Boardwalk Empire Recap: Don’t Get Too Attached

Recaps

By vallegirl | Thursday, November 8, 2012 | 12:00 pm | 7 Comments
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Posted in: Boardwalk Empire, Recaps

Owen’s looking over a pony and Margaret’s impressed with how serious Owen’s taking it. As thunder sounds in the background their conversation is basically, blarney blarney blarney, Coleraine, teeheehee, we’re magically delicious and the pony passes muster. But they did manage to have a conversation that’s not full of sexual tension and recrimination so PROGRESS!

Ah, sure and begorra, I’m a hoary old stereotype.

Billie’s at her screen test and blinded by the lights. She’s young, fresh-faced and charming and for every question the producers have she has a sweet answer. She doesn’t think she’s too good for the movies, she loves them. They let her forget who she is. The producer is a little surprised by that, since most people want to forget where they are, but Billie’s got an answer for that to.

He looks at her face from different angles then sets up for the actual test. She’ll be working with a guy named Gil Longacre who gives her the sage advice not to look at the lens and keep her lips closed when they kiss. She’s all “Wait, we kiss?” but the director’s moved on to tell her what the scene’s about. Gil’s a gangster, she’s a showgirl, but not the lead…the funny one. Billie tells him that’s “the pony” and our episode title has its mirrored meaning. The test goes over well, and Billie’s a hit.

Foreshadowing?

Nucky’s in the opulent Union Club, seeing how the “legitimately rich” live and eyeing Mellon, who tells one of the valets to turn off the market ticker. Nucky sees this as his chance to approach Mellon, asking if he’s not interested in the market. No, and he’s not really interested in your riff raff ass, either, Nuck.

Nucky tells Mellon that he won’t take up much of his time and Mellon dismissively asks why he’d take up any of it. Because they have a common enemy: Harry Daugherty. This briefly catches Mellon’s attention who just drones that Nucky’s not a member of the club. The valet comes to escort Nucky out but Mellon stops him. Nucky tells Mellon he’s Enoch Thompson and Mellon might have heard of him, but the blank way Mellon stares down his long, patrician nose knocks Nucky’s ego back down to size.

To his credit, Nucky doesn’t personalize the rebuff and tells Mellon that he and Daugherty had “dealings” circumventing the Volstead act and wonders if Mellon would like to continue the conversation. He would. Nucky launches into a speech about how he makes no excuses for himself but for Harry Daugherty to be at the head of a large criminal conspiracy is just wrong, WRONG, Nucky says. Mellon sneers at Nucky about his “patriotism being offended,” but Nucky turns it back on Mellon.

Mellon thinks Daugherty’s a “shabby little huckster” and true to his plutocratic nature, Mellon’s offended by democracy itself, because all it gets you is a bunch of bandits fighting over a cut of the loot – AKA the income tax which actually expects the really big hucksters and bandits who robbed the country blind to pay back some of it.

Taxes are for peasants.

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vallegirl
About

Vallegirl has never actually lived in a valley, has a lot of time on her hands and likes to yell at kids about how things were in her day.  Currently in LA, she's also spent a lot of time in the great states of  New York and Florida so she's not crazy, it's just a cultural thing.

7 Comments

  1. 1
    plockeness monster plockeness monster
    Posted November 8, 2012 at 6:09 pm

    “That demon alcohol doesn’t need an enamel handle as a selling point.” Awesome!!!!

    Loved the scene when Eddie informed the guys that “Jimmy” had died. It was perfect.

  2. 2
    megalicious
    Posted November 9, 2012 at 6:54 am

    Great recap as usual, though surprised that you didn’t initally notice that Van Patten directed it (I always look for him since u astutely commented last year that his shows are usually filled with foreshadowing and heart-wrenching Richard moments) and that you didn’t mention (or notice?) the ticking clock in the background (since u always seem to pick up on the little things in this show, hence the reason i love reading your recaps) when Gillian is telling Rosetti that Nucky will be at Babettes. I agree with you that so far the show has been all over the place, while still managing to be entertaining. Only 4 more episodes left!

  3. 3
    hot cawfee
    Posted November 9, 2012 at 8:08 am

    awesome recap Valle!!!!! I was wonderin g when the explosio would happen (we had alot of chatter in NY about it while the show was being filmed–so no one would call 911). Anytime we can begin with my beloved Richard I am happy. The tones used on his face were beautiful.

    OMG–is Babette herself ok???–She is blonde as is Billy now so maybe mistaken identity??? (That of course would be another show–not a great episode for all blondes I guess). I loved Billy’s screen test and am sorry to see her go.

    Nelson—slow clap—wow…..He is awesome. I nominate Nelson and Al for the “sublte changes in the face” acting award. Nelson went full on Frankenstein wrecking the office and then—stops to get his hat, puts it on and leaves–Killer.

    I hope we will get some more info on all things past with Gillian and Nucky–there is something there I agree so much more than Jimmy. Was it Nucky who brought her to the Commodore and started the ball rolling??

    This era is so exciting–I have to geek out a little bit right now. I think this season’s Margaret begining to embrace a little New Woman/Flapper is awesome. More advanced birth control, more makeup, learning to drive—will she bob her hair?? I hope not but why not???
    She and Sigrid are nicely paralled this season—the woman being clear, rational and focused for her man. Sigrid making the hootch echoes Margaret telling Nucky to get ahold of himself and commit his dealings to memory while she burns the ledger she sneaked from his office.

  4. 4
    plockeness monster plockeness monster
    Posted November 9, 2012 at 10:52 am

    Hot C – I was wondering the same thing about Babette!!!!!!!

  5. 5
    BlueCanary
    Posted November 10, 2012 at 6:50 pm

    Am I the only one who’d love to see Gyp push Richard a shade too far? That’d be the shock of a lifetime for old Gyp, that’s for sure.

    And Nelson, my god. I’ve been waiting for that moment all damn season. It’s like those internal fantasies Mihael C. Hall has in Dexter, when he visualizes going apeshit and then snaps back reality and you realize it’s all in his head. Except Nelson actually went there. Nelson Van Alden: crazier than Dexter Morgan. I really think Sigrid is his soul mate.

  6. 6
    hot cawfee
    Posted November 11, 2012 at 6:40 am

    @ 5 Blue Canary– would love to see my beloved Richard go all sniper on Gyp—it could well happen!!!!

  7. 7
    vallegirl vallegirl
    Posted November 11, 2012 at 3:58 pm

    @megalicious, I usually do read the opening credits just to see what’s in store but just skipped over this week. Of course, the lovely shot of Richard to open the episode should have told me it was at least a Van Patten episode. I guess I was just really pre0ccupied this week because I never heard the ticking clock, either.

    @Blue Canary – I hadn’t seen the Dexter parallel until you pointed it out, but it is saying something that Nelson is crazier than Dexter. Although, I think it’s more that he has less control of his id. I think Dexter would slow clap for Nelson. And Sigrid has now become my favorite tertiary character. I have a fondness for poor, put upon Eddie, but Sigrid’s nuttiness and grit is admirable.

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