21

Written by Terence Winter
Directed by Tim Van Patten

Playing With Fire

Now keeping house with Margaret Schroeder, Nucky Thompson is still out all hours of the night. Returning in time for breakfast, he finds Margaret struggling to discipline Teddy, who has been acting out in class. When Margaret visits Teddy's Catholic school to talk to his teacher, she learns her son was caught playing with matches. Nucky plays dumb when he hears about the boy's fascination with fire. Later, he tries to talk to Teddy and is caught off guard when the boy interprets his presence as a prelude to a beating. Instead, Nucky peels off some money and tells him to be good.

The Assault on Chalky's

Chalky White's bootlegging operation comes to an unexpected halt when Klansmen open fire on his warehouse. Chalky manages to survive but four of his team are not so lucky. Because Chalky injured a Klansman, Herman Dacus, when he returned fire, Nucky and his brother Eli go to see him. Each side holds the other responsible for what happened. "I'm done with this sh*t," Chalky says, warning Nucky to remember who leads the 10,000 African-Americans that keep the city going. With the city on edge after the warehouse shooting, Nucky separately addresses congregations of both races, vowing justice to each. When Herman Dacus ends up dying, Nucky has his brother arrest Chalky out of concern for his safety.

The Outsiders

Angela Darmody finds herself outnumbered when she tries to stop Jimmy from taking their son Tommy out to shoot seagulls. Trying to assuage her fears, Jimmy explains he went shooting all the time with Nucky as a boy. When Angela asks Gillian not to undermine her, Gillian assures her she's just trying to be helpful.

Watching Jimmy with Angela, Richard Harrow asks him what it's like to have everything. Back at home, Harrow combs through magazines, collecting images of domestic bliss to paste into a scrapbook.

What Wouldn't Jesus Do

With his wife Rose in town for a visit, Agent Nelson Van Alden shows her the sights. She is shocked leafing through the "If Jesus Came to Atlantic City" pamphlet Van Alden's colleague gave her: It features all the houses of ill repute. At dinner that evening Van Alden stages a raid at the restaurant where they are dining, betting his show of authority will arouse her. After a teary goodbye from Rose, Van Alden returns to the apartment he is keeping under a different name with a visibly pregnant Lucy Danziger. Van Alden pays Lucy with the money confiscated from the raid.

George Remus Would Like You to Meet George Remus

In Chicago, Johnny Torrio meets up with George Remus, a Cincinnati-based bootlegger who controls the local distilleries, the pharmacies and even the trucks that will jack the liquor. Impressed, Torrio places an order with him and instructs Al Capone to inform Nucky his services will no longer be needed.

Master Builders

Nucky gathers his ward bosses to show local businessman Ernie Moran their plan to get the roads to Atlantic City built, courtesy of Mayor Bader's construction business. Moran hands Nucky a kickback to guarantee his part in the process; Nucky stashes the cash in the secret compartment in his office.

Crossing Sides

Eli gets frustrated when the Commodore refuses to reveal his plan for Nucky. "I'll take care of Nucky," the old man promises. The Commodore gives Jimmy a pep talk and advises him to start cultivating relationships with the city's old guard and the governor: They bear no love for Nucky. Nucky runs into Jimmy at Dacus' funeral and quizzes him about the shooting at Chalky's, but Jimmy claims he saw nothing. Aware that Jimmy is pulling away from him, he advises his protégé to be wary of the Commodore.

Fathers and Sons

When Nucky complains to Margaret about Jimmy, she reminds him she has another boy who needs him. Instead of joining the family at a Chaplin film, Nucky is called into the office - and is arrested for election fraud.

Jimmy unpacks a wedding gift from Nucky and finds an envelope with cash, along with a sculpture of a father and son standing over a felled deer.