Boardwalk Empire Recap: Breathe, Nucky

Nucky’s pouring the hooch down Eddie’s throat and Samuel asks his name. Nucky tells Samuel it’s Eddie but Samuel says he can’t call him that. At first I thought Samuel was just being respectful, and maybe he was, but it’s just as likely that Samuel was raised never to call a white man by his given name. Nucky tells Samuel Eddie’s surname is “Kessler.”

Wait, I know this. It’s Tepper. No, wait. Kettering. No, I know. It’s Kessler.

Samuel starts talking to Eddie, asking if Eddie can hear him, but Eddie’s still muttering in German. Samuel doesn’t understand and Nucky’s no help, so Chalky thinks they should just pour more alcohol down his throat. Samuel’s really had his fill with Chalky and his criminal ways, so he sternly informs the room that Eddie’s on the verge of alcohol poisoning as it is while Nucky comforts Eddie, who’s getting more urgent with his babbling.

Knowing that Eddie’s still conscious enough to feel the pain, Samuel orders Nucky and Chalky to hold Eddie down while he digs around for the bullet. Both men look green around the gills at the thought, but they do, in time for Eddie to start screaming and writhing in pain. SNIFF! NOT EDDIE! DON’T HURT EDDIE!

Big boys do cry.

Samuel’s steady throughout, trying to be as clean as possible but the bullet’s in deep. And worse, an unexpected visitor has shown up at the house. Gee. Wonder who it is. Oh, he’s not even waiting. Gyp just starts yelling out for Chalky. They all kind of look around briefly, then Chalky’s men gun up and get ready to leave while Chalky futilely tells Nucky and Samuel to keep Eddie quiet. How? Samuel wonders if they should hold off, but Nucky tells him to keep going and puts a towel over Eddie’s mouth to muffle the screams.

Outside, both sides have guns pointed at each other while a bunch of chickens graze in No Man’s Land and the next door neighbors watch, Mom smoking her corncob pipe. Chalky steps out and Gyp announces himself as “Giuseppe Colombano Rosetti” but his “friends” call him Gyp. He wants to know how to address Chalky but Chalky duhs that he’s already doing it.

Gyp starts his spiel, asking if Chalky knows what’s going on. Chalky says some kind of ruckus in the white part of town. Gyp lies that that’s taken care of he’s going to be running things, now, so he wanted to pay his respects and actually calls Chalky “Mr. White.” Big, red, warning light number 1. With the schmoozing part of the program done, Gyp asks if they need all these guns. Chalky doesn’t think so, if Gyp’s men drop theirs, first, and Gyp has Tonino tell them to stand down. Big, red warning light number 2. As Chalky’s men put their guns down, Gyp and Tonino come forward and Gyp says to look at them, they’re almost kissing.

WARNING, WARNING, CHALKY WHITE…DANGER, DANGER!