Boardwalk Empire Recap: Year of the Pig

Margaret’s touring a hospital with Father Brennan while a doctor and administrator explain all the improvements they’re making to the hospital, like hiring a thoracic surgeon. She looks pleased, or as pleased as Margaret ever looks when she isn’t boning Owen, and they stop at the new “Enoch and Margaret Thompson Pediatric Annex.” Thanks to Margaret’s “generous” donation, St. Theresa’s now offers first rate pediatric care. Margaret says “they’re” quite pleased they could help.

This should make up for marrying my husband’s murderer then banging his driver.

They continue the tour but are cut short when a local woman miscarries in front of them. Margaret is horrified but the doctor and administrator are just embarrassed that she had to witness that. Margaret’s still aghast, but I don’t know if it’s because she saw a woman miscarry or because the poor woman was treated like an embarrassing mess they needed to clean up.

Van Alden, looking every inch the G-man he still sees himself as, saunters up to a porch with a suitcase. He pulls out a small notebook then knocks while inside a man mixes up some bathtub gin ignores the knock. Luckily, Nelson never learned proper socialization so he keeps knocking until the guy answers the door. Van Alden introduces himself as “George Mueller” and he represents the Farraday Electric Iron Company. Oh, Nelson.

He asks after the lady of the house but the guy’s all “Dude, it’s New Year’s.” Van Alden understands, but the company’s having a sales contest and he needs to make the sale that day. This is greeted with a door slammed in his face and the guy telling his wife that Nelson was just some peddler and “a real lummox.” Undeterred by failure, Van Alden just keeps going down the row of houses until he’s been rejected by the entire block.

A real lummox.

Over at the arcade, Richard’s showing off and ruining the shooting gallery for all the fathers who aren’t snipers. Target after target drops and Tommy wins yet another toy until the carney tells Richard he’s won enough. As they walk off, Tommy asks if Richard’s dad taught him to shoot. Richard sweetly tells him that ‘actually, it was his sister” and that’s a piece of character development I wasn’t expecting. Then he tells Tommy that Jimmy was a good shot, too.

Wonder Twin Power…ACTIVATE!

As they walk, Tommy tells Richard a story about Jimmy’s injury and Richard wonders where Tommy heard that. When he says from his “mama” Richard gets caught up in a memory about Angela and tells Tommy his mother was beautiful and she painted pictures. Tommy tells Richard she does not, but she’s taking him to the movies. Richard finally pieces it together that Tommy’s talking about Gillian and Tommy’s all “Duh, that’s what I said. Can we get cotton candy?” then runs off so Richard’s mouth can twitch in anguish.