bpardwalk-empire-recap-season-4-episode-11-havre-de-grace-nucky-thompson.png

After years of bootlegging and the rackets, is Nucky Thompson finally getting tired?

(HBO)

THIS WEEK:Going into this episode

— written by the show's prolific scribe Howard Korder (his sixth episode this season) and directed by Allen Coulter — I must admit that I was nervous. As most savvy cable drama fans may know, the eleventh episode is usually the one where the you-know-what hits the proverbial fan. Did it here? Read on on find out.

'Boardwalk Empire' Recap / Season 4, Episode 11 / 'Havre de Grace'

CHALKY ON THE RUN

We open on Chalky White (Michael Kenneth Williams) and his girlfriend Daughter Maitland (Margot Bingham). The action picks up presumably a few hours after last week's episode where two sheriff's officers attacked them both while they were being driven to Philadelphia. Chalky killed both men and dumped their bodies on the side of the road on the White Horse Pike. We see them here, once again being driven in the back seat. Chalky, though, seems more at ease and asks 'Levi' how a man named 'Oscar' is doing.

Levi is coy and alludes to Oscar's age. He asks how Chalky and Oscar know one another.

"He ain't say?" Chalky answers the question with a question. Levi tells him that they were simply ordered to pick them both up and to get them some clean clothes. They soon arrive at a dilapidated mini-mansion that's certainly seen better days. Levi and the driver — 'Weems' — tell Chalky and Daughter to wait in the car.

Oscar-winner Louis Gossett Jr. knocks it out of the park as Chalky White's mentor Oscar Boneau.

"I said, 'Sir, thank-you, kindly," Chalky tells her. After that fight, Chalky says he didn't have the legs to walk three feet and that Oscar took him away before the police arrived and gave him a job and teaching him everything he knows.

"That's Oscar..." Chalky says.

"Haven of Grace," Daughter says. "That's what it means."

Another man walks out of the house and leans his head in telling Chalky and Daughter that they can exit the car. "Everybody calls me Scrapper... My Uncle told me all about you."

* * *

Later that day, Chalky and Daughter take notice of the Susquehanna River which, he tells her flows into the Chesapeake Bay.

"Then where?" she asks.

On the run with Chalky, Daughter Maitland makes a meal for the men of the house.

"Out the ocean..." he answers. "Across the world. Anywhere it wants."

"Ain't that water lucky?" she states.

Just then, Scrapper helps Chalky's old mentor Oscar Boneau (Louis Gossett, Jr.), to the porch. He's all but blind and tells Chalky to come closer. They reminisce about the last time they saw one another. Chalky answers it was when his little girl was born. Oscar asks if that's the one who's getting married.

"You don't marry off no nine year-old..." Chalky darts.

Oscar says he saw that kind of thing back on Queens Street back in Charleston, South Carolina.

"They fought the war over that," Chalky states.

"THAT'S not why they fought the war," Oscar scolds. "You too smart to be that dumb."

Oscar asks Daughter her name. She responds. "That's you name?" He answers that he once had a Bluetick dog but didn't call him HOUND. He asks her to describe what she looks like.

"She a beauty, Oscar," Chalky interrupts.

"I don't doubt it," Oscar says. He soon orders her to prepare a meal for everyone. He also tells the gang to go into the house so Chalky and he could talk.

Oscar asks why Chalky why he's even there. "It's what you told me," he answers. "Never trust a buckras no matter what."

"Never trust no browns, neither," Oscar corrects.

"You was right on both counts," Chalky darts back.

* * *

Later, as the group chows down on Daughter's food, Oscar berates Scrapper for not tending to the house and the roof. Chalky remarks that he would've set Oscar up in town [Atlantic City].

An injured Chalky seeks advice from Oscar.

"I didn't come here because I had to, I meant to," Oscar says. "When you're DONE, you're done." The fellas agree.

He turns to Chalky and begins to ramble a bit. "... Set me up. The mess you made. ... Don't ever have to do business with some 'ofay' you don't have to. ... He's your friend. Not your friend now..." Oscar continues about mixing it up and doing business with people from New York and how they're nothing but vipers.

"It's different now," Chalky says.

"It's all lit up and faster but it ain't no different," Oscar counters. "And YOU forgeting who you are... Coming down here with some easy rider woman by your side and that you don't know which way to turn. Ain't that so?" Daughter overhears the conversation and doesn't like it.

Chalky says that he's there for help.

"Look around you," Oscar says. "How we gonna help you here?"

Scrapper suggests that can all go down the shore to "wash them boys away. ...Don't scare me none."

"'Cause you ain't never done it," Oscar sneers. Suddenly he's perturbed by the dry chicken. After remembering it was Daughter who made the meal , he turns to Chalky. " I hope she's worth it, Albert. She sure can't cook worth a damn."

* * *

After dinner, Chalky watches the guys play checkers as Oscar fusses on the couch. Scrapper says that Oscar told him all about Chalky.

CATCH UP ON SEASON 4 'BOARDWALK EMPIRE' RECAPS

•

Episode 1 / 'New York Sour'

•

Episode 2 / 'Resignation'

•

Episode 3 / 'Acres of Diamonds'

•

Episode 4 / 'All In'

•

Episode 5 / 'Erlkönig'

•

Episode 6 / 'The North Star'

•

Episode 7 / 'William Wilson'

•

Episode 8 / 'The Old Ship of Zion'

•

Episode 9 / 'Marriage and Hunting'

•

Episode 10 / 'White Horse Pike'

"I ain't afraid of nothin..." Scrapper tells Chalky, almost interviewing for a job with him. Weems tells the gang he's going out for the night to Baltimore.

Just then, Chalky notices Daughter walking outside and leaves the game to see her.

"What are we doing?" she asks him.

"Waiting..."

"For what?" she asks. "You got a family." She tells him that he's not out of the life and is far from quitting. "You want those men dead. The one who's your enemy and the one you called a friend."

On Narcisse, Chalky says, "You weren't nothing but a baby in that Storyville crib... And who's the man who stole your momma's life away?"

"I didn't know my name..." she tells him. "He called me 'Daughter' and that's who I am."

"Let's run and never look back. All you gotta do is say it," she says. Scrapper comes down and tells Chalky that Oscar is looking for him.

Inside, Oscar can't sleep. They talk about his minor action — some numbers, moonshining. "Doesn't amount to much," he tells Chalky, who then asks where all his money went. Oscar says that he didn't have as much as one would think.

Oscar explains that he got in with The Commodore. Chalky explains that he's been gone for three years.

"I don't miss him," Oscar jokes. They chuckle.

"But you ... You did your business with the Thompson boy," Oscar states.

"Helped him plenty..." Chalky says disappointed. "What do I do now, Oscar?"

The old man advises him to stay there and "build something up."

Chalky says that action is for Scrapper, his nephew. "Winston ain't gonna amount to nothin... YOU stay here and cut that woman loose before she do you in proper."

Later, Chalky visits Daughter in their bedroom. "Tomorrow, we do what you say. First light... We go and don't turn back." That night, Chalky wakes up to see Daughter gone from their bed. He searches the house and finds Oscar on the porch with his shotgun. He tells Chalky that Daughter is gone. Angry, he wants to know why he didn't stop her from leaving.

Oscar may not be able to see but he can still HEAR trouble in those woods.

"Why would I?" Oscar sneers as he gets up from his rocking chair. He hears something in the woods. Chalky wonders just what in the heck he's doing.

"'Weens' ain't go to no Baltimore," Oscar says to himself. "What'choo want!? This ain't your place!" he shouts into the night.

"The girl!" a voice answers. "Then we'll take the other one!"

Just then, someone puts a bullet into Oscar.

"Your nappy head on the doctor's desk!" a voice screams at Chalky, who picks up Oscar's shotgun and begins firing. He runs out of bullets and just as it looks like it's curtains for him, Scrapper and Levi emerge from the bushes and fills everyone with lead.

When the dust clears, they discover that Oscar is dead. Chalky looks on in both anger and despair.

NUCKY GETS TIRED

Gaston Bullock Means

Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi) is woken up in the middle of the night (via telephone) by Gaston Bullock Means (Stephen Root). (1)

(1) New York Press tells us that con man Means "was indicted for larceny, conspiracy and some 100 violations of the Prohibition Act, even as the Senate began investigating Daugherty. ...On June 17, 1924, Means went on trial. He was convicted and sentenced to two years; subsequent trials added two years; even the IRS came after him for non-payment of income taxes on the graft he claimed to have handled." Fun Fact: He wrote a bestselling book "The Strange Death of President Harding." For the extensive article, click HERE.

"You have a skunk in your cellar.." he tells Nucky. "Wouldn't you like to know his name?" Means states his price for the information and increases the amount every few seconds as he hears authorities descend upon his home.

"Tel me a name, Means..." Nucky orders.

"200,000!" Means exclaims. Nuck says he's hanging up.

"Half a million dollars!" Just then, the United States Capital Police bust in and bring Means into custody for perjury. (2)

A Capitol Police Badge

(2) Not to be confused with Metropolitan Police Department in the District of Columbia, the Capital Police, according to their official web page says: "Our mission is to protect the Congress, its legislative processes, members, employees, visitors, and facilities from crime, disruption, or terrorism. We protect and secure Congress so it can fulfill its constitutional responsibilities in a safe and open environment. ...We protect the legislative process, the symbol of our democracy, the people who carry out the process, and the millions of visitors who travel here to see democracy in action."

At a coffee shop, Eli Thompson (Shea Whigham) explains to Agent Warren Knox/Jim Tolliver (Brian Geraghty) that Joe Masseria, Meyer Lansky, Charlie Luciano and Vincenzo Petrucelli are all connected in a massive heroin deal with Nucky being roped in.

Eli further explains that they're running the dope through Dr. Narcisse.

"Nucky takes orders from a colored?"Knox asks.

Eli says that Nucky can't walk away from the money. And what about Chicago, Knox asks. Eli explains that their not part of the arrangement.

Knox says that he needs them all in a room — New York, Atlantic City and Tampa. Eli says that it will never work.

Agent Knox/Tolliver is still pressing Eli hard for information.

"You don't know how he thinks. He talks about peace," Eli says. "He doesn't mean it." Eli explains the poverty he and Nucky grew up with.

"He's my brother," Eli states.

"He's not your son," Knox darts back. He goes on to explain that Clayton Davies trial is coming up. "What happens if his attorney finds out about the evidence somebody was paid to suppress? ... Make the meeting happen or don't. The consequences are for you to live with."

Before Knox leaves, he tells Eli to lay off the whiskey. "You're no good to me like that."

* * *

Nucky hosts Eli's family at the Albatross Hotel for a lavish meal. Eli doesn't seemed thrilled at the notion and remarks that it's somewhat of a schlep drive.

Later, Nucky and Eli chat on the porch. Nucky expresses his disappointment/anger with the Chalky situation.

"He made his bed," Eli says. Nucky wonders what happened in that car and, furthermore, what happened to Chalky.

"He's on the lam... Face down in a ditch somewhere."

"Didn't I warn him? And now I'm sitting across from whatever he is [Narcisse] ... He's telling me what I have to do. He's telling ME."

"There is no goddamned peace," Nucky tells him.

Nucky hosts a huge dinner at the Albatross Hotel.

Eli says that they squeaked by last time [with Gyp Rosetti]. "Are you ready for that again?"

"I just roll over?" Nucky asks. Eli plants the bait and suggests everyone get in a room to work out terms. "Get the rules in place. Put an end to this. Set it up while there's still a hand to play."

"Who don't you trust?" Nucky asks. Eli doesn't get where the question is coming from.

"Bader..." Eli snaps. Nucky says the mayor is nothing. "I'll deal with Bader." Nucky goes on to tell Eli what Means told him on the phone.

"He's a bunko artist from start to finish," Eli says. Nucky wonders what Means has.

"Pay him and find out if you think it's worth it..." Eli tells him.

"The prohee..." Nucky says. "You had concerns."

Eli fluffs it off. "As far as I can see he likes the money."

"It'll be your headache one day," Nucky tells him.

"MINE?" Eli asks.

"You can deal with all of it..." Nuck scoffs.

* * *

Later at dinner, Will dishes on Mayor Bader and how he likes to walk around his office with his trousers off. Everyone laughs. Eli adds to the funny.

"Next stop, The Steer Pier," his wife June (Nisi Sturgis) quips. (3) The jokes soon turn to Eli and his hypochondria.

The legendary Steel Pier in its glorious heyday.

(3) According to it's official web site, "The Steel Pier has a long and colorful history. It was once considered the greatest entertainment venue in the United States. First opened to the public in 1898, Steel Pier originally debuted as a theater, but expanded to include attractions, rides, and corporate exhibits." They go on: "The Steel Pier featured every great entertainer of their day from Frank Sinatra to Al Jolson to The Beatles. And who can forget the famous diving horses. Currently, The Steel Pier is a full-fledged amusement pier located outside of Trump Taj Mahal on the famed boardwalk. For more, click HERE.

"Every little sniffle ... It's the end of the world," June says. "That insurance salesman sure had your number. Played him like a fiddle."

Eli tenses up. "I'm planning ahead..."

"A real blue-eyed baby face..." June adds. "The choirboy type."

We see Nucky's wheels spinning. A nasty Eli shuts June up quickly. The table notices. Awkward...

He backpedals. "Enough with the teasing. That's all..."

* * *

After dinner, Nucky corners his nephew smoking on the beach. Will asks about the altercation at dinner.

"I wouldn't take it too seriously," Nuck tells him. "It was always easy to get your dad's goat."

Nucky does his master strokes. "Can't blame him for worrying though... You have to think about what happens after you're gone. That insurance fellow, though. Sounds like a real sharpie."

Nuck asks if he met him. "Ever see him before? Whatever you tell me, Will, it's just between us." Just as he's about to answer June comes out and interrupts them.

Later, Eli and his brood leave as they thank Nucky for hosting the dinner. June tells Nucky that Eli is drinking again. Before driving off, Nucky calls hs brother out of the car.

"What you suggested. The meeting... I thought it over," Nucky says. "You put it together as soon as you can."

Later, he calls Spunky Sally Wheet (Patrica Arquette) for one of their fireside chats. He tells her that he's been thinking.

"The later it gets, the worse that is..." she says. "Well, what's on your mind?"

"I want out..." Nucky tells her.

GILLIAN COMES CLEAN

Leander Cephas Whitlock (Dominic Chianese) tells Gillian Darmody that she needs to be realistic in accepting the $37,000 offer she received on the Artemis Club.

"I have to raise a child on it and support myself for the rest of my life," she says.

"Isn't there a new companion?" Leander asks. "What are his intentions?"

It appears as though Gillian has given up every shred of hope when it comes to getting custody of little Tommy.

"That's really not your concern," she darts back. Her lawyer Mr. Ferry explains that the case, in which she's trying to get back her grandson Tommy Darmody, could very well be tied up for years.

"And where is Tommy during all that?" she asks.

"With you ... With them [the Sagorskys] or a benevolent institution," he answers.

"The Trenton Home for Friendless Children?" she scoffs. "Do you know what it's like there? Because I do..." (4)

(4) While I can't find a specific reference to an actual home for friendless children, there are several mentions HERE for various vintage charitable institutions in the state's capital.

The Camden Home for Friendless Children

That said, here is a specific page citing a Camden Home for Friendless Children. Says the site: "The Camden Home for Friendless Children was established in 1865. By the 1890s the institution had located at 915 Haddon Avenue. It's object was to "Afford a home, food, clothing and schooling for destitute friendless children, and, at a suitable age, to place them with respectable families to learn some useful trade or occupation."

She explains that childhood doesn't last and that little Tommy won't even remember her.

"Time, money and persistence," Ferry says explaining, is the proper way to win the case.

* * *

Later that day Gillian visits the Sagorsky household and sees little Tommy (Brady/Conner Noon) in what looks like their driveway/garage area.

"You know me, don't you?" she asks him.

"You're mimaw," he answers.

"But who am I?" she asks again. "Am I your mother?" He replies no.

"Where is she?"

"She's gone," the little boy says.

"And your father? Where is he?"

MORE TV RECAPS FROM THE STAR-LEDGER

• American Horror Story

• Boardwalk Empire

• Breaking Bad

• Dancing with the Stars

• Dexter

• Game of Thrones

• Homeland

• Mad Men

• Real Housewives of NJ

• Sleepy Hollow

• Sons of Anarchy

• The Voice

• The Walking Dead

"I don't know," Tommy says.

"I don't either..." Gillian admits. "Isn't it terrible?" Gillian asks Tommy to go to her. As she hugs her grandson we hear a voice...

"Don't. Touch. Him.." orders Richard Harrow (Jack Huston).

"You live here..." she says, more as a question to herself.

"You don't," he darts back, telling her that she needs to leave.

She asks Harrow is this if the way he planned it with her [Julia]. "I didn't plan anything," he states.

She reaches into her purse to give Tommy Jimmy's dog tags. "Shouldn't he have SOMETHING to remember?" she says almost pleading to Harrow.

"Keep these safe," she says to Tommy. Before she leaves, she makes mention of Harrow's wedding ring and asks if they would both take good care of him. She walks down the driveway, trying to keep her elegant composure.

* * *

Gillian visits beau Roy (Ron Livingston) in his hotel room. She explains that she's been walking around for hours, seeing places she hasn't in years. He asks if she's she okay, hoping she hasn't relapsed.

Quite the contrary. "I'm free..." she tells him. "I'm finally free."

Later that night, they enjoy a nice dinner. Gillian justifies to Roy the selling of The Artemis Club.

Regarding the offer on the mansion, she states, "How much does anyone really need?" She also tells Roy that Tommy will be "better off" with Julia and Richard. "It hurts to say it, but I know it's true..."

"You made the right decision. I'm happy for you," Roy tells her. Gillian remarks that he doesn't look happy.

Roy... You've finally shown your true colors.

"That's funny. I got what I wanted finally," he says. He goes on to explain that the Piggly Wiggly merger went through. He explains that once Mr. Hewson was out of the picture (the man and his wife they once had dinner with) the business deal went much smoother. He said that Hewson got the boot and it's now a done deal.

Gillian says that they should be celebrating. Roy says that he hates when things end. "What's ending?" she asks.

"What I came here for..."

"Where are you going?" she asks him.

"Wherever they send me," he answers. She asks if he'd been lying to her about leaving his wife. He tells her no. "Then what are you saying?" she asks.

He tells her that she's been through so much and how brave she is. "What an awfully gallant goodbye..." she remarks.

"I'm not saying goodbye. I do have to leave but I DO want you to come with me." He proposes to her. She's overcome with joy.

After dinner, in the garage, Roy and Gillian walk to the car as they are accosted by a disgruntled Mr. Hewson. It appears as though he has a pistol when Roy shoots him dead. Gillian, no stranger to trouble, urges him to leave the scene immediately.

Back at her mansion, Gillian calms a nervous Roy down. She insists that no one saw them and not to worry.

"What did I do?" he asks.

"He was going to kill us..."

Leander Whitlock, suspicious of Gillian, hired a Pinkerton to dig up some dirt.

"You don't know that," Roy counters. "I killed a man. I took his life." He wants to call the police.

"You CAN'T call the police. You CAN'T go away..." she pleads.

"No one knows... You can just LET IT GO... There were things I had to do to survive..." she says. In an act of desperation, she admits to Roy about killing young drifter Roger McAllister when ...

"YOU GET THAT?" Roy asks. He explains to her that he's with the Pinkerton Detective Agency and that she just confessed to first-degree murder. (5)

A vintage Pinkerton logo

(5) (Previously footnoted): Pinkerton's was a detective agency founded by Allan Pinkerton in 1850, according to the company's web site. Folklore claims that Pinkerton thwarted a plot to kill president-elect Abraham Lincoln and, as a result, he used Pinkerton guards. In his day, Pinkerton's security was the largest organization in the nation.Says the site: "During the Civil War, Pinkerton serves as head of the Union Intelligence Service which was the forerunner of the U.S. Secret Service."

"I was hired to do a job. And now that job's done..." Roy says coldly.

"I owed Louis [The Commodore] something... I'm sure you can understand that," Leander Whitlock says.

"You really are a courageous woman," Roy says.

In a fit of rage, Gillian attacks Roy and runs down the stairs as the men run after her, subduing her on her back."

OTHER STUFF ON MY MIND

• The episode gets its title from the name of the town where Chaky visited Oscar. HBO's press materials state that Chalky was on the run outside of Wilmington, North Carolina but on the drive to Oscar's home, they pass a sign for 'Havre de Grace' which is located in Harford County, Maryland.

According to All About Havre de Grace, the city traces its origins "with the voyage of John Smith in 1608 as he sailed up the Susquehanna River." Location-wise, it's not as far as it seems. Havre de Grace, Maryland is only roughly 120 miles from Atlantic City. Of course, Chalky didn't have the highways we have today. Fun fact: In 1789, the House of Representatives voted for it to be the permanent location of the capital.For more. click HERE.

• "Smell any skunks out there?" "I don't think they walk on sand..." Oy...

• Casting Louis Gossett, Jr. was pure genius. I could be wrong but is this the first Oscar-winner to grace 'Empire'? Let's all bask in his glory HERE.

• Did we know that Gillian was a 'friendless child'? Had she mentioned before that she was an orphan? If not, her story is even more tragic than initially thought. While I'm on the subject, Gretchen Mol has done a wonderful job making as sympathetic and heartbreaking as possible. QUESTION: Is Gillian's character done?

• When Gillian gave Tommy Jimmy's dog tags and asked Harrow if he and Julia would take good care of Tommy, did she resign herself from thinking she would ever get Tommy back? If so, what was the turning point?

• "When you're DONE, you're done.." Is there a part of Chalky that looks at Oscar and sees himself in thirty some odd years?

• After she told Roy she was free, I haven't seen Gillian smile that wide since we were first introduced to her as a showgirl and Jimmy went backstage to greet her after returning from the war.

• "It'll be your headache one day" and "I want out..." Is Nucky serious or just tired of all the crap that goes along with the business?

• I'm starting to get the crazy idea that Nucky is the actual owner of the Albatross. Who's with me?

• I get the sense that Roy REALLY cares for Gillian. Will there be guilt?

• June Thompson: "A real blue-eyed baby face..." How many people did the whole "OH NO!" thing to their TV?

• Hmmmm ... Scrapper and Levi can easily be the new Dunn. Chalky needs someone by his side that he can trust.

• They fight. They bicker. Heck, one tried to kill the other but you can't tell me that those Thompson boys don't love one another.

• Who caught Will looking out the window to gauge Uncle Nucky's demeanor as they were driving away?

• Dagnabbit ... This forum called it. Roger is a Pinkerton... Well played, everyone...

• That said, help me out ... So Leander was suspicious about Gillian and her shady dealings. BUT ... How did he know to fish around the knowledge of Roger McAllister or any possible murder. How would Roy or Leander even know that Roger was from Evansville, Indiana as to use it to throw Gillian off during that first dinner with Hewson? That doesn't add up. If it does somehow, please explain... Was Leander just hoping Gillian would cop to something, ANYTHING?

• Roy's weird drawl suddenly disappeared when he became the Pinkerton...

• Theories? Did Narcisse's men track down Chalky on their own since they were asking for 'the girl' ... Or did Daughter drop a dime and tip them off as to where they were? I'm thinking the former since it looks as though Daughter flew the coop. Or ... third theory ... Did Weens somehow tip off Narcisse and his men, although, I'm not sure exactly how.

• One more week left, folks... Where's it all going?

Follow Anthony Venutolo on Google+ | Twitter.