That's Got His Own
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"That's Got His Own" | |
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The Wire episode | |
Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 12 |
Directed by | Joe Chappelle |
Story by | Ed Burns George Pelecanos |
Teleplay by | George Pelecanos |
Original air date | December 3, 2006 |
Running time | 58 minutes |
"That's Got His Own" is the 12th episode of the fourth season of the HBO original series The Wire. Written by George Pelecanos from a story by Ed Burns & George Pelecanos, and directed by Joe Chappelle, it originally aired on December 3, 2006.
Plot
Michael
School
In the morning, Prez meets with
With the statewide exam closing in, both the special class and the normal classes are practicing test questions. Prez's class remains disruptive, but he is able to focus them on the material eventually. The special class is more resistant.
After class, Dukie confesses to Prez his own misgivings about moving up to high school. Prez tries to reassure him that he is ready and that he is welcome if he needs to come back at any time. Dukie walks home with Michael and continues to worry about going to high school. They find that Dukie and his family have been evicted, again. Michael offers Dukie a place to stay with him and his brother. Dukie returns for his last day at Edward Tilghman Middle School, where he wraps up work on a special assignment. As the final bell rings he looks dejected.
Major Crimes
Lester Freamon continues to search the area where he found the body of Curtis "Lex" Anderson in a vacant house. He has identified the type of nail used to seal the house as being indicative of further houses where bodies will be found, as H.C.D. uses screws to seal the vacant houses. Sergeant Jay Landsman arrives and orders Freamon to stop opening vacant houses because finding John Does at this stage in the year will destroy the homicide unit's clearance rate. Freamon is enraged and his partner Bunk Moreland tries to calm him.
Freamon's mood is lifted slightly when he returns to the detail office to watch
Later, Lieutenant Asher returns to the unit and asks what the brass is thinking after having transferred him out just a few months ago. When Asher enters his office, Herc asks Freamon who he is and Freamon tells him that, ironically, he is one of the most effective supervisors in the department (due to his lack of oversight).
Freamon meets with CID commander Cedric Daniels and Assistant State's Attorney Pearlman. He makes a case that they should be searching other vacant houses for further bodies. Like Landsman, Daniels is concerned about the murder rate. Pearlman asks what other work they are doing on Stanfield and whether there are links between Stanfield and the missing persons that Freamon has selected. He explains that there are links in some cases and presents his strategy for following the money and resurrecting the wiretaps. Pearlman leaves the decision to Daniels, who tells Freamon that he will take it to the command staff.
Daniels meets with Deputy Commissioner Rawls to explain Freamon's theory, believing Freamon is right. Daniels suggests that pulling the bodies before the end of the year makes the poor statistics attributable to Royce's administration. Rawls is impressed with the idea and further realizes that Daniels is a threat to his hopes of becoming commissioner. He orders Daniels to keep the suggestion to himself. Rawls meets with Mayor Carcetti and tells him about Freamon's discovery. Rawls offers Daniels's suggestion as his own and Carcetti chastises him for thinking of stats, but still encourages him to uncover the bodies before the new year.
Freamon discusses the problem in a bar with Bunk and Jimmy McNulty. Bunk tries to steer the conversation away from the bodies, but Freamon will not be diverted. He bets that he can open any row house with matching nails and find a body and Bunk accepts the wager. As McNulty goes to leave, Bunk tries to convince him to get drunk with them, but McNulty resists. The trio does not take long to find another one of Marlo's bodies. McNulty suggests calling the crime lab. Freamon tells McNulty that he is not allowed to discover any bodies without the go-ahead from his superiors and, when that happens, McNulty will miss out on the investigation. McNulty questions if command will ever give the go-ahead and Freamon tells him that "it's a new day" with Daniels in command of CID.
Freamon meets with Herc and Sydnor the next morning. He is dismayed to learn that none of Stanfield's people are using phones and comments that if the wiretaps had been left running two months ago they would not be facing these problems now. Two detectives arrive from the Internal Investigations Division. They ask Herc if he remembers borrowing the camera from ISD and that they need a statement regarding the camera and some of his confidential informant paperwork. They request Sydnor and Dozerman as well, but Herc tells the detectives that he is solely responsible.
Freamon receives the go-ahead from Daniels along with an offer for further manpower: two CID officers of his choosing. Freamon first approaches Kima Greggs, but then decides not to ask her when she tells him she is enjoying the homicide division.
Politics
Mayor Carcetti holds a meeting to discuss the school budget deficit. Nerese Campbell and Andy Krawczyk, the school board president, both refuse to take responsibility. Michael Steintorf, the new chief of staff, suggests that the solution is to scale back their budget in all other areas, but Carcetti refuses to break the promises he had campaigned on and Campbell tells him that the only alternative is to beg the Republican governor for financial support.
In
Western District
Kenard arrives at Namond's corner late for work and finds Namond getting his hair braided. Kenard asks Namond for a private word and tells him that their stash has been stolen from his basement. He claims that the door was kicked in by the police and that someone must have given away the location. Namond accepts his excuse and the assurance that Kenard will try to find the informant.
Namond discusses his problem with Michael. Michael insists that Kenard must have stolen the stash for himself and tells Namond that he should check the door to prove Kenard's story false and confront him with more than words. On the way home from school, Namond asks Michael to accompany him when he confronts Kenard. Namond tells his mother that he suspects Kenard took the stash. She insists that Kenard needs to feel "some pain" for his actions. Namond tries to argue with her, but she is violently disappointed that he has not acted already.
Namond confronts Kenard and tells him that he knows he stole the package. However, Kenard remains unafraid of Namond and verbally taunts him. Annoyed, Michael eventually steps in and brutally beats Kenard into a bloody pulp. Namond is too shocked to recover his package and runs away from the scene.
Sergeant Carver visits Randy at home and tries to reassure Miss Jeffreys that the danger will soon pass. He tells her that they still have plainclothes officers watching the house.
Namond arrives at Cutty's gym and gets the cold shoulder from Michael. He provokes Michael into attacking him by picking on Dukie. Cutty intervenes, telling Michael to leave. Namond breaks down in tears.
Cutty calls Carver for help and they ask Namond what has happened between him and Michael. Namond also mentions the fact that he is forced to live up to his father's reputation, but he doesn't have the game in him. Cutty confesses to Carver that he is angry with himself for sending Michael away. Cutty visits Michael's mother and learns that he has moved out. Carver calls Colvin for help after Namond's mother refuses to pick him up.
Meanwhile, a false shooting is called in from Randy's street to lure away the police unit guarding his house. Two men approach Miss Anna's house and throw Molotov cocktails through the window.
Cutty tracks Michael down to a corner with "Monk" Metcalf. Monk orders Cutty away, but Cutty persists. Monk shoots Cutty twice in the leg, but Michael insists that he keep Cutty alive. Michael offers to stay with Cutty until the ambulance comes only to be told to go with his "people."
Carver visits the hospital and learns that Miss Anna is in a critical, but stable condition with third degree burns. Randy rejects Carver's attempts to console him. Carver promises Randy that he will be protected, but as Carver leaves, Randy taunts him, bitterly.
Bubbles
Bubbles visits the horses' yard to talk to the arabbers he sometimes works for. He asks for advice about how to deal with his tormentor. They have various suggestions for him, but settle on replacing drugs with sodium cyanide to poison the man. They tell him that a metal plating shop is an easy place to buy the chemical and that the only issue will be living with himself as the police will not question the death of an addict.
Having bought the necessary chemical, Bubbles prepares several vials of the stuff and then goes out to work.
Bubbles awakens the next day full of plans to make money. He is horrified to find that Sherrod has ingested some of the vials he prepared and then cannot rouse the boy. Bubbles weeps over Sherrod's dead body.
Omar
Omar Little and Renaldo follow Cheese to a meeting with Stanfield. Cheese's jocular manner is met with stony silence from Marlo, Chris, Snoop, O-Dog and Monk. Marlo pays Cheese more than was expected and then orders a bigger shipment of narcotics. Cheese cannot promise, but tells Marlo that he will discuss it with Proposition Joe. He gives Monk a burner phone and tells him that they will call when they have the drugs. Stanfield's people are newly dubious about using phones and Cheese reassures them that they do not have to answer the call; the call itself will serve as the signal that the meeting is ready.
Omar organizes a meeting at Butchie's bar to put a team together. Butchie offers him the men who helped Omar while in jail as muscle, but Omar declines, telling Butchie that he hopes to be more subtle. His old associate Kimmy arrives and receives a warm welcome. Omar and Renaldo follow Cheese while he prepares the delivery to Marlo. Proposition Joe calls Omar as promised; Omar does not take the call. Omar, Renaldo and Kimmy tail the van to the meeting place. Kimmy is dressed as a prostitute. Cheese and his associates prepare to load the shipment into the van. Kimmy approaches one of the guards and tries to distract him with the offer of sexual favors. Renaldo's people arrive posing as painters and block Cheese's van in. Omar demands that they open the truck. Cheese reports the theft to Proposition Joe who worries that the co-op will think that he is withholding the shipment for himself.
Production
Title reference
The title is a lyric from a song co-written and made famous by Billie Holiday, "God Bless The Child". There is an exploration of literal or metaphorical parent-child relationships in this episode and their subsequent break-up: Namond is scared of his mother and cannot return home, Randy virtually loses his foster mother in the arson attack, Bubbles loses Sherrod and Prez is advised to have children of his own to replace the surrogate child that Dukie has become for him.
Epigraph
That all there is to it?
— Bubbles
Bubbles remarking on the apparent simplicity of murdering his tormentor. This also ties in with Michael's successful course training with Chris and Snoop, the firebombing of Randy's home (which subsequently causes him to go back into group home care), as well as the difficulty in Mayor Carcetti's handling of the citywide budget and later reaching out to Annapolis for assistance with the school budget deficit.
Credits
Starring cast
Although credited, Frankie Faison, Glynn Turman, and J. D. Williams do not appear in this episode.
Guest stars
- Duquan "Dukie" Weems
- Maestro Harrell as Randy Wagstaff
- Julito McCullum as Namond Brice
- Tristan Wilds as Michael Lee
- Gbenga Akinnagbe as Chris Partlow
- Neal Huff as Michael Steintorf
- Robert F. Chew as Proposition Joe
- Anwan Glover as Slim Charles
- Melvin "Cheese" Wagstaff
- Benjamin Busch as Officer Anthony Colicchio
- Boris McGiver as Lieutenant Charles Marimow
- Delaney Williams as Sergeant Jay Landsman
- Marlyne Afflack as Nerese Campbell
- S. Robert Morgan as Butchie
- Ramón Rodríguez as Renaldo
- Raylene Lee
- Stacie Davis as Miss Duquette
- Assistant Principal Marcia Donnelly
- Denise Hart as Miss Anna Jeffreys
- Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr.as Security Guard
- David Goodman as Budget Advisor
- Rick Otto as Detective Kenneth Dozerman
- Frederick Strother as State Delegate Odell Watkins
- The Deacon
- Nathan Corbett as Donut
- Thuliso Dingwall as Kenard
- Chynna Gray as Unknown
- Sandi McCree as De'Londa Brice
- Felicia Pearson as Felicia "Snoop" Pearson
- Davone Cooper as Darnell Tyson
- Taylor King as Zenobia Dawson
- Jeffrey Lorenzo as Karim Williams
- Rakiya Orange as Charlene Young
- Gene Terinoni as Lieutenant Jimmy Asher
- Devin Tweedy as Unknown
- Kelli R. Brown as Kimmy
- Dan DeLuca as Dr. David Parenti
- Yolanda Gaskins as School Board Representative
- Rashad Orange as Sherrod
- Richard Welchel as Unknown
- Michael Willis as Andy Krawczyk
The security guard who tells Carcetti and Wilson that the Governor is ready to see them is played by
Uncredited appearances
- Kwame Patterson as Monk Metcalf
- Darrell Britt-Gibson as O-Dog
- Donnie Andrews as Donnie
- Derrick Purvey as Big Guy
- Carl Clemons as Cheese's muscle
- Unknown as Bubbles's friend 1
- Unknown as Bubbles's friend 2
First appearances
- Michael Steintorf: Carcetti's Chief of Staff who is primarily concerned with the Mayor's future bid for Governor.
References
- ^ Margaret Talbot (2007). "Stealing Life". The New Yorker. Retrieved October 14, 2007.
- ^ a b c d David Zurawik (2006). "Real-life politics leak into tonight's 'Wire' episode". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 16, 2007.
External links
- "That's Got His Own" at HBO.com
- "That's Got His Own" at IMDb