The North Star - BE

Boardwalk Empire episode 4-06 "The North Star"

Written by Eric Overmeyer of The Wire and Treme and Howard Korder of earlier this season.

Directed by Allen Coulter of.....let's say The Sopranos "D-Girl"

Previously: Everything but Chicago and Gillian

• Also watching the first innings of Ken Burns' Baseball miniseries.  Considering that the years 1890-1929 can all be considered "old-timey" it feels an appropriate thing to watch while 
• Breaking news alert: Margaret shows up!  But her spectacular hair unfortunately does not so the meeting between her and Nucky is very ho hum.  They meet in, I guess, Penn Station.  Peg of Old clearly wants to get it over and done with volunteering just enough information to provide a vague picture, but not any specificity to let Nucky know what she's up to on a daily basis. Nucky is understanding about her reticence and decides to pull back on telling her about Eddie's long walk off a short window sill
• Knox's investigation is compromised by Eddie's suicide.  Their informant gone, J. Edgar wants to focus resources more prudently on anarchists, troublemakers and rabblerousers like Emma Goldman (who inspired McKinley assassin Leon Czolgosz.  
• So Knox has to figure something out
• Mickey is surprisingly squeamish about going through Eddie's stuff.  He and Eli find what they are looking for though and go to the bank to empty Eddie's boxes.  The bank is surprisingly, almost shockingly, by the book about these things and Eli isn't getting anywhere, even though it seems like ID fraud would be so! easy!  It seems like one of those problems he's going to have to figure out himself though if he's going to succeed to head up operations in Jersey
• Which he does, turning the weakness/annoyance/threat of the g-man (Knox) into an apparent asset - though unwittingly supplying evidence against himself in the process.  
• Unclear if Eli's tears were crocodile tears, or if he had suspicions about Knox, but they are either confirmed or raised and quickly confirmed when Knox hands over a handkerchief with a monogram that does not match his own
• it's all very Donnie Brasco/Departed-esque.  I half expect Knox to tell someone "I have to find...myself!"  He's turned around so many times it's starting to get confusing where his allegiances lie
• Chalky is continually annoyed by Narcisses' plant, communicating "fuck you" with his eyes as a reply to everything she says.  Then they hook up
• I have to turn away from my television after a close up of an eye during a medical exam, fearing it may get poked or stabbed suddenly and I'll have to stop watching the show forever
• Turns out it's just jaundiced.  Phew
• While Justified is the subject matter expert on "Blonde women bartendresses wielding shotguns" Boardwalk decides to submit an amateur entry after Nucky's friend is harrassed by some of Dewey Crowe's (of Justified) kin/ancestors
• Of note is Meyer Lansky's increasing influence and competence.  For example, McCoy confuses Eli and Eddie when offering condolences to Nucky when it appears he should know who Nucky's brother is.  Lansky, completely unprompted and surprising Nucky with his thoughtfulness, offers condolences, correctly, for Eddie
• Body Count - 0?

Tracking Knox, he is introduced and plays the rube.  Then he murders a fellow g-man.  A corrupt one, but it's murder.  And he murders the guy he pins it on.  So he's an "at all costs" type?  He continues to take bribes from Eli.  But then he tries to flip Eddie and it's a fine line between blackmail and leverage.  When he pushes a bit this episode, that may be when he arouses Eli's suspicion.  So he has the lattitude to perform criminal activity on behalf of Nucky's people in the interest of keeping his cover.  But he's reporting back directly to the director of the B of I and seems to have a closer relationship with him than others do, evidenced by him calling him "Edgar"

"Take care, and God bless!"