'Boardwalk Empire' recap, 'Spaghetti and Coffee'

If it's not yet clear to her, it's certainly evident to us that Doctor Mason is basically Owen Sleater with a stethoscope instead of a pistol and that it's only a matter of time before some serious bodice-ripping occurs. Seeing the Thompson home allowed us to see that Rosetti's dog "Scruffy" has found a good home.

"Spaghetti and Coffee" is an awkward chapter of "Boardwalk Empire." After all, it's an episode that involves a showgirl servicing a radiator in the nude. Few characters -- Eli, Nucky, Chalky's daughter -- aren't quite where they belong. Some will adapt, some will refuse, and some will probably die by season's end. Let's hope that Mickey, Eli and Owen being turned away by Rosetti with the liquor shipment will snap Nucky back into action.

Any episode of a visual novel building out stories for secondary characters like Eli is going to leave other interesting people (Van Alden, Capone and Richard Harrow, for instance) on the sidelines for an hour at a time.

A small letdown after last week's fantastic season-opener was somewhat expected, but "Spaghetti and Coffee" kept the ball rolling, which is sometimes all you can ask of a show with such gradual and methodical payoffs.

Just like a good "old hobo trick" recipe cooking in a single pot, it's a slow burn.