat through a straw. Eli visits him at home and asks what happened. When Halloran mentions that it was the strikebreakers who attacked him, Eli feigns surprise, then intimidates Halloran by admitting that the beating was a warning against him for snitching. After Eli leaves, Halloran decides to call Esther Randolph to testify.
Margaret is praying alone in church when Father Brennan (Michael Cumpsty) walks up and joins her. She tells him about Emily's polio. He says "God is with her," and Margaret wonders if he's with her "like he was when he let it happen." He brings up her recent confession about temptation and asks if that's "still a burden." She doesn't want to talk about that. He tells her she asks of God but gives nothing in return. When she says she gives her devotion in return, he says devotion "is an act -- it's something you demonstrate." She asks how, and he says that's for her to decide, then he leaves.
Chalky meets with Jimmy in a small church, so Jimmy can negotiate an end to the strike. Jimmy offers to make Chalky's murder charge go away, thinking that'll be enough, but Chalky doesn't want just that: he also wants $3,000 for the families of each of the men who were killed in the attack on his warehouse, and for the three men responsible to be delivered to him. When Jimmy admits he's unable to deliver on that, Chalky ends the negotiation and walks out.
Teddy says goodnight to Margaret over the phone and tells her about his baseball signed by Ty Cobb. Nucky explains to her that Cobb is a very famous baseball player. He hangs up the phone and the tells Teddy about how his sister was sick when Nucky was young, and that he and his brother were jealous of the attention she got, but they knew their mother loved them just the same. Teddy asks about Nucky's dad, and after a brief pause, Nucky says, "Sure, of course. He loved us, too." Teddy asks Nucky if he's "in trouble." Nucky says he is "a little." He says some people said he did something wrong, "but it's not true." Teddy asks if he's in trouble for burning his father's house down. Teddy says he saw it. Nucky says that was an accident and Teddy responds, "Don't worry, dad. I won't tell."
Jimmy, Lucky, Meyer, Mickey and Al are in a panic because the whole city is flush with booze -- good, real Irish whiskey and it's cheaper than what they're offering. Everyone is super frustrated with Jimmy, who keeps promising he'll handle it. Meyer reminds them the booze needs to be sold and proposes they split up and sell it in their respective towns. Jimmy insists Atlantic City is his town and when Lucky suggests Philly, Mickey tells Jimmy he shouldn't go there, "on account of Manny Horvitz." Jimmy tells Mickey to go to Philly and he'll head north. He kicks down a crate in frustration and walks out.
Van Alden is at the post office working on his testimony with Esther Randolph and her aides. When she brings up the murder of Hans Schroeder, Van Alden admits he was just working on a theory but he was told to focus on alcohol. Off the record, she asks whether Van Alden thinks Nucky ordered Schroeder's death and Van Alden says he has no doubt about it. They break for lunch and Van Alden leaves. Once he's gone, Lathrope asks Randolph if she thinks they've "got enough" and she responds, "Let's bring him in."
Mickey Doyle drops in on Manny Horvitz at his home. Manny's still nursing his shoulder wound from the attempt on his life. Mickey tries to assure Manny that Jimmy had nothing to do with the attempted hit. "That was Waxey all the way," Mickey says. Asked what he's brought, Mickey pulls out a bottle of booze and says he'll give him $5,000 worth of it to repay Jimmy's debts. Manny samples the bottle, then tosses Mickey the box of toothpicks he took out of the pocket of his would-be killer, which came from Atlantic City. He's offended that Jimmy thinks $5,000 worth of low quality alcohol is enough to make up for it after ordering a hit on Manny. Mickey insists Jimmy is just paying off his debt, to which Manny replies, "He who dies pays all his debts." Manny says he'll take the payback, but before that, he decides to torture Jimmy's address out of Mickey.
Esther Randolph shows up to see Eli, who's sitting in a jail cell. She tells Eli that Halloran has "a lot to say about you and a man named Hans Schroeder." She tells Eli that if he's got anything to say about Nucky, he should have his lawyer get in touch.
Margaret clears out her jewelry and stashes an envelope full of cash into a bag. She then pays a visit to Father Brennan. He hides a glass of wine and asks his assistant to show her in. She admits to Father Brennan that she's looking for a miracle. She wants her daughter to be made whole, and "not suffer for no reason." He asks her if she recalls what they discussed earlier. "An act of devotion," she says. She then empties the contents of the bag onto a table. She says it's a donation for the church. He says he's not usually handed cash, let alone jewels. She wants to know the proper method. She says she wants to be free of it all and show that she's willing. He takes the cash. They pray.
Jimmy looks out his beachfront window at an overweight guy sitting in the sun. He's astonished that the guy has "not a care in the world." He tells his wife Angela (Aleksa Palladino) he has to leave town for a few days, and assures her that he's going to get everything settled and can be the person she wants him to be. She tells him a joke and they kiss. She asks if he's sure he has to leave right away. He says he's not sure of anything, and she leads him to the bedroom.
Dr. Holt tells Margaret and Nucky he didn't get the results he hoped for and that Emily has spinal polio, meaning her paralysis will most likely be permanent. Margaret is speechless. She asks Dr. Holt if his daughter prayed -- referring to his previous statement that his 9-year-old daughter prays for all the children in the hospital each night." He thinks she probably did. Margaret asks what's next, and Dr. Holt says they'll measure Emily for braces and come back when she's ready.
Teddy looks at a family picture from when his father was alive, then puts it back into a cigar box, along with the Ty Cobb baseball, and slides the box under his bed.
Having gotten Jimmy's address, Manny breaks into Jimmy's house. He finds Angela sleeping alone in her bed. He wakes her up by gagging her, and marches her to the bathroom door at gunpoint, waiting for the shower to stop. It does, and when someone walks out, he immediately shoots the naked wet form. Only after the body falls does he see it's Louise (Christiane Seidel), the woman Angela met on the beach and accompanied to a Bohemian party with later. Despite Angela's pleas, Manny shoots her dead after she is unable to give up Jimmy's current whereabouts to him.
We see Jimmy driving late at night, passing a sign that announces that he is entering Princeton.
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