Boardwalk Empire: Age of Reason

Boardwalk Empire Season Two Episode 18

Teddy’s Schroeder first confession gives this episode its title when Father Brennan informs the little tyke that he has reached the age of reason – 7 years old and now he knows the difference between right and wrong. Father Brennan also tells a reluctant Margaret that she needs to make confession to set a good example.

Lucy and Van Alden are back in this episode with very unexpected twists. Lucy asks him to bring home some lemons. She complains about her discomfort but Van Alden remonstrates her with: “Agent Clarkson is in the hospital with third-degree burns over most of his body. I would venture to say that he can’t get comfortable either.”

Business As Usual:

Chip Thorogood (T.J. Kenneally), while wearing some weird green shoes that catch the judge’s notice, successfully gets Nucky’s election fraud case transferred from state to federal court. Jimmy Darmody and his ever-loving mommy meet with Leander Whitlock (Dominic Chianese), the Commodore’s long-time attorney. The Commodore is there and gets a tad excited when Whitlock pays Nucky a compliment over getting the indictment moved to Federal court. “I never would have thought of it,” he says. Well, Nucky didn’t either really. His lawyer Icky Ginsberg (Peter Van Wagner) did. If his admiration for Nucky doesn’t give Jimmy pause, you’d think he’d notice Leander is not as clever as Icky. Whitlock brings up Jimmy alienating some powerful folks with the Parkhurst scalping, and, when speaking to him privately. schools him: “… not every insult requires a response.”

Flies in Nucky’s ointment include a belligerent George Remus who doesn’t want to pay Nucky a finders’ fee for sending over Harry Daugherty’s assistant. Nucky has some choice words for the eccentric Remus, who loves to talk about himself in the third person. Harry Daugherty gets a thinly veiled threat from Senator Edge, a political enemy of Nucky’s from Season 1. The Senator wants a more serious prosecutor on Nucky’s case. Daugherty obviously doesn’t give a damn, and when he informs Nucky, he says “It’s not my fault you have enemies.” Nucky has been accommodating Chip Thorogood’s lusty requests in a fancy suite. He has Eddie interrupt the festivities and summarily toss out the flustered attorney and his green shoes.

Arnold Rothstein meets with Nucky in his suite about the booze shipment going into Philly. Chalky White, Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lankyand Waxey Gordon (Nick Sandow) are all on hand, as well as another man we recognize as Herman from Manny Horvitz’s butcher shop. Only Manny Horvitz hates Waxey Gordon and Herman is being called Chaim.

Unfortunately for Herman/Chaim, Jimmy Darmody is out on the boardwalk with his wife Angela, talking about the new radios. When Jimmy spots them, he plants a big kiss on Angela to hide his face and be able to watch at the same time. When Manny Horvitz gives him a ringy-dingy, Jimmy spills the beans on Herman. The next time we see Herman, he’s hanging upside down in the back of Horvitz’s Philly butcher shop meat, while Horvitz sharpens his knives ominously. Jimmy finds out what he needs to know from the terrified double agent. Horvitz tells Jimmy he can’t kill Herman because he’s “treif,” which means a torn or mortally wounded animal. In Exodus 22:30, Jews are forbidden to eat meat from such an animal. A flimsy pretext to see if Jimmy’s got the cojones to kill Herman. Jimmy isn’t too happy about it but has no choice but to prove himself.

Later with the information gleaned from Herman, Jimmy, Harrow and Horvitz stop Nucky’s convoy. Shots are fired, but Luciano recognizes Jimmy’s voice. Harrow can’t believe it. Neither would we, but there’s a lot of double-crossers in the Boardwalk Empire. They make some kind of deal about heroin and decide to all team up so they can “take it all.” Lansky says that Rothstein and Nucky’s time has passed.