Recap: Acres of Diamonds – Boardwalk Empire

“Acres of Diamonds” (Boardwalk Empire S4 E3) had 5 storylines going on: Eli’s son Willy wants to score liquor to impress a girl; Gillian and Roy’s relationship takes on a new twist; visitors come to the Harrow farm; Dr. Narcisse get into the heroin business; and Nucky checks out a deal in Tampa.

Will Thompson’s got connections

At Temple University, with fellow students, Eli Thompson’s son Willy is listening to a phonograph lecture called “Acres of Diamonds” (the episode’s title), by Russell Conwell, extolling the virtues of hard work and home ownership. Two guys are fooling around and you can see Henry is the upstart. Two girls, Doris and Claudia, come in and Henry starts hitting on Doris hard. She notices Willy, who was in a class with her. Henry invites her to a party and lies about having booze but his dumb little friend spills the beans. Will offers to score and they laugh at him, but he says he knows someone. In that case (no pun intended), Doris and Claudia will be there.

Will takes his nerdy friend out to Mickey Doyle’s warehouse, thinking he can con Mickey out of some booze. but Doyle isn’t about to do that behind Eli’s back — at first. On the way out, Will attempts to steal a case of whiskey and is stopped by a driver who calls Mickey back to see if he let Will have it. Mickey lets Will have it all right — he smacks Will so hard, his lip is broken. He calls Will a thief and threatens to call Eli. Will begs him: “My father said he would kill me…” Mickey relents and agrees not to call and then he either feels sorry for the kid, or wants to insure that Willy won’t tell Eli who broke his lip. He tells Willy to take the booze.

At the party, Will is being coy about his source when he spies Henry manhandling Doris. He comes to her rescue and she takes him upstairs to the library. Henry is pissed. He and Doris must be rich because he taunts her with: “Fair Doris goes slumming.” What Doris wants to show Will is a good time and they are making out like crazy when the lights go on and the students, led by Henry, enter laughing and singing “By the light of the silvery moon.”

“Well go on, Romeo. Don’t let us interrupt,” Henry says to Will, with a pat on the chest. Unamused, Will knocks him down and threatens to break his nose if Henry ever touches him again. Ridicule is Henry’s weapon and when he gets back up, he mocks Will about his obvious erection. Will can’t take anymore and storms off.

Gillian and Roy: A swell team

Gillian Darmody is helping Roy Phillips look at an apartment when, in a roundabout way, he asks her to pose as his wife at a dinner with an A&P Supermarkets hotshot. She agrees and they take the couple to the Onyx Club. Gillian asks them where they’re from and has a bit of start when they say Evansville, Indiana. The ghost of Roger McAllister rears his head but Gillian denies having ever heard of the town. Gillian enjoys herself to the hilt, joking with her “husband” and the couple, then excuses herself to the ladies’ room, but there will be no quick fix because Mrs. A&P wants to go too.

Later at a boardwalk diner, Roy and Gillian laugh over their success in fooling Mr. and Mrs. A&P and Roy thinks they make “a pretty swell team.” A young man interrupts when he recognizes Gillian as the lady who gave his friend Roger a cigarette outside Abe Klein’s last year. Gillian claims he is mistaken and tells Roy the kid is making her very uncomfortable when he insists it was her. We bet she’s uncomfortable — she’ll be doing time if her murder of Roger is uncovered, and right now, Gillian is probably thinking she can really marry Roy Phillips and get Tommy back. But the interruption takes its toll and she has to get a fix in the ladies room. She’s in there so long, her ice cream melts. Oh Gillian, remember when you kicked Lucky Luciano out for bringing heroin in the brothel?

Harrow’s retirement plans are delayed

Richard Harrow buries his gun to complete his repudiation of his assassin days, but we know it’s not going to be that easy. Later, a guy Richard calls Hugh visits with tales of rock and gravel. He is Emma’s brother-in-law but clearly has a thing for Emma. The twins make a little fun of him after he leaves but Emma explains that Hugh lost someone too, and that his folks are good people who offered to take her in after her husband died. She proposes giving Harrow her room and taking over their parents room, presumably after marrying Hugh.

Harrow offers her money to pay the back taxes. Emma informs him that she has already paid them by selling the Hudson and she is not going to pay them twice. Well, we already knew that the call from “the tax assessor” was Carl Billings and Harrow is about to find out too when he’s out cleaning the barn. As he looks over memorabilia, he removes his mask and basks in the sunlight entering the barn through a hole in the roof. Carl Billings enters and reminds Harrow about their train trip “last summer.” He paid Harrow to do a job, half up front. Harrow only did half the job. Now Billings is worried about that conversation. Another man enters, frisks Harrow for a gun, but only finds his wallet which he tosses to Billings. Billings sneers at Harrow because the money is all there, saying it doesn’t make him honest. “You don’t have any kind of a code,” he says, “You kill for hire and this just makes you stupid. And how do you trust a stupid man?”

Apparently, the frisker missed Harrow’s knife, so Harrow sticks it in him. As Harrow scrambles for the man’s gun, Billings steps on his hand and get it. Grossed out by Harrow’s injuries, Billings says he’s doing Harrow a favor and is about to shoot him when Emma’s shotgun goes off right in his head.

We don’t see the aftermath, but Harrow now has to leave and Hugh comes to take him to the train station. Emma asks her brother to send his address if he wants her to know where he is but then calls him to her and hugs him. “You need to call yourself to account,” are her last words to her departing twin.

Narcisse Valentin: A singer for Chalky and a deal for Dunn

In Harlem, Dr. Valentin Narcisse is holding a meeting of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, explaining the importance of education and culture, when he gets a signal that he has visitors. The men leave and Cotton Club owner and gangster Owney Madden introduces Narcisse to Arnold Rothstein. Narcisse wants to buy a lot of heroin from Rothstein for the “Libyan” markets. Madden explains to a confused Rothstein that is how Narcisse refers to “coloreds.” Rothstein says it will cost $80,000 in large bills. Narcisse takes offense at Rothstein’s assumption that he deals in small change because he runs the local numbers racket, but they make the deal and Rothstein says his associate, Mr. Diamond, will be in touch.

Rothstein exits and Narcisse tells Madden he wants a performer named Daughter Maitland to sing at Chalky’s Onyx Club for a week. Madden is cool with it if he gets Dickie Pastor to bring in a replacement, and Narcisse biblically informs him that Pastor is no longer around.

At the Onyx, Chalky continues to ride herd on Dunn Purnsley assigning him busboy tasks. Just then, Narcisse makes an entrance with Daughter Maitland and Chalky is captivated. He has heard her sing on “Warsaw Blues” with King Oliver, but wonders why Narcisse would bring her to the club. Narcisse finesses Chalky by offering her as a performer “if you will have her.” Chalky agrees as long as it’s not an order. He’s the one giving those out and he gives Dunn some more. Narcisse displays surprise that he thought Purnsley had a better position but approves.

As Daughter Maitland performs “Somebody Loves Me.” at the Onyx, Chalky is clearly smitten. She points directly at Chalky in her finish, making you think that her instructions are to seduce Chalky. If so, it won’t be hard at all. “Well? Was I lying?,” Narcisse asks Chalky. “The white folks seem to like her,” Chalky replies, and Narcisse agrees that would be important, but when Chalky leaves, he amends his sentence with “to you.”

His contempt for Chalky is further demonstrated when Narcisse visits Dunn, finishing up his lowly chores. Dunn thinks the doctor wants revenge for Dickie Pastor and pulls out a switchblade. He’d be only too happy to send Narcisse to the same place as Dickie. But Narcisse explains he is there on business and lies that Chalky offered his Libyan brother (Dunn) in exchange for that Nordic devil, Dickie. Dunn is pissed and says Chalky was never his friend. Narcisse shows him some heroin. Ugh, Dunn. Do you think this guy is gonna be your friend?

Nucky’s hot time in Tampa:

Nucky arrives in Tampa and is set up at a hotel, then meets up with Captain Bill McCoy who brags about Tampa’s attributes and prospects, offering Nucky a “friendly little Cubanito” to relax with. Nucky settles for a shower. He later gets some information about the scope of land development in Tampa from “binder boy,” Skeeter Walsh, while having drinks in the hotel lounge. The info impacts his decision to enter into the deal Bill McCoy has set up. At Sally Wheet’s speakeasy, he meets McCoy’s partner, August Tucker, who doesn’t want to be called Gus and doesn’t want Sally hanging with the big boys. “Ready to get rich?” Tucker asks in a pronounced Southern drawl. Nucky shoots that one down with: “I’m already rich, Mr. Tucker,” and refuses to enter into the deal because of the land development. Tucker is quite agitated at having his time wasted and angry with McCoy.

McCoy goes to Nucky and explains this was how he was going to pay Tucker back for the $200,00 worth of scotch that got confiscated when he was arrested in a bootlegging run. Nucky can’t fathom why McCoy didn’t let him know about that upfront. McCoy say he wanted to earn the money and not ask for a handout, but Nucky isn’t inclined to “partner with some two-bit hillbilly.” McCoy says Tucker is a big man down there but Nucky has “already met the world’s tallest midget on the midway back home.” He turns his back on McCoy.

But Nucky has run out of hooch so he hops over to Sally Wheet’s and strikes up a conversation with her. He confides to Sally that he was happier before prohibition when he was a simple run-of-the mill crook with plenty of everything. He also mentions his stepson Teddy’s birthday. Sally is surprised he’s not sure how old Teddy is (just like Gyp Rossetti wasn’t sure of his daughter’s ages last season). Nucky explains Teddy isn’t with him anymore and Sally thinks Teddy died. Nucky clears that up: “He’s in Brooklyn.” He speculates that letting Teddy forget him might be the best gift. Sally scoffs at this cop out and Nucky says wryly: “I thought bartenders were supposed to be sympathetic.” She laughs, then they talk about August Tucker. Sally reveals they only do occasional business and it’s clear she’s not a fan. Nucky wonders how Tucker became so big if he’s not that smart or dangerous. Sally tells him all you need is a lot of money and good connections to score big in Tampa.

An angry August Tucker bangs on the door of the room of an obviously drunk and frightened Bill McCoy. When the captain gets up the nerve to open the door he tries to calm “Augie” down but the Tampa kingpin grabs him by the throat.

Preparing to return to Atlantic City, Nucky gets a package from Sally with a rubber alligator souvenir as a gift for Teddy. It looks like some kind of fishing accessory, so it makes you wonder if it’s a reference to baiting. On his way out, Nucky picks up the house phone in the lobby and calls Bill McCoy. We are most surprised when McCoy answers. Nucky tells McCoy he’s changed his mind and he’s in, but August Tucker will have to answer to him. A stunned McCoy agrees and the camera pans to Augie propped up against the wall with a machete buried in his head. He’s answering to the Lord, not Nucky.

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