In this episode, Nucky got closer to the widow he is crushing on, Margaret Schroeder, at his surprise birthday party that he knew all about. He was stressed about it, and it was a little alarming to see that unhinged side of him. Nucky’s hilarious dumb girl, Lucy, popped out of a cake, looking slutty. But Nucky only had eyes for Margaret, with whom he had just shared a dance. Sadly, Lucy didn’t see Nucky dance with Margaret, so we missed an opportunity for an epic freak out. This episode established the difference between Lucy and Margaret, as if we didn’t already know. It showed them both discussing a woman’s right to vote. Lucy didn’t know what they were talking about, and Margaret had an opinion. We guess it’s about time the show advanced the widow/Nucky dynamic, but it just seemed like too much focus on the love triangle for our tastes. Especially when Steve Buscemi is such an uggo. We were much more interested in the part where Margaret stole a lingerie from the dress shop where she works after seeing Lucy and Nucky strolling together on the boardwalk. We were sad that she has stopped so low as to steal, but we also wanted to cheer a little, because Margaret deserves that lingerie.
The episode also focused on the dynamic between Jimmy and Al Capone, telling us what we already know: that Al Capone is a jerk, and he will spell trouble for Jimmy. We were never fans of Capone, but we’re liking him even less after his…ahem…antisocial behavior this episode. (That poor Greek guy!) We hate him almost as much as we hate Lucy. But we love to hate Lucy, so keep her around, we say. She’s really good at her part. Al Capone and Jimmy were trying to get into the mob in Chicago. They made a deal with Charlie Sheridan, but they didn’t exactly make friends with him. So Sheridan knifed this pretty hooker Jimmy slept with, ruining her looks and making Jimmy sad. Great, there’s another thing that Jimmy can feel guilty about.
Nucky sent his brother to find out who lynched the black guy last episode, so Eli went to a KKK meeting. Of course, the show took the opportunity to have the speaker at the meeting mention that they were Christians, because, if you are in TV, you can’t miss an opportunity to point out that Christians in history were baaaaad, can you? This show also makes a point in every episode that people in the 1920s were racist. We know already. Anyway, Eli arrested the KKK leader and Chalky White questioned/tortured him after giving a mildly intriguing monologue. The KKK wasn’t responsible. So why did the episode spend so much time on this? Who knows. Character development of Chalky, maybe.
The episode ended with a shot of a boardwalk building with the words “GAIETY!” and “FROLIC!” on it. We wish buildings still had these words on them.
Episode Grade: C+
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