'Boardwalk Empire' recap: 'Good words for the headstone'

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Two unlikely partners, Mickey Doyle and Nucky Thompson, gearing up to spar with Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky.

(HBO)

THIS WEEK: Written by Riccardo DiLoreto & Cristine Chambers and Howard Korder (does this guy ever sleep?) and directed by Allen Coulter, "Friendless Child" amps up the tension significantly. War is looming with Luciano and Nucky shows his hand; New York boss Sal Maranzano meets his ultimate fate; In 1897, young Nucky struggles what to do with young runaway Gillian as discreet favors for the Commodore begin.

'Boardwalk Empire' Recap / Season 5, Episode 7 / Friendless Child

NUCKY ON HIS KNEES

We open on a montage of U.S. Attorney Robert Hodge speaking over still shots of organized crime hits. Over a variation of those war drums and murder stills, we see how how skittish our antiheroes really are in their everyday life.

At The Old Rumpus, Archie (Paul Calderon) summons Nucky Thompson downstairs where Salvatore Maranzano (Giampiero Judica) waits for Nucky (Steve Buscemi), who's agitated because between them there are 19 men dead, lost revenues and no end to the war in sight.

Maranzano chirps his usual art of Roman war gibberish, saying that Luciano will eventually make a mistake.

"Until then, how are we supposed to eat?" Nuck asks. Just then, Mickey Doyle (Paul Sparks) tells Nucky that 12 of their trucks were firebombed. "Twelve grand up in smoke..."

Maranzano suggests they contact Capone. "He's cut me loose. Don't you get it?! We're on our own."

"Everything happens as it should," Maranzano says.

"They why get out of the way of a train? Why get out of bed in the morning?" Nuck asks. Maranzano says that they're playing a game of chess and showing restraint.

"I've played chess and never had an opponent try and kill me," Nucky darts back. The New York boss says that he will send more more men to guard Nucky's trucks.

When Maranzano preps to leave, Joe Harper tells him that his car is ready and that he gave it a good scrubbing. Maranzano offers cash, but Harper declines.

Doyle slaps his head. "Weren't you the kid who told me he was hungry?" He hands Harper a gun but when Nucky sees that, gets angry. "It's all hands on deck, ain't it?" he asks Nuck.

"You're not part of this?" Nucky says to Harper before telling the guys they're headed to New York. "I can be impetuous myself..."

* * *

In New York, Benny Siegel visits the house of his mistress. Before he enters, he touches and fixes the placement of the apartment's Mezuzah. (1)

(1) Religion Facts tells us: "In Judaism, A mezuzah (from the Hebrew for "doorpost") is a small parchment inscribed with short Torah passages in Hebrew. The parchment is rolled up, placed in a decorative case, and attached to the doorpost of Jewish homes. ...The practice of hanging mezuzot (the plural of mezuzah) on doorposts is mandated in the Torah and is observed by most Jewish families, even those who are not otherwise very observant or traditional."

Later, when he leaves, he sees Morris, the woman's husband coming up the stairs. He's an old friend of Ben's and after asking for an autograph, they chit chit a bit. Just then, there's an ambush. Archie and a thug enter guns ablaze as Ben uses his old bud as a human shield.

Ben hightails it through the apartment and almost escapes but Archie and Co. are close behind. After a struggle, Ben manages to shoot one in the face. Just then, Archie grabs him, knife in hand and grabs his ear. He escorts Benny downstairs as Morris is convinced he's dying from his slug in the shoulder.

Across town, Lucky Luciano (Vincent Piazza) and Meyer Lansky (Anatol Yusef) chat with Johnny Torrio (Greg Antonacci), who tells them that his scouts haven't seen hide nor hair of Sal Maranzano. Meyer thinks he's hunkering down in his office in Manhattan, not the Bronx.

Just then, a thug tells them that Benny is on the phone. When Ben tries to tell the gang that he's been kidnapped, Luciano thinks it's just typical Bugsy hijinks and hangs up on him. Agitated, Nucky gets back on the horn and talks to Luciano.

Luciano wants to speak with Ben. "We're going to see the diving horse and later they're taking me for some cotton candy!" Benny sarcastically answers when Lucky asks if he's okay. (2)

(2) Not sure if I've footnoted it before but the diving horses have been a staple on the boardwalk's Steel Pier for years.

A.C. Hotel Experts explains: "A well trained and apparently fearless and frisky, water-loving horse with no fear of heights would leap off a tower into a pool of water with a pretty young women in swimming attire on their back. Legend has it that the horse did not always wait for his or her rider, but would bolt up the ramp and off the tower and into the pool below, without so much as a please or thank you. ... The Diving Horses gained star status after completing extensive training and, fared well until their age, or perhaps a sudden dislike for water, or, fear of heights, disqualified them."

When Nucky gets back on the phone, he tells Luciano that he wants a meeting. "We'll have a meeting at your funeral. We can talk there."

"You'll go the Siegel's before mine," Nucky says.

"Interesting proposition," Luciano says coldly. "Lemme think it over." He hangs up. This throws Nucky.

When the phone rings a few seconds later, Nuck assumes it's Luciano but it's Margaret, who wonders if something fishy from all the Benny ranting in the background. She goes on to tell him that he shortened 50,000 shares of the Mayflower Grain Corporation's stock. He orders her to short another 50,000 in the morning. She tells him that the market will notice.

"That's the point," he says. He adds that she should take some for herself. When she begins to speak, he cuts her off and hangs up.

* * *

Over at the U.S. Attorney's office, a disgruntled Will Thompson (Ben Rosenfield) is knee-deep in filing busywork. He laments the jobs he's getting in the office and thinks that his family history is preventing him from really making a mark in his position. Just then, he gets a call and looks a tad rattled. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that it's poppa Eli.

Later that afternoon, Will meets Eli outside of the office. Will is a bot standoffish. Ei tells him that he screwed up but his son cuts him off.

"Pop, whatever it is, I can't hear it," he says. When he realizes that his dad doesn't have a place to stay, Will gives him the address of his apartment and key. "Clean yourself up. Get something to eat. We'll sort it out."

Eli declines. "I told myself if he was doing okay, it was worth it. And here you are. The right side of the street." Eli walks away as Will calls after him. Just then, a car screeches beside Will, snatches him and puts a bag over his head. Eli is panic-stricken.

Back at the Old Rumpus, a tied up Benny sings vaudeville tunes upstairs as a puzzled Nucky awaits Luciano's call back.

"Go put a gag on him," Nucky orders. "Make it tight."

"If Luciano doesn't bite, what happens to Ruth Etting up there?" Doyle asks. (3) "Just need to know."

(3) The University of Nebraska-Lincoln explains:"Ruth Etting was one of the most popular singing stars of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Florenz Ziegfeld, who glorified Ruth in the Follies, rated her as "the greatest singer of songs" that he had managed in a forty-year career. On radio she established herself as America's pre-eminent popular singer, continually voted in listener polls as the top female singer on the air. Even though radio and the recording industry were still in their early developing years, Ruth Etting recorded over 200 songs by such composers as Irving Berlin, Johnny Green, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. She was a regular performer on at least eight network radio programs. She appeared in six Broadway shows, made three major full-length movies and was the featured performer in 35 movie short subjects between 1928 and 1936."

Nucky chuckles. "What's so funny?" Doyle asks.

"Me and you... Together," he answers. Just then, Eli barrels in with the strength of a thousand men, enraged. "Bring him here," Nuck orders.

"You better have a good reason for being anywhere near me," Nuck sneers.

* * *

In Manhattan, Will is now tied up and facing Luciano and Lanksy. When asked, Will knows exactly who they are as he rattles off their personal stats verbatim.

"Sooner or later, you're all going to jail," Will says brazenly.

"Why's that?" Lucky asks.

"Because the United States Attorney for the Southern District has staked his career on it," Will answers.

Luciano gets serious and tells Will that he has no beef with him but if Uncle Nuck does anything to Benny, "That's gotta reflect on YOU."

"I've got nothing to do with my uncle's business," Will states. "I'm an assistant United States Attorney in the Office --"

Thug Pinky starts to choke Will with his tie when he's saved by the bell, well, the phone. It's Uncle Nucky.

"You and your boss have crossed the line," Nuck tells Lansky. Nucky asks to speak with Will to make sure he's okay. Luciano says that they'll do it in person and hangs up.

* * *

In the marshes of Atlantic City, Nucky and Co. wait for Luciano and his men to exit their vehicles. Doyle seems exasperated that they won't come out.

"So take off, if that's what you want," Nuck says.

"What do I get for sticking around?" Nuck asks what he has in mind.

"The club," Doyle answers. "Clear title. Five percent of everything else." Nucky agrees.

"I didn't think you'd say yes," Doyle admits.

"Caught me in a good mood," Nucky tells him. A moment later, Nucky asks Eli if he has a gun.

"I don't even have cigarettes..." Eli admits. Just then, Luciano and his men exit the cars, rifles in hand.

Nuck's men escort a gagged Benny out the car and Luciano's men do the same for Will. Nuck asks if he's okay.

"Been better..." he answers. Luciano orders Benny's gag to be taken off. Nuck suggests that guns should be lowered when they make the exchange. Everyone follows suit. Archie releases Benny and they do the same for Will. As they cross paths, Benny slugs Will in the face and that sets off a chain-reaction of guns cocked everywhere as Luciano's men snatch Will back.

"We had an agreement!" Nucky yells.

Luciano doesn't care. "Name someone you haven't screwed over..." he asks. Luciano says it's business and he wants it all —even the pasties in the now Doyle-owned strip club.

"And Cuba..." Lansky adds. "Whatever you got down there." Doyle then makes a fatal mistake when he asks Luciano to reconsider him wanting the Old Rumpus. "I've been running that joint for the last seven years --"

Luciano shoots Doyle square in the throat. Pandemonium erupts. Then Cuban bodyguard Archie gets it. Nucky yells for everyone to stop shooting.

"It's yours. Everything is yours. Let him [Will] go," Nucky pleads. "Everything I have. Atlantic City."

Luciano asks Lansky what he thinks. "I think I'd like to see him on his knees." (*)

(*) This was a position that Lansky was found in last season himself when Nucky found out that his heroin trucks were smuggling their heroin.

Nucky goes down on his knees. "Now, YOU know how it feels," Lanksy says. Nucky admits that he underestimated Luciano and that he's much smarter than he gave him credit for.

"What's that make you?" Luciano asks.

"Dumber than I knew..." Nuck answers.

"Good words for the headstone," Luciano states. Benny suggests they just kill everyone and move on. Luciano points his gun towards Nucky, who says that killing him won't solve his problem.

"Maranzano," Nucky says. Luciano says he'll get there.

"Not if he gets to you first," Nucky darts back. "Don't say it doesn't worry you. It's all you think about. Twenty-four hours. I take care of it. I take the risk and you let him go."

Luciano lowers the gun. They put Will back in the car. "You deliver and then we deliver," Luciano tells them.

* * *

In New York, a gang of Treasury Agents (who aren't really Treasury Agents) descend upon the Manhattan office of Salvatore Maranzano. They're actually a decoy of Nucky's men who are there to kill him with Eli giving him the final bullet in the head.

As promised, Luciano dumps Will on the sidewalk after the deed. He re-enters his office, disheveled and bloody. His female office mate asks where he's been.

"Maybe I shouldn't ask," she says.

"That'd be a good idea," he darts back. She informs him that Sal Maranzano was murdered in his office and that Hodge wants all hands on deck.

When Luciano, Lansky and Torrio meet once again, they suggest giving Pinky Atlantic City to run. Lansky admits that it's a big bar mitzvah present. Luciano likens A.C. to a craphole and quips, "Someone's gotta run it." More important, Torrio tells them, they have to set the meeting with the other bosses. "Sooner is better... Everyone. From Pittsburgh to Podunk..." Torrio suggests that he can make the phone calls because he goes way back with many of them. Luciano cuts him off.

"We're gonna handle it, Johnny," he says.

"We appreciate ALL your advice," Lansky adds. "Couldn't have done it without you."

Back in A.C., Joe Harper enters Nucky's room. He looks beaten, dejected. He asks if he wants refills on his drinks.

"Just clear the empties... All the booze. Out." Nucky asks Harper if he knows what happened.

"You won," he answers. Nuck tells him that Mickey and Archie won't be coming back.

"What's it like when you see it?" Harper asks.

"You tell yourself it's quick but you don't know. You can't know until it's you. And then you'll never tell anyone."

Harper asks if the club is still staying open. "Ask the new boss," Nucky sarcastically answers. The kid tells Nucky that there are things he can do for him.

"Sure, you can sweep the sand," Nuck says. He then forks over his money roll. A thousand give or take. Nucky tells him to just leave. "Go be a plumber, a bookkeeper or the president. Take the money."

Harper declines and Nucky gets angry. "Do whatever you want, you stupid hick, but do us both a favor and get away from me." Harper takes it and leaves.

Later, Nuck finally opens that 'Nellie Bly' letter. By now, we know it's from Gillian. It's a heartfelt plea for Nucky to help her.

"I hope you find it in your heart to think of me once again. As a child and for most of my life, I had to do what I did to survive. Making a devil's bargain and having a child in the process by a man I did not love with no hope of reprieve and with everything in this world taken from me. ... For the past seven years I have been held captive. I feel as though I'm in Hell which is a pain worse than death. ... You are the only one left who knows me. Show me the same kindness now that you once showed an Orphan girl... I turn to you on my knees. I beg you."

Nucky remembers the young Gillian as she says, "Please help me."

We fade out.

NUCKY'S FRIENDLESS CHILD

In the sheriff's office, Young Gillian Darmody gobbles up some of the gum that she swiped on the boardwalk while reading the Nellie Bly book that we saw last week.

When Nuck enters he makes her spit out the gum. "And the book..."

"I bought the book," Gillian tells him.

"Give it to me anyway..." he says. Inside the book, he sees that she inscribed "From the library of Gillian Darmody..."

"You have a library?" Nucky asks. "How many books?"

"Just that one," the little girl answers. "But it's the proper thing to do."

"Who taught you that, your mother?" Gillian doesn't answer. "Everybody comes from somewhere," he says.

"Where do YOU come from?" she asks.

"From here. Born here. Where's YOUR family?"

"It's rude to ask personal questions," Gillian tells him.

Nucky tells her that he's sorry to offend but she stole a number of items and that it's called 'larceny.' "I could put you in a cell until you decide to talk or I could help you."

"Why would you do THAT?" she asks.

'BOARDWALK EMPIRE': THE FINAL SEASON

•

FOREVER IN THE SHADOW OF 'THE SOPRANOS'

"You look like you might need help," he answers. He asks where her parents are. "Who looks after you? Where did you learn what's proper?"

"915 Haddon Avenue... It's in Trenton."

"Who's house is that?" Nuck asks. "Is it a school?" Again, no answer and recognition rears its head. "Is it an orphanage?"

"My name is in that book and if you steal it from me you're certainly no gentleman," the little girl asserts.

Later that night, Nucky tells Mabel all about Gillian, who sits alone in their kitchen. He suggests that he might take her back to the orphanage in the morning. Mabel thinks that Nucky is possibly being too harsh and thinks that the little girl had a reason for running away.

"I'm trying to do the right thing here..." he says.

The next morning, Mabel gives little Gillian a makeover. "Very pretty," Nucky responds. Gillian tells him that she wishes to make amends for the things she stole. He asks how?

"By working," she says.

•

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'

"Working WHERE?" Nuck wants to know. Mabel says that she can work around the house. "I can ask around the school. I'm sure others can use her."

Nucky insists that she has to go back to Trenton. Mabel wants to speak privately and he says that no child belongs in an orphanage. "It's brutish."

"She can't stay here. We don't have the room," Nucky says. "We don't have the money and we don't have the right." Mabel says that they can easily find her a situation because girls are always needed.

"She has no one. Children her age are not wanted," Mabel says. Nucky says that she can't stop EVERY bad thing. Mabel takes offense.

"Your desire was to help. This is what helping means," she says.

Later, Gillian reads from her Nellie Bly book. She stops and begs Nucky not to take her back. "Who's going to look after you?" he asks.

"I'll look after myself," she insists.

"You can't live out of a satchel," he darts back.

"Nellie did," Gillian responds.

"Until she came home," Nucky says. "She had to come home whether she liked it or not." Gillian tells Nucky that she could help Mabel when the baby comes. "She scared of something..." the girl asserts. Nucky is puzzled.

"Please, let me stay. They lock you in a room. They don't give you food or water. They tell you you're born in sin. You can never wash it away." She looks at the Nellie Bly book. "She sailed around the whole world..."

Ep. 55: Inside the Episode

A knock on the door reveals Sheriff Lindsay, who tells Mabel that there's some county business that needs doing.

Later that night outside of the Commodore's Compound which, ultimately, would become the Artemis Club, Lindsay tells Nucky that for some reason the Commodore saw him as a reliable man.

"So, I did one thing for him," a tired-looking Lindsay says. "And then another. And then I put on a badge."

Nucky asks what's the task at hand. "You said you wanted to help. HERE is an opportunity," Lindsay says taking off his badge. "Go on, I'm done..."

The 'NEW' sheriff looks inside to see Leander Whitlock and enters the mansion. Whitlock greets him and says that it's a private concern and that discretion is paramount. The attorney opens up some pocket doors to reveal the Commodore who wants to know where Lindsay is.

"He left matters to me," Nucky asserts.

"Conduct yourself with honor and we'll discuss what happens next," The Commodore says.

Leander tells Nucky that The Commodore believes in the virtue of charitable acts. "Some of these acts are demonstrated in public and some are not," he says. "But not all children prove suitable."

Leander opens the door to reveal a rather scared-looking little girl, arms crossed. He hands Nucky an envelope and says, "You'll bring her to this address... You'll make clear that no further compensation will be forthcoming and no further inquiry will be brooked. Are you capable of that?"

Back home, Nucky arrives late to see Mabel up once more making pies. She seems angry.

"What did you say to her?" Mabel asks. "She's run off." Nuck wants to know if she stole anything. Mabel is disgusted by his question.

"She is a thief!" Nucky argues.

"She was someone who needed help," Mabel tells him. Nucky asserts that his first priority is her and their unborn child. "That's all that matters to me. You can't fix everything!"

OTHER STUFF ON MY MIND

• The title of the episode "Friendless Child" obviously comes from the situation of little Gillian and, to a certain extent, grown Gillian, who has forever remained that friendless child. Institutionalized once again, she turns to Nucky to help her in the way he did not so many years prior.

• Poor Mickey Doyle... Just when he caught the Nuckster in a good mood. I guess it's safe to assume that the character with more than nine lives managed to grow on everyone, right? Here's to you, ya lovable mug, we'll put some rotgut whiskey on the ground for you. I truly grew to love that annoying giggle. Pew-Pew.

• Looked up Robert T. Hodge, U.S. attorney for the Southern District, and it looks as though he's fictional. If I'm wrong, please let us know in the comments.

• Cool opening montage with those still images.

• It's not too often that we see Nucky strapped as he was in the start of the episode.

• Hilarious slap by Doyle to Harper's noggin.

• The casting home runs continue. Madeleine Rose Yen as young Gillian perfectly captures the cadence of Gretchen Mol's proper speech. Masterful delivery.

• "So you're the one who sliced off Tonino's ear?" Benny asks Archie.

• Kidnapped Benny Seigel is a pretty funny Benny Seigel.

• Also, it's interesting that Benny's main concern was being ratted out to his wife that he was cheating on her

• Boy, Eli looks like he should be on a soup line in a Steinbeck novel, huh?

• There was something uber-creepy about Nucky's slow walk inside The Commodore's mansion and seeing all those ornate trinkets of wealth. I guess one could say that was the moment he sold his soul...

• the Commodore wants Nucky to conduct himself with honor??? What the?? The record scratched off in my head when he said that.

• "I don't even have cigarettes..." Wasn't meant to be humorous, but I have to admit, I chuckled.

• Wow those train horns in the distance are more omnipresent than ever this season.

• Not sure if I'd want Harper handling my food or drink from now on if I were Nuck.

• I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that Nucky finds his absolution in somehow getting Gillian out.

• This is it... The last preview we'll ever watch. Thoughts?

• As we come down to the wire, I'm considering making a list of my favorite 'Empire' moments. Please share your top 5 or 10 in the comments below.

Episode 56 Preview

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