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Al Capone tells Lucky Luciano that you can either rule by love or fear in 'Cuanto.'

(HBO)

THIS WEEK: Written by the prolific Howard Korder, along with Cristine Chambers and series creator Terence Winter, "Cuanto" was directed by Jake Paltrow. This episode finds Nucky reacquainting himself with estranged wife Margaret Thompson; Also, Lucky Luciano pays a visit to Al Capone to plant a business seed and, in Cuba, national circumstances pose a threat to Nucky's Bacardi deal.

'Boardwalk Empire' Recap / Season 5, Episode 4 / Cuanto

KEEPING UP WITH THE THOMPSONS

Nucky (Steve Buscemi), awakening from his post-Kennedy hangover, awakens to hear the distant voice of his wife Margaret (Kelly Macdonald) from the other room. He walks into the parlor to see his Cuban bodyguard Arquimedes (Paul Calderon) getting makeshift English lessons from Miss Peg. He asks why no one tried to wake him.

"They tried," Margaret says. He tells them he's going to be late for his flight to Havana. Arquimedes, suddenly with the nickname 'Archie, tells him that it's cancelled due to the rain. A tad disoriented, he asks for a moment alone with Margaret. Before the bodyguard exits, he proudly shows off some broken English he learned, saying, "I am pleased to meet you..."

When they're alone, Nuck asks about the kids. Margaret tells him that 'Teddy the Pyromaniac' is about to graduate from industrial school and that Emily (who was stricken with Polio) won an award for an essay she wrote on the Bill of Rights.

A slightly exasperated Nucky asks, "Don't take this the wrong way, but why are you here?" She suggests he has his coffee first. "Let's just get to it," he says. Margaret brings Nucky up to speed regarding the Redstone account and the Rothstein money. "I helped him with stock information in exchange for an apartment."

"How'd you come up with THAT?" Nuck asks.

"I asked myself what you would do," Peg admits.

She explains how Mr. Bennett kept the account open and that he used the funds to play the market. And lost. She explains that Carolyn Rothstein is demanding that Nucky pay back the missing funds. "If we don't, she intends to sue us both and drag your name through the papers," she says. "That's pretty much it."

"I think I will have some coffee," Nuck says deadpan.

Later, on the phone with Sally Wheet (Patrica Arquette), Nuck says that he's rained in and won't be traveling. "What do I tell Ronis?" she asks. "He's expecting his good faith money."

"Well THOSE are three words that don't go together..." Nucky quips.

"Want me to hold him off?" she asks.

"Is there a reason to?" he counters.

"Some noise last night in Oriente Province... The army is out." (1)

The region of the Oriente of Cuba.

(1) El Oriente de Cuba tells us that "The region of the Oriente of Cuba is remarkable for numerous aspects. It is about an area that was practically isolated of the central area of Havana until the end of the colonial period; however, most of the historical events that have marked, in a moment or in other, the evolution of the Cuban nation took place in this region."

"Does that affect us?" he asks. Sally says she doesn't know. He tells her that he'll wire the money and that she can meet with Ronis and feel him out for herself.

He's slightly distracted by Margaret laughing in the other room and, as a result, they quickly get off the phone. Nucky is surprised to see none other than Joe Kennedy (Matt Letscher) sitting and flirting with Peg. Again, the Nuckster comes off as jealous.

"There's himself now..." Kennedy says laughing.

"You should've said you were a comic. The club could use you between the acts," Nucky jabs.

"His [Kennedy's] people are County Wexford..." Nucky is unimpressed. Margaret and Kennedy go on to share an anecdote about the region's Ballyteigue Bay and we can see that Nuck sort of wants in on the convo but just can't cut the mustard.

"He's a Yank," Kennedy jokes. "What can ya expect?" Nucky's posture tells the big fish that he wants to get down to business. "I don't think it's for me in the end," Kennedy admits. Nucky asks why.

"Scotch and rum don't really mix," Kennedy quips. Margaret looks on, a tad uncomfortable.

"You came around to tell me that?" Nuck asks. Kennedy says that it's best to not leave dangling threads and wishes Nucky luck.

Margaret and Nucky spend the day together in this week's episode.

"I don't need it," he says.

"A little luck of the Irish never hurt anyone..." Kennedy jokes. He then offers Peg a ride back to the Big Apple on his private train car. We can tell she she's slightly impressed, especially when he mentions the fresh oysters.

When Margaret thinks about perhaps going, Nucky tells her, "I thought there was a problem. Obviously, I was mistaken." She gets the hint and almost sarcastically tells Kennedy, "My husband would like me to stay..."

"Oh... You're the misses," Kennedy states. "THAT'S the first sensible thing I heard him say." Before he leaves he reminds Nucky that there's safety in numbers.

* * *

Back in Cuba, Sally endures the branch manager at the local bank where she's picking up Nucky's wired cash. He waxes poetic about the country's cosmopolitan pleasures. He tells her that he sees the city as a perfect pearl on a velvet bed. He continues the flirting as Sally indulges him.

"Can I have the money, now? Everything in the account..." Suddenly, a knock on the door. The manager answers and chats with what looks like the Cuban Army or Police.

Back in A.C., Nucky dines with Margaret at Chef Vola's where he tells her the difficulty he's having with the language down in Cuba. After a mildly-funny joke, we can easily see that Margaret doesn't find the humor or tries to for that matter. She asks him why he's being nice.

Sally Wheet encounters a whole mess of problems in 'Cuanto.'

"Why wouldn't I be?" he answers. She asks him if he's jealous about Joe Kennedy and remarks that he's ridiculously easy to figure out.

"I care if Joe Kennedy offers you a ride?"

"Do you?" she asks.

"Why would I? He's not holding fresh oysters to MY lips as we glide back to New York," Nucky jokes. He then asks if she got a cut of Rothstein's portfolio. She says no. "That's pretty dumb," he tells her.

"You're right. I should have benefitted from a dead man's money," she says.

"You've got all of the blame and NONE of the benefit," he tells her. "What do you expect me to do? Pay her $111,000?" He says that's what she wants now but what happens later when she demands more money.

"Why did you even come here?" he asks.

"Because we have a problem," she answers.

"But only one of us has a solution," he states as he pours her some Dago red. They toast. "Partners in crime," he says.

* * *

Later, Margaret is tipsy from drinking half a bottle of wine. "Do you know the worst thing that ever happened to me?" she asks.

"Let's not start..." he tells her. "PRO- HI - BITION" she playfully tells him. Nucky agrees. She scoffs, saying he's done just fine. Nucky admits he's close to broke. She wants to know how that's possible.

CATCH UP ON SEASON 4 'BOARDWALK EMPIRE' RECAPS

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Episode 1 / 'New York Sour'

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Episode 2 / 'Resignation'

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Episode 3 / 'Acres of Diamonds'

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Episode 4 / 'All In'

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Episode 5 / 'Erlkönig'

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Episode 6 / 'The North Star'

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Episode 7 / 'William Wilson'

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Episode 8 / 'The Old Ship of Zion'

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Episode 9 / 'Marriage and Hunting'

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Episode 10 / 'White Horse Pike'

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Episode 11 / 'Havre de Grace'

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Episode 12 / 'Farewell Daddy Blues'

"Ask your boss on Wall Street," Nuck says. He stares at her a moment. "You shook down Arnold Rothstein..." He goes on to say that he's impressed that she held down a job and raised the children all by herself. "Was it by yourself?" he asks.

"I'm still married, aren't I?" she answers. "And yourself?"

"Married, too, I suppose," he says. "THAT never seemed to get in the way," Margaret mentions.

"You managed to pay me back," Nucky reminds. They call a truce and shake hands. Margaret inquires about Nucky's so-called plan. "What did you mean?" she asks

"What do you want it to mean?" Nucky quips

Peg gets irritated. "You really ARE a bastard..." She realizes that she's a tad drunk and lightens her mood. Nucky looks outside and notices that it has stopped raining.

* * *

In Cuba, Sally meets with Bacardi executive Don Maxime Ronis (Lee Godart). He says there's no excuse to leave such a precious lady waiting. "Especially when she's carrying as much cash," she sneers sightly. After he mentions that he's leaving town for Paris, she tells Ronis he has a problem in the nearby uprising in Gibara.

"Thirty soldiers killed. Bombs and bayonets. That must be messy."

"Gibara is very far from Havana," he tells her. She disagrees and says that the strife is close to his cane fields. "And now your wife is off to Paris." (2)

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'BOARDWALK EMPIRE': THE FINAL SEASON

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FOREVER IN THE SHADOW OF 'THE SOPRANOS'

(2) Bacardi would ultimately move their operations to Puerto Rico. Says Ocean Drive magazine: "Wary of Batista, Bosch had sent Bacardiís trademarks and patents out to the Bahamas in the late 1950s. That move would form the basis of the companyís survival when Castro decided he no longer wanted or needed capitalistsóeven former supporters like the Bacardisóand nationalized the firmís Cuban assets in fall of 1960. Within two years, a majority of family members had left the island."

He assures Wheet that he's staying. Nucky wants his rum and there's no rum without sugar cane. "And there is no sugar cane without the army. That is expensive and that is what the money is for."

Sally calls Nucky at The Old Rumpus, his boardwalk strip club. After some flirtatious chit-chat with Mickey Doyle, she tells him to have Nucky call her.

Back on the boardwalk, Nucky and Margaret take an evening stroll. She notices the sign on the club and wants to know what an 'Old Rumpus' is.

"It's a fearsome beast with the claws of a lion, the paws of a shriner and the expense account of a Westinghouse executive." She asks if it's a strip club and then begins to joke with Nucky. He inquires if she brought any photos of the kids. She explains that she didn't because she was afraid that he would read into it incorrectly.

"You think of me THAT much?" he asks.

"You left a strong impression," she admits. He recalled the first night he met her and wanting to "save her" after she looked so lost. She recalls thinking he was very lonely taking up an entire floor of the Ritz-Carlton.

"Like you said, nothing changes," he tells her before she embraces and kisses him. When they're done, she asks if he is going to kill Carolyn Rothstein. Nucky tells her that she has a dark mind. He explains that she is going to accept 25 cents on the dollar and the firm will stay afloat. She asks how he is going to manage that.

How will Nucky react when he finds out that Sally Wheet has been shot?

"I'm not," he says. "You are..."

"You absolutely are a bastard," Margaret says. He suggests that she should not sell herself short. If she could put one over on Rothstein, she can do this.

* * *

Driving home from Bacardi, Sally Wheet is stopped on the road by soldiers with one asking where she is visiting from. She answers Mirimar. She explains that she was seeing friends and that she originally from the United States. He tells her that there is a curfew. She answers, "Not in Havana." When she tells them that she's just going home, he tells her that he can't let her through. Just then, she asks, "Cuanto?" How much to go home? Wrong move, Sally...

After instructing her to exit the vehicle, soldiers search her car and find nothing but her lipstick. The soldier then searches under her dress to find her small pistol. She tells the man that she's a bar owner and needs it for work. She tells the men to stop by the bar after the curfew and that she'll treat them all proper. The soldier in charge wants to know who she knows in Mirimar.

"Maxime Ronis," she answers. "He owns Bacardi. I have business with him. Call him and see." The soldier counters by saying that she's out after curfew, she has a gun and that she offers money to pass through.

"You have business with a man who pays a peso a day to cut cane until your hands bleed," he adds. "And you think all I want is to get drunk. YOU'RE what's wrong with Cuba."

She apologizes that they can't be friends and tells the man that she's going back to her car to stay in Miramar. She makes way for her car as the soldiers restrain her. She grabs a gun from a soldier's holster, begins to speak and is instantly shot smack dab in the middle of her chest. The ranking officer gets angry at the man who shot her. "Out in the open? She was an American..." he says.

LUCIANO PLANTS HIS SEED

Lucky Luciano (Vincent Piazza) visits the Al Capone kingdom at the Lexington Hotel in Chicago. Capone makes the group watch a Hearst newsreel featuring 'Public Enemy No. 1.'

As the maniacal Capone hoots and hollers through the footage, we get the sense that Lucky Luciano has better things to do. When Capone asks him what he thinks, Lucky jokes, "You're the Italian Wallace Beery." (3)

It's a joke that the room finds hilarious and Capone doesn't appreciate it. One thug laughs a tad too long and becomes the obvious scapegoat.

Film star Wallace Beery

(3) Wallace Beery was a film actor who migrated well from silent films. Says Turner Classic Movies: "For a time, his career seemed doomed by the arrival of sound, but MGM recognized his innate abilities and Beery's performance as a murderous thug in "The Big House" (1930) netted him an Oscar nomination. He won the coveted statue a year later for his turn as an over-the-hill prizefighter in "The Champ" (1931), which became the actor's signature role. Further impressive work followed in "Treasure Island" (1934) and "Viva Villa" (1934), and Beery found himself an in-demand talent with a highly lucrative contract. ...One of the few character players to attain major A-list stardom, Beery was not the most diversified thespian, but few could match his power to both intimidate and amuse."

"Lay off... He didn't do nothin'," Lucky sneers. Just then, Capone bursts into more maniacal laughter. "There ain't a kid in America who don't know my name!"

"Or a cop neither..." Lucky darts back. That's when Capone lays in on Lucky. "Awwww, Little Orphan Lucky... She's jealous."

Just then, Lucky spots George Mueller/Nelson Van Alden (Michael Shannon) and we just know he recognizes him from his prohi days. Capone wants to watch the film again.

"I'm tired, Al... Thirty hours in a Pullman and he drags me in a matinee." (4)

An advertisement for Pullman trains

(4) A Pullman car, designed and built by the company owned by George Mortimer Pullman was a sleeper rail car built for luxury. The Pullman Company's historic site says "The Pioneer was the first, truly grand car that Pullman created. It was built in 1865 in the Chicago and Alton Rail Road Shed on the site of what is now Union Station in the Loop. It was the ultimate in sleeping cars with red carpeting, hand-finished woodwork, and silver-trimmed coal lamps."

Lucky objects to the film and leaves to take a nap and to freshen up. "Sorry I'm going to miss the cartoon," he jokes. As he leaves, he asks Mueller "I know you?" Mueller quickly says no and gets out of sight as soon as possible.

That night at dinner, they guys reminisce about the old days in The Bronx. They also joke about Johnny Torrio with Capone and a disrespectful impression. Lucky gives the Chicago boss a steel statue of the Empire State Building. (5)

(5) Hard to imagine because most of us have lived with it our entire lives but it actually opened in 1931. History.com tells us that the building was dedicated on May 1, 1931. "The idea for the Empire State Building is said to have been born of a competition between Walter Chrysler of the Chrysler Corporation and John Jakob Raskob of General Motors, to see who could erect the taller building. Chrysler had already begun work on the famous Chrysler Building, the gleaming 1,046-foot skyscraper in midtown Manhattan. Not to be bested, Raskob assembled a group of well-known investors, including former New York Governor Alfred E. Smith. ...The entire building went up in just over a year, under budget (at $40 million) and well ahead of schedule. During certain periods of building, the frame grew an astonishing four-and-a-half stories a week."

Lucky Luciano plants the seed with Al Capone with the idea of forming a 'Commission.'

Capone instructs that he wants Lucky's gift put on his desk and tells his friend to get down to business. "Change is coming. Maybe ya heard..." Lucky says. He goes on the explain the idea of what would be 'The Commission.' (*)

(*) The Commission ultimately would be the governing body that would oversee all the crime families nationwide. The goal was to replace the one 'boss' mentality that would spark needless turf wars.

Lucky says that there are better ways to do things and that they should run their organizations like a business. The Chicago gangsters scoff and laugh. Capone says that he already has the biggest game going.

"It's not about you. It's about ALL of us."

"Who's 'us'?" Capone wants to know.

"Italians," Lucky darts back. Capone insinuates that it wouldn't work and that tribal loyalties from Italy will still hamper business and that he doesn't want Maranzaro's hand in his pocket.

Lucky continues the hard sell. "New York, A.C, Boston, Kansas City... Same understanding. Same rules. Nobody worries. Everybody benefits."

Treasury agent and accountant Mike D'Angelo (Louis Cancelmi) looks on and Capone's brother Ralph (Domenick Lombardozzi) soon asks, "Atlantic City? Nucky Thompson is not Italian."

"Think about where we can go. Ten years ago we were knocking around doing whatever," Lucky tells the group. Then, a lightbulb goes off in his head, suddenly remembering where he saw Nelson Van Alden/Mueller. he tells the group that he 'jacked me once." It all comes flying back.

George Van Mueller finds himself in a bit of a pickle when Lucky Luciano recognizes him.

"He's a fed..." he tells the group. "Pinched me back in '21." Capone thinks he's crazy and that he snagged Mueller working for Dean O' Banion selling flowers. Lucky continues and Capone wants to see Mueller ASAP.

Later, in Capone's suite, the men have Mueller surrounded. Lucky grills him about Jimmy Darmody and Atlantic City. Mueller says he was once in New Jersey (Ocean City) for a religious retreat. He goes on to say that he moved to Cicero from Ortonville, Minnestota because the family's wheat farm went belly-up.

Capone begins drilling Mueller and presses him hard. Mueller's sense of humor makes the big man laugh. But not enough. Eventually, Capone has him on his knees with his gun down his throat. Mueller is petrified. D'Angelo tries to change Capone's mind to no avail. Mueller mumbles some jibberish as Lucky instructs Capone to let him talk.

Mueller begins his masterful schpeel and tells Capone that he's been loyal, set up Dean O' Banion, makes his weekly numbers et. al. He tells Capone that maybe he's an agent ... Maybe he's not... That's not what matters. "What matters is that THIS man (Luciano) comes in from out of town and starts telling Capone what to do about Capone's business in Capone's house. It's goddamned disrespectful..." Mueller pleads.

"You can rule by fear or you rule by love," Capone tells Lucky as he lowers his gun. Advice for whenever Lucky is in charge. He let's Mueller go.

Outside in the hallway, Mueller tells Mikey D'Angelo that he needs to find a bathroom because he may have soiled himself.

* * *

At the Treasury office, D'Angelo rummages through mug shots until he comes upon Van Alden's that explains he's a former Bureau of Internal Revenue agent who is wanted for murder.

Do NOT make fun of Al Capone's friends. Or else he might put you in an Empire State of mind.

Back in Capone's suite, he's saying goodbye to Lucky, who's on his way back to New York. After they joke about each other's scars, Lucky tells Capone to think about the seed he planted. He also tells Capone that he was "way off about that other thing."

"Mueller?" Capone laughs. "Forget about it. Keeps us on our toes."

"No..." Lucky jokes back. "You're bigger than Wallace Beery." The guys laugh it up and Capone play punches 'ol Salvatore. They kiss and hug goodbye and after Lucky leaves the suite, Capone spits on the floor.

The guys, once again, laugh it up and scoff all around until the same laughing goon from before calls Lucky "a jerk." Capone doesn't appreciate the disrespect to his old friend. Once again, Capone jokes with his lackey. The guys yuk it up as the big guy instructs everyone to clean the suite. The laughing goon goes from room-to-room straightening up the joint and as he goes into Capone's office, he's attacked by Al with Lucky's pointy Empire State statue. Blood everywhere.

Capone goes into the hallway and instructs, "Find Eli... Tell him to get Atlantic City on the phone." Minutes later, Eli calls his brother and puts Al on the horn. "We got a problem," Capone says. "His name is Charlie."

LIL' NUCKY GETS BOLD

In 1884 Atlantic City, young Enoch Thompson (Nolan Lyons) sweeps the porch at the end of the tourism season. As the empty Corner Store Hotel closes up shop, Nucky walks around the vacant inn and basks in the opulence of it. From the crown molding to the chandeliers to the mini-statues, it's a life he's not used to at all. He's summoned to see Louis "The Commodore" Kaestner (John Ellison Conlee), who orders the young boy to not enter the room as if he's a question mark.

The elder man unrolls a large map, detailing his infrastructure plans for Atlantic City. He explains he wants to extend the boardwalk south, raise it above the surge line, pave Atlantic Avenue and, finally, lay down trolley tracks.

"Trains and ferries..." he says. "This town dies without them. Get the capital in but don't spend your OWN money. Why?"

The Commodore tells Nucky his grand plans for Atlantic City.

"You could lose it all," little Nucky answers. The Commodore asks him if he thinks he's a smart boy.

"If I say 'yes,' you'll think I'm boasting. If I say 'no,' you'll think I'm lying," Nucky says. The Commodore tells Nucky that the summer is over and he's not needed anymore. Nucky assures that there's things he can do like sweep the sand away.

The Commodore tells Nucky to take off his uniform and to leave it with Mr. Whiting before he leaves.

When he gets home, he meets little Eli sitting alone on the porch, who's locked out of the house. When Nucky tries to sneak in through a side window, he sees their father Ethan having sex.

When Eli tries to take a peek, Nucky prevents him from doing so. His baby bro f=doesn't understand so Nuck has to get a little tough with him.

To make up for it, Nucky offers to buy him a corn ball on the boardwalk.

* * *

Later on the beach, Eli asks Nucky what grade he's going to be in. Nuck tells him second. When Eli asks his big brother if he'll help him with school, Nucky says that he needs to start figuring out things for himself.

Nucky begins to tell his little brother about how other people live with lavish houses in Philadelphia and New York. "With paintings, crystal glass and carriages..." he adds.

"They don't have to do anything... Can't you see what we look like?" he asks Eli.

"You're yelling like Pa!" little Eli says sniffling. "Can we go home now?"

Later, Nucky brings Eli to the Corner Store as they wander the empty inn. Just as we think the little boys are there to rob the joint, we see that all Nucky wanted to do was to show Eli the spoils of being rich and the indoor plumbing. Eventually, Nucky is taking a bath when Eli interrupts him and says, "we did a bad thing..."

Sheriff Lindsay (Boris McGiver) overlooks the boy and sneers, "I'd put my pants on in a hurry if I were you." Later, the Sheriff tells the boys that they were trespassing. Nuck tells him that he works there.

"You don't work here anymore do you?" the man says. "What if you used to work a bank and I find you in that bank after midnight?" He tells the boys to follow him.

Later, we see that Lindsay has taken the boys to his house for supper. Eli and Nucky sit around their dinner table with Lindsay's wife and Ned and Ruth, their children (**). It's all the complete opposite of what the little boys see every day. So much so, that Nucky begins to cry. To lighten the mood, Ned tells a corny joke and breaks the ice.

It certainly seems that young Enoch Thompson is learning more under the tutelage of Sheriff Lindsay.

(**) Lindsay's son recites the first line of the John Keats poem "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer". For the entire poem, click HERE.

When supper is over, Lindsay takes the boys home to their rundown shack in the Pine Barrens. Nucky looks towards the door and we can tell he's afraid to go in. Nucky asks Lindsay to put his father in jail because he hurts his mother.

"I could... Sooner or later, I'd have to let him go..." he answers. Nucky suggests that it shouldn't be jail and perhaps the fate of the playboy last week who murdered his girlfriend.

"That was done for The Commodore," Lindsay says. "And that has it's own rules." He tells the boy that the world has enough trouble and to not go where he doesn't belong and to not pass his burdens onto others.

"Don't make me do my job... Because I will." He goes on to say that he will tell Nucky's father that they were working for him and if he doesn't like it, he's interfering with the law. "And he will answer for that..."

They shake hands as Lindsay says, "Deputy Sheriff Thompson..." And so it begins...

OTHER STUFF ON MY MIND

• The title of the episode, "Cuanto," comes from Sally's line of dialogue to the Cuban militia. It was one word that very well changed the course of her very existence. Or would it have not made a difference had she not offered to pay the men off?

• Sally, Sally, Sally... How we'll miss your sass, wit, grit and cojones. One of my favorite females on the show, you took no guff and held your own in a very definite man's world. We'll be pouring some moonshine on the floor to you. Anyone else? No way she survives that bullet, correct?

• Did you catch all the photographs of young girls on The Commodore's desk?

• At this point, who is kinder to young Nucky, The Commodore or Sheriff Lindsay? Speaking of, why would The Commodore, who, pretty much acted like a bastard to the young boy, confide in Nucky with his ornate plans for the burgeoning city?

• Arquimedes certainly looked like the charmer with Margaret, huh? And how about Nucky getting all sorts of jealous? C'mon, Nuck... You wanna keep that ear, right?

• Well, whaddya know... Teddy ISN'T in jail for burning down buildings.

So long, Sally Wheet... You'll be missed.

• Did anyone else laugh when Nucky actually thought that Margaret and Rothstein got busy?

• I know our forum isn't a fan of Margaret, but I will admit that I've always liked the interplay between she and Nucky.

• If there's one person who could joke with Al Capone and get away with it, it's Lucky Luciano.

• The whole 'You think that's funny' routine felt, for obvious reasons, like we've seen it before (and we have) and it came off as distracting. I couldn't have been the only one.

• There was something completely adorable about little Eli.

• You can't tell me that Peg wasn't smitten with Joe Kennedy. Was he the kind of Irish suitor she saw herself with and not the pick-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps Nucky?

• The smile on little Eli's face as he sees that toilet flush...

• Wow. Did you catch Al Capone not even remembering Jimmy Darmody's name? Darmody practically spent the entire first season in Chicago with Torrio and Capone.

• How many people thought Mueller's mumbling (with Capone's gun in his mouth) was humorous? At first, it seemed as though that's what they were going for. And what a master stroke of genius on Mueller's part reversing everything to Luciano.

• Did you catch teenaged 'Tommy Darmody' handing Mickey a soda at the bar?

• There's a seething anger behind Piazza's Luciano this year, huh? A calm, collected man who thinks before he speaks. No longer that young hothead.

• This week's parting gift since I don't have a song embed: Here's the next incarnation of Nucky and Eli, circa 1897.

Anthony Venutolo may be reached at avenutolo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @AnthonyVenutolo and Google+. Find NJ.com on Facebook.