Boardwalk Empire - Recap: Poker Face

Episode 4 of Season 4 of Boardwalk Empire, “All In,” originally saw Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi) taking his deal for territory in Florida to the very rich Arnold Rothstein (Michael Stuhlbarg), but a quite unattractive quality in the normally unflappable business man might have changed Thompson’s mind. In Harlem, Dunn (Erik LaRay Harvey) continued to tiptoe behind Chalky’s (Michael Kenneth Williams) back as he became familiarized with the priorities of Dr. Narcisse (Jeffrey Wright) better. A prank of revenge went horribly wrong for Eli’s (Sheah Whigham) son, Willie (Ben Rosenfield), and two more unlikely new duos showcased some of the best chemistry yet this season. Here is my Recap and Review of Season 4 Episode 4 of Boardwalk Empire, “All In”!

Let’s begin the recap with the Capones this week, shall we? I’m enjoying getting to know Al’s (Stephen Graham) brothers, Frank (Morgan Spector) and Ralph (Domenick Lombardozzi), as it becomes increasingly clear that these three apples have not fallen far from the same tree. It’s as though we have three different variations of Al at this point, and that is, of course, a great thing. Eddie (Anthony Laciura) continued his work as a promoted associate of Nucky’s, rendezvousing with Ralph Capone to hand off some cash. At first, I was unsure of Ralph’s intentions in muscling Eddie into taking him out to dinner, but the two inevitably hit it off! After sharing stories of moving on in life and beginning new chapters, the two became fast friends, even closing out the night with a bit of drunken debauchery (complete with the closest think A.C. had to karaoke at the time) at a local bar. Unfortunately for Eddie, things would not turn out so well in the end. (More on that later.) Maybe there was a reason why Nucky insisted the handoff be quick and easy…

Al and Frank, meanwhile, had a bit of fun this week following a slight heart complication in their messenger, Jake. Al and his brother would totally get a get a laugh out of having to do basic pickups and remedial gangster work while their buddy sat propped and eating pasta in a hospital bed. Funny enough, Van Alden (Michael Shannon) would end up roped into their shenanigans. Al always seemed to get a kick out of the man he playfully referred to as “the undertaker.” After delivering some nearly dead flowers on behalf of his boss, O’Banion (Aaron Shiver), Van Alden would begrudgingly accompany the Capones on several quick hits, before the trio would inevitably end up jacking one of O’Banions stored “bread trucks”; storage units for his liquor supply.

HBO "Boardwalk Empire"

Van Alden initially found himself terrified in the tug of war between being loyal to O’Banion, the man who’d never truly respected him, and making nice with Al Capone, whom he’d always found significantly intimidating. The thing about Al, though, is that his bark really is worse than his bite. That is, until you cross him. Over the course of their night together, Van Alden seemed to ease up a bit, perhaps gathering a better understanding of the real goings on in Capone’s world. The brothers would eventually invite Van Alden to work alongside their cause, as the political ruckus continued to need a bit more strong-arming. Van Alden most likely felt torn, and, as usual, incredibly uncomfortable and stiff, yet something would suddenly come up. From the back of the bread truck, Capone and the former government agent heard shouts for help! One of Dino’s men, a man who’d previously fallen victim to one of O’Banion’s nasty and violent pranks, awoke from his catnap. Van Alden no longer had a decision to make, truly. Al riddled O’Banion’s man, the poor sap who’d chosen the wrong car to rest up and recover in, with a barrage of bullets and a follow-up of boisterous laughter. Hold on to your hat, Van Alden! Season 4 is sure to be a trip!

HBO "Boardwalk Empire"

After fibbing to Chalky about his ailing mother, Dunn made his way up to Harlem to deliver some dirty money to Dr. Narcisse. Narcisse, conducting his honest business within the office of his African American rights organization, was not too pleased with Dunn’s rash decision to surprise him as so with that other sort of “work.” Apparently, the man likes to keep his businesses separate, which, of course, makes perfect sense. Yet Dunn would linger outside until dark, waiting to offer up a genuine apology. Dunn is curious as to what Narcisse has to offer, and the doctor continued to open up his world to Purnsley, and to us as viewers, this week. Narcisse views men like Chalky White, African Americans who fight to make there way up in white society, as a hindrance to his vision and a disgrace to his race. He imagines a sort of realm where black culture thrives and power isn’t siphoned through servicing any sort of white social agenda. Dunn, brutally taking out a target of Narcisse’s to prove his allegiance, seems to have made his choice.

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Willie and his roommate decided to exact revenge on the obnoxious rich boy who’d used Thompson for his free booze and further humiliated Eli’s son by popping in on his make-out session uninvited. Remember the “Look, it’s Thompson’s Willie!” situation from last episode? Another party would mark the scene for Willie’s revenge, as the duo planned on spiking the bully’s drink with… a mixture of chemistry lab substances. What on earth were these two thinking, in all seriousness? I don’t know who in their right mind, let alone seemingly intelligent college students, would think it was a good idea to brew a concoction of random chemicals as a makeshift laxative. Willie won his desired effect, of course. The boy couldn’t make it to the bathroom on time to relieve himself, and the entire party laughed out loud. Of course, the next morning was a different story. Boardwalk Empire is a show about substantially violent gangsters, and I’m not sure any body has looked more grotesque than the twisted and bloody corpse of that poor bully on the bathroom floor of his dorm the next day. Now, this will all surely be tied back to Uncle Nucky.

Speaking of Willie’s uncle, whom I personally feel comfortable referring to as “Uncle Nucky” after reviewing this show going on two seasons now, Thompson has remained cool, calm, and collected in his dealings during Season 4, and this week was no exception. First, Nucky and Eli would attempt to explain to Rothstein the benefits of the rum trade in the ideally located Tampa region. Rothstein, who took some convincing to even consider the deal, would be expected to fork up a significant amount of dough for the operation to proceed. Episode 4 was especially interesting to me because we rarely see a flaw in the unflappable Arnold Rothstein, who is always so seemingly well-poised and unwavering that I still feel uncomfortable hearing his team refer to him affectionately as “A.R.” Rothstein insisted that Nucky join him for a few rounds of poker, and if you remember correctly, Rothstein has always been an expert gambler. He allegedly only plays if he can win...

HBO "Boardwalk Empire"

At first, I was certain that Rothstein was letting Nucky effortlessly garner exuberant amounts of cash, even taking advantage of a few coins of house credit, but as the night dwindled down to the darkest hours, so did A.R. Suddenly, I feel more comfortable referring to him as A.R.! Rothstein, you see, has a problem with losing. He almost seemed like a drug addicting withdrawing as Meyer (Anatol Yusef) quietly convinced him to pull away from the game several hours later. Perhaps he did intend to hand money over to Thompson, but the end result of the entire ordeal did more than lose Rothstein a pretty penny extra. It exposed his Achilles’ heel to Nucky, and Thompson no longer wished to do business with the man he’d once considered to be among his strongest possible partners. This is how the most surprising scene from Episode 4, “All In,” developed, in my opinion. In private, Meyer approached Thompson and offered his own services in the Florida deal. Apparently, all of the quiet and over competent work Meyer has put in over the course of three-plus seasons has led to this. Nucky shook the man’s hand, and the two struck a deal for a $500,000 buy in.

HBO "Boardwalk Empire"

HBO "Boardwalk Empire"

I particularly liked the way Meyer sold his character to Nucky, by telling the tale of his first childhood experience with gang bullying. Another boy and his buddies would ruthlessly rough up Meyer for a few days, stealing his lunch money and leaving him bruised and battered; however, the boy eventually changed his ways entirely and invited Meyer to join his group after admiring his perseverance. That boy was Charlie Luciano, and the two have been doing business as friends ever since. After the massive gambling session and striking his first big deal with Nucky, Meyer took to a back alley to rough up a man who’d been muttering slurs at a down-and-out Rothstein all night. What a way to celebrate! I like to consider the comparison between Meyer and Dunn now that we’re seeing where their loyalties truly are once push comes to shove.

Episode 4 of Season 4 closed with an unfortunate encounter between Eddie and Agent Knox (Brian Geraghty), who’d instructed to pick off the weakest link in Thompson’s chain in order to reveal the entire intricate spider web of communication between the top gangsters in the country. Will Eddie’s connection to Capone’s brother come back to bite him in the behind? Time will tell, but we know Eddie. I previously referred to Rothstein as “unflappable,” but I’ve also, in prior recaps, compared him to the Devil. I think Eddie Kessler would die before selling out Nucky, and that isn’t a bond I’m looking forward to watching break in any other case.

What did you think of Boardwalk Empire Season 4 Episode 4, “All In”? Will Eddie get Nucky into more trouble with the feds? Do you enjoy the new bonds that have been forged during Episode 4? Are you happy to see Meyer thriving knowing that he’s held his own for so long? Is Maragaret ever going to pop up on our screens again?

Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of Boardwalk Empire Season 4 Episode 4, “All In”!