Lessons (The Wire episode)
Encyclopedia
"Lessons" is the eighth 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 Gloria Muzio
. It originally aired on July 21, 2002.
. Lippman is a Baltimore resident, and is married to series creator David Simon.
, Deirdre Lovejoy
and Andre Royo
do not appear in this episode.
Note: Denise Hart was later cast as Miss Anna Jeffries in Season 4
. It is unlikely that Miss Anna was intended to be the same character as the woman that Bunk picks up in the bar.
's young charges wakes him for help with his math homework. She is unable to do a simple counting problem until Wallace phrases it in terms of the drug business. Poot
encourages Wallace to come to work. At the print shop (a Barksdale front), Stringer berates the staff for not acting like professionals.
Barksdale soldiers Wee-Bey Brice
, Stinkum and Savino raid Omar’s
apartment and torch his van while he watches from his hiding place across the street. Later, they pick up D'Angelo Barksdale
to go for a meal, where D'Angelo mentions Orlando's proposition; the others tell him that he should talk to Avon
. Avon harangues Orlando for considering getting involved in dealing when his only job is to be a clean front for the liquor board. He beats him and throws him out of his office in front of the dancers.
The soldiers throw a party celebrating Stinkum's promotion, which will be official as soon as they kill a dealer named Scar and chase his crew off his corner. D'Angelo goes out for more alcohol, and when he comes back the party is almost over. He notices one of the dancers, Keisha, lying on a bed and asks what is wrong with her. On closer inspection he realizes she is dead. Wee-Bey seems unconcerned, but D'Angelo is slightly shaken. Later, Shardene asks D’Angelo about Keisha, and he tells her that she was sick when he last saw her. They discuss his future and she tells him that if he is unhappy, he should do something else.
Wee-Bey and Stinkum prepare to hit Scar's corner, but Omar emerges from the shadows, killing Stinkum and wounding Wee-Bey. Avon marshals his soldiers, telling them that the bounty on Omar has increased to $10,000 and ordering them to get to work. Stringer tells him that the vendetta against Omar has gotten out of hand and that it would be wiser to propose a truce with Omar to lure him out of hiding and then attempt to kill him at the meeting. Avon seems skeptical of whether this plan would work.
spots Stringer Bell
while taking his sons on a shopping trip and has them follow him. McNulty loses sight of his sons, but they are capable and manage to write down Stringer's car's license plate number. He later discusses his pride in their ability with Bunk Moreland
who is disapproving of McNulty involving his sons in the operation.
In the detail office, Thomas "Herc" Hauk and Ellis Carver
discuss the upcoming sergeant’s exam, which they take later in the episode. Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski asks them to tail some of the pit crew to see which phones they are using now. They ridicule him, but, when Kima Greggs
makes the same request, they comply. Based on information gleaned from the wire, they pull over Damien "Day-Day" Price, who is Senator Clay Davis
' driver. They find a bag full of cash in his car and bring him in for questioning. Daniels tells the detail to keep the cash, but release Price with a receipt. He is forced to defend his detail's actions to Deputy Commissioner Burrell
, who tells him to give the money back and write up the stop as unwarranted. Burrell tells Daniels he is shutting down his case for getting into areas where they were not supposed to be. Daniels tells his wife Marla that his superiors dislike wiretaps because they know that drug money ties into politics. He also complains that McNulty asked him what the deputy had on him; she asks him what he said, and he doesn't reply.
Judge Phelan calls McNulty into his chambers and Greggs accompanies him. He asks about a memo from Burrell that states he is shutting the case down for getting into areas beyond its mandate and they agree to the opposition involved with it. He then calls Burrell and insists that the wiretaps be used for the full duration threatening Burrell with a contempt charge for early termination of the wiretap. He grins at the detectives and asks them, "Who’s your daddy now?" Later McNulty tails Stringer and sees him leave a taxi and switch to his car. McNulty follows Stringer to an introductory macroeconomics
class at a nearby community college.
At the detail, wiretaps reveal the murder of Stinkum and implicate Omar. Freamon tells Greggs that Omar is a loose cannon. McNulty and Greggs bring Omar in the next day, but Omar denies any involvement. While at the detail, Omar spots the photo linking Avon to Orlando’s club. Omar is unapologetic about his actions and the detectives have to let him go. Later Omar observes Orlando's club from the shadows.
Greggs goes to Freamon with her worries that she caused Omar to volunteer as an eyewitness; Freamon reassures Greggs that justice would be served even without Omar, as the ballistics matched. They discuss dancers at the club and pick out Shardene as a potential informant.
Bunk tells McNulty that Ray Cole caught the Stinkum murder. McNulty tells him that Omar was the shooter, and asks him to tell Cole that they have some talk on the wire, and will give him a closed case once their case is finished; both Bunk and McNulty regret the lie, and go out drinking to soothe their consciences. They discuss the strange position of protecting Omar from the murder investigation. Bunk spots a woman he wishes to bed, and asks McNulty to cover for him with his wife. Later, McNulty is called by the woman to come and collect Bunk, who is so drunk that he decided to burn his clothes to destroy the evidence of his infidelity. McNulty brings Bunk back to his own house and deposits him in the bed of one of his sons. Bunk mumbles that McNulty is bad for the people around him before falling asleep.
Anton "Stinkum" Artis: Ambushed and shot by Omar Little
as he tried to take over new territory for the Barksdale organization.
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 Gloria Muzio
Gloria Muzio
Gloria Muzio is an American theatre and television director. She has worked on a number of TV shows including Criminal Minds, Brothers & Sisters, The Black Donnellys, The Closer, ER, Third Watch, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Wire and...
. It originally aired on July 21, 2002.
Production
In the Homicide unit, Bunk is reading a book written by Laura LippmanLaura Lippman
Laura Lippman is an American author of detective fiction.-Biography:Lippmann was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. She is the daughter of Theo Lippman Jr., a well known and respected writer at the Baltimore Sun, and Madeline Lippman, a retired school librarian for the...
. Lippman is a Baltimore resident, and is married to series creator David Simon.
Title reference
The title refers to the classes Stringer takes, Wallace teaching the math problems to the child in his charge, Judge Phelan showing his control over Burrell to McNulty, the sergeant's exam Herc and Carver take, and Omar teaching a lesson to the Barksdale soldiers.Epigraph
Omar uses this phrase while taunting Wee-Bey after shooting Stinkum. It also relates to the chess discussion in episode #3.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....
, 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
- 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 - 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 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.... - 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:...
- 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... - 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".... - Maria Broom as Marla Daniels
- Antonio Cordova as Michael McNulty
- 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 - Eric Ryan as Sean McNulty
- 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 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... - Clayton LeBouefClayton LeBouefClayton LeBouef is an African American actor, best known for his recurring role as Colonel George Barnfather in Homicide: Life on the Street...
as Wendell "Orlando" Blocker - Brandon Price as Anton "Stinkum" Artis
- Donnell RawlingsDonnell RawlingsDonnell Rawlings is an American comedian and actor.-Career:Notable roles include appearing in Chappelle's Show, as well as making a guest appearance in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 and a cameo appearance in the music video for Jim Jones' "We Fly High"...
as Damien "Day-Day" Price
Uncredited appearances
- Tony D. Head as Major Bobby Reed
- Chris ClantonChris ClantonChris Clanton is an American actor. He has a recurring role as Savino Bratton in season 1 and 5 of The Wire. He is credited as Christopher J. Clanton in the fifth series. He also had an uncredited role in The Corner as a street kid...
as Savino - Micaiah Jones as Little Man
- Robert F. ColesberryRobert F. ColesberryRobert F. "Bob" Colesberry, Jr. was an American film and television producer and first assistant director notable for his work as a producer on the Emmy Award winning miniseries The Corner, the Peabody Award winning television series The Wire for HBO, and the Oscar-nominated movie Mississippi...
as Ray Cole - Denise Hart as Woman in Bar
- Unknown as Keisha
Note: Denise Hart was later cast as Miss Anna Jeffries in Season 4
The Wire (season 4)
The fourth season of the television series The Wire commenced airing in the United States on September 10, 2006, concluded on December 10, 2006, and contained 13 episodes...
. It is unlikely that Miss Anna was intended to be the same character as the woman that Bunk picks up in the bar.
The street
One of 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...
's young charges wakes him for help with his math homework. She is unable to do a simple counting problem until Wallace phrases it in terms of the drug business. Poot
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...
encourages Wallace to come to work. At the print shop (a Barksdale front), Stringer berates the staff for not acting like professionals.
Barksdale soldiers 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....
, Stinkum and Savino raid Omar’s
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"....
apartment and torch his van while he watches from his hiding place across the street. Later, they pick up D'Angelo Barksdale
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...
to go for a meal, where D'Angelo mentions Orlando's proposition; the others tell him that he should talk to 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...
. Avon harangues Orlando for considering getting involved in dealing when his only job is to be a clean front for the liquor board. He beats him and throws him out of his office in front of the dancers.
The soldiers throw a party celebrating Stinkum's promotion, which will be official as soon as they kill a dealer named Scar and chase his crew off his corner. D'Angelo goes out for more alcohol, and when he comes back the party is almost over. He notices one of the dancers, Keisha, lying on a bed and asks what is wrong with her. On closer inspection he realizes she is dead. Wee-Bey seems unconcerned, but D'Angelo is slightly shaken. Later, Shardene asks D’Angelo about Keisha, and he tells her that she was sick when he last saw her. They discuss his future and she tells him that if he is unhappy, he should do something else.
Wee-Bey and Stinkum prepare to hit Scar's corner, but Omar emerges from the shadows, killing Stinkum and wounding Wee-Bey. Avon marshals his soldiers, telling them that the bounty on Omar has increased to $10,000 and ordering them to get to work. Stringer tells him that the vendetta against Omar has gotten out of hand and that it would be wiser to propose a truce with Omar to lure him out of hiding and then attempt to kill him at the meeting. Avon seems skeptical of whether this plan would work.
The police
Detective Jimmy McNultyJimmy 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...
spots 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...
while taking his sons on a shopping trip and has them follow him. McNulty loses sight of his sons, but they are capable and manage to write down Stringer's car's license plate number. He later discusses his pride in their ability with 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...
who is disapproving of McNulty involving his sons in the operation.
In the detail office, Thomas "Herc" Hauk and 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...
discuss the upcoming sergeant’s exam, which they take later in the episode. Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski asks them to tail some of the pit crew to see which phones they are using now. They ridicule him, but, when 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...
makes the same request, they comply. Based on information gleaned from the wire, they pull over Damien "Day-Day" Price, who is 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...
' driver. They find a bag full of cash in his car and bring him in for questioning. Daniels tells the detail to keep the cash, but release Price with a receipt. He is forced to defend his detail's actions to Deputy Commissioner 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...
, who tells him to give the money back and write up the stop as unwarranted. Burrell tells Daniels he is shutting down his case for getting into areas where they were not supposed to be. Daniels tells his wife Marla that his superiors dislike wiretaps because they know that drug money ties into politics. He also complains that McNulty asked him what the deputy had on him; she asks him what he said, and he doesn't reply.
Judge Phelan calls McNulty into his chambers and Greggs accompanies him. He asks about a memo from Burrell that states he is shutting the case down for getting into areas beyond its mandate and they agree to the opposition involved with it. He then calls Burrell and insists that the wiretaps be used for the full duration threatening Burrell with a contempt charge for early termination of the wiretap. He grins at the detectives and asks them, "Who’s your daddy now?" Later McNulty tails Stringer and sees him leave a taxi and switch to his car. McNulty follows Stringer to an introductory macroeconomics
Macroeconomics
Macroeconomics is a branch of economics dealing with the performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of the whole economy. This includes a national, regional, or global economy...
class at a nearby community college.
At the detail, wiretaps reveal the murder of Stinkum and implicate Omar. Freamon tells Greggs that Omar is a loose cannon. McNulty and Greggs bring Omar in the next day, but Omar denies any involvement. While at the detail, Omar spots the photo linking Avon to Orlando’s club. Omar is unapologetic about his actions and the detectives have to let him go. Later Omar observes Orlando's club from the shadows.
Greggs goes to Freamon with her worries that she caused Omar to volunteer as an eyewitness; Freamon reassures Greggs that justice would be served even without Omar, as the ballistics matched. They discuss dancers at the club and pick out Shardene as a potential informant.
Bunk tells McNulty that Ray Cole caught the Stinkum murder. McNulty tells him that Omar was the shooter, and asks him to tell Cole that they have some talk on the wire, and will give him a closed case once their case is finished; both Bunk and McNulty regret the lie, and go out drinking to soothe their consciences. They discuss the strange position of protecting Omar from the murder investigation. Bunk spots a woman he wishes to bed, and asks McNulty to cover for him with his wife. Later, McNulty is called by the woman to come and collect Bunk, who is so drunk that he decided to burn his clothes to destroy the evidence of his infidelity. McNulty brings Bunk back to his own house and deposits him in the bed of one of his sons. Bunk mumbles that McNulty is bad for the people around him before falling asleep.
Deceased
Keisha: A stripper from the "Orlando" strip club who overdosed during a house party.Anton "Stinkum" Artis: Ambushed and shot by 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"....
as he tried to take over new territory for the Barksdale organization.