Homecoming (The Wire episode)
Encyclopedia
"Homecoming" is the sixth episode of the third season of the HBO original series, The Wire
. The episode was written by Rafael Alvarez
from a story by David Simon
& Rafael Alvarez and was directed by Leslie Libman
. It originally aired on October 31, 2004.
, Jim True-Frost
, and Corey Parker Robinson
do not appear in this episode.
attend a political event. Councilman Tony Gray, Senator Clay Davis
and State Delegate Odell Watkins discuss the absence of Marla's opponent Eunetta Perkins. Watkins congratulates Gray for criticizing the mayor through the police subcommittee. After the event Cedric and Marla have coffee and she raises the possibility of a reconciliation. Cedric tells Marla that he cannot promise any more than his continued support of her political career. Later, Daniels raises Marla's political aspirations in conversation with his new girlfriend Rhonda Pearlman
, telling her that he feels he owes Marla the supportive husband routine because she supported his career for so long.
Tommy Carcetti
plays another racquetball game with Gray and Gray raises the possibility of someone running against Royce. They skirt around the issue of who and Carcetti suggests that only a black person could win a mayoral race in Baltimore. Carcetti returns home to his wife and children for dinner.
Carcetti meets formally with Theresa D'Agostino to ask her to run his campaign a second time. She again questions the possibility of a white mayor of Baltimore. Carcetti reasons that with Gray thinking about running, the black vote will be split. He also brags about having Burrell as an inside source within the Police department.
Mayor Clarence Royce
and Chief of Staff Coleman Parker meet with Acting Commissioner Ervin Burrell
about the rising murder rate and suggest that he may not stay as commissioner unless he can control it.
gives a report detailing his efforts to retrieve Officer Dozerman's weapon to Sergeant Jay Landsman
as a way to deflect the attention of their superiors. Bunk insists that he will work on the double homicide of Tosha and Tank rather than wasting time on the service weapon and Landsman finally agrees with him.
Bunk interviews Tosha's family and is direct about her involvement in the shoot-out and with Omar Little
. He asks them to put Omar in touch with him so that he can tell his story. The word gets back to Omar through Kimmy and she gives him Bunk's card. Omar tells Kimmy to let him handle the police. Later, Omar catches up with Bruiser, the witness who identified him to Bunk, at a card game and convinces him to change his story. Omar contacts Bunk to invite him to a meeting. When Omar tells Bunk there is no victim in the case of the shooting and implies that Bruiser has changed his story, Bunk flies into a rage. He talks about their shared past at Edmondson High School
. Bunk says that the sense of community in their neighborhoods and the concern for the dead is all but gone.
free rein to use any force necessary to make the drug dealers relocate. The drug enforcement unit tows cars, delivers brutal beatings and pepper sprayings, throws away shoes and drives dealers out into the countryside to make their point. Major Colvin finds his district safer with honest people back out on the corners again, but the reality of the tolerance zones is shocking. He notices one resident remaining in the Hamsterdam zone. He offers her a chance to relocate as part of a program to move people out of areas affected by the drug trade. She refuses to move and asks why he can't deal with the drug problem instead of moving her. Colvin approaches Colonel Raymond Foerster with the paperwork for the move, telling him the woman is a witness in a drug case, and Foerster reluctantly signs it.
Rawls phones Colvin about the shootout at Mount and Fayette, angry that Colvin has little to tell him. Carver is again unable to give Colvin any information about which gangs might have been involved. Colvin finds information later pertaining to the involvement of Stringer Bell
and Marlo Stanfield
through Detective Jimmy McNulty
and then requests the Major Case Unit's assistance in targeting the two drug organizations.
and Stringer Bell
visit their development site and are dismayed to find costs spiraling. Avon puts the blame with their contractor, telling him that he is supposed to have the expertise to avoid these problems; Andy Krawczyk deflects the accusation by saying that cost over-runs are the nature of their business.
Avon, Stringer and Slim Charles survey territory. Avon questions why they don't have a crew near Marlo's, and Stringer tells him there was a setback. Slim Charles reveals that the crew was run off by Marlo. Avon is dismayed that they are conceding the best territory without a fight. Later Stringer tries to dissuade Avon of the need to fight for territory. Avon tells Stringer he is just a gangster, not a businessman, and he wants his corners.
Stringer visits Hamsterdam with Bodie Broadus
and discusses moving a small part of their business there to test the waters. He tells Bodie to report directly to him. Bodie later assigns two young hoppers to the territory. Stringer phones Shamrock at the funeral home to apologize for being late to meet Avon as he has other business. Avon questions Slim Charles about the state of their muscle. Most of the old enforcers Avon knows are unable or unwilling to work with him. Avon orders Slim Charles to attack Marlo using Dennis "Cutty" Wise and the best of the rest of his muscle. Meanwhile Stringer is called back to the development site and told that construction is being held up by city hall; Krawczyk tells him to ask Senator Davis to hurry things along as that is why they have him on the payroll. When Stringer meets with Davis, the senator asks for $25,000 to move things ahead, promising the permits by Monday.
Cutty and Slim Charles plan their attack and explain it to Gerard, Country and Chipper, the driver. Charles and Cutty will move on foot through the alleys to distract Marlo's people while Gerard and Country will drive by in a car. They also plan to dispose of the evidence afterwards, dropping the guns and casings immediately but retaining the gloves to prevent DNA evidence reaching the police. Cutty orders the other soldiers to wait until they phone them to make their move. Once the soldiers are set up, Chipper spots a Stanfield lieutenant named Nay-Nay and ignores Country's insistence that they wait for the call. Chipper makes their move early to avoid missing out on the credit for the attack. They accidentally alert the lookouts and Marlo's crew is ready for them. Chipper is killed as they approach and the car crashes. Country is shot trying to get out of the car, all before Slim Charles and Cutty are in position. Gerard manages to escape from the car and leaves the scene on foot.
Later, Slim Charles and Cutty report in to Avon and tell him that without Gerard's side of the story they will not know what happened. Stringer suggests that the killings will draw police attention and they need to slow down and build up their muscle. Avon tells Stringer that he wants to act himself, but Stringer reminds him that he is on parole. Slim Charles offers to handle it with just him and Cutty so there are no mistakes and Avon gives them the go-ahead. Stringer changes the subject to the new developments in Hamsterdam, but Avon is distracted.
After the shootout, Marlo Stanfield
visits his adviser Vinson at his rim shop. Vinson warns Marlo that Avon will have to come back again after the embarrassment of the failed assault. Marlo tells him he is not worried and that the failed attack speaks to the quality of Avon's soldiers. Vinson warns Marlo that taking control of the drug trade will inevitably end with him either dead or in prison; Marlo is more concerned with taking control than the aftermath and he readies his soldiers Snoop and Chris Partlow for the coming war.
Brianna cuts Donette's hair and Donette discusses D'Angelo
. Brianna gives her blessing for Donette to pursue her relationship with Stringer. Donette relates her visit from Detective McNulty
to Brianna, who is startled by McNulty's allegation that D'Angelo's death was not a suicide.
Cutty and Slim Charles cruise the neighborhood and find Fruit's crew unprepared. Slim Charles shoots and kills Boo and Cutty has a shot lined up on Fruit but allows him to escape after glancing at Boo's bloodied body. Slim Charles believes he must have begun shooting too early and spoiled Cutty's shot. They report back to a dissatisfied Avon once more at the funeral home. Avon tells Cutty he is disappointed that he did not kill anyone and Slim Charles claims responsibility. Cutty speaks up and admits that he couldn't shoot Fruit because the game is no longer part of him. Avon asks Cutty what he will do now; Cutty has no plans but is sure the game is not for him. Avon lets Cutty go on good terms and tells Slim Charles he still has respect for Cutty.
and McNulty mistakenly report to Daniels that Marlo is running the best territory in the Western district on Stringer's behalf. They believe that because the Barksdale organization made the transition out from the high rise towers so easily then they must be working with Marlo. They tell Daniels that Stringer's meeting with Marlo was proof that he is still involved in the day to day business of selling drugs and that they must act now before he is completely legitimate. Daniels rules that as long as Stringer is quiet on the violence front they have no call to investigate him.
McNulty and Greggs meet with Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Kendall Remnick to discuss reopening the D'Angelo Barksdale case based on medical examiner Frazier's findings that it may not have been a suicide. She tells them she will not put another murder on her county's books without a suspect. Later McNulty and Greggs go drinking and discuss their failure to get a case started against Stringer. They discuss their relationship difficulties and McNulty mentions D'Agostino.
Greggs finds Bubbles implementing his plan to sell oversized white T-shirts to the young drug dealers. Bubbles
tells Kima about the gunfight and the two dead Barksdale soldiers on the corner of Mount and Fayette. Bubbles sets Greggs straight about the relationship between the Stanfield and Barksdale crews. She and McNulty report the new killings to Daniels. Daniels tells them that it is no longer about the case but about their insubordination and sends them away. Later they discuss Daniels' stubbornness and Greggs suggests that a request from Colvin might change Daniels' mind. McNulty meets with Colvin outside the Western precinct to present the case to him. Colvin sees that he is going behind Daniels' back and McNulty asks him to keep his name out of it. The next day Colvin, Deputy Commissioner William Rawls
and Commissioner Burrell meet with Daniels, who has now been dubbed as the department's hero to the rescue, to give him his new assignment.
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 Rafael Alvarez
Rafael Alvarez
Rafael Alvarez is an American journalist, author and television producer and writer. Alvarez worked as a reporter for the Baltimore Sun prior to starting a career in television. He has worked as a writer and story editor on the Home Box Office drama series The Wire and a writer and producer on the...
from a story 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...
& Rafael Alvarez and was directed by Leslie Libman
Leslie Libman
Leslie Libman is an American television director. She also directed commercials and music videos.-Television work:Since 1995 she works primarily as a TV director on a number of television series, most notably directing multiple episodes of Homicide: Life on the Street, The 4400 and NCIS. Other...
. It originally aired on October 31, 2004.
Title reference
The title refers to the return of Avon Barksdale and also the major case unit returning its focus to investigating the Barksdale organization. Additionally, the title may refer to Cutty's desire to leave the game, but his lack of experience or skills to do so.Epigraph
Avon makes this statement to Stringer in reference to his own inability to adjust to the new legitimate aspects of their business, and an inability to escape the molds of the institution.Starring cast
Although credited, Clarke PetersClarke Peters
Clarke 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:...
, Jim True-Frost
Jim True-Frost
Jim 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:...
, and Corey Parker Robinson
Corey Parker Robinson
Corey Parker Robinson is an American actor. He may be best known for appearing on the HBO program The Wire as Detective Leander Sydnor. He also appeared in Wire creator David Simon's earlier The Corner as R.C., a young drug dealer and in ER in episode 19 of Season 5 as student Antoine Bell...
do not appear in this episode.
Guest stars
- Glynn TurmanGlynn TurmanGlynn Russell Turman is an American stage, television, and film actor as well as a writer, director, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his roles as high school student Leroy "Preach" Jackson in the 1975 coming-of-age film Cooley High, math professor and retired Army colonel Bradford...
as Mayor Clarence RoyceClarence RoyceClarence V. Royce is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by Glynn Turman-Biography:Mayor of Baltimore Clarence V. Royce is a deft political figure and is fixated on remaining in power. Royce is the incumbent Mayor of Baltimore who was elected into office in 1998 and is in the... - Isiah Whitlock, Jr.Isiah Whitlock, Jr.Isiah Whitlock Jr. is an American actor.He is most famous for his role on the HBO television series, The Wire as corrupt state senator Clay Davis. He also is notable for appearing in Spike Lee films She Hate Me and 25th Hour as Agent Amos Flood...
as Senator Clayton "Clay" DavisClay DavisState Senator R. Clayton "Clay" Davis is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Isiah Whitlock, Jr. Davis is a corrupt Maryland State Senator with a reputation for pocketing bribes... - Chad L. Coleman as Dennis "Cutty" Wise
- Jamie HectorJamie HectorJamie Hector is an Haitian-American actor who is known for his portrayal of Marlo Stanfield on the critically acclaimed HBO series The Wire.- Biography :...
as Marlo StanfieldMarlo StanfieldMarlo "Black" Stanfield is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Jamie Hector. Stanfield is a young, ruthless and ambitious player in the Baltimore drug trade who gains control of West Baltimore and is the head of his own drug crew.-Character background and plot... - Maria Broom as Marla Daniels
- 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 - 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... - Brandy BurreBrandy BurreBrandy Burre was born on September 27, 1974 in Sandusky, Ohio. She earned her Master's degree in acting at Ohio University, and has performed on the stage in addition to her work in film and television. She is best known for her portrayal of Theresa D'Agostino on the HBO series The Wire.-External...
as Theresa D'Agostino - Benjamin BuschBenjamin BuschBenjamin B. Busch is an American actor, writer, film maker, photographer, and former United States Marine Corps officer. He is best known for his portrayal of Anthony Colicchio on the HBO original series The Wire.-Biography:...
as Officer Anthony Colicchio - Jay LandsmanJay LandsmanThe book was later developed into the television series Homicide: Life on the Street. He was the inspiration for the fictional character John Munch on that show and a character named Jay Landsman on the television series The Wire, created by Simon. Landsman portrayed himself in a brief appearance...
as Lieutenant Dennis Mello - Megan Anderson as Jen Carcetti
- Shamyl Brown as Donette
- Verna Lee Day as "Hamsterdam" resident
- Anwan GloverAnwan GloverRalph Anwan Glover is an American actor and musician. He is one of the founding members of the Backyard Band, a go-go band, as well as appearing as gang member Slim Charles in the HBO series The Wire. He has also appeared in music videos, such as Boyz n da Hood's "Dem Boyz" among others, and has a...
as Slim Charles - Kelli R. Brown as Kimmy
- Nina Hodoruk as State's Attorney Kendall Remnick
- Richard DeAngelis as Colonel Raymond Foerster
- Michael Salconi as Officer Michael Santangelo
- Ernest WaddellErnest WaddellErnest Waddell is a New York City-based actor. He is perhaps best known for his recurring roles on two television series : Fin Tutuola's son Ken Randall on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Omar Little's boyfriend Dante on The Wire...
as Dante - Mayo Best as Gerard
- Richard BurtonRichard BurtonRichard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
as Shaun "Shamrock" McGinty - Norris Davis as Vinson
- Brandon FobbsBrandon FobbsBrandon Fobbs is an American actor.He had a recurring role on HBO television series The Wire as Fruit. He also appeared in Pride and This Christmas and The Devil's Tomb.-External links:...
as Fruit - Addison Switzer as Country
- 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 Chris Partlow - Christopher Mann as Councilman Tony Gray
- Cleo Reginald Pizana as Chief of Staff Coleman Parker
- Frederick Strother as State Delegate Odell Watkins
- Michael WillisMichael WillisMichael Willis, born October 4, 1949, is an American television and movie character actor. Willis' credits include movie roles in Pushing Tin and Men in Black, and several episodes of Law & Order....
as Andy Krawczyk
Uncredited appearances
- R. Emery Bright as Community Relations Sergeant
- Edward Green as Spider
- Felicia PearsonFelicia PearsonFelicia Pearson is an American actress, author, and rapper. She is best known for playing a character of the same name, Felicia "Snoop" Pearson, on The Wire. She wrote a memoir titled Grace After Midnight.-Biography:Pearson was born to two incarcerated drug addicts and raised in an East Baltimore...
as Snoop - Ryan Sands as Officer Lloyd "Truck" Garrick
- Unknown as Chipper
- Unknown as Bruiser
- Unknown as Boo
Politics
Marla and 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...
attend a political event. Councilman Tony Gray, Senator Clay Davis
Clay Davis
State Senator R. Clayton "Clay" Davis is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Isiah Whitlock, Jr. Davis is a corrupt Maryland State Senator with a reputation for pocketing bribes...
and State Delegate Odell Watkins discuss the absence of Marla's opponent Eunetta Perkins. Watkins congratulates Gray for criticizing the mayor through the police subcommittee. After the event Cedric and Marla have coffee and she raises the possibility of a reconciliation. Cedric tells Marla that he cannot promise any more than his continued support of her political career. Later, Daniels raises Marla's political aspirations in conversation with his new girlfriend Rhonda Pearlman
Rhonda Pearlman
Rhonda Pearlman is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actress Deirdre Lovejoy. Pearlman has been the legal system liaison for all of Lieutenant Cedric Daniels' investigations on the show...
, telling her that he feels he owes Marla the supportive husband routine because she supported his career for so long.
Tommy Carcetti
Tommy Carcetti
Thomas J. "Tommy" Carcetti is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by Irish actor Aidan Gillen. Carcetti is an ambitious Baltimore politician who rises from a seat on the city council to the office of the Mayor of Baltimore, and to the office of the Governor of Maryland by the...
plays another racquetball game with Gray and Gray raises the possibility of someone running against Royce. They skirt around the issue of who and Carcetti suggests that only a black person could win a mayoral race in Baltimore. Carcetti returns home to his wife and children for dinner.
Carcetti meets formally with Theresa D'Agostino to ask her to run his campaign a second time. She again questions the possibility of a white mayor of Baltimore. Carcetti reasons that with Gray thinking about running, the black vote will be split. He also brags about having Burrell as an inside source within the Police department.
Mayor Clarence Royce
Clarence Royce
Clarence V. Royce is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by Glynn Turman-Biography:Mayor of Baltimore Clarence V. Royce is a deft political figure and is fixated on remaining in power. Royce is the incumbent Mayor of Baltimore who was elected into office in 1998 and is in the...
and Chief of Staff Coleman Parker meet with Acting 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...
about the rising murder rate and suggest that he may not stay as commissioner unless he can control it.
Homicide
Bunk MorelandBunk 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...
gives a report detailing his efforts to retrieve Officer Dozerman's weapon to 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...
as a way to deflect the attention of their superiors. Bunk insists that he will work on the double homicide of Tosha and Tank rather than wasting time on the service weapon and Landsman finally agrees with him.
Bunk interviews Tosha's family and is direct about her involvement in the shoot-out and with 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"....
. He asks them to put Omar in touch with him so that he can tell his story. The word gets back to Omar through Kimmy and she gives him Bunk's card. Omar tells Kimmy to let him handle the police. Later, Omar catches up with Bruiser, the witness who identified him to Bunk, at a card game and convinces him to change his story. Omar contacts Bunk to invite him to a meeting. When Omar tells Bunk there is no victim in the case of the shooting and implies that Bruiser has changed his story, Bunk flies into a rage. He talks about their shared past at Edmondson High School
Edmondson/Westside High School (Baltimore, Maryland)
Edmondson-Westside High School is a public high school and trade school in Baltimore, Maryland. It is located in the southwest section of the city in the area known as Edmondson Village...
. Bunk says that the sense of community in their neighborhoods and the concern for the dead is all but gone.
Western district
Trade in Hamsterdam is thriving, but Major Howard "Bunny" Colvin insists that his men crack down hard on any remaining drug crews operating outside the tolerance zones. He gives Sergeant Ellis CarverEllis 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...
free rein to use any force necessary to make the drug dealers relocate. The drug enforcement unit tows cars, delivers brutal beatings and pepper sprayings, throws away shoes and drives dealers out into the countryside to make their point. Major Colvin finds his district safer with honest people back out on the corners again, but the reality of the tolerance zones is shocking. He notices one resident remaining in the Hamsterdam zone. He offers her a chance to relocate as part of a program to move people out of areas affected by the drug trade. She refuses to move and asks why he can't deal with the drug problem instead of moving her. Colvin approaches Colonel Raymond Foerster with the paperwork for the move, telling him the woman is a witness in a drug case, and Foerster reluctantly signs it.
Rawls phones Colvin about the shootout at Mount and Fayette, angry that Colvin has little to tell him. Carver is again unable to give Colvin any information about which gangs might have been involved. Colvin finds information later pertaining to the involvement of 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...
and Marlo Stanfield
Marlo Stanfield
Marlo "Black" Stanfield is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Jamie Hector. Stanfield is a young, ruthless and ambitious player in the Baltimore drug trade who gains control of West Baltimore and is the head of his own drug crew.-Character background and plot...
through Detective 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...
and then requests the Major Case Unit's assistance in targeting the two drug organizations.
Barksdale organization
Avon BarksdaleAvon 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...
and 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...
visit their development site and are dismayed to find costs spiraling. Avon puts the blame with their contractor, telling him that he is supposed to have the expertise to avoid these problems; Andy Krawczyk deflects the accusation by saying that cost over-runs are the nature of their business.
Avon, Stringer and Slim Charles survey territory. Avon questions why they don't have a crew near Marlo's, and Stringer tells him there was a setback. Slim Charles reveals that the crew was run off by Marlo. Avon is dismayed that they are conceding the best territory without a fight. Later Stringer tries to dissuade Avon of the need to fight for territory. Avon tells Stringer he is just a gangster, not a businessman, and he wants his corners.
Stringer visits Hamsterdam with 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...
and discusses moving a small part of their business there to test the waters. He tells Bodie to report directly to him. Bodie later assigns two young hoppers to the territory. Stringer phones Shamrock at the funeral home to apologize for being late to meet Avon as he has other business. Avon questions Slim Charles about the state of their muscle. Most of the old enforcers Avon knows are unable or unwilling to work with him. Avon orders Slim Charles to attack Marlo using Dennis "Cutty" Wise and the best of the rest of his muscle. Meanwhile Stringer is called back to the development site and told that construction is being held up by city hall; Krawczyk tells him to ask Senator Davis to hurry things along as that is why they have him on the payroll. When Stringer meets with Davis, the senator asks for $25,000 to move things ahead, promising the permits by Monday.
Cutty and Slim Charles plan their attack and explain it to Gerard, Country and Chipper, the driver. Charles and Cutty will move on foot through the alleys to distract Marlo's people while Gerard and Country will drive by in a car. They also plan to dispose of the evidence afterwards, dropping the guns and casings immediately but retaining the gloves to prevent DNA evidence reaching the police. Cutty orders the other soldiers to wait until they phone them to make their move. Once the soldiers are set up, Chipper spots a Stanfield lieutenant named Nay-Nay and ignores Country's insistence that they wait for the call. Chipper makes their move early to avoid missing out on the credit for the attack. They accidentally alert the lookouts and Marlo's crew is ready for them. Chipper is killed as they approach and the car crashes. Country is shot trying to get out of the car, all before Slim Charles and Cutty are in position. Gerard manages to escape from the car and leaves the scene on foot.
Later, Slim Charles and Cutty report in to Avon and tell him that without Gerard's side of the story they will not know what happened. Stringer suggests that the killings will draw police attention and they need to slow down and build up their muscle. Avon tells Stringer that he wants to act himself, but Stringer reminds him that he is on parole. Slim Charles offers to handle it with just him and Cutty so there are no mistakes and Avon gives them the go-ahead. Stringer changes the subject to the new developments in Hamsterdam, but Avon is distracted.
After the shootout, Marlo Stanfield
Marlo Stanfield
Marlo "Black" Stanfield is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Jamie Hector. Stanfield is a young, ruthless and ambitious player in the Baltimore drug trade who gains control of West Baltimore and is the head of his own drug crew.-Character background and plot...
visits his adviser Vinson at his rim shop. Vinson warns Marlo that Avon will have to come back again after the embarrassment of the failed assault. Marlo tells him he is not worried and that the failed attack speaks to the quality of Avon's soldiers. Vinson warns Marlo that taking control of the drug trade will inevitably end with him either dead or in prison; Marlo is more concerned with taking control than the aftermath and he readies his soldiers Snoop and Chris Partlow for the coming war.
Brianna cuts Donette's hair and Donette discusses 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...
. Brianna gives her blessing for Donette to pursue her relationship with Stringer. Donette relates her visit from Detective 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...
to Brianna, who is startled by McNulty's allegation that D'Angelo's death was not a suicide.
Cutty and Slim Charles cruise the neighborhood and find Fruit's crew unprepared. Slim Charles shoots and kills Boo and Cutty has a shot lined up on Fruit but allows him to escape after glancing at Boo's bloodied body. Slim Charles believes he must have begun shooting too early and spoiled Cutty's shot. They report back to a dissatisfied Avon once more at the funeral home. Avon tells Cutty he is disappointed that he did not kill anyone and Slim Charles claims responsibility. Cutty speaks up and admits that he couldn't shoot Fruit because the game is no longer part of him. Avon asks Cutty what he will do now; Cutty has no plans but is sure the game is not for him. Avon lets Cutty go on good terms and tells Slim Charles he still has respect for Cutty.
Major case unit
Detectives 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 mistakenly report to Daniels that Marlo is running the best territory in the Western district on Stringer's behalf. They believe that because the Barksdale organization made the transition out from the high rise towers so easily then they must be working with Marlo. They tell Daniels that Stringer's meeting with Marlo was proof that he is still involved in the day to day business of selling drugs and that they must act now before he is completely legitimate. Daniels rules that as long as Stringer is quiet on the violence front they have no call to investigate him.
McNulty and Greggs meet with Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Kendall Remnick to discuss reopening the D'Angelo Barksdale case based on medical examiner Frazier's findings that it may not have been a suicide. She tells them she will not put another murder on her county's books without a suspect. Later McNulty and Greggs go drinking and discuss their failure to get a case started against Stringer. They discuss their relationship difficulties and McNulty mentions D'Agostino.
Greggs finds Bubbles implementing his plan to sell oversized white T-shirts to the young drug dealers. 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"...
tells Kima about the gunfight and the two dead Barksdale soldiers on the corner of Mount and Fayette. Bubbles sets Greggs straight about the relationship between the Stanfield and Barksdale crews. She and McNulty report the new killings to Daniels. Daniels tells them that it is no longer about the case but about their insubordination and sends them away. Later they discuss Daniels' stubbornness and Greggs suggests that a request from Colvin might change Daniels' mind. McNulty meets with Colvin outside the Western precinct to present the case to him. Colvin sees that he is going behind Daniels' back and McNulty asks him to keep his name out of it. The next day Colvin, Deputy Commissioner 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 Commissioner Burrell meet with Daniels, who has now been dubbed as the department's hero to the rescue, to give him his new assignment.
First appearances
- Snoop: Young female enforcer in the Stanfield organization.
Deceased
- Chipper and Country: Barksdale enforcers killed in a poorly executed drive-by on a Stanfield corner.
- Boo: Young asthmatic Stanfield drug dealer shot by Slim Charles.