Boardwalk Empire Recap: Breathe, Nucky

Welcome back, Gasmii, and sorry I’m a little late. I hate when real life imposes its will on my ability to obsess over the fake life of Atlantic City. Hope the recap was worth the wait. Especially since this was one tense, unnerving episode. My stomach was in knots when I wasn’t sniffling about Eddie.

Fade up on Nucky’s suite at the Ritz, just hours after Owen was sent back in a box. Some random sleeps in a chair while another walks through and picks up Emily’s toy pony. Symbolic! The randoms are part of Nucky’s security team and Eddie’s supervising them as two guys take Owen away. In the box. This is still bothering me. Once they’re gone, Eddie tells the third security guy to stand watch outside of Nucky’s office as he goes in.

Just resting his eyes.

He debriefs Nucky that everything is taken care of and “it” was taken away by the service elevator. They’ll store “it” at the warehouse until they can figure out what to do, but Eddie doesn’t think anyone took notice of the delivery because of the hour. He’s so…German…sometimes. Nucky just wants to know if Margaret’s gone.

Eddie informs Nucky that Margaret and the children left for the train station by taxi so they’re all safely gone. With Eddie being so efficient in his duties Nucky is at a loss on what to shit on him about so he turns the subject to Margaret and Owen. Did Eddie know. Eddie, to his credit, gives the absolute best non-response response when he sighs and says he tends only to Nucky. It’s what he does. It’s his life.The “dickbag” at the end was only implied.

Let me love you, Nucky.

Nucky considers exactly what Eddie said for a moment then tells him to leave. Eddie tries to protest, but Nucky tells him that it’s not safe. Eddie says he won’t leave Nucky alone but Nucky tells him he has Gareth and the other randoms. Eddie thinks they are only men that Nucky pays and that he can’t trust them.

Realizing we haven’t had a good TV trope in a while, Nucky tells Eddie he needs to talk to Eli and Chalky but Eddie can’t place the calls because the line is dead. Camera swoops around Steve Buscemi’s “Oh shit” face as we hear an elevator bell ring. Three more randoms get off the elevator and shoot through Gareth but when they go into the office, it’s empty.

Oh, noes….

The randoms hear noises coming from the living quarters as Emily’s toy pony is rocking. From a bedroom Regina’s barking and getting her dander up, but she’s just pawing at a bedspread. While the random ponders the dog, Nucky comes out from behind a door (it pays to maintain your gamine figure) and shoots the random square in the forehead. Guess that second time really isn’t as traumatic as the first.