"The Pony" is the eighth episode of the third season of the American period crime drama television series Boardwalk Empire.
The series follows Enoch "Nucky" Thompson, a political figure who rises to prominence and interacts with mobsters, politicians, government agents, and the common folk who look up to him.
In the episode, Nucky meets with Mellon to conspire against Daugherty, while Gillian finally gets a loan for the Artemis Club, and Van Alden reaches his breaking point in Chicago.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 2.09 million household viewers and gained a 0.7 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.
In Chicago, Van Alden is now on Dean O'Banion's payroll, providing him with liquor in exchange for disposing of Agent Coughlin's corpse.
Nucky offers to run Mellon's Old Overholt distillery in exchange for indicting George Remus, whose arrest will negatively affect Harry M. Daugherty.
Matt Fowler of IGN gave the episode a "great" 8.2 out of 10 and wrote, "'The Pony,' named after both young Emily's present and Billie's middling career as an almost-star, got dragged down a bit by its Margaret/Owen scenes and Nucky's extremely stuffy dealings with James Cromwell's Andrew Mellon.
"[7] Edward Davis of IndieWire wrote, "A bomb goes off in front of his eyes, the violent blast knocking him unconscious, obliterating the club and wiping his darling Billie Kent from existence.
"[8] Chris O'Hara of TV Fanatic gave the episode a perfect 5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "When it comes to influence on Boardwalk Empire, few characters command more than Nucky Thompson.
"[9] Michael Noble of Den of Geek wrote, "The past few episodes have seen Boardwalk Empire firing on all cylinders, and this latest one, 'The Pony', was no exception.