"Ourselves Alone" is the second episode of the second season of the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

Boardwalk Empire ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter for the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s. The series sta ...

'', which originally aired October 2, 2011. The episode was written by

Howard Korder Howard Korder is an American screenwriter and playwright. He is the author of the 1988 coming-of-age play ''Boys' Life'', which earned him a Pulitzer Prize for Drama nomination. His play ''Search and Destroy'' was adapted into a film in 1995. ...

and directed by executive producer

David Petrarca David Petrarca (born November 10, 1965) is an American director and producer of theatre, television and film. He was a director at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago from 1988 until 2005. His work as a director includes HBO's ''Boardwalk Empire'', ...

Plot

Following his arrest, Nucky is taken to a

holding cell A prison cell (also known as a jail cell) is a small room in a prison or police station where a prisoner is held. Cells greatly vary by their furnishings, hygienic services, and cleanliness, both across countries and based on the level of punishm ...

and is reunited with Chalky, who tells him of the

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

against him. After his release from jail, Nucky discovers that almost all of his

ward boss An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking membe ...

es and

aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking membe ...

have joined

Eli Eli most commonly refers to: * Eli (name), a given name, nickname and surname * Eli (biblical figure) Eli or ELI may also refer to: Film * ''Eli'' (2015 film), a Tamil film * ''Eli'' (2019 film), an American horror film Music * ''Eli'' (Jan ...

in his alliance with

Jimmy Jimmy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy * ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma * ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...

and the Commodore. A stunned Nucky realizes that the only people on his side are

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Edward L. Bader and ward boss Damien Fleming, alongside

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

and Eddie. Margaret receives a visit from Owen Sleater, Nucky's new

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an very important person, important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public offic ...

and an IRA

assassin Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

. He tells her that Nucky needs to attend a meeting over an arms deal with IRA leader John McGarrigle. After Nucky returns home, he meets Owen and talks about his qualifications as a bodyguard; Sleater reveals his expertise as a bomb maker. That night, McGarrigle tells Nucky that the guns will aid the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

and asks him to retain Owen stateside, along with providing the money for the guns for the IRA. Eli phones Nucky and gloats that he isn't going to live in his brother's shadow anymore. Meanwhile, Chalky receives a visit from his wife Lenore. He is moved to another cell with seven other inmates, including criminal Dunn Purnsley, who mocks Chalky for his

illiteracy Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

. Chalky has the other six inmates, who are all friendly acquaintances, brutally beat and injure Dunn. In

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, Jimmy meets with Rothstein and

Luciano Luciano is an Italian, Spanish and Portuguese given name and surname. It is derived from Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of '' Lucius'' ("Light"). The French form is '' Lucien'', while the Basque form is '' Luken''. Single name * Luciano (rap ...

to propose doing business together. Rothstein politely declines. Outside, Luciano tells an angered Jimmy to come to his and Lansky's card game. There, despite initial hostility, the three men agree to do business together. Jimmy learns about the crime boss of the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

Joe Masseria Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria (; January 17, 1886April 15, 1931) was an Italian-American Mafia boss in New York City. He was boss of what is now called the Genovese crime family, one of the New York City Mafia's Five Families, from 1922 to ...

, from Luciano and Lansky's friend and associate

Bugsy Siegel Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel (; February 28, 1906 – June 20, 1947) was an American gangster, mobster who was a driving force behind the development of the Las Vegas Strip. Siegel was influential within the Jewish-American organized crime, Jewish Mo ...

. When Jimmy goes out for a walk in that neighborhood, he is ambushed by two of Masseria's henchmen. Jimmy takes out his skull crusher knife from his coat and stabs them to death before fleeing.

First appearances

* Eunice: Nucky's government-assigned

secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

. * Lillian: One of Nucky and Margaret's housemaids alongside Katy and Pauline who is also Teddy and Emily's

nanny A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...

. * Pauline: Another of Nucky and Margaret's housemaids alongside Katy and Lillian who is also the house cook. * Isaac Ginsburg: Nucky's lawyer hired to help him with his election fraud case and who also faces off against Solomon Bishop and later Charles Kenneth Thorogood. *

Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel (; February 28, 1906 – June 20, 1947) was an American mobster who was a driving force behind the development of the Las Vegas Strip. Siegel was influential within the Jewish Mob, along with his childhood friend and fel ...

: A foul-mouthed and crazy

Jewish-American American Jews (; ) or Jewish Americans are Americans, American citizens who are Jews, Jewish, whether by Jewish culture, culture, ethnicity, or Judaism, religion. According to a 2020 poll conducted by Pew Research, approximately two thirds of Am ...

associate of Meyer and Lucky who dislikes Joe Masseria. * John McGarrigle: The leader of the IRA, Owen's mentor and an Irish

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

who does business deals with Nucky. * Dunn Purnsley: An African-American

career criminal A habitual offender, repeat offender, or career criminal is a person convicted of a crime who was previously convicted of other crimes. Various state and jurisdictions may have laws targeting habitual offenders, and specifically providing for enha ...

from

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

who gets acquainted with Chalky. * Owen Sleater: A

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

-maker and

for the IRA and McGarrigle's protege who is sent to Atlantic City by him to be Nucky's bodyguard.

Deaths

* Incrocci:

's nephew and enforcer who dies by getting his throat slit by Jimmy Darmody. * Scarpelli: Joe Masseria's other nephew and enforcer and Incrocci's brother who also dies by getting his throat slit by Jimmy Darmody.

Reception

The episode received generally positive reviews from critics. The A.V. Club awarded the episode a B+ saying, "It’s moments like these—Jimmy in Rothstein’s office, Jimmy at the poker game, Chalky in a cell with Purnsley—that make Boardwalk Empire a much better show than its detractors allow." IGN gave it an 8 out of 10, noting the improved pacing, "'Ourselves Alone' seems to be a direct response to those who had issues with the overall pacing of last season, complaining that the gears on Nucky's political machine turned too slow. It's only the second episode of the new season, and Nucky's already plotting retaliation against those challenging him."

References

External links

"Ourselves Alone"
at

* {{Boardwalk Empire 2011 American television episodes Boardwalk Empire episodes Television episodes written by Howard Korder Cultural depictions of Meyer Lansky Cultural depictions of Bugsy Siegel