Peg of Old
TV-MA | 58 MIN
Written by Howard Korder & Steve Kornacki & Bathsheba Doran
Directed by Allen Coulter
Financial Arrangements
Spectators and local notables watch as Jack Dempsey trains in Atlantic City. Nucky pulls Dempsey aside and asks him to help promote the wireless broadcast of the fight. Dempsey agrees - his manager will be pocketing 10 percent of the ticket sales. When the press asks Nucky about his golf outing with the Attorney General, Dempsey mock jabs the reporter.
Van Alden returns from a fruitless attempt to see Rose - she is refusing all contact with him. When Lucy asks for the $3000 she is owed for having his baby, Van Alden tells her he doesn't have it.
Saying Yes
Jimmy meets with Capone, Harrow, Mickey Doyle, Lucky and Lansky in the Commodore's house. They complain about Manny Horvitz's repeated demands for the $5000 he is owed. Eli arrives, annoyed no one waited for him. Jimmy tells the men that their moment has come; once Nucky goes to jail, he'll have Mayor Bader replace him with a patsy to keep the city running. Capone and Lucky tell Jimmy to take out Nucky, and Eli concurs: "Just kill him." Jimmy ultimately agrees to let Capone hire a hit man.
Jimmy talks to Gillian as she dresses. When Jimmy debates calling off the hit on Nucky, Gillian advises him against appearing indecisive. "Make me proud of you," she says. Unbeknownst to Jimmy, Gillian goes out and rekindles her romance with Lucky.
The New Girl
Van Alden arrives to find his office re-organized: Assistant US Attorney Esther Randolph has appropriated his desk. Randolph explains that she and her investigator Clifford Lathrop have been assigned to prosecute Nucky.
Icky Ginsburg informs Nucky that a woman, Esther Randolph, is the new federal prosecutor, unleashing a tirade. Eddie interrupts to usher in Lucy and her baby. Lucy admits her instinct was to shake Nucky down, but she wants to set a good example. When Nucky asks about the father, she tells him.
With Van Alden eavesdropping nearby, Randolph deposes Ward Boss Neary about Nucky's election rigging. She suddenly changes course and begins asking about Neary's St. Patrick's Day arrest. When Neary protests that he had a deal, Randolph reminds him it was with the previous prosecutor. Van Alden is summoned to Nucky's and hears out his offer - if Van Alden will be his eyes and ears on Esther Randolph, Nucky will make his financial problems go away. When Nucky mentions he has already given Lucy money, Van Alden realizes she no longer has an incentive to stay.
He hurries home and finds his neighbor caring for the baby; Lucy said she was going out for some milk. When Van Alden finds a soiled diaper in the Victrola with the title page of 'A Dangerous Maid,' he knows Lucy won't be back. Alone with the baby, he takes Nucky's suggestion and goes through the Bible for names, settling upon Abigail.
Meeting the Family
Margaret travels to Brooklyn to visit her family. Over dinner, she tells the Rohan sisters about her family in Atlantic City. Eamoinn quizzes Margaret about how she can afford to leave her children behind. While the sisters are out, Eamoinn tells "Peg" their mother asked for her as she lay dying. Margaret admits she lied about being raped. Rather than be sent to the Magdalene Sisters for getting pregnant out of wedlock, she left for America but miscarried on the crossing. She returns the money she took to pay for her passage-money meant for Eamoinn's immigration.
Honest Overtures
The next day, Van Alden asks for a private word with Randolph and as proof of his honesty, reveals he is married but has a daughter with another woman. Then he hands over the file he has been keeping on Nucky since he began working in Atlantic City.
After spending the night in Manhattan, Margaret returns to Brooklyn and gives Aylesh a book. The two promise to keep in touch. Eamoinn, arriving home from his overnight shift, spots them together. Sending Aylesh away, he hands Margaret's money back to her and tells her to return to Atlantic City and leave them be.
Decision Making
Nucky calls Eddie to pick him up when Owen can't be found. Elsewhere, Owen is at a bar following IRA orders to find fellow Irishman and traitor, Del Grogan. Pretending to remember him from back home, Owen offers to buy him a drink. When Grogan heads for the bathroom, Owen follows, armed with a garrote. In the men's room, Grogan pulls a knife and the two struggle until Owen strangles him.
As promised, Dempsey shows up for a promotional appearance at Babette's. On his way out, Jimmy approaches Nucky and whispers, "It doesn't make a difference if you're right or wrong. You just have to make a decision." Soon after, the hit man shoots Nucky in the hand but is killed by Investigator Lathrop, there to spy on Nucky, before he can finish the job. Jimmy learns Nucky is still alive.
Margaret arrives home and finds only Owen there. When he speaks of feeling out of place in America, Margaret allows him to carry her bags to her bedroom. Undressing, she tells him they will never again mention what's about to happen.
