Hard Cases

"Hard Cases" is the fourth episode of the second season of the HBO original series The Wire. The episode was written by Joy Lusco from a story by David Simon & Joy Lusco and was directed by Elodie Keene. It originally aired on June 22, 2003.

Plot

As

The drug deaths in the prison spark an investigation. Avon tries to convince D'Angelo to use the situation to their advantage and cooperate with the investigators to reduce their sentences. D'Angelo refuses to believe that Avon had nothing to do with the deaths, and states that he no longer wants anything to do with his business. Avon works with his attorney, Maurice Levy, to negotiate a reduction of his time until his first parole hearing in exchange for information about the deaths. Despite the investigator's suspicion that Avon was involved, the attorney general bluntly tells him to take the deal. Levy subsequently fingers Tilghman, who is arrested after a planted drug package is found in his car. Elsewhere, Stringer orders Cherry, the manager of his cut house, to dilute their latest package from Atlanta despite its already-poor quality.

Frank demands that

Nick talks to his mother Joan about having had a successful day's employment at the docks, and goes to bring his father Louis home for dinner. Louis retired from the drydock when it closed, and now spends much of his time drinking and betting on horse races. Nick asks Louis if he misses the docks, to which he replies, "Wouldn't do no good." To Aimee's surprise, Nick tells her that he has come into "some back pay" and suggests they look to buy a property in the neighborhood.

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Production

Title reference

The title refers to the seeming impossibility of the cases the police have taken up: the fourteen homicides for Bunk, Beadie, and Freamon as well as McNulty's attempt to identify one of the dead women.

A "hard case" is also defined as "a person who is persistently insolent or difficult to control", and may refer to the repeated issues McNulty, Greggs, and Daniels have with being kept from real police work. Along this same line, the title could also apply to Ziggy Sobotka as well as Horseface, who stubbornly refused to go downtown for questioning in connection with the Jane Does, reinforcing the front the Stevedores have against the Police.

Epigraph

If I hear the music, I'm gonna dance.

— Greggs

Greggs makes this statement about her inability to return to investigative work without becoming fully involved.

Music

• The song playing when Ziggy is fooling around with the camera in Dolores' bar is "Must Have Missed A Turn Somewhere" by Smokin' Joe Kubek.
• "He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'" by The Velvelettes can be heard when McNulty is asking the kids if they've seen Omar.
• "I Promise to Remember" by Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers can be heard as McNulty is about to ask the street gang if they've seen Omar.
• "Ruler Of My Heart" by Irma Thomas can be heard when McNulty spots Bubbles and Johnny
• The song playing when Greggs and Cheryl are stuck in traffic is "100% Dundee" by The Roots
• "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf can be heard when Ziggy is on Maui's computer.
• "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad" by Tammy Wynette is playing when Bunk, Freamon, and Beadie walk into Dolores' bar.
• The song that Bunk selects on the jukebox is "Maybe the Last Time" by James Brown

Credits

Starring cast

Although credited, Paul Ben-Victor and Deirdre Lovejoy do not appear in this episode.

First appearances

• Maui: a checker at the docks with animosity towards Ziggy Sobotka.
• Louis Sobotka: Brother of Frank Sobotka, husband to Joan Sobotka, and father of Nick Sobotka. A retired shipyard worker who spends his days drinking and watching horse races.

Reception

Ratings

The episode drew an average of 4.33 million viewers and was the fifth most-watched program on cable television for the week ending June 22, 2003.^[4]

References