Boardwalk Empire: Confessions and More

Part Two: Boardwalk Empire Season Two Episode 18

This post is about the character’s personal issues, Margaret’s confession and Van Alden’s near-confession. Click here for Business as Usual.

In his suite at the Ritz-Carlton, Nucky has a copy of “Young People’s Bible History” as a present for Teddy Schroeder on receiving the Sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist. He signs it ‘Your devoted Uncle Nucky,’ and blows on it so the ink won’t smear. Later, after an argument on the phone with George Remus, Nucky puts a $10 bill inside. He rethinks that and replaces it with double. Either Teddy’s love is real important to Nucky or he’s trying to prove George Remus wrong — he’s not petty.

At Van Alden’s apartment, Lucy is preparing something to eat when her water breaks. She drops her plate, which shatters at her feet. We later see Van Alden sitting in the hospital corridor and think he’s waiting for Lucy to give birth, and they even have a nurse come walking down the hallway with a baby — but no — he’s there to see the injured Clarkson whom he previously indicated was more important than Lucy anyway. Sowicki and Supervisor Elliot are in the room with the badly burned junior agent. As Elliot wonders how he can still be alive, Van Alden goes into religious zealot mode, saying: “He loves the Lord, sir. Even the doctors — men of science — agree that his fate lies in God’s hands, not theirs.” He prays out loud. Clarkson begins to stir, looks straight at Van Alden and says: “You — I see you — I know what you did.” Van Alden nearly craps his pants, says: “I’ll get the doctor,” and makes a hasty exit.

Lucy in the meantime is forced to endure her labor alone. She sees a little boy across the alley brushing his teeth and calls to him to get his mom. He stares at the frantic half-dressed woman and pulls the curtains closed.

Margaret has the nerve to chastise Katy (Heather Lind) about Owen Slater (or Sleater – make up your mind, IMDB), reminding her that there are children in the house. Well, Katy needs her job, obviously, and won’t have one if she points out that the children in question belong to Margaret, but that’s not stopping her from shtupping Nucky. In a later scene with Slater when Margaret is sweeping up some Corn Flakes, he comes in and calls her Mrs. Thompson. She informs him that her name is Mrs. Schroeder and he tries to beat her to the punch about Katy: “What happened, mum, was completely my fault. This is your home and I need to show respect.” Margaret wants to know if he is in the habit of toying with women. “I wouldn’t call it a habit,” he replies. (Hmmm, what would you call it, boy-o?) He offers to sweep up the cereal, touching Margaret’s hands as he takes the broom. She snatches her hand away when Nucky enters and tells Slater he’s running late. Margaret takes the broom back and Slater touches her shoulders as he leaves, saying he’s always happy to be of service. Oooh!

Van Alden is freaking out in the hall. He thinks it’s judgment day and as if to confirm that the light is flickering wildly. He calls his wife Rose (Enid Graham) and tells her about Clarkson’s awful injuries. He says everything he has done is because he loves her. “I have sinned, Rose, and a good and decent man has burned for those sins … I’m not fit for you or to wear this badge. I love you,” he groans and hangs up. Meantime, Lucy’s labor continues. Then we hear a baby cry… and we hope Lucy knows how to cut the cord or finally gets some help.

Back at the hospital, Van Alden goes back into Clarkson’s room and is about to confess to Supervisor Elliot whatever it is he thinks Clarkson saw. As a nurse attends to Clarkson, he looks straight at her and once again begins his accusations, “I see you.” The nurse remarks that he’s delirious and has been delivering the same speech to everyone. It’s a childhood memory about some stolen pie apparently.

Van Alden immediately realizes from this sign that the other sign wasn’t a sign, and he goes home with the lemons Lucy asked for that morning. How does he do it? Maybe he already had the lemons. At home, he sees the broken dish and searches for Lucy. She is in the bedroom cradling her still-bloody baby. She tells him their baby is a girl that she delivered all by herself. He gives the most creepy smile, like his day is getting better all the time, says he brought the lemons and goes off to get a doctor, as Lucy coos to her daughter and kisses her.

After some love-making that leaves her cold, Margaret asks a winded Nucky if he finds her attractive because that wasn’t exactly her idea of body and soul sex. She tells him that Father Brennan wants her to make confession to set a good example. Nucky wants to know if she plans on spilling any of their shared history. “If you’re feeling guilty, I suggest you take that up with the priest yourself,” she retorts and sallies off to the bathroom, leaving Nucky to wonder if she’s got any Lysol in there and probably whether she’s worth all the headaches. She doesn’t even take her nightgown off.

In the confessional, Margaret is deliberately vague and evasive, but Father Brennan knows she’s living in sin with Nucky so he tries to draw her out. “There is a man, Father,” she admits, “And he’s bad… I know he is in my heart but still, I’m drawn to him somehow … impurely in my thoughts.” The priest asks if he provides for her and the children. Shockingly, she says, “No, he provides nothing. I hardly know him in fact. He works for my family.” Even more shocking, we don’t get to find out what her penance was when the priest not only knows she’s living in sin but she just told him she’s having sexual fantasies about another man.

When Van Alden returns, he sends the doctor into the bedroom. He notices that suddenly the lemons are in a bowl, the plate’s been cleaned up off the floor and the bloody sheets are soaking in the sink. When he enters the bedroom, there is his wife, Rose, ministering to Lucy and the baby!

“She has a slight fever,” Rose says. Van Alden can’t believe what he’s seeing: “Rose, what are you doing here?,” he says. She was worried that he was going to take the pipe so she got on the first train, found out where he really lives and this is what she finds. “I did this for us,” Van Alden cries. “That child is for you…” But Rose isn’t having it. She starts beating on him in the hallway and when he tries to restrain her and get her under control, she bites his hand and runs out the door.

While a photographer takes Teddy’s First Communion photo, Nucky asks Margaret how the confession went. “So I trust your soul is pure?”

“Yes,” Margaret replies. “I’m sure it is.” Well, we’re not so sure.  Owen walks in the room and says he’ll bring the car around. Nucky wants to know what she confessed. “Nothing that need concern you,” the shameless hussy replies.

Business As Usual	Charlie Cox on Owen Slater