Boardwalk Empire Recap: Season 2 Episode 4 – What Does The Bee Do?

To market, to market to recap Boardwalk Empire we go!

Things are booming for Jimmy’s import business and they’re quickly running out of space. Jimmy instructs Doyle to find them a bigger garage for their operations, one that they can grow into. Doyle takes a second to gloat and shows Jimmy a portion of the massive amounts of cash that they now have. Jimmy scolds him for behaving dangerously…and then tosses the butt of his still lit cigarette near the precariously stacked cases of highly flammable booze. It’s like an old timey episode of Fire Marshal Bill!

Thank you, Internet, for seeing to it that this exists.

Gillian is doing a little Roman mythology-inspired exotic dancing for the Commodore and *hork*. Apparently, he never took in one of her stage performances because it twinged whatever passes for morality in his wee brain. They talk about Jimmy’s security and well-being that the Commodore is going to see to but suddenly the Commodore suffers some kind of attack.

At home, Margaret’s daughter is singing some song about gender roles. Nucky has a busy day ahead of him planning for Mayor Bader’s birthday. Owen Sleater appears, much to Katy’s girlish delight. Nucky wishes him, “Top o’ the morning,” and turns to Margaret and confirms that that’s what “[your] people” say to each other. I’m pretty sure we’re witnessing the modern, borderline offensive version of St. Patrick’s Day being born. Ten bucks says that Nucky’s picturing Margaret in an oversized leprechaun hat and wondering how difficult it would be to dye the ocean green. Nucky hands Margaret cash for the weekly expenses, which includes some extra for the staff to let them know that they’re appreciated. Margaret reminds him that this is no time to be frivolous, that they should just stick with the humble half dozen or so staff that they have. Plus, Margaret doesn’t really see the point of giving the servants extra money since they steal from them already.

Chalky is back at home and is greeted warmly by his young daughter. There are some uncomfortable glances when she asks Chalky to check his homework, but the conversation quickly shifts to his older daughter’s boyfriend. Mrs. Chalky has invited him over to dinner so that the courtship will be more proper. Chalky agrees to the dinner and requests hoppin’ john, which gets him some odd looks from his wife and older daughter.

Richard Harrow arrives at Jimmy’s house, looking for him, but Angela is there alone. She tells him that Gillian called last night and Jimmy left.

At the Commodore’s, Gillian is fibbing somewhat to Eli and the doctor(?) about the sequence of events leading up to his stroke, and Jimmy thinks that he needs to go to the hospital. To illustrate Jimmy’s point, the Commodore calls Eli over and, out of the side of his mouth that still works, says cock a few times. Eh, that might be a good sign, actually. Eli is kind of a penis. Eli is panicked about their operations, but Gillian tries to convince him that everything will be just fine. She and Jimmy will have some vaguely incestuous interaction. And then: PROFIT! Eli thinks that they should sell some of their booze in New York and Philadelphia.

Chalky is at a meeting with a small group of African-American people in the community. This is apparently where they tell him about bad stuff that they’re experiencing and Chalky actually sees to it that something is done about them, rather than leaving their protection to the, erm, indifferent police. One woman stands up and demands to know what’s being done about her husband, who was murdered when the Klan raided Chalky’s operation. Several other women stand up and demand to know what’s being done about their murdered husbands, sons, and fathers. Chalky doesn’t really have an answer besides, “It’ll be taken care of.” This is no longer sufficient.

Van Alden is working with Sawicki and Clarkson on the cash taken (?) from various establishments and not doing a very good job of not acting shady about it. When Van Alden goes to the bathroom, the two agents discuss their suspicions about his illegal activity and just general weirdness. They just need to be baptized! Van Alden returns from the bathroom and slams his desk. “Heads will roll,” he announces. Someone scribbled “Van Asshole” on the bathroom wall and Van Alden doesn’t find it as funny as I do.

Margaret frames the extra pay to the staff as a one-off, to be followed by a wage cut. They’re like, “Uh, but we’re really poor,” and Margaret’s like, “I know. And I don’t want to be. JOO KNOW WHAT CAPITALISM EES?” As it turns out, Nucky had already promised them all raises. They admit that he might have been drunk but whatever a raise is a raise.

In Philadelphia, Jimmy, Doyle, and Harrow go to visit a Jewish butcher named Manya, who is serenely slicing a liver. Jimmy attempts a phrase in Yiddish, which flatters Manya. Quickly getting down to business, Manya explains that the current supplier to Philadelphia, Waxey Gordon, is…eeehhhhh…less than wonderful. They discuss doing business with Jimmy and Co. They shake hands, but Manya throws in a btw and lets Jimmy know that his freezer is filled with pieces of men who attempted to fuck him over. Noted!

The mayor’s birthday party is well underway with a bevvy of dominatrices, whose riding crop antics are accompanied by Eddie, singing in German because he’s adorable. Jack Dempsey arrives and Nucky talks to him about training in Atlantic City, which smells better than Jersey City. Plus, Nucky notes, they have hookers and blow and whatnot. But they girls are actually from Philadelphia. Hearing this, Nucky’s lawyer storms out. Nucky follows him and finds out that he had just figured out a way to get the case dismissed, but moving whores across state lines is a federal offense. Whoops.

Mrs. Van Alden calls Van Alden in a panic because she called the boarding house a number of times the night before and was told that he no longer lived there. She’s worried about him, plus there are mice in the attic and she’s lonely. Van Alden rushes off the phone with her.

Nucky visits with Chalky and I feel it necessary to point out that I am now completely obsessed with the sheer curtains and the dramatic, round arch at Chalky’s house. Anyway, Chalky is passing on to Nucky the rage from the murdered men’s families. Nucky gives Chalky the same non-answer that Chalky gave the women earlier: it’ll be taken care of, the families will be compensated. However, Chalky reminds him that this isn’t about money, it’s about getting revenge. Nucky reminds him that it cost a lot of money to get him out of jail and Chalky reminds him that he said thank you. “You can say thank you by being a good boy,” says Nucky. The HBO site doesn’t have a picture of Chalky’s facial reaction to Nucky’s condescending bullshit, so allow me to screen cap.

Oh. Fuck.

The guy who raided Nucky’s office has some affidavits for the prostitutes to sign, saying that they were brought from Philadelphia by Nucky to sway the election. Guiding their signatures is Fleming. Hmm…

Harrow is sitting for Angela so that she can sketch him. They talk a bit about love and Harrow tells her about his sister Emma, who took care of him after the war. However, he started to feel…differently toward her. He no longer loved her. When he healed, he moved to Chicago and hasn’t spoken to her since. Silently, Harrow removes his mask and we see the sunken face that used to hold an eye and a cheek. Angela starts a new sketch.

Rothstein shows up at the poker game that Lucky and Meyer run. He informs them that he’s made a deal with Nucky to receive his liquor shipments in Philadelphia with the aid of Waxey Gordon. Rothstein wants Lucky and Meyer to help. They balk, but he reminds him that Massario still really REALLY wants them dead, soooooo shut up and do what I tell you to do.

At Chalky’s house, the dinner with his daughter’s boyfriend is going…awkwardly. Chalky is drinking and refuses to join hands for grace. He’s also PISSED that they’re having duck and not hoppin’ john. His wife reminds him that hoppin’ john is not proper food for a guest. When the boyfriend tries to kindly refer to it as “that type of food,” Chalky gets completely offended, realizing that his family sees him as lower class, and storms out.

Angela finishes Richard’s sketch as Jimmy returns home with Tommy. Jimmy tells Richard that they have to go to Philly the next day for the delivery. Jimmy is a little bothered by Richard sitting for Angela, as he’s never quite sure what’s going on inside him.

Margaret, looking a little pale, reads the front page news about Nucky’s prostitution charges. He insists that it was a means to an end to get the election fraud charges rolled into a federal case so that the attorney general can help. (Note: I was totally confused by this whole thing. I thought the prostitution charges were bad but…no? Okay.) “I had no relations with any of these women if that’s what you’re worried about,” he says. Yeah, Nucky, that’s my big concern about this front page story about your election fraud and prostitution ring. Nucky keeps blathering about how great this all is, but Margaret interrupts him to ask for $100 for clothes for the children.

Sawicki and Clarkson drive up to the garage that Doyle rents and where Clarkson saw Van Alden when he followed him. Clarkson’s got a prohibition-boner because he can smell booze in the air and can’t wait to make an arrest. As they walk up to the building, it explodes and Clarkson is badly, badly burned.

Margaret goes to her room and stashes the $100 in with a huge wad of cash that she’s hiding in her jewelry box.

Back at Chalky’s the rest of the family has forged on with enjoying the evening. Chalky sits in the garage and angrily whittles.

Gillian feeds a grumpy Commodore and recalls the first time that they met and how he got her drunk on wine and then raped her. Gillian still has nightmares about it. She asks him if remembers that. He can only mutter in response, so Gillian hauls off and slaps the shit out of him.