Boardwalk Empire Recap: Listen to Eli

Driveby scene in Tabor Heights where Ramsey and his deputies discuss their plan while Gyp and his goons are still hanging out on the porch like they’re back in Brooklyn.

Tight close up on Stephen Graham, and sure, I’ll buy that he’s the 24-year-old Al. People aged faster in the 20s. He’s taunting someone to hit him, go ahead…hit him. Perspective shifts, and we see that it’s Sonny. He’s trying to teach the boy to be tough and defend himself. Sonny tries to do what Al asks but he quickly becomes terrified and starts sobbing. Al’s heartbroken at how easily he could break Sonny and hugs the boy. And it would be so sweet if he wasn’t, you know, Al Capone.

You talking to me?

Eli’s had Eddie call Margaret to see if she’s heard from Nucky. No. She hasn’t. Neither has Chalky or Lolly the casino guy. As Eddie tries to leave, Eli wonders about the “chippy in New York.” Eddie has too much class and correct him that it’s “Miss Kent” and she hasn’t heard from him, either. Then he’s out of there.

After Richard’s new ginger friend asks about the Rothstein shipment Eli tries to warn Mickey off of sending out the delivery. They can’t use the back roads and they can’t go through Tabor Heights. Mickey doesn’t appreciate Eli’s input and tells him to go load some trucks, which he begrudgingly does.

The prohies are still outside Smith’s house and Owen and Nucky haven’t slept a wink. It sounds like the prohies may be ready to move on so Owen tries to strike up a conversation with Nucky about not being able to sleep. Nucky takes this as a moment to whine about how hard it is to be a gangster who killed his surrogate son. They have a brief bonding moment over how, despite having two crews come on the same day to kill him, nothing seems to bother Rowland while he sleeps in the corner. It’s called “being 15.” This leads Owen down memory lane as he explains how he spent many a night just like that back in Ulster. Getting orders and an address and just…waiting.

He’s like a sweet, little baby criminal.

Nucky bites and gives Owen an opening to talk about how he’d while away the hours thinking about all the places he visits regularly, like walking through Coleraine or walking up to school and Nucky wonders if that’s how he spent the night. Owen admits he hasn’t thought of his home in Ireland for months, which isn’t exactly true but I’ll let that slide because New Year’s Eve is usually a bleary-eyed memory, anyway. Nucky not entirely bitterly says that sounds like he’s found his home in America, then.

Owen picks up on the tone and let’s Nucky know he knows who’s in charge. Nucky questions if that’s eating at him. Owen doesn’t exactly deny it, he just says it’s not his satisfaction that matters. He says he’s loyal to Nucky because Nucky made a place for him. Nucky can smell bullshit, so Owen comes clean about how Nucky pays him. I don’t think that was as refreshingly candid as Owen hoped, but Nucky shares his flask, anyway. Neither man looks particularly reassured after this conversation so they decide to stare at Rowland. And, if anyone didn’t think this storyline would end the way it did, they didn’t really get a good look at Nucky’s face at this moment.

Not exactly the face of a man going soft.