Boardwalk Empire - Recap: Who Tied the Knot? Who's Dead and Rots?

Episode 9 of Season 4 of Boardwalk Empire, “Marriage and Hunting,” set the stage for the final few episodes of the season. Nucky (Steve Buscemi) has managed to avoid much of the drama during Season 4 by keeping business and pleasure separate, yet he, inevitably, finds himself smack in the middle of another impending battle. Taking a note from classical mythology, there’s nothing quite like an all-out war over the love of a woman. Meanwhile, I’m starting to get nervous for Gillian (Gretchen Mol). I know, when did this switcheroo happen? I used to consider Gillian to be somewhat of an impossibly entertaining cockroach, yet Season 4 has done so much to humanize her character that I’m sure we’ll be bidding her adieu by the finale. This is Boardwalk Empire! Meanwhile, Van Alden (Michael Shannon) certainly grew a pair this week, adding some more spice to an already interesting character. Arnold Rothstein (Michael Stuhlbarg), on the other hand, is coming apart at the seams. Here is the Recap and Review of Season 4 Episode 9 of Boardwalk Empire, “Marriage and Hunting”!

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Most of the characters remained separated during Episode 9, so it would serve us well to reorganize the hour by plotline. First, George Mueller has finally found his way back to Van Alden, only this version of Van Alden is quite godless. Van Alden’s disdain for Dean O’Banion (Arron Shiver) finally came to a head, as his boss’ snooping and questioning combined with an unfortunate payment situation, pushed him to the brink. Of course, much of Van Alden’s inner rage seemed to stem from his wife’s (Christiane Seidel) incessant emasculating nagging surrounding there half-built home and whining children.

Van Alden would find himself caught in the middle of the battle between a vengeful Capone (Stephen Graham) and O’Banion, as the latter would slowly come to piece together the night in which Van Alden simply disappeared with Al and his brother, the same night O’Banion’s man was found riddled with twenty-something bullets in an act of sheer brutality. Mostly, everyone involved seemed to think that Van Alden lacked the cajones to pull off anything of value. Perhaps the breaking point for Nelsan came when three faces from his past, one scarred by an unfortunate iron burn, reappeared to exact their own revenge on “Mueller.” Van Alden, carrying a loaded gun to work with the intention of blowing O’Banion’s brains out, inevitably shot the trio of unknowing salesmen, who simple showed up to rough the former prohibition agent up.

Al’s patience began to wane when Van Alden failed to kill O’Banion, and he’s been in no mood to cut anyone slack or to dole out unwarranted trust. Van Alden would plead for one more chance to kill his boss that evening in the greenhouse. O’Banion, tired of Van Alden’s incessant apologizing and refusal to admit the truth regarding what had happened the night he spent with the Capones, considered killing Van Alden on the spot, yet this would be the moment the man would truly snap. Van Alden admitted to murdering his partner, confessed to having a false identity, and denounced religion once and for all. Strangely, this seemed to impress O’Banion. Of course, this wouldn’t matter in the end. Three men entered the shop, shot Dean to death, and walked out, leaving Van Alden to rob the register. That evening, he reasserted his manhood in the bedroom. Van Alden, not George Mueller, made love to his wife over the thousand dollars he’d “earned.”

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Gillian opened her arc this week on the boardwalk, basking in the sun with a parasol before Roy Phillips (Ron Livingston) would make his presence known. Gillian, who has obviously fallen for this man, told him the story of her first kiss to a boy named James under the pier. The story began innocently enough, until Gillian revealed the disturbing conclusion we the audience were already aware of. The sheriff plucked Gillian from the crowd during that year’s Opening of the Sea event on the beach and subsequently led the 12-year-old straight to the Commodore where she was savagely raped. This was, of course, the night she became pregnant with Jimmy, whom she named after her last memory of innocence; a child born of a child. Gillian would continue to open up to Roy regarding Jimmy’s troubled past, choosing to leave out the tragic details of his true death.

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Gillian’s love for Jimmy has been transferred, in a sense, to her grandson, whom now remained in the custody of Julia (Wrenn Schmidt). Richard Harrow (Jack Huston) would join Julia in court for her big battle against Gillian. Gillian, who delivered quite a stirring speech on love, seemed terrified of Harrow’s looming presence, yet the judge seemed to make a special note of the fact that blood always comes first in cases such as these. Later, Julia and Richard would have a talk while her father played with Tommy in the yard. Julia had managed to uncover the fact that her father has been hiding his rapidly ailing health, yet her moment of heartbreak eventually became the lightest moment of Episode 9. Julia, who barely earns a living on her own, realized that the judge would never grant her custody without a husband. Thus, she proposed to Richard Harrow! Harrow, a man of few words, gave a resounding yes. The two would just make it in time to obtain their hunting marriage license. Richard Harrow closed out his arc this week by paying Nucky Thompson a surprise visit. The man in the mask needs a new job.

I was beginning to wonder what Roy’s deal was. I liked the idea of someone taking care of Gillian emotionally, but that wouldn’t make a great character all on its own. Of course, we wouldn’t get any actual answers this week, but we did witness a private phone call, one he covered up when Gillian made her presence known, in which Roy seemed to hint that Gillian is, in a sense, some sort of job that he’s taking care of. Gretchen Mol did some great eye acting work in this final scene, giving us just enough of a hint to clue us in that she might have just gotten a bit suspicious as well. Of course, she’s also devastated over the possibility of losing Tommy, so that emoting could have been entirely related to that issue. Either way, great work, Gretchn Mol! Again, this isn’t looking good for Gillian. I’m thinking she might win custody, bite the bullet, and then we’d subsequently see Tommy back with Richard and Julia.

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Arnold Rothstein has seen much better days. Gambling, a habit he picked up from a very young age after winning about thirty bucks in a round of craps, has left him crippled in the world of organized crime. Rothstein, who has grown somewhat shameless in his quest for earnings, turned to Nucky with a deal. It turns out, one of Rothstein’s subsidiaries controls Mickey Doyle’s quite hefty life insurance policy, and Rothstein offered to bring Nucky in on a deal that would require offing Doyle for a substantial cut of the cash. Nucky, who cares for Mickey less and less as the seasons continue to roll out, obliges Rothstein. Nucky has dealt with Rothstein for quite some time, and it’s always beneficial to be owed a favor by somewhat of an equal power in this line of work. Is this really it for Mickey Doyle? I certainly hope not. I enjoy that character too much.

Meanwhile, Dr. Narcisse (Jeffrey Wright), became privy to the fact that Masseria had cut ties with Rothstein in the heroin game, leading him to believe that a future deal could be stuck with the Italians. Of course, Masseria doesn’t do business with African Americans, leading Narcisse to seem even further interested in the challenge of the game.

HBO "Boardwalk Empire"

HBO "Boardwalk Empire"

Chalky (Michael Kenneth Williams) knows very well that Narcisse was behind Dunn’s betrayal, yet he found himself feeling the sting of another ally hanging him out to dry when Nucky refused to throw his power into Chalky’s feud with the doctor. Chalky feels as though he’s owed Nucky’s help following much of the happenings of Season 3. Remember, Chalky was truly the only friend to stand by Nucky when it seemed his number was up, yet Nucky repaid him with the nightclub. The way Nucky, and Eli (Shea Whigham) see it, the two are square. (Eli, meanwhile, acted quite suspiciously this week!..) Chalky, however, felt betrayed in that there’s a difference between returning a favor and truly helping a friend in need. Season 4 finds Chalky in somewhat dire circumstances, and Nucky is unwilling to budge if it means threatening the business ties connected to Narcisse. Is Chalky taking care of his side of the lawn?

As Chalky’s daughter continued to plan her wedding, Chalky would find himself absent from much of the process due to quite the travesty. Narcisse, realizing that Daughter (Margot Bingham) sided with Chalky out of love, viciously beat the woman to a pulp. She and Narcisse had made a promise long ago. He’d keep her safe, so long as she promised him her heart. She was free to see other men, but her heart was to remain his. Chalky, witnessing the aftermath of the brutal devastation, saw red. Narcisse would attend his club that evening, much to Nucky’s dismay. Remember, only white customers are allowed to attend Chalky’s club. Even Chalky can’t sit and enjoy the show. Of course, Chalky would find Narcisse adamantly refusing to budge at Nucky's request, yet he’d assume Narcisse was Nucky’s welcomed guest. White, flipping the entire table and causing a public scene during the show, has declared war. It’s also important to note that Daughter doesn’t want Chalky to kill Narcisse, recognizing his keen ability to envision the “divine.” Chalky, of course, doesn’t subscribe to that religion. Meanwhile, his own daughter managed to deduce the fact that her father has been having an affair. Now that the jig is up, where does this leave Chalky?

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To conclude the recap, Nucky closed out his arc this week with a phone call to the increasingly awesome Sally (Patricia Arquette), who’d been spending the night falling asleep on her porch, witnessing the thunderstorm in Tampa. Nucky sees Florida, and Sally, as an escape. He’s grown more and more exhausted with life in Atlantic City, and it seems this restlessness is only stoked by how attracted he is to Sally. Sally, needless to say, is not the kind of woman a man finds in A.C.! She sleeps, I kid you not, with a shotgun.

What did you think of Boardwalk Empire Season 4 Episode 9, “Marriage and Hunting”? Is this it for Gillian, or will she figure out Roy’s scheme? Do you find yourself sympathizing with her during Season 4? Are you happy that Richard’s vision of family is becoming a reality? Who will prevail in the battle between Chalky and Narcisse? Will Nucky eventually make the move to Florida? Is Eli truly betraying his brother yet again?

Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of Boardwalk Empire Season 4 Episode 9, “Marriage and Hunting”!