Boardwalk Empire - Recap: Heroin High Jinks

Episode 10 of Season 4 of Boardwalk Empire, “White Horse Pike,” brought on the first strike of Chalky’s (Michael Kenneth Williams) revenge as his war with Dr. Narcisse (Jeffrey Wright) officially began. Meanwhile, Eli (Shea Whigham) continued to play double agent, working alongside Agent Knox (Brian Geraghty) in an effort to protect his son, Will (Ben Rosenfield). Nucky (Steve Buscemi) was tipped off to Masseria’s (Ivo Nandi) heroin game by the spicy Sally (Patricia Arquette), setting him at odds with partners he thought he could trust. As this would transpire, drama in Chicago solidified Van Alden’s (Michael Shannon) stance in Al’s (Stephen Graham) army, while Margaret (Kelly Macdonald) found an unlikely new ally in Rothstein (Michael Stuhlbarg). Here is the Recap and Review of Boardwalk Empire Season 4 Episode 10, “White Horse Pike”!

To begin the recap, I’ll cover what went down in Chicago. Al has been growing increasingly frustrated with his standing with Torrio’s (Greg Antonacci) organization. Capone, feeling that he’s earned the top position among the men, is patiently waiting for Torrio to retire, even grooming the likes of his brother, Ralph (Domenik Lombardozzi), and Van Alden in new positions on the team. While Torrio appreciates a nice vacation from time to time, and he might have softened a bit in his old age, he has no plans to truly call it quits anytime soon.

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The events in Chicago would explode by the close of Episode 10, as Al and his brother enjoyed the company of a few prostitutes while Van Alden poured some drinks. Al, receiving a mysterious phone call from someone merely looking to draw him to the window, was rescued from an attempted hit by none other than Van Alden, who had caught a glimpse of shooters in the window across the way just in time to tackle Capone to the ground. It appeared, for a moment, that poor Ralph fell victim to the barrage of bullets, yet it seems Boardwalk Empire has settled for stealing one brother away from Capone… for now.

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In New York, Arnold Rothstein paid Margaret a visit with an offer she couldn’t refuse. Margaret has been barely scraping by, even with bonuses slipped to her from her crooked boss. Rothstein, realizing that Margaret’s boss and his crew were driving down the costs of shares for the land he’d invested in, offered to trade a comfortable apartment for Margaret’s family in exchange for inside information. If Margaret would choose to tip him off to the right time to sell, she’d land, on her own terms, a rent-free apartment for five years. The two would meet for dinner at her place later that evening in a scene that was a welcome reprieve from the action and drama that fueled most of Episode 10. The first time Rothstein had ever done business with a woman was a pleasurable one, and while the two simply struck a deal, the jovial chemistry between the two was a joy to watch.

Eli’s initial tips to Knox seemed to come up short, driving the agent to pay him an unannounced visit at home. From within Eli’s own house, Knox/ Polliver would ruffle Thompson’s feathers, promising that Willy would be sent to prison if Eli would continue to fail at delivering information. True to this Knox character’s strangely snakelike form, the chemistry between these two is bizarre yet entertaining. Knox would eventually accompany Eli on an ordered bust of Nucky’s own trucks from Tampa. As previously stated, Sally became privy to the heroin Meyer (Anatol Yusef) and Lucky (Vincent Piazza) had been sneaking into Nucky’s rum import crates unbeknownst to him. Nucky, ordering a raid of his own crates, would send Eli, and subsequently Knox, to apprehend the drugs, inevitably landing Meyer, who’d assured Nucky of his professionalism, in extremely hot water.

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Nucky, had the hole dug and the gun pointed at the back of Meyer’s head. This was the young gangster's one chance at striking it big, yet his first major deal had blown up in his face. In truth, Masseria had strong-armed Lucky, and in turn Meyer, into weaseling him into this deal. Meyer, in exchange for his life, would be ordered to draw Masseria in to A.C. for a discussion with the Thompson brothers. This meeting would bring an unexpected twist in Nucky's latest endeavor.

Richard Harrow (Jack Huston) is officially working behind the scenes at Chalky’s club. These two haven’t had much screen time together, so I’m looking forward to seeing where this goes. Richard is always a wild card, and as a friend, he’s a positively deadly ally. White, thus far, has shown nothing but respect for Harrow, who eventually witnessed Chalky’s speech rallying his troops for an attack on Narcisse. The attack would then happen in a bombastic flash, as Chalky’s men shot up Narcisse’s headquarters from completely out in the open and in plain sight. Chalky has been a bit sloppy during Season 4, most likely because his vision has been clouded by rage, lust, and now, his love for Daughter (Margot Bingham).

Narcisse managed to survive the onslaught, sending him straight to Nucky, oddly enough, in Chalky’s own club. One of my personal favorite scenes this week was Nucky’s quite snippy talk with Narcisse in which he made certain the fact that this man would leave town, dead or alive, his choice. Narcisse, on the other hand, was looking to have Chalky handed over on a silver platter, a request Nucky would curtly deny with the accompaniment of a few f-bombs, much to our amusement. Chalky, meanwhile, had been bandaged up and stowed away safely by Richard following taking a gunshot clean through the shoulder. He sat quietly with support from Daughter, and later, would become privy to Narcisse’s impending attack by Nucky. Nucky, admittedly, does not want a war; however, that sentiment might have changed by the end of Episode 10.

Masseria made his way to the New Jersey, eventually sitting with both Thompson brothers at Chalky’s club in the daytime hours. There, he’d introduce Nucky to his newest partner, Dr. Narcisse. Nucky, visually fuming with anger, wondered what his options were, as these two had been mooching off of his transportation services without cutting him in. Narcisse would agree to offer Nucky a third of the heroin profits, but only if Nucky would hand over Chalky White as a figurative handshake on the deal. Nucky did, indeed, Shake the man’s hand, leading us to wonder if he’d actually betrayed his friend, Chalky. Moments later, though, we witnessed Thompson phoning the mayor’s office in an effort to have Chalky whisked out of town by two deputies.

Unfortunately, Willy clued Nucky in to some fishy business after the fact. Remember, Willy now works in the Mayor Veder’s office, and a long conversation between the man and Narcisse was enough to tip Nucky off to a betrayal in their midst. Desperate, Nucky attempted to nip the scheme in the bud before Chalky could be taken away, but he’d inevitably fail.

Chalky is a clever fellow, though, and as soon as the deputies missed the turn-off for Philadelphia, White went into survival mode. I enjoyed watching Chalky pretend to take a nap, only to witness him slowly drawing his gun from his pocket. Of course, the man in the passenger seat attempted to finish White off before he could draw his weapon, landing Chalky in the middle of yet another life-or-death struggle. I’m not sure there’s ever been a more gruesome gunshot wound on Boardwalk Empire than the point-blank explosion of that man’s head that led to a shower of brains on Chalky’s face. As White attempted to strangle the driver, Daughter took the wheel. The two would, after much struggle, survive the night.

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The most heart-pounding scene during Episode 10 was certainly the one-on-one conversation between Chalky’s daughter, Maybelle (Christina Jackson), and Dr. Narcisse. Maybelle, who’d accompanied her brother to her father’s club in an effort to get her mind off of her cancelled wedding, was unaware of the man’s beef with her father. The two spoke alone in the shadows of her father’s office while her brother practiced piano in the room below. In the end, Boardwalk Empire would merely tease us with the thought of Narcisse having Maybelle in his clutches, and after a long suspense-ridden conversation, he’d merely see her to the door.

To close the recap, Episode 10 of Season 4 saw Nucky Thompson gathering his men at his home. Willy made his presence known, much to Eli’s dismay. Is this the life Willy wants? If that’s so, why is Eli fighting to protect him from prison? Remember, the death of Eddie shook Eli to the core, reminding him that his line of work will most likely earn him an early grave. Now, his son appears so desperate to follow in his father’s footsteps, regardless of the risks at hand. Knox, meanwhile, received very little praise for exposing Eli as a “weak link” in Washington, leading this reviewer to believe that this plotline could end way differently than we’re expecting. Knox, who has no real beef with Nucky, is truly in this for the glory. He wants to be the one to expose the spider web of Nucky’s crime dealings in the U.S. but he’s not receiving any true recognition. Time and time again, he's disregarded. Perhaps Knox/ Polliver will change allegiances.

What did you think of Boardwalk Empire Season 4 Episode 10, “White Horse Pike”? Will Chalky assume that Nucky betrayed him? Will Eli stop complying now that his son is so deeply involved with these dealings anyway? Will Narcisse inevitably fall by the finale? Will Knox throw in the towel or continue to fight for admiration?

Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of Boardwalk Empire Season 4 Episode 10, “White Horse Pike”!