Following Nucky's assassination attempt, Richard stays at the Schroeder apartment; his scarred face and tin mask frighten the children. Sebso's false account about Winslow's attempted escape is accepted by Van Alden's boss, who gives Sebso vacation time and warns Van Alden that further mistakes will ruin his career. Jimmy is released from jail for lack of evidence; he returns home and works at reconnecting with Angela. Nucky tries to allay Margaret's apprehensions about living under guard, promising her that he has the situation well in hand. In New York, Rothstein meets with Mickey and the D'Alessio brothers. Rothstein, a calculating gambler who values the power of accurate information, rebukes the group for not doing enough research on Nucky's butler, Eddie, and for shooting an innocent civilian during the attack. When they ask how they can make it up to him, Rothstein replies, "Nothing says 'I'm sorry' like money." In Chicago, Torrio becomes furious with Capone for interrupting a business meeting with a juvenile prank. Later, Capone follows Torrio to the bar mitzvah of an associate's son. In the synagogue, one of the congregants chats with Capone about the ceremony's significance and the responsibilities that come with manhood. Capone is deeply moved by the ceremony and apologizes to Torrio, promising to act like an adult and take on more responsibility. Torrio tasks him with fixing the distribution problems at a brewery in their territory. As the Darmodys pass the photography shop on the boardwalk on a family outing, Jimmy's son Tommy points to a picture of Robert and Mary Dittrich and calls one of them Angela's "kissing friend", referring to Mary. Misunderstanding, Jimmy storms inside and beats up Robert, prompting Angela to promise Mary she will leave Jimmy and move with Tommy and her to Paris. Margaret celebrates the passage of women's suffrage, but Nucky immediately pressures her to help rally new female voters in support of Bader. She finally gives in and makes a rousing speech in favor of Bader, but sours when she sees Nucky gladhanding with other powerful men. Margaret also invites Richard to sit while she reads the children The Road to Oz, and later admits that she was a bit frightened herself at his disfigurement. Richard replies that because he himself has not moved past judging by appearances, he can hardly expect the same of others. He also notes that he sometimes forgets the changes he has undergone, and is reminded only when he looks into a mirror. Van Alden makes another visit to Margaret and, in a plea fraught with religious and romantic overtones, demands that she let him save her from damnation for participating in Nucky's life of crime. When she rejects him, he visits a bordello, where he takes shots of whiskey and has sex with Lucy. Worried the D'Alessios will soon kill him, Mickey reveals the conspiracy to an enraged Nucky, who enlists Chalky to arrange a false deal with Lansky in the hopes of luring Rothstein's men into an ambush. When Lansky and two of the D'Alessios meet with Chalky, one of them mentions his Packard, a detail they could only know from seeing it when they killed Chalky's driver. After Chalky takes them prisoner, Nucky identifies one of the brothers as his would-be assassin; Jimmy shoots him in the head. The remaining D'Alessio promises Chalky that his surviving brothers will lynch him; Chalky strangles him with his bare hands. Seeing that the original plan is ruined, Nucky releases Lansky and demands that he tell Rothstein what has happened. Nucky returns home to Margaret, blaming his late return on a campaign strategy meeting. The episode ends with Margaret looking in the mirror, contemplating the decisions she has made.
Reception
Critical reception
IGN gave the episode a score of 8.5 calling it "Great" and said ""I don't control anyone, Margaret," Nucky says. "I'm more of an overseer." If "Emerald City" is any indication, how Nucky observes and participates in the events of Season One's final two episodes will involve more changes and more strategic bloodshed." The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B", describing it "For the first nine episodes of Boardwalk Empire, we've been getting a lot of introduction and backstory and a lot of exploration of the world of 1920, but only a little bit of forward movement on the plot that was set into motion back in episode one. Yes, we've seen Margaret blossom from an abused immigrant peasant to an increasingly assured political player and Jimmy go from being a small-time crook to a shrewd mobster, and we've seen a number of folks get shot. But we began this adventure with Nucky Thompson, Arnold Rothstein, and the agents of the United States government all at odds over the future of the booze biz, and their respective advantages haven't changed much since then. And not to be an alarmist, but after tonight's "The Emerald City", there are only two episodes remaining in the first season." Expanding on that, they said "As mentioned, "The Emerald City" features a lot of scenes of powerful men dealing with underlings who may or may not be up to the responsibilities of their respective organizations. Even Arnold Rothstein has a rough time of it, trying to explain "the age of information" to a bunch of goons whose idea of sound business practice is to shoot a man in the street. But then that's what Boardwalk Empire is all about, isn't it? Or at least it's what keeps me fascinated by the show even when it occasionally annoys me. What is it that all these characters are engaged in: Is this business or crime? Or is it something in between—like politics."
Ratings
"The Emerald City" gained a tenth of a point in to a 1.3 adults 18–49 rating and added a handful of viewers, just topping 3 million and had an overall of 3.049 million viewers.
