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Old Cases (The Wire episode)
Encyclopedia
"Old Cases" is the fourth episode of the first season of the HBO original series, The Wire
. The episode was written by David Simon
from a story by David Simon & Ed Burns
and was directed by Clement Virgo
. It originally aired on June 23, 2002.
, which Bubbles refers to as "Leave It to Beaver
land."
' "All Blues
", from the album Kind of Blue
plays diegetically in the background. When the John Coltrane
intro to the music has finished and Davis begins his trumpet solo, Freamon opens up and tells McNulty what happened to his career.
and McNulty attend a court hearing for Marvin Browning – a Barksdale dealer arrested for a hand-to-hand deal. Hoping he will give them information, they push ASA Dawkins to pursue the maximum sentence of 5 years due to his prior arrests, even though Browning had only been caught selling 1 gel cap of heroin and 1 vial of cocaine. He nonetheless refuses their offer of a deal without hesitation. Polk visits Mahone in the hospital, where he learns that Mahone will be getting an early retirement and an increase in his pension due to his injury. Mahone tells Polk that he could follow him by deliberately injuring himself, which Polk reluctantly considers.
Herc and Carver drive out to the "Boy's Village",, in Prince George's County, planning to interrogate Bodie Broadus
, only to find that he has escaped from the low-security facility. They burst into Bodie's home, but find only his grandmother. Embarrassed by his strongarm tactics, Herc apologizes respectfully to Bodie's grandmother and leaves his card.
Bunk Moreland
and McNulty review old homicide cases and try to match them to the Barksdale organization. Their sergeant, Jay Landsman
, insists they review the case of Deirdre Kresson, a college girl murdered far from the west side, with a "Dee" listed as a possible suspect. Landsman points out that the Homicide Unit is under-staffed while McNulty is on the Barksdale detail, and McNulty reluctantly agrees to investigate the months-old murder despite not believing there is any connection.
McNulty and Bunk visit the Kresson crime scene, where they communicate using only variations of the word "fuck
". McNulty snags his finger in a metal tape measure and Bunk uses a squeaky marker pen. They are able to accurately recreate the events of the murder and find the shell casings and bullet that previous detectives missed. Landsman visits Major William Rawls
and says that McNulty is addicted to himself and that his ego leads him to believe that he is the smartest person in the room. Somewhat convinced, Rawls offers a deal: if McNulty wraps up the detail in two weeks, he can come back with a clean slate.
Greggs and Bubbles
discuss the recent hit on the Barksdale stash. Bubbles is disappointed she has never heard of Omar Little
or his brother No-Heart Anthony. She realizes that she is late for a class and calls in for a replacement. McNulty picks up Bubbles (and proves to Greggs that widespread knowledge of No-Heart Anthony isn't a figment of Bubble's imagination; an irritated Greggs responds by saying fuck y'all) and then drives to soccer practice to see his sons. McNulty discusses sharing custody of his sons with his estranged wife Elena, but the conversation devolves into profanity. Greggs studies at home, until Cheryl chastises her for getting marker on the sofa. The two play around and Cheryl insists that Greggs work at the table. Greggs notices Cheryl's cell phone bill and realizes that the Barksdale dealers use pagers rather than cell phones because cell phones maintain a record of all incoming and outgoing calls.
Judge Phelan is disappointed when Deputy Commissioner Ervin Burrell
tells him they have nothing on the Barksdale organization's leaders. At the detail office, Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski does wordsearch puzzles and mans the phones, when Phelan calls McNulty to tell of his meeting with Burrell. Daniels meets with Burrell and tells him that he can take the case wherever Burrell wants, raising the possibility of a wire to make the case, suggested by McNulty, as the only way to get at the higher-ups.
At the detail office, Greggs brings up pager cloning
, and they discuss the requirements for a surveillance affidavit, including the need to prove "exhaustion" by showing that no other method will work. Daniels points out that they need to have a number to bug, and Freamon surprises everybody by revealing that the number he found in the stash house (in "The Buys") belongs to D'Angelo Barksdale. Realizing that Freamon is "natural police" (as confirmed by Bunk), McNulty buys him a drink. Freamon tells how he was thrown out of homicide and moved to the pawn shop unit for defying orders from his Major by doing his job properly and fully. Freamon warns that McNulty is likely on a similar path, and that if a commanding officer ever asks "where do you not want to wind up", as if they are concerned, to be wary and not answer honestly. That night, McNulty shows up at Greggs's apartment, drunk. She confirms that their visual surveillance was unable to follow targets into the project towers, fully proving "exhaustion", and he thanks her for her good work. Back with Cheryl, Greggs explains that McNulty is lonely, and they begin to make love.
Avon Barksdale
discusses the loss of the stash with his enforcers Anton "Stinkum" Artis and Wee-Bey Brice
and puts a contract out on Omar's crew. Avon ridicules Omar and doubles the price of the original bounty for his murder when informed that, according to Barksdale soldier Stinkum, Omar is gay. Stringer Bell
tells Avon he is worried about the pit operation, since the stashhouse robbery coincided with the police raid. He reassures Avon that his nephew D'Angelo
is doing well, but he is worried there may be a leak from someone else in D'Angelo's crew.
Bodie arrives back at the low-rises, where Poot Carr
and Wallace
are surprised that he got home so soon after his arrest for assaulting a police officer. D'Angelo laughs when Bodie says that he's just too bad and that the system 'can't hold me' and Bodie says to D'Angelo that if it was him, he would still be down there. D'Angelo feels his alpha male status being challenged and tells them a story of murdering a girlfriend of Avon's – Deirdre Kresson. He describes tapping on the window of her apartment and shooting her once she approached. Bodie, who has never killed anybody, is humbled. Later, the dealers destroy some new security cameras around the towers.
alongside several other Wire cast members. Antonio Cordova plays Michael McNulty, Jimmy's soccer-playing younger son. His older son, Sean, remains unseen in this episode.
, the actor who portrays Chris Partlow
, Marlo's adviser and primary enforcer, appears in this episode uncredited as a police officer in court.
The WIRE
the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
. The episode was written by David Simon
David Simon
David Simon is an American author, journalist, and a writer/producer of television series. He worked for the Baltimore Sun City Desk for twelve years. He wrote Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and co-wrote The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood with Ed Burns...
from a story by David Simon & Ed Burns
Ed Burns
Ed Burns is a producer, screenwriter, and novelist. He has worked closely with writing partner David Simon. They have collaborated on The Corner and The Wire . Burns is a former Baltimore police detective for the Homicide and Narcotics divisions, and a public school teacher...
and was directed by Clement Virgo
Clement Virgo
Clément Virgo is a Canadian filmmaker of international acclaim. His latest feature, the boxing drama Poor Boy's Game, stars Danny Glover and Rossif Sutherland...
. It originally aired on June 23, 2002.
Title reference
The title refers to both the old homicide cases being investigated by Bunk and McNulty and to the old bullet cases found at the Deirdre Kresson crime scene.Epigraph
The line is said as Bubbles is being returned to the ghetto by McNulty after the two have spent an afternoon in suburbiaSubUrbia
subUrbia is a play by Eric Bogosian chronicling the nighttime activities of a group of aimless 20-somethings still living in their suburban Boston hometown and their reunion with a former high school classmate who has become a successful musician...
, which Bubbles refers to as "Leave It to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver is an American television situation comedy about an inquisitive but often naïve boy named Theodore "The Beaver" Cleaver and his adventures at home, in school, and around his suburban neighborhood...
land."
Music
When Freamon and McNulty start talking in the bar, Miles DavisMiles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
' "All Blues
All Blues
"All Blues" is a jazz composition by Miles Davis first appearing on the influential 1959 album Kind of Blue.It is a 12 bar blues in 6/4; the chord sequence is that of a basic blues and made up entirely of 7th chords, with a ♭VI in the turnaround instead of just the usual V chord...
", from the album Kind of Blue
Kind of Blue
Kind of Blue is a studio album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released August 17, 1959, on Columbia Records in the United States. Recording sessions for the album took place at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in New York City on March 2 and April 22, 1959...
plays diegetically in the background. When the John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
intro to the music has finished and Davis begins his trumpet solo, Freamon opens up and tells McNulty what happened to his career.
Guest stars
- Peter GeretyPeter GeretyPeter Gerety is an American actor.Gerety began acting while a student at Boston University, participating in productions at the Charles Playhouse. In 1965, he joined the Trinity Square Repertory Company, a resident theater company in Providence, Rhode Island where he appeared in over 125...
as Judge Daniel Phelan - Callie ThorneCallie ThorneCalliope "Callie" Thorne is an American actress known for her current role as Dr. Dani Santino on the USA Network series Necessary Roughness...
as Elena McNulty - Michael K. WilliamsMichael K. WilliamsMichael Kenneth Williams is an American actor known for his portrayal of Omar Little on the HBO drama series The Wire, and of Albert "Chalky" White on HBO's Boardwalk Empire.-Early life and career:...
as Omar LittleOmar LittleOmar Devone Little is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, portrayed by Michael K. Williams. Omar is a renowned stick-up man who lives by a strict moral code and never deviates from his rules, foremost of which is that he never robs or menaces people who are not involved in "the game".... - J. D. WilliamsJ. D. WilliamsDarnell "J.D." Williams is an American actor with starring roles in the HBO television programs Oz and The Wire, in which he appeared as Preston "Bodie" Broadus...
as Preston "Bodie" BroadusBodie BroadusPreston "Bodie" Broadus is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor J. D. Williams. Bodie is initially a Barksdale organization drug dealer in "The Pit" who slowly rises through the ranks... - Seth GilliamSeth GilliamSeth Gilliam is an American actor. He is known for his HBO television roles, first as corrections officer-turned-prisoner Clayton Hughes on Oz, and later as Baltimore police detective promoted to sergeant Ellis Carver on The Wire. On both of these series, he co-starred with Lance Reddick and J.D....
as Detective Ellis CarverEllis CarverEllis Carver is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Seth Gilliam. Carver is an African American lieutenant and formerly in command of the Baltimore Police Department's Western District Drug Enforcement Unit... - Domenick LombardozziDomenick LombardozziDomenico "Domenick" Lombardozzi is an American actor best known for his role as Thomas "Herc" Hauk on The Wire. Lombardozzi was inspired to act by the film State of Grace.-Filmography:...
as Detective Thomas "Herc" Hauk - Clarke PetersClarke PetersClarke Peters is an American actor, singer, writer and director best known for his role as Detective Lester Freamon on the HBO drama The Wire.-Early life:...
as Detective Lester FreamonLester FreamonLester Freamon is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Clarke Peters. Freamon is a detective in the Baltimore Police Department's Major Crimes Unit... - Jim True-FrostJim True-FrostJim True-Frost, born Jim True, is an American stage, television and screen actor. He is most known for his portrayal of Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski on all five seasons of the HBO program The Wire.-Biography:...
as Detective Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski - Hassan JohnsonHassan JohnsonHassan 'Iniko' Johnson is an American actor/producer from Staten Island, NY, born November 19, 1976. His most noted performance was appearing on the HBO program The Wire as Roland Wee-Bey Brice. His first acting role was in the 1995 Spike Lee film Clockers. He also had a significant role in the...
as Roland "Wee-Bey" BriceWee-Bey BriceRoland "Wee-Bey" Brice is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Hassan Johnson. Wee-Bey was the Barksdale Organization's most trusted soldier before being sentenced to life imprisonment for multiple homicides.... - Michael B. JordanMichael B. JordanMichael Bakari Jordan is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as teenage drug dealer Wallace on the HBO drama television series The Wire, for his role as Reggie Montgomery in All My Children, as quarterback Vince Howard on the NBC television series Friday Night Lights, and since...
as WallaceWallace (The Wire)Wallace is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Michael B. Jordan. Wallace is a 16-year-old drug dealer for the Barksdale Organization, who works in the low-rise projects crew known as "The Pit" with his friends and fellow dealers Bodie Broadus and Poot Carr... - Corey Parker-Robinson as Detective Leander SydnorLeander SydnorLeander Sydnor is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Corey Parker Robinson. Sydnor is a young, married Baltimore Police detective who was a member of the Barksdale detail and later worked in the Major Crimes Unit.-Season 1:...
- Delaney WilliamsDelaney WilliamsDelaney Williams is an American actor from Washington, D.C. He appears on the HBO drama The Wire as a recurring guest star playing homicide sergeant Jay Landsman. He also had a small role on HBO's mini-series The Corner which brought him to the attention of the producers, who worked on The prior to...
as Sergeant Jay LandsmanJay Landsman (The Wire)Jay Landsman is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Delaney Williams.-Policing method:Landsman's role in the police department is that of a supervisory detective sergeant who doesn't participate in much investigation work... - Melanie Nicholls-King as Cheryl
- Michael Salconi as Detective Michael Santangelo
- Tray ChaneyTray ChaneyTray Chaney is an American actor. He appeared on the HBO program The Wire as Poot Carr.Chaney began his entertainment career as a dancer at the age of four winning competitions at the Apollo Theater. He appeared in the 2003 music video "My Baby" by rap artist Bow Wow. He later appeared in The Wire...
as Malik "Poot" CarrPoot CarrMalik "Poot" Carr is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Tray Chaney. Poot is a drug dealer in the Barksdale Organization who slowly rises through the ranks, but ends up serving time in prison as his institution collapses around him... - Brandon Price as Anton "Stinkum" Artis
- Nat BenchleyNat BenchleyNathaniel Robert "Nat" Benchley is a writer and actor who has performed on stage, television, and film. He is the grandson of humorist Robert Benchley, the son of author Nathaniel G...
as Detective Augustus Polk - Tom QuinnTom Quinn (actor)Tom Quinn is an American actor who has appeared in numerous small roles on television and in various films, including a stint as Detective Patrick Mahon on HBO's The Wire.-External links:...
as Detective Patrick Mahon - Michael Kevin Darnall as Brandon Wright
- Caroline G. Pleasant as Bodie's grandmother
- Antonio Cordova as Michael McNulty
- Lance Williams as John Bailey
Uncredited appearances
- Kim Tuvin as Judge Emily Johnson
- Jeorge Watson as Marvin Browning
- Gbenga AkinnagbeGbenga AkinnagbeGbenga Akinnagbe is an American actor, best known for his role as Chris Partlow on the HBO original series The Wire.-Early life:...
as Officer in courtroom - Unknown as ASA Dawkins
The Police
Kima GreggsKima Greggs
Detective Shakima "Kima" Greggs is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actress Sonja Sohn. Greggs is a police detective in the Baltimore Police Department who is a dedicated officer and capable detective with some off-the-job issues. Openly lesbian, she has had problems...
and McNulty attend a court hearing for Marvin Browning – a Barksdale dealer arrested for a hand-to-hand deal. Hoping he will give them information, they push ASA Dawkins to pursue the maximum sentence of 5 years due to his prior arrests, even though Browning had only been caught selling 1 gel cap of heroin and 1 vial of cocaine. He nonetheless refuses their offer of a deal without hesitation. Polk visits Mahone in the hospital, where he learns that Mahone will be getting an early retirement and an increase in his pension due to his injury. Mahone tells Polk that he could follow him by deliberately injuring himself, which Polk reluctantly considers.
Herc and Carver drive out to the "Boy's Village",, in Prince George's County, planning to interrogate Bodie Broadus
Bodie Broadus
Preston "Bodie" Broadus is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor J. D. Williams. Bodie is initially a Barksdale organization drug dealer in "The Pit" who slowly rises through the ranks...
, only to find that he has escaped from the low-security facility. They burst into Bodie's home, but find only his grandmother. Embarrassed by his strongarm tactics, Herc apologizes respectfully to Bodie's grandmother and leaves his card.
Bunk Moreland
Bunk Moreland
William "Bunk" Moreland is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Wendell Pierce. Bunk's character is based on a retired Baltimore City Police Detective named Rick Requer and nicknamed "the Bunk", an officer who joined the force in 1964 as a Western District patrolman who...
and McNulty review old homicide cases and try to match them to the Barksdale organization. Their sergeant, Jay Landsman
Jay Landsman (The Wire)
Jay Landsman is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Delaney Williams.-Policing method:Landsman's role in the police department is that of a supervisory detective sergeant who doesn't participate in much investigation work...
, insists they review the case of Deirdre Kresson, a college girl murdered far from the west side, with a "Dee" listed as a possible suspect. Landsman points out that the Homicide Unit is under-staffed while McNulty is on the Barksdale detail, and McNulty reluctantly agrees to investigate the months-old murder despite not believing there is any connection.
McNulty and Bunk visit the Kresson crime scene, where they communicate using only variations of the word "fuck
Fuck
"Fuck" is an English word that is generally considered obscene which, in its most literal meaning, refers to the act of sexual intercourse. By extension it may be used to negatively characterize anything that can be dismissed, disdained, defiled, or destroyed."Fuck" can be used as a verb, adverb,...
". McNulty snags his finger in a metal tape measure and Bunk uses a squeaky marker pen. They are able to accurately recreate the events of the murder and find the shell casings and bullet that previous detectives missed. Landsman visits Major William Rawls
William Rawls
William A. "Bill" Rawls is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor John Doman. Over the course of the series he ascends to the rank of Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.-Season 1:...
and says that McNulty is addicted to himself and that his ego leads him to believe that he is the smartest person in the room. Somewhat convinced, Rawls offers a deal: if McNulty wraps up the detail in two weeks, he can come back with a clean slate.
Greggs and Bubbles
Bubbles (The Wire)
Reginald "Bubbles" Cousins is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Andre Royo. Bubbles is a recovering heroin addict. His real name is not revealed until a fourth-season episode when he is called "Mr. Cousins" and in the fifth-season premiere when he is called "Reginald"...
discuss the recent hit on the Barksdale stash. Bubbles is disappointed she has never heard of Omar Little
Omar Little
Omar Devone Little is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, portrayed by Michael K. Williams. Omar is a renowned stick-up man who lives by a strict moral code and never deviates from his rules, foremost of which is that he never robs or menaces people who are not involved in "the game"....
or his brother No-Heart Anthony. She realizes that she is late for a class and calls in for a replacement. McNulty picks up Bubbles (and proves to Greggs that widespread knowledge of No-Heart Anthony isn't a figment of Bubble's imagination; an irritated Greggs responds by saying fuck y'all) and then drives to soccer practice to see his sons. McNulty discusses sharing custody of his sons with his estranged wife Elena, but the conversation devolves into profanity. Greggs studies at home, until Cheryl chastises her for getting marker on the sofa. The two play around and Cheryl insists that Greggs work at the table. Greggs notices Cheryl's cell phone bill and realizes that the Barksdale dealers use pagers rather than cell phones because cell phones maintain a record of all incoming and outgoing calls.
Judge Phelan is disappointed when Deputy Commissioner Ervin Burrell
Ervin Burrell
Ervin Burrell is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Frankie Faison. Burrell was an officer in the Baltimore Police Department who ascended from Deputy Commissioner of Operations to Commissioner over the course of the show...
tells him they have nothing on the Barksdale organization's leaders. At the detail office, Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski does wordsearch puzzles and mans the phones, when Phelan calls McNulty to tell of his meeting with Burrell. Daniels meets with Burrell and tells him that he can take the case wherever Burrell wants, raising the possibility of a wire to make the case, suggested by McNulty, as the only way to get at the higher-ups.
At the detail office, Greggs brings up pager cloning
Phone cloning
-Technique:Phone cloning involves placing a computer chip into the target mobile telephone, allowing the electronic serial number of the mobile phone to be modified. The ESN is normally transmitted to the cellular company in order to ascertain whether the mobile phone user is the legitimate owner...
, and they discuss the requirements for a surveillance affidavit, including the need to prove "exhaustion" by showing that no other method will work. Daniels points out that they need to have a number to bug, and Freamon surprises everybody by revealing that the number he found in the stash house (in "The Buys") belongs to D'Angelo Barksdale. Realizing that Freamon is "natural police" (as confirmed by Bunk), McNulty buys him a drink. Freamon tells how he was thrown out of homicide and moved to the pawn shop unit for defying orders from his Major by doing his job properly and fully. Freamon warns that McNulty is likely on a similar path, and that if a commanding officer ever asks "where do you not want to wind up", as if they are concerned, to be wary and not answer honestly. That night, McNulty shows up at Greggs's apartment, drunk. She confirms that their visual surveillance was unable to follow targets into the project towers, fully proving "exhaustion", and he thanks her for her good work. Back with Cheryl, Greggs explains that McNulty is lonely, and they begin to make love.
The Street
Omar, Brandon, and Bailey enjoy the proceeds from the Barksdale stashhouse robbery. Brandon apologizes for using Omar's name during the raid, and Omar reassures Brandon that he is not worried, as he is already is well known in Baltimore anyway. His only concern was that the Barksdale crew would come back on Brandon, at which point it is revealed that Omar and Brandon are lovers. An addict approaches Omar with her infant son and respectfully asks for a free fix, which he gives her.Avon Barksdale
Avon Barksdale
Avon Randolph Barksdale is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire portrayed by actor Wood Harris. Avon is the dominant drug dealer of Baltimore's West Side, running the Barksdale Organization...
discusses the loss of the stash with his enforcers Anton "Stinkum" Artis and Wee-Bey Brice
Wee-Bey Brice
Roland "Wee-Bey" Brice is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Hassan Johnson. Wee-Bey was the Barksdale Organization's most trusted soldier before being sentenced to life imprisonment for multiple homicides....
and puts a contract out on Omar's crew. Avon ridicules Omar and doubles the price of the original bounty for his murder when informed that, according to Barksdale soldier Stinkum, Omar is gay. Stringer Bell
Stringer Bell
Russell "Stringer" Bell is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by English actor Idris Elba. Bell served as drug kingpin Avon Barksdale's second in command, assuming direct control of the Barksdale Organization during Avon's imprisonment...
tells Avon he is worried about the pit operation, since the stashhouse robbery coincided with the police raid. He reassures Avon that his nephew D'Angelo
D'Angelo Barksdale
D'Angelo "D" Barksdale is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire played by actor Larry Gilliard Jr. D'Angelo is the nephew of Avon Barksdale and a lieutenant in his drug dealing organization which controls most of the trade in West Baltimore...
is doing well, but he is worried there may be a leak from someone else in D'Angelo's crew.
Bodie arrives back at the low-rises, where Poot Carr
Poot Carr
Malik "Poot" Carr is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Tray Chaney. Poot is a drug dealer in the Barksdale Organization who slowly rises through the ranks, but ends up serving time in prison as his institution collapses around him...
and Wallace
Wallace (The Wire)
Wallace is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Michael B. Jordan. Wallace is a 16-year-old drug dealer for the Barksdale Organization, who works in the low-rise projects crew known as "The Pit" with his friends and fellow dealers Bodie Broadus and Poot Carr...
are surprised that he got home so soon after his arrest for assaulting a police officer. D'Angelo laughs when Bodie says that he's just too bad and that the system 'can't hold me' and Bodie says to D'Angelo that if it was him, he would still be down there. D'Angelo feels his alpha male status being challenged and tells them a story of murdering a girlfriend of Avon's – Deirdre Kresson. He describes tapping on the window of her apartment and shooting her once she approached. Bodie, who has never killed anybody, is humbled. Later, the dealers destroy some new security cameras around the towers.
First appearances
This episode marks the first appearance of Jimmy McNulty's estranged family. Callie Thorne plays Elena McNulty, Jimmy's estranged wife and the mother of his two sons. Callie Thorne also appeared on Homicide: Life on the StreetHomicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street is an American police procedural television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Homicide Unit. It ran for seven seasons on NBC from 1993 to 1999, and was succeeded by a TV movie, which also acted as the de-facto series finale...
alongside several other Wire cast members. Antonio Cordova plays Michael McNulty, Jimmy's soccer-playing younger son. His older son, Sean, remains unseen in this episode.
Trivia
Gbenga AkinnagbeGbenga Akinnagbe
Gbenga Akinnagbe is an American actor, best known for his role as Chris Partlow on the HBO original series The Wire.-Early life:...
, the actor who portrays Chris Partlow
Chris Partlow
Chris Partlow is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Gbenga Akinnagbe. Partlow is Marlo Stanfield's best friend, bodyguard, and second-in-command in his drug dealing operation. Despite his quiet demeanor, Partlow commits more on- and off-screen murders than any other...
, Marlo's adviser and primary enforcer, appears in this episode uncredited as a police officer in court.