Nucky Thompson[to Eli, at their father's wake] I'm here for mother, and for Susan.
They're all together now.
Nucky Thompson
Heaven? If such a thing existed, you really think that son of a bitch would be there?
[choking up] Was he that bad, Nucky? Really?
Nucky Thompson
You've obviously forgotten key events from our childhood.
I turned out OK. So did you. Whatever he did, he made us the men we are today.
Nucky Thompson
What's that?
We run this fucking town, Nucky!
Nucky Thompson
We don't run anything, brother. And he can rot in Hell.
That's you, boy, in spades. No capacity for forgiveness.
Nucky Thompson
Grow up, brother, please. And take some responsibility. At long fucking last.
[Nucky has just cut the city's liquor barons out of a profitable deal]
Nucky Thompson
Sorry, gentlemen. New year, new rules.
Well, that makes sense. A chink I know, runs a laundry, tells me that '23 is the year of the pig.
Nucky Thompson
This is a business decision.
I come all the way down here, put up with car trouble...
GRGeorge Remus
We all got the same news.
Yeah but we ain't all in the same fuckin' boat! I'm gettin' squeezed on all sides...
FYFrankie Yale
[warns him in Italian]
No fuck you, Frank! Your fuckin' rathole bar and your warehouse in Canarsie? I don't see you doin' me any favors, amicu! [to Rothstein] And you, you smug kike midget, creeping around like a dentist with ether...
Why don't you watch your fuckin' mouth...
Why don't you go sit in the corner, short pants? [to Nucky] And then there's you. Fuckin' breadstick in a bowtie. You pasty-faced cocksucker...
Nucky Thompson
[angry but controlled] You must be tired, Mr. Rossetti. That can make a man irritable. You need some rest.
Nucky Thompson
You and your men, my guests at the Ritz.
You think I can't float my own hotel room?
Nucky Thompson
I'm making a goodwill gesture. Accept it or not.
How about I make one to you?
I'll shit you out like yesterday's sausage, you bog-trottin' prick.
Nucky Thompson
You're making my decision very easy.
[Rosetti looks around the room, sees he has no support]
Nobody around here can take a joke.
[describing killing Horvitz] I waited, outside his house. I used a shotgun, very close.
Nucky Thompson
May I ask why?
Nucky Thompson
Not her husband?
Jimmy was a soldier. He fought, he lost.
Nucky' Thompson
So I can assume my family and I are safe?
You and Mrs. Thompson were good to me. You have nothing to fear.
Nucky Thompson
How many people have you killed?
Nucky Thompson
Do you think about any of them?
You know the answer to that, yourself.
[discussing Rosetti's blockade of Nucky's liquor] It's bad for business?
Nucky Thompson
Isn't it?
And what would you know about it, conducting yours like a drunken shopkeeper?
Nucky Thompson
Alright, Arnold. You're allowed to blow off steam.
It's not alright. Do you think I entered into this arrangement because I value your companionship? You are a convenience, of geography and supply. You promised a quantity and a price. You have failed to deliver! And now, owing to your inability to manage your affairs in New Jersey - a state I have little interest in or affection for - you expect me to start a war? In New York? Where things actually matter?
Nucky' Thompson
I expect you to understand that Gyp Rosetti is trouble for everyone. I lost an entire convoy...
Because of your own cavalierness! Because you run off to Manhattan at a moment's notice to rut with some showgirl!
Nucky Thompson
You'd be wise to leave Miss Kent out of this.
Why? You can't. Do you even begin to understand how weak that makes you look?
Nucky Thompson
That's a big noise from a man who is dead below the waist.
Nucky Thompson
You practice bullshit! Who the fuck are you, Arnold, aside from a little weasel with a good poker face?
Nucky Thompson
You have to understand: No matter what you think of me, there's no walking away. It doesn't work like that. I do it to them, or they do it to me. And that's all there is.
And the men in your office?
Nucky Thompson
Either they're with me and we go to war, or they'll smile, shake my hand and walk away. I'll be alone, and that's as good as dead.
[Lansky wants to go into business with Nucky]
Nucky Thompson
Tell me something about yourself.
MLMeyer Lansky
I'm a businessman. Charlie and I partnered in several high level endeavors...
Nucky Thompson
No. About yourself. What kind of man you are.
[pause]
MLMeyer Lansky
When I was a boy, my father moved us from Russia to the Upper East Side. He was weak, my father - never stood up. One day, on the way to school, I was stopped by a gang of older boys. The leader said he wanted my lunch money. I told him, go fuck himself. He laughed, said he'd beat it out of me, so I spit in his face. He did beat me - they all did - and he took my money. Next day, same thing: Again I spit in his face, again we fought. But the third day, the kid asked me to join his gang. He was Charlie Luciano. That's how we teamed up. Last year, we made more money than the President of the United States. And I think you will find us to be responsible partners, both here and in Florida, should you need eyes on the investment.
Nucky Thompson
$500,000.
Nucky Thompson
In 48 hours.
Nucky Thompson
[extending his hand] The money doesn't show, this conversation never happened - and it won't ever happen again.
[Nucky has gotten Willie out of a murder charge]
Nucky Thompson
Whatever occurred, it's over. Every now and then you'll think about the terrible thing that occurred to a boy whose face you can't quite remember. I promise you, you can live with it.
WTWillie Thompson
Is that what you do?
Nucky Thompson
[pause] You're going to graduate. We'll get you into another school, if that's what's required. It's not important now. You worry about what other people might say, you worry about someone who you call a friend - none of that matters. The only thing that you can count on is blood, the blood that's in your veins and the blood that's in mine. People who discount you? They don't know who you are. The rage you feel - listen to me carefully: it's a gift. Use it, but don't let anyone see it. Know that I'm watching over you. Show me the person you intend to be.
Boardwalk Empire · 133 quotes
