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All Prologue (The Wire episode)
Encyclopedia
"All Prologue" is the sixth episode of the second 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 Steve Shill
. It originally aired on July 6, 2003.
's novel The Great Gatsby
and the theme of Gatsby's inability to escape his past and who he was no matter how much he tried to cover it, a sentiment that D'Angelo shares as he is unable to escape that he is a Barksdale. It also refers to Jimmy McNulty's attempts at reconciliation with his wife. This also gives inclination to the eventual fate of Frank Sobotka and his attempts at revitalizing the respect of the Stevedores.
, Frankie Faison
, Deirdre Lovejoy
and Andre Royo
do not appear in this episode.
solves a crossword clue for the bailiff as he awaits his appearance in court. When he is called, he answers honestly about his occupation as ASA Ilene Nathan questions him. Omar is quick to identify Marquis "Bird" Hilton, stating that they served prison time together. Bird's attorney Maurice Levy
objects to the reference to Bird's previous convictions and it is stricken from the record. Omar identifies Bird's weapon and insults Bird, saying he was too stupid to dispose of it. Bird flies into a rage and has to be restrained as Judge Phelan calls for order. As they observe the trial, Stringer Bell
tells Jimmy McNulty
that word on the street is that Omar was nowhere near the crime scene; McNulty reminds Stringer that the word on the street is not worth anything in a court of law.
Levy cross-examines Omar and asks if his testimony is part of a deal with the police. Levy reads Omar's arrest record, including a charge for attempted murder. Omar explains away the charge, saying that he deliberately shot a drug dealer named Mike Mike in the "hind parts" with no intent to kill, drawing an amused reaction from the jury. Levy is incredulous about Omar's career and characterizes him as a violent criminal. Levy claims that Omar would have killed Gant himself if he needed to - an assertion that Omar flatly denies; maintaining that he wouldn't kill a citizen who wasn't in the "game." Levy continues on, describing Omar as a parasite living off the drug culture. Omar jumps upon this comment and compares himself to Levy – both live off the drug trade, Omar through his shotgun and Levy through his briefcase. The courtroom reacts in shock; Nathan and Judge Phelan are both thrilled with Omar's performance under cross-examination. Levy is unable to further discredit Omar as a witness after his own credibility is diminished in front of the jury.
When the jury returns a guilty verdict, Levy protests claiming that Omar's testimony was fabricated on a deal with the police department calling for an appeal. Judge Phelan shows little mercy for Bird claiming there will be no appeal unless evidence is presented proving Bird is Jesus Christ come back to earth. Phelan then quickly moves through pre-sentencing claiming that Bird will serve life without parole. After the trial, Nathan gives Omar her card and offers him a "get out of jail free" pass on any charge up to and including aggravated assault. On his way out of the courthouse, Bird threatens Omar's life while Omar tells Bird to remember Brandon, Omar's dead lover, while serving his sentence.
reviews the information that his detail has gathered so far. Lester Freamon
reports that Frank Sobotka
lives within his means, while the union books show a decline in membership and difficulty meeting their debts. Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski and Freamon describe a paper trail through campaign finance records linking the union to $70,000 in contributions. Thomas "Herc" Hauk reports that they have had success making street level hand-to-hands but have established no ties so far between drug dealers and the union. Beadie Russell
suggests that the union is making extra money by facilitating smuggling in and out of the port. Daniels introduces Russell and Bunk Moreland
and explains their co-operation with the detail over their Jane Doe homicides. Daniels reassigns Kima Greggs
and Prez to focus on the vice trade, and Freamon to work with Russell and Bunk looking at container movements. Herc asks Russell out on a date and she declines. Ellis Carver
mocks Herc.
Greggs meets with Shardene Innes to ask for help tracking down Eastern European girls working in the vice trade. Shardene is now living with Freamon and attending nursing school. Later Greggs discusses her strip club assignment with Cheryl. Cheryl is jealous and angry that Greggs has returned to detective work, and insists on accompanying Greggs. Prez is also roped into visiting the clubs and seems uncomfortable, refusing to look directly at any of the strippers. Shardene's friend is only too willing to help, because her earnings are threatened by the imported girls. She tells the detectives that there is a madam who organizes the girls and that their pay is low, so they undercut local dancers. The girls are kept in a motel and driven back and forth to work and they are carefully guarded and prevented from becoming close with their customers. After visiting the club, Greggs takes Cheryl to the port and explains how the girls died.
Russell shows Bunk and Daniels how to use computers to track container movements. She warns them that it will require long hours of surveillance. The tedium of the surveillance work sends Bunk to the bar early. Bunk drinks with McNulty and tells him that he thinks Colonel William Rawls
expects him to clear the cases or he will force him out of the unit. McNulty tears up the photo of the dead girl he has been carrying since he found her body, telling Bunk he is done pretending to be a detective and that he is going to make another go of things with Elena.
The next day, Russell and Freamon report their findings to Daniels while Bunk struggles through a terrible hangover. They have linked all of the missing containers to Thomas "Horseface" Pakusa. Daniels is still reluctant to fold the Jane Doe murders into his investigation despite the link through Horseface.
At their dinner Elena parries McNulty's attempts to rekindle their relationship by propositioning him for sex. The next morning, as McNulty relaxes and reads the paper, Elena asks him to leave before their sons see him and think the family is back together.
delivers an envelope of cash to Leech, a contact from Washington D.C. He is there to organize a contract killing and insists that it must not be traceable to him.
flushes his remaining drugs down his cell toilet. He attends a book group in the prison library and discusses F. Scott Fitzgerald
’s The Great Gatsby
. D’Angelo offers a sophisticated analysis of the novel asserting that a person can never escape his past, no matter what fronts he attempts to establish.
Brianna visits D'Angelo and tries to persuade him to use Avon
's set-up of CO Tilghman to shave time from his sentence. He refuses, saying that Avon's actions were evil. He reminds his mother that she taught him to stand up for himself from an incident when he was younger where she forced him to fight a pair of twins that were picking on him rather than let him in the house. He then reminds his mother that he learned to take responsibility from that incident and refuses to try to get out of prison given what she taught him and her forcing of him to take the majority of the drug charges for the Barksdale Organization
. He then asks her to tell Stringer, Avon and Donette to leave him alone. D'Angelo passes Avon in the corridor and refuses to talk to him.
While working in the prison library, D'Angelo is assaulted and strangled to death with a belt by another inmate named Mugs. Mugs positions the body and hands so that it appears as suicide.
meets with Spiros "Vondas" Vondopoulos
and his drug lieutenant Eton Ben-Eleazer to discuss the chemicals. Nick asks for help with Ziggy’s problems with Cheese
. Vondas offers to kill Cheese and Nick says that he is not looking for a war and that Ziggy is in the wrong. Vondas calls Nick smart and Nick takes the opportunity to ask for muscle to talk to Cheese.
Nick accompanies Sergei "Serge" Molatov to a meeting with Cheese and is dismayed when Serge draws a firearm. Serge reports that he has negotiated with Cheese and that he will talk to Proposition Joe
to compensate Ziggy Sobotka
for Cheese destroying his car. Serge arranges a meeting with Proposition Joe
at his electronics shop. When Serge vouches for Nick, Joe agrees to compensate Ziggy. Proposition Joe makes it clear that Ziggy and Nick would both be dead if not for their association with the Greeks. At the same time, Joe is somewhat understanding of Nick's situation realizing that problematic family members such as Ziggy occur in almost every family including Joe's.
Nick delivers the chemicals to Eton and Vondas; they offer to pay him with drugs. Nick opts to take half the payment in cash and the rest in drugs. Nick refuses to let Ziggy get involved with the package after the trouble he caused with the last one. Their accomplice Johnny "Fifty" Spamanto is on hand to drive home with them.
At Delores' bar Frank buys a round and Little Big Roy and Horseface tell stories. Nick arrives to give Ziggy his compensation. Ziggy immediately buys a round for the bar and burns some of the money. Frank leaves the bar, disgusted with Ziggy’s actions. Outside he asks Ziggy how he got the bruises, still visible from the beating Cheese gave him, Ziggy lies and says he fell over. He questions Ziggy about where he is getting money from. He tells Ziggy perhaps he should have gone to community college with his brother. Ziggy reminisces about his childhood - his memories focus entirely on the docks, his father and the union.
' favorites.
The Futon Critic named it the ninth best episode of 2003, saying "There's simply been nobody like Omar (Michael K. Williams) on television before and he absolutely steals the show in this episode as he's called on to testify for the D.A.'s office. After being grilled by the defense for his less than moral activities, Omar responds with an amazing, funny and cheer inducing monologue about the legal system.
) for the week ending July 7, 2003.
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 Steve Shill
Steve Shill
Steve Shill is a British television and film director, actor, screenwriter, and television producer.-Career:He attended Keswick Grammar School in Keswick,Cumbria,England in the 70's....
. It originally aired on July 6, 2003.
Title reference
The episode title refers to D'Angelo's comment that all of a person's life is an unchanging prologue to their current situation. It also underscores the divide between the first and second halves of the season, when consequences of actions come more sharply into focus.Epigraph
D'Angelo makes this comment when discussing F. Scott FitzgeraldF. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
's novel The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published in1925, it is set on Long Island's North Shore and in New York City from spring to autumn of 1922....
and the theme of Gatsby's inability to escape his past and who he was no matter how much he tried to cover it, a sentiment that D'Angelo shares as he is unable to escape that he is a Barksdale. It also refers to Jimmy McNulty's attempts at reconciliation with his wife. This also gives inclination to the eventual fate of Frank Sobotka and his attempts at revitalizing the respect of the Stevedores.
Starring cast
Although credited, John DomanJohn Doman
John Doman is an American actor best known for playing Deputy Police Commissioner William Rawls on HBO series The Wire from 2002 to 2008 and Colonel Edward Galson on Oz in 2001....
, Frankie Faison
Frankie Faison
Frankie Russel Faison , often credited as Frankie R. Faison, is an American actor.-Personal life:Faison was born in Newport News, Virginia, the son of Carmena and Edgar Faison. He studied drama at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois, where he joined Theta Chi Fraternity...
, Deirdre Lovejoy
Deirdre Lovejoy
Deirdre Lovejoy is an American actress. She is most notable for her role on the HBO television series The Wire as Rhonda Pearlman. She graduated from the University of Evansville with an undergraduate degree in theatre....
and Andre Royo
Andre Royo
Andre Royo is an American actor. He is best known for his role as "Bubbles" in The Wire , and has had guest starring appearances in Fringe, Party Down, and How To Make It In America.-Career:...
do not appear in this episode.
Guest stars
- 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 - 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 - James RansoneJames RansoneJames Ransone is an American actor and former musician from Baltimore, Maryland. He is best known for his roles as Ziggy Sobotka in the second season of HBO's The Wire, and Corporal Josh Ray Person in the Iraq War-based mini-series Generation Kill...
as Ziggy SobotkaZiggy SobotkaChester Karol "Ziggy" Sobotka is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor James Ransone. Though his father Frank Sobotka was a well-respected stevedore union leader, Ziggy's often reckless and juvenile behavior gained him little respect among other members of the union and... - Pablo SchreiberPablo SchreiberPablo Tell Schreiber is an American actor known for his dramatic stage work and for his portrayal of the Polish-American character Nick Sobotka on HBO's Baltimore drug-related crime drama The Wire. He was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in Awake and Sing! on Broadway...
as Nick SobotkaNick SobotkaNickolas Andrew "Nick" Sobotka is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Pablo Schreiber. the character of Nick is cousin to, Ziggy Sobotka, the wayward and rebellious son to his uncle Frank Sobotka... - Melanie Nicholls-King as Cheryl
- 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".... - Michael HyattMichael HyattMichael Hyatt is a British-born film and television actress. Before Hyatt's work in film and television, she enjoyed memorable performances on stages throughout the country, particularly in Ragtime on Broadway.-Early life:...
as Brianna Barksdale - Michael KostroffMichael KostroffMichael Kostroff is an American actor. He appeared on the HBO program The Wire as defense attorney Maurice Levy. Kostroff starred in the fifth season of the series and appeared in all four earlier seasons as a guest star.- Biography :...
as Maurice LevyMaurice Levy (The Wire)Maurice "Maury" Levy is a fictional lawyer on the HBO drama The Wire, played by Michael Kostroff. He is a skilled defense attorney and was kept on retainer by the drug-trafficking Barksdale Organization, representing the organization's members at trials and advising Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell... - Susan Rome as ASA Ilene Nathan
- Robert F. ChewRobert F. ChewRobert F. Chew is an American actor from Baltimore, Maryland. He starred in the HBO television drama series The Wire as manipulative drug kingpin Proposition Joe on all five seasons of the show...
as Proposition JoeProposition JoeJoseph "Proposition Joe" Stewart is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire played by actor Robert F. Chew. Joe is an Eastside drug kingpin who preferred a peaceful solution to business disputes when possible... - Wendy GranthamWendy GranthamWendy Grantham is an American actress and singer, best known for her role as the sweet-natured stripper Shardene Innes in the HBO crime series The Wire....
as Shardene Innes - Lev GorensLev GornLev Gorn is an American stage, film and television actor. Sometimes he is credited as Lev Gorens.-Off-Broadway:**...
as Eton Ben-Eleazer - Charley ScaliesCharley ScaliesCharlie Scalies is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Thomas "Horseface" Pakusa, one of the stevedores and union members on the second season of HBO's The Wire. He has also appeared in TV shows Homicide: Life on the Street, Law & Order, and The Sopranos.- External links :...
as Thomas "Horseface" Pakusa - Fredro StarrFredro StarrFredro Scruggs better known by his stage name Fredro Starr, is an American rapper and actor from South Jamaica, Queens, New York best known as a member of hardcore hip hop group Onyx.-Music career:...
as Marquis "Bird" Hilton - Chris AshworthChris AshworthChristopher Michael Ashworth , better known as simply Chris Ashworth, is an American actor, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Sergei Malatov on The Wire...
as Sergei "Serge" Malatov - Luray Cooper as Nat Coxson
- Erik Todd Dellums as ME Randall Frazier
- Jeffrey Fugitt as Officer Claude Diggins
- Richard PriceRichard Price (writer)Richard Price is an American novelist and screenwriter, known for the books The Wanderers and Clockers.-Early life:...
as book group leader
Uncredited appearances
- 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 Phelan - Harold L. Able, Sr. as Moonshot
- J. Valenteen Gregg as Chess
- Doug Lory as Little Big Roy
- Bus Howard as Vernon "Ott" Mottley
- Jeffrey Pratt Gordon as Johnny "Fifty" Spamanato
- Dakota Anderson as Mugs
- Jacques Derosena as Leech
- Toni Hunter as Stripper
Gant trial
Omar LittleOmar 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"....
solves a crossword clue for the bailiff as he awaits his appearance in court. When he is called, he answers honestly about his occupation as ASA Ilene Nathan questions him. Omar is quick to identify Marquis "Bird" Hilton, stating that they served prison time together. Bird's attorney Maurice Levy
Maurice Levy (The Wire)
Maurice "Maury" Levy is a fictional lawyer on the HBO drama The Wire, played by Michael Kostroff. He is a skilled defense attorney and was kept on retainer by the drug-trafficking Barksdale Organization, representing the organization's members at trials and advising Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell...
objects to the reference to Bird's previous convictions and it is stricken from the record. Omar identifies Bird's weapon and insults Bird, saying he was too stupid to dispose of it. Bird flies into a rage and has to be restrained as Judge Phelan calls for order. As they observe the trial, 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 Jimmy McNulty
Jimmy McNulty
Detective James "Jimmy" McNulty is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by British actor Dominic West. McNulty is an Irish American detective in the Baltimore Police Department...
that word on the street is that Omar was nowhere near the crime scene; McNulty reminds Stringer that the word on the street is not worth anything in a court of law.
Levy cross-examines Omar and asks if his testimony is part of a deal with the police. Levy reads Omar's arrest record, including a charge for attempted murder. Omar explains away the charge, saying that he deliberately shot a drug dealer named Mike Mike in the "hind parts" with no intent to kill, drawing an amused reaction from the jury. Levy is incredulous about Omar's career and characterizes him as a violent criminal. Levy claims that Omar would have killed Gant himself if he needed to - an assertion that Omar flatly denies; maintaining that he wouldn't kill a citizen who wasn't in the "game." Levy continues on, describing Omar as a parasite living off the drug culture. Omar jumps upon this comment and compares himself to Levy – both live off the drug trade, Omar through his shotgun and Levy through his briefcase. The courtroom reacts in shock; Nathan and Judge Phelan are both thrilled with Omar's performance under cross-examination. Levy is unable to further discredit Omar as a witness after his own credibility is diminished in front of the jury.
When the jury returns a guilty verdict, Levy protests claiming that Omar's testimony was fabricated on a deal with the police department calling for an appeal. Judge Phelan shows little mercy for Bird claiming there will be no appeal unless evidence is presented proving Bird is Jesus Christ come back to earth. Phelan then quickly moves through pre-sentencing claiming that Bird will serve life without parole. After the trial, Nathan gives Omar her card and offers him a "get out of jail free" pass on any charge up to and including aggravated assault. On his way out of the courthouse, Bird threatens Omar's life while Omar tells Bird to remember Brandon, Omar's dead lover, while serving his sentence.
Sobotka detail
Lieutenant Cedric DanielsCedric Daniels
Cedric Daniels is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Lance Reddick. He is a well regarded officer in the department whose focus is on good police work and quality arrests...
reviews the information that his detail has gathered so far. Lester Freamon
Lester Freamon
Lester 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...
reports that Frank Sobotka
Frank Sobotka
Francis "Frank" Sobotka is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Chris Bauer.-Biography:Frank is a respected Polish-American secretary treasurer for the International Brotherhood of Stevedores at the Baltimore docks...
lives within his means, while the union books show a decline in membership and difficulty meeting their debts. Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski and Freamon describe a paper trail through campaign finance records linking the union to $70,000 in contributions. Thomas "Herc" Hauk reports that they have had success making street level hand-to-hands but have established no ties so far between drug dealers and the union. Beadie Russell
Beadie Russell
Beatrice "Beadie" Russell is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actress Amy Ryan. She was featured prominently in the second season, after she discovered thirteen corpses in a container on the Baltimore docks....
suggests that the union is making extra money by facilitating smuggling in and out of the port. Daniels introduces Russell and 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 explains their co-operation with the detail over their Jane Doe homicides. Daniels reassigns Kima Greggs
Kima 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 Prez to focus on the vice trade, and Freamon to work with Russell and Bunk looking at container movements. Herc asks Russell out on a date and she declines. Ellis Carver
Ellis Carver
Ellis 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...
mocks Herc.
Greggs meets with Shardene Innes to ask for help tracking down Eastern European girls working in the vice trade. Shardene is now living with Freamon and attending nursing school. Later Greggs discusses her strip club assignment with Cheryl. Cheryl is jealous and angry that Greggs has returned to detective work, and insists on accompanying Greggs. Prez is also roped into visiting the clubs and seems uncomfortable, refusing to look directly at any of the strippers. Shardene's friend is only too willing to help, because her earnings are threatened by the imported girls. She tells the detectives that there is a madam who organizes the girls and that their pay is low, so they undercut local dancers. The girls are kept in a motel and driven back and forth to work and they are carefully guarded and prevented from becoming close with their customers. After visiting the club, Greggs takes Cheryl to the port and explains how the girls died.
Russell shows Bunk and Daniels how to use computers to track container movements. She warns them that it will require long hours of surveillance. The tedium of the surveillance work sends Bunk to the bar early. Bunk drinks with McNulty and tells him that he thinks Colonel 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:...
expects him to clear the cases or he will force him out of the unit. McNulty tears up the photo of the dead girl he has been carrying since he found her body, telling Bunk he is done pretending to be a detective and that he is going to make another go of things with Elena.
The next day, Russell and Freamon report their findings to Daniels while Bunk struggles through a terrible hangover. They have linked all of the missing containers to Thomas "Horseface" Pakusa. Daniels is still reluctant to fold the Jane Doe murders into his investigation despite the link through Horseface.
McNulty
McNulty visits his wife's real estate business and amuses her by undressing the store mannequin while she talks to clients. He asks her to come to dinner with him; despite her initial reluctance, he talks her into it. While working on the marine unit, McNulty continues to be troubled by the dead girl he pulled from the harbor.At their dinner Elena parries McNulty's attempts to rekindle their relationship by propositioning him for sex. The next morning, as McNulty relaxes and reads the paper, Elena asks him to leave before their sons see him and think the family is back together.
Barksdale trade
Stringer BellStringer 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...
delivers an envelope of cash to Leech, a contact from Washington D.C. He is there to organize a contract killing and insists that it must not be traceable to him.
Prison
D'Angelo BarksdaleD'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...
flushes his remaining drugs down his cell toilet. He attends a book group in the prison library and discusses F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
’s The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published in1925, it is set on Long Island's North Shore and in New York City from spring to autumn of 1922....
. D’Angelo offers a sophisticated analysis of the novel asserting that a person can never escape his past, no matter what fronts he attempts to establish.
Brianna visits D'Angelo and tries to persuade him to use Avon
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...
's set-up of CO Tilghman to shave time from his sentence. He refuses, saying that Avon's actions were evil. He reminds his mother that she taught him to stand up for himself from an incident when he was younger where she forced him to fight a pair of twins that were picking on him rather than let him in the house. He then reminds his mother that he learned to take responsibility from that incident and refuses to try to get out of prison given what she taught him and her forcing of him to take the majority of the drug charges for the Barksdale Organization
Barksdale Organization
In the television series The Wire, the fictional Barksdale Organization led by Avon Barksdale began as the most powerful and violent drug crew in Baltimore, Maryland and was the main focus of investigation in seasons one and three...
. He then asks her to tell Stringer, Avon and Donette to leave him alone. D'Angelo passes Avon in the corridor and refuses to talk to him.
While working in the prison library, D'Angelo is assaulted and strangled to death with a belt by another inmate named Mugs. Mugs positions the body and hands so that it appears as suicide.
The Greeks
Nick SobotkaNick Sobotka
Nickolas Andrew "Nick" Sobotka is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Pablo Schreiber. the character of Nick is cousin to, Ziggy Sobotka, the wayward and rebellious son to his uncle Frank Sobotka...
meets with Spiros "Vondas" Vondopoulos
Spiros Vondas
Spiros "Vondas" Vondopoulos is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire played by actor Paul Ben-Victor.-Biography:...
and his drug lieutenant Eton Ben-Eleazer to discuss the chemicals. Nick asks for help with Ziggy’s problems with Cheese
Cheese Wagstaff
Calvin "Cheese" Wagstaff is a fictional character on the HBO television series The Wire. He is portrayed by hip hop recording artist Method Man. He is a crew chief for his uncle Proposition Joe's drug organization and later works for the Stanfield Organization after betraying his uncle and...
. Vondas offers to kill Cheese and Nick says that he is not looking for a war and that Ziggy is in the wrong. Vondas calls Nick smart and Nick takes the opportunity to ask for muscle to talk to Cheese.
Nick accompanies Sergei "Serge" Molatov to a meeting with Cheese and is dismayed when Serge draws a firearm. Serge reports that he has negotiated with Cheese and that he will talk to Proposition Joe
Proposition Joe
Joseph "Proposition Joe" Stewart is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire played by actor Robert F. Chew. Joe is an Eastside drug kingpin who preferred a peaceful solution to business disputes when possible...
to compensate Ziggy Sobotka
Ziggy Sobotka
Chester Karol "Ziggy" Sobotka is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor James Ransone. Though his father Frank Sobotka was a well-respected stevedore union leader, Ziggy's often reckless and juvenile behavior gained him little respect among other members of the union and...
for Cheese destroying his car. Serge arranges a meeting with Proposition Joe
Proposition Joe
Joseph "Proposition Joe" Stewart is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire played by actor Robert F. Chew. Joe is an Eastside drug kingpin who preferred a peaceful solution to business disputes when possible...
at his electronics shop. When Serge vouches for Nick, Joe agrees to compensate Ziggy. Proposition Joe makes it clear that Ziggy and Nick would both be dead if not for their association with the Greeks. At the same time, Joe is somewhat understanding of Nick's situation realizing that problematic family members such as Ziggy occur in almost every family including Joe's.
Nick delivers the chemicals to Eton and Vondas; they offer to pay him with drugs. Nick opts to take half the payment in cash and the rest in drugs. Nick refuses to let Ziggy get involved with the package after the trouble he caused with the last one. Their accomplice Johnny "Fifty" Spamanto is on hand to drive home with them.
Union business
Frank Sobotka chairs a meeting with his union about their political aims. Nat Coxson is skeptical about the usefulness of dredging the canal and their chances of restarting the grain pier. Also in attendance are Horseface, Little Big Roy, Moonshot, Chess and Ott amongst others. Nat urges the checkers to start to contact their legislators. After the meeting Nat tells Frank that he knows he must be getting money from another source and warns him to be careful.At Delores' bar Frank buys a round and Little Big Roy and Horseface tell stories. Nick arrives to give Ziggy his compensation. Ziggy immediately buys a round for the bar and burns some of the money. Frank leaves the bar, disgusted with Ziggy’s actions. Outside he asks Ziggy how he got the bruises, still visible from the beating Cheese gave him, Ziggy lies and says he fell over. He questions Ziggy about where he is getting money from. He tells Ziggy perhaps he should have gone to community college with his brother. Ziggy reminisces about his childhood - his memories focus entirely on the docks, his father and the union.
First appearances
- Eton Ben-Eleazer: Israeli lieutenant in charge of The Greeks drug supply operation.
Reception
Omar Little's courtroom scene in this episode has been described as the character's "defining scene" and is among actor Michael K. WilliamsMichael K. Williams
Michael 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:...
' favorites.
The Futon Critic named it the ninth best episode of 2003, saying "There's simply been nobody like Omar (Michael K. Williams) on television before and he absolutely steals the show in this episode as he's called on to testify for the D.A.'s office. After being grilled by the defense for his less than moral activities, Omar responds with an amazing, funny and cheer inducing monologue about the legal system.
Ratings
The episode drew an average of 4.11 million viewers and was the second most watched program on cable television (after lead-in Sex and The CitySex and the City
Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
) for the week ending July 7, 2003.