Contains spoilers for this episode and earlier episodes.
Tommy begins arranging his affairs around the diagnosis he has kept secret. He moves against an opium den, prepares a large shipment and plans housing intended to outlast him. His negotiations with Diana become a sexual bargain linked to money for that housing. Tommy treats the exchange as another means to complete his plans, even though it exposes Lizzie to an intimate humiliation from people already hostile to their marriage.
The gang tightens its hold over the fixed-football business, forcing Billy Grade further into violence. Jack Nelson then coerces Billy for information that can help the plan to kill Tommy. Tommy also visits Hayden Stagg, who challenges the pleasure he still takes in having power over others. The impending end has made him more candid about that pleasure, without making him willing to abandon every deal and threat.
At dinner, Diana makes sure Lizzie knows that she has slept with Tommy. Mosley presents the humiliation as a reason for Tommy to find a wife more acceptable to their circle. Tommy answers that Lizzie does not deserve the person he is or what he may become, placing himself among the corrupt people at the table. In prison, Michael is offered release if he agrees to kill Tommy. He accepts, claiming that he has consulted his dead mother before making the decision.