Eli isn't looking too good, waking up after apparently having been passed out drunk on the floor of an upstairs office in a liquor warehouse. He walks to a window to see Prohibition agents led by Eliot Ness (Jim True-Frost) seizing the merchandise. He leaves.
Nucky's paying Johnny Torrio a visit in New York. Torrio is back from Italy, figuring he'll retire where he's from. Torrio tells Nucky he "got the message" from whoever went after him, after Nucky asks whether it was Al Capone who moved on him. He's out of the business. He's planning to attend Joe Masseria's funeral then come home and relax, telling Nucky he's got everything he needs. Nucky then tells Torrio that Meyer Lansky might have tried to have him killed. He thinks Lansky is taking orders from Maranzano. Torrio suggests to Nucky that he "take the hint" and retire.
We flash back to Nucky's sister Susan laying in bed, having died, with her parents praying over her. Eli cries when he realizes Susan is dead. Nucky steps toward her, but his father tells him to take Eli outside. Nucky's mother is upset that the undertaker hasn't come yet, and she wonders whether it's because they have no money. She also wonders whether Ethan drank the one dollar they had away.
Willie Thompson is interviewing for a job with the U.S. Attorney's Office. The interviewer asks whether Willie is related to Nucky Thompson. Willie acknowledges Nucky is his uncle, adding, "You don't get to choose your relatives." The attorney turns him away. Willie pleads for a chance.
Al Capone is checking out his scarred cheek in a mirror while getting fitted for a suit as a bunch of his flunkies sit around laughing at his jokes. Capone is getting annoyed waiting for Mike D'Angelo to arrive. Mike shows up and tells Capone about the feds seizing 600 cases of Canadian club and about $20,000. The spot was supposed to have been watched by "Mueller" (Van Alden) and "the other one — Atlantic City" (presumably Eli). Capone says "those clowns" owe him $20,000. Mike steps back out into the hall, where Van Alden and Eli are waiting. They leave with him and get into an elevator, awaiting a report on Capone's reaction. Mike tells Van Alden he needs to replace the money in 24 hours. Van Alden has taken note of a rich hotel guest staying in a suite. Van Alden tells Eli to take care of the money, and Eli seems incredibly annoyed while insisting he will. At the lobby level, Eli spots one of Capone's men, Jake Guzik (Joe Caniano), heading up and carrying a bag of what's presumably filled with cash.
Gillian is laying in a tub next to a woman in an adjoining tub in what initially looks like a spa but is actually an insane asylum. The woman she was talking to goes into an uncontrollable rage when an aide turns off the radio. Several of the women follow her lead until the warden comes in and reminds the women that if they're good today, they'll be better tomorrow, and if they're better tomorrow "Dr. Cotton is happy." The warden calls an end to bath time, then comes closer to Gillian, who says she's "a good girl." The warden, a woman, watches Gillian and she stands from the bath. "May I have what I ask for?" Gillian asks. "If I can have what I ask for," the warden replies, before handing Gillian a towel.
Nucky sits in a New York conference room with several men who are waiting for Sen. Lloyd. The sound of Rockefeller Center under construction is noticeable out the window. The men are with Mayflower Grain Corporation and, despite Sen. Lloyd's absence, Nucky wants to talk to them about entering the liquor business. One of the men asks the others to hear him out. Nucky tells them about his exclusive agreement to sell Bacardi rum. Nucky mentions his "experience" and they ask him to be more specific. Nucky tells them what they already know — that for the last 11 years he's been one of the most successful bootleggers in the country. They say they prefer to put all the cards on the table. He tells them he can't finance an operation without some help. They raise the question of how likely prohibition's repeal is, and decide to send Nucky along his way. The one man who was most interested in Nucky's proposal tells him in the hallway that he made the same deal to sell Dewar's. The man, Mr. Kennedy, tells Nucky he'll call the next time he's in Atlantic City. Nucky then gets a message that Maranzano wants to meet.
Back in 1884 The Commodore is serenading women staying at The Corner Hotel as he walks them across the boardwalk. Nucky shows up for work late. The Commodore reminds him he can't be late and during the lecture, Nucky reveals that his sister died while the family was asleep. The Commodore steps up and tells Nucky it's a tragedy, then urges him to go "find solace in [his] work."
Van Alden is moving furniture around his basement to find his gun when his son Chester surprises him and asks him why clouds float in the sky. Van Alden tells him it's "because of the atmosphere," then shoos the kid away. Van Alden comes upstairs and finds his wife Sigrid smoking. He tells her it is a "thoroughly unladylike habit." He is going to work and she asks "When you will be home?" Van Alden impatiently corrects her English, then snuffs out Sigrid's cigarette before telling her he'll be late. When he walks out, she pulls another cigarette.
Nucky sits with Maranzano, who says Masseria only understood violence, then notes that Nucky understood this himself. Torrio, who is present at the meeting, where Lucky Luciano is also sitting next to Maranzano — tells Nucky that he brought Maranzano up to speed on Nucky's history with Masseria. Maranzano says he tried to reason with Masseria several times. Nucky asks about the hit on him, and Maranzano denies having anything to do with it. Nucky mentions he saw Lansky in Cuba the day before, and Lucky says they haven't seen each other in a while, adding that allegiances change and friendships end. Lucky says Lansky has "his thing" and Maranzano's operation is Sicilians only. Maranzano tells Nucky he has "nothing to fear," to which Nucky replies, "Who said I was afraid?" As they walk out, Nucky asks Torrio whether he should believe Maranzano, and Torrio tells him to "believe whatever it is gets you out of this mess."
Eli and Van Alden are staking out a guard near the hotel where Capone was staying ,figuring there has to be at least $20,000 in the suite. Van Alden asks Eli about his family and whether he still loves his wife, from whom he's been estranged for six years. Eli says she and his kids are all he thinks about. Van Alden says he sometimes finds it's easier to despise someone than to love them. They finally make their move on the guard and rob him and another man at gunpoint. When Jake Guzik comes out holding the bag he was carrying before, he leaves it on the doorstep before running back inside for cover. Van Alden and Eli shoot the two men in the legs before Eli grabs the bag. As they're walking away, the men shout to the masked men who robbed them that they're going to be killed because they stole Al Capone's money. Eli turns back then shoots each of them in the head.
Nucky talks to his Cuban body guard (Paul Calderon) about the people possibly trying to kill him while he's "this close" to being golden if prohibition is lifted. The guard listens silently, then just says, "Sí," when Nucky asks, "You haven't the slightest idea what I'm talking about, do you?" He offers the man a drink, which he doesn't accept. Nucky asks him if he has anything to say, and the man says, "I kill. I don't kill. Whatever you say."
Lucky and Lansky are sitting together when Tonino Sandrelli (Chris Caldovino), who is working for Maranzano, comes down after a brief tryst with a prostitute. Lucky and Lansky ask Tonino if Maranzano is "suspicious." Tonino is vague, but he says he thinks Maranzano believes that Lucky and Lansky are on the outs. Tonino leans forward and reminds Lucky that he wants to take over Prince Street because he was part of the hit on Masseria.
Back in 1884, young Nucky watches his father dig Susan's grave when The Commodore arrives to pay his respects. When The Commodore offers Ethan some money to give his daughter a proper burial, Ethan asks, "You think you can buy me twice?" The Commodore says "it was a fair deal, Ethan — no one forced you to sell that land." The Commodore leaves the money and Ethan walks away. The Commodore tells Nucky to take the day off and be with his family. Nucky says he'd rather work. Ethan returns with a shotgun and points it at The Commodore, telling him to get off his property. When The Commodore leaves, Ethan pockets the money that was left and walks away.
Willie reports back to Nucky on his interview with the U.S. Attorney's Office. Nucky asks whether his name came up and Willie says it didn't. Willie gets up to smoke and Nucky notices that he hasn't eaten much. Nucky tells Willie that he and everyone else is proud of him, and adds, "Your dad would be, too."
Eli and Van Alden bring cash to Capone, just dropping it onto a pile he has on a table before walking away as Capone barely notices.
In a hotel lobby, we see a fresh-faced politico giving a press conference and vowing to take down Capone's mob. It's Eliot Ness. A man named Wilson heads up to a room in the building where he checks in with the man Capone called Mike D'Angelo, who is apparently working for the Treasury department. Wilson hands "D'Angelo" a ledger and says it's from a cathouse, asking for a full breakdown by morning.
Nucky's Cuban guard greets Tonino outside the brothel and tells him Nucky wants to meet with him. In a restaurant, Nucky asks Tonino who tried to kill him. Tonino reveals it was Lansky and Luciano. He tells Nucky that they're going to take Maranzano down when they have the support — and he's sure they'll kill him eventually, too. Tonino says Maranzano isn't letting on whether he knows what's going on. Nucky asks Tonino how he can work for people he doesn't trust, and Tonino asks if it's an offer. Nucky tells Tonino to tell his "man" (the Cuban bodyguard) where they can find Lansky. Then he can come see him in the morning. On his way out Nucky whispers something to a waiter, who then tells Tonino that Billie Kent was a lovely girl.
Back in 1884, Nucky's mother says a prayer after Susan's makeshift coffin is lowered into the hole Ethan dug. After shoveling some dirt onto the coffin, Ethan turns to young Nucky and asks if he's made his choice to go along with The Commodore. Nucky says The Commodore said he'd bury Susan properly, to which Ethan replies, "Money never did the dead no good." He tells Nucky to fill in the grave then walks away as Nucky's mother cries.
A family radio comedy plays while Eli sits on the edge of his bed sobbing.
At the asylum, the warden comes over and taps Gillian on the shoulder. Gillian follows her into a basement space and asks if she's sure they should be doing this. The warden tells her, "I say what goes here, understand?" The warden starts to undress as Gillian opens a drawer and pulls out a dress. She sniffs it and remembers she wore it at a New Year's Eve party. She hands it to the warden, who asks if it flatters her. Gillian suggests some tailoring. While the warden tries on the dress, Gillian finds some paper and a pen, which she's not supposed to have in the asylum but the warden is providing and risking her job in doing so. Gillian says she needs to get her thoughts in order.
Meanwhile, at Lucky's brothel, Lansky hears a scream. At the door, Tonino's body has been left, throat slashed and ear cut off, with a postcard reading, "Greetings from Havana," affixed into his back with a knife. Lansky gets the message.
This episode provides examples of:
- Awful Wedded Life: The marriage of Van Alden and Sigrid has become this.
- Bait-and-Switch: At first, it looks as if that Gillian is whoring herself out to the seemingly Butch Lesbian matron in exchange for stationary. It turns out she was exchanging her dresses for stationery.
- Best Served Cold: A good 8 years or so after the fact Tonino is killed for his role in Billie Kent's death.
- Call-Back: Tonino's involvement in Billie Kent's death is referenced.
- Fan Disservice: Some of the naked women in the bath scene are neither young nor beautiful. However...
- Fanservice: Gillian Darmody standing up from a bathtub, naked.
- Implied Death Threat: Lucky to Narcisse: "Mr. Maranzano is willing to protect you from any...... problems that may arise."
- Oh, Crap!: Tonino has one when he realizes that Nucky basically just ordered his death.
- Odd Couple: A platonic example between Van Alden and Eli.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Van Alden and Eli. While Van Alden is trying to navigate through a situation, Eli just shoots his way out, much to Van Alden's dismay. Van Alden: "Why must it always be PANDEMONIUM?!"
- Also, Lucky and Lansky seem to have switched roles during the Time Skip, with Lucky being the patient one and Lansky being the impulsive one. Lansky: "I say we kill the fuck!" Lucky: "We gotta wait. We don't have enough support."
