King of Norway Recap: Boardwalk Empire

In the fifth episode of Season 5 of Boardwalk Empire (King of Norway – 10/5/2014), Chalky returns to Atlantic City, an attempt is made on Nucky’s life and he also gets the bad news about Sally Wheet. Margaret seals a deal with Carolyn Rothstein and in Chicago, the plans to take Al Capone down proceed in unexpected ways. The title refers to Haakon VII, the real king of Norway from 1905 to 1957, a silent witness of sorts to a very strange affair.

Something to reckon with: As Nucky Thompson prepares for a meeting in New York City with Johnny Torrio, Mickey Doyle sends Joe Harper, the kid everyone thinks is really Tommy Darmody, to fetch Nucky. Certainly, something about the boy gives Nucky pause enough to take a look back at him. Nucky asks Mickey if Maxime Ronis from Bacardi has called back. Mickey steps aside to reveal the presence of Chalky White, and gaily says: “Well, I’ll leave you two to catch up.”

Chalky allays Nucky’s fears that he is a target of payback for whatever and they catch up. Chalky thinks the Old Rumpus is worse than his old juke and calls Mickey a “knocker”. He tells Nucky how he was running with some boys committing petty theft until they left him “ass in the wind” one night and he ended up doing time. Nucky thought he still was. “You wrong for once,” Chalky observes. Nucky says Chalky’s family moved to St. Louis and is living under his wife’s maiden name and claims not to know where Narcisse is, saying it wouldn’t do any good to look for him. Nucky offers him protection in Atlantic City and gives him some money “between friends” and leaves for NYC. Later, Federal marshals coming looking for Chalky and Mickey Doyle pretends to cooperate. He leads them to the kitchen, pointing to a man with his back turned, but it’s only Jenkins, a man with a scar resembling Chalky. After the law leaves, Chalky emerges and silently nods at Mickey.

Didn’t Caesar get a knife in his back?: Nucky meets with Johnny Torrio who says he will go with him to talk to Salvatore Maranzano. Torrio doesn’t think that Al Capone got it right and claims Maranzano guaranteed Nucky’s safety. “He said I had nothing to fear,” Nucky reminds him. “It’s not the same thing.” Nucky also thinks that Luciano and Meyer plan to take out Maranzano. But Torrio does not show up at the meeting with Maranzano, who laughs off Nucky’s warnings of Lucky’s treachery with Roman Empire comparisons. “You are Malta. An island onto yourself,” Maranzano tells Nucky. “Loyal to Rome but exempt from Roman law.” As they discuss tribute, a car pulls up and the occupants open fire on the place. Nucky’s bodyguard, Arquimedes, shouts “Abajo” and gets them both out of the line of fire. Maranzano scrambles for cover and peeks out from under a stool when the bullets stop flying.

Luciano and Lansky report to Torrio at his home that no one knows who got killed or who survived yet. Torrio gets a call from an enraged Nucky. Now he knows Torrio set him up. “I have a message for you and the two pissants you’re in league with,” he says, “I will not rest until I see you in your graves.” Later, Nucky gets through to Ronis and learns of Sally’s death. He wants the names of whoever is responsible but Ronis informs him that is not going to happen.

First room on the left: In Harlem, Chalky visits the Narcisse brothel where Benny Siegel killed a roomful of people in “What Jesus Said” (S5E3). The new doorman, Clarence, says it was a few nights ago as he pats Chalky down for weapons. Apparently he missed the front, because, after peeking into a room with women he’s not interested in, Chalky pulls out a gun. He cautiously opens a door marked “Private”, gun drawn, undoubtedly expecting Narcisse to be inside. Instead, a young girl stirs in her sleep and calls out “Mama?” As Chalky stands there, Daughter Maitland enters the room responding to the child. A stunned Chalky lowers the gun and the two star-crossed lovers stare at each other. The sleeping child seems about the right age to be Chalky’s. We shall see, we shall see.

History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme
In Chicago, Al Capone is suffering from constipation and paranoia. He sees some kind of bad omen in Nucky Thompson’s Mark Twain response to his warning that Luciano is coming after him. After the accountant Ries nearly has a nervous breakdown at the appearance of a cockroach, Capone tells Mike De Angelo that the whole operation must be moved to Cicero the next day.

Where do people get these illusions?: Eli Thompson forgot to pick his wife, June, up at the station while sleeping off a bender complete with strange dreams of a sexy woman and Haakon VII. June wakes him up with a knock on the door. She is 7 months pregnant with their 9th child, courtesy of her last trip to Chicago but didn’t want to worry him with that news. Eli says he is happy about it and wants her to move to Chicago. She reminds him that Nucky will stop sending the allowance if she does but he claims he is moving up the ladder and will be able to support them himself. He also says they are going to eat a home-cooked meal at his partner’s later.

At the Muellers, little Chester plays his flute badly but only June is not so self-involved as to ignore the boy. The two men discuss the ramifications of Luciano’s revelation of Van Alden’s prohi days. Van Alden is sure that they will go to work on Eli and he will fold. “I, for one, refuse to be ruled by fear,” he proclaims just when Sigrid orders him to the dinner table. He jumps right up with a “Coming, dear!”

June tries her best to be a good guest but Sigrid is both rude and unpleasant, bringing up the leaky roof and broken washing machine. June suggests that Eli can help with the roof and Sigrid says he can come during the day when her husband is out making his pickups. The suggestive comment makes everyone feel awkward. After dinner, Eli says he and Mueller will clean up while the ladies go and listen to Rudy Vallee on the radio. Abigail pleads to be allowed to play her record. As Eli walks into the kitchen with a handful of dirty dishes, the image of the King of Norway on the wall triggers his alcoholic memory and he drops the china. The shattering brings the ladies to the kitchen and Sigrid says “You remember now?”

She informs everyone that she and Eli have been knocking boots in the kitchen while Van Alden was working. June punches Eli in the stomach, but before Van Alden can react, there’s a knock on the door. Sigrid answers it and Mike De Angelo tells Van Alden that he has to go with him. When he objects, De Angelo produces his badge and informs “Sheriff Thompson” that he has to go too.

Van Alden stares at Eli fiercely after they are put in holding together and Eli asks him to stop, saying the event he is thinking about was an accident. Van Alden offers several comparisons: “You mean, like a streetcar hitting a horse; a man getting his head crushed in a metal press; a gas explosion in which bystanders are literally torn limb from limb? That’s what your having sexual relations with my wife was like?”

Eli says his life is a bleeping shipwreck. “Well, land ho,” Van Alden snaps back. Eli produces a flask, takes a big gulp and slides it down the table. Van Alden does likewise. De Angelo and Frank Wilson come in, take the flask away and remind this dubious duo about Agent Sebso and Agent Tolliver. They can cooperate or see how things look from inside the gas chamber. The tax evasion case against Capone is outlined and they are given a key to the count room and the combination to the safe. Their mission is to get the ledger books that night. Van Alden points out that the ledgers are written in code. De Angelo has that covered. He opens a closet door to reveal a crying Ries tied up with huge roaches crawling all over his head.

And representing Old Rumpus Associates: At the brokerage firm, Margaret Rohan Thompson and Carolyn Rothstein finalize the deal they worked out but the latter’s lawyer attempts a delay when he learns the payment is a New Jersey check. Relishing her power, Margaret refuses to entertain a delay: “This is the only deal.” Carolyn Rothstein is more savvy than her lawyer and takes the check. “You’re right where you belong, aren’t you?” she asks Margaret dryly. “Perhaps I am,” Margaret replies.

After they leave, the firm owner, Mr. Conors, expresses his astonishment that this woman has been married to a gangster the whole time she worked there and routinely associates with criminals, and he is now involved as well. He asks if he will have the privilege of being able to thank Nucky personally, but Margaret says the thanks Nucky wants is an account with the firm under an assumed name so he can start shorting the stock of the Mayflower Grain Corporation (that Joe Kennedy is involved in).

Flashbacks Recap: l897: Deputy Sheriff Nucky Thompson

But are you cured?: At the booby hatch, Gillian Darmody’s friend Charlotte runs up to her with an ad from the Sak’s Fur Vault and a warning: “protect your fur.” She is then seized by guards and hauled away screaming for them not to take her teeth out because Mark loves her smile. When Gillian next sees Charlotte, she learns they let her keep her teeth but removed some organs that involved cutting her stomach open, while various other patients run around screaming “blubber” or crying pitifully. Oddly enough, Gillian is allowed to smoke cigarettes while this goes on. She meets with Dr. Cotton and makes a pitch that she has recovered and wants to begin the process of being released. Dr. Cotton doesn’t think she gets the meaning of “temporary insanity”. He says it’s like malaria, tuberculosis and syphilis. They linger in the tissues and can reemerge at any time unless rooted out. “We’ll find what’s inside you” he says ominously. “We’ll fix it.”