Macall B. Polay / HBOThere's definitely a clash coming between Gyp Rosetti (Bobby Cannavale) and Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi). But until that day comes, the life of a gangster will go on—you know, hiding from the law, shooting young folk, yadda yadda. While Thompson continues toward his inevitable Rosetti showdown, wife Margaret (Kelly MacDonald) fights her own battle against outdated morals, and Al Capone (Stephen Graham) joins an anti-bullying campaign...sorta.
WHAT WE LEARNED
For God's Sake, Do What Nucky Says: Rosetti has put his unique brand of snafu all over Tabor Heights, so now Nucky's shipments to Arnold Rothstein (Michael Stuhlbarg) have to go through back roads, in the middle of winter. Mickey Doyle (Paul Sparks) immediately ignores Nucky's directive, to the dismay of Eli Thompson (Shea Whigham). The next hootch delivery attempt, of course, goes awry in a dirty-cop-on-rumrunner ambush of epic proportion.
And, Seriously, Do Not Lie to Nucky Thompson: Nucky's still preoccupied with tracking down Roland Smith, the wheelman involved in that warehouse theft. Track him down Nucky does, with Owen Sleater's (Charlie Cox) help, only to learn that the accomplice is, supposedly, 15 years old. Just then, a bunch of corrupt feds show up at Smith's place. While Nucky & Co. are hiding from the g-men, we learn that Roland is quite the crafty getaway consultant, and that, whoops, he's actually 19, a confession that prompts Nucky to shoot the guy in the head.
Margaret Would Just Like Someone to Please Think of the Children: Margaret is trying to save Atlantic City's pregnant women in an era when "vagina" is a dirty word and those newfangled sanitary napkins are a scandal waiting to happen. Luckily she has that young Dr. Mason (Patrick Kennedy) around to exchange eye-rolls—and a bit of flirtation—with.
Al Capone Does Not Like Bullies: In Chicago, the O'Banion/Torrio feud is still on broil, with Jake Guzik (Joe Caniano) suffering a beating at the hands of one of O'Banion's men. Capone's son, meanwhile, is being bullied at school. So when Guzik informs Capone that the assailant mocked his body odor between punches, Capone, being Capone, immediately heads over to the South Side and clobbers O'Banion's man into the consistency of shepherd's pie, then leaves money to "pay for his funeral."
Everything's More Expensive in New York: Lucky Luciano (Vincent Piazza) has been summoned to meet with Joe Masseria (Ivo Nandi), who wants a cut of that tasty heroin business. Masseria, predictably, wants 30 percent of whatever happens in his territory, which is not exactly the 2 percent that Luciano was hoping to share.
ONE LINERS
"Allowing you to simply go to jail is the last gift I'll ever give you." —Nucky Thompson
"Go buy a personality." —Nucky Thompson
"Why am I calling you? Why is that even occurring?…I want what I paid for. I want it now. And I don't ever want to find myself chatting with you again." —Arnold Rothstein
"That Rothstein. Warm as a lizard." —Mickey Doyle