Family Limitation (Boardwalk Empire)

"**Family Limitation**"
"Family Limitation"
Boardwalk Empire episode
	Jimmy takes his revenge on Sheridan
Episode no.	Season 1; Episode 6
Directed by	Tim Van Patten
Written by	Howard Korder
Original air date	October 24, 2010
Running time	60 minutes
Guest appearances
	Gretchen Mol as Gillian Darmody; Greg Antonacci as Johnny Torrio; Edoardo Ballerini as Ignacious D'Alessio; Dana Ivey as Mrs. McGarry; Peter McRobbie as Supervisor Elliot; Chris Mulkey as Senator Walter Edge; Frank Shattuck as Charlie Sheridan; Erik Weiner as Agent Sebso;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "Nights in Ballygran"	Next →; "Home"
	List of episodes

"Family Limitation" is the sixth episode of the first season of the

television series Boardwalk Empire, which premiered October 24, 2010. It was written by supervising producer Howard Korder and directed by executive producer Tim Van Patten

.

Plot

Two of the D'Alessio brothers rob one of

impotence caused by recurring gonorrhea. He is informed by Rothstein via a surprise telephone call that Gillian is not Jimmy

's wife, but rather his mother.

In

deaf

. After reconciling with Sheridan at his hotel, the hotel's coat checker (Capone's wife) hands Jimmy and Capone concealed guns, which they use to whack Sheridan and his men. Jimmy is effused with praise from Torrio for organizing the ambush, which angers Capone and leads him and Jimmy to trade insults over Jimmy's weak nerves and Capone lying about serving in the war. Capone later visits Jimmy and gifts him a package of steaks; the two men make up and Capone reveals his fear over how Sonny's disability will affect his future. Jimmy encourages Capone not to give up hope that modern medicine might find a way to help his son.

An emboldened Margaret moves into Nucky's home, and even quits her job at the dress shop after getting belittled by Lucy, mocking her as a brainless tart whom Nucky will eventually grow bored of. Nucky invites her to join him for a magic show later that evening, but when Mayor Hague asks him to dinner so that the two men can discuss politics and the road financing bill, he blows her off without a second thought. Margaret then learns from one of her neighbors, Annabelle, that it isn't unusual for a powerful man in Atlantic City to keep a "

concubine

" in his household.

Eli brings in Luciano and roughs him up; despite Luciano arguing that he knows nothing about the theft, Nucky sends him away with a warning not to mess with his people. Van Alden's superiors refuse to give him the resources to build a case against Nucky for lack of evidence, and reprimand him for being lax in his duties as a Bureau agent. That night, while going through Margaret's records, he finds a photograph of a 16-year-old Margaret in her immigration file. He then performs self-mortification with a leather strap from his suitcase to cure himself of his lust for her.

Reception

Critical reception

IGN gave the episode a score of 8.5 enjoying the relationship between Al and Jimmy: "Another highlight is the relationship between Al and Jimmy, as they rise up the ranks of the Torrio crime family. The two debate the difference between 'buddy' and 'accomplice' as Jimmy plans how to take out Sheridan. During this time, Jimmy, a war veteran, calls out Al on his bullshit war record, which in turn makes Al look like he is overcompensating for being nothing more than a thug in a nice suit. These exchanges prove that Al and Jimmy may have been friends once, but are on a path to being something much worse as their underworld careers advance."^[1]

The A.V. Club gave it a B+ rating.^[2]

Ratings

"Family Limitation" slipped back to a 1.2 adults 18–49 rating after last week's 1.3 rating. The episode had a total of 2.812 million viewers.^[3]

References

^ "Boardwalk Empire: "Family Limitation" Review - TV Review at IGN". Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2010-10-30.
^ "Boardwalk Empire: "Family Limitation"". The A.V. Club.
^ "Sunday Cable Ratings: Kardashians Finale Way up; Boardwalk Empire, Dexter, Swamp People & Much More - Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". Archived from the original on 2012-06-23. Retrieved 2010-10-30.

External links

"Family Limitation" Archived 2017-10-01 at the Wayback Machine at HBO
"Family Limitation" at
IMDb

[1] "Boardwalk Empire: "Family Limitation" Review - TV Review at IGN". Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2010-10-30.

[2] "Boardwalk Empire: "Family Limitation"". The A.V. Club.

[3] "Sunday Cable Ratings: Kardashians Finale Way up; Boardwalk Empire, Dexter, Swamp People & Much More - Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". Archived from the original on 2012-06-23. Retrieved 2010-10-30.

[1]

[2]

[3]