Some episodes of television are impossible to enjoy. That is because the subject and writing are so serious and tragic that to take any pleasure in it seems wrong. This is the kind of TV that leaves you emotionally raw and drained. This, in my mind, is what ‘Must-See TV’ should really be.Many dramas go their entire run without any such episodes. Others like ‘ER’, ‘NYPD Blue, and ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ manage maybe one a season. Homicide averaged two or three a year. This season, we have already seen the detectives go through a wrenching journey in ‘Crosetti’, now in ‘Every Mothers Son,’ we get one that is less personal but no less powerful.
As we saw in the Adena Watson investigation, the death of a child is an experience where the tragedy seems to overcome even the detectives investigating the crime. More of the agony came because of the brutality of the death. This one is affecting because of the coldness of the killer. A fourteen year old named Darryl Nawls is shot point blank in the head when another kid walks up to him in a bowling alley, takes out a gun and shoots him three times in the head. A gang hit, one would assume, except Darryl wasn’t in a gang.
Part of the power of the Watson case was that we never knew who did it. In this shooting we know who did it before the guest star credits have rolled. Ronnie Sayers, also fourteen. Does he run with a gang? We never find out. When Bayliss and Pembleton track him down, he doesn’t seem one. He does however have the coldness of someone who has been on the street for a while. When the detectives finally pin him down, he reveals that he thought the victim was another kid--- the shooting was a mistake. But even more chilling is his reaction to this. He believes that because he shot the wrong person, he’s going to walk away from this. When his mother tries to help him, he cops to the charge in order to get her out of the room. Even when he is taken to processing, he still doesn’t seem to understand the magnitude of what he has put himself in for. Sean Nelson (who a few months later would explode on to the screen in ‘Fresh’) plays Ronnie as someone who is more or less totally indifferent to the concept of death or responsibility How much of this is a front is hard to tell, but his calmness to everything that is happening to him is frightening.
Now all of this is powerful in its own right, but its only half the story. The power of this episode comes from the reactions of the two mothers who are caught up in this tragedy, Mary Nawls and Patrice Sayers.As the writers make very clear, both have lost a child to this crime--- Darryl is dead, Ronnie is probably going away fro life. But what makes this painful is how much these women have in common. Both are single parents with no husbands to be found. Both have another child at home. And both of them are absolutely appalled at what is happening to the children of Baltimore. Mary Nawls says that she’s been to three funerals of Darryl’s friends--- something which a lot of mothers in the ghetto must go through. There seems to be no release from any of this. All of this is made clear in one of the most stunning scenes that the show would ever do--- where both women, not knowing who the other is, share their grief in a witness room in the Baltimore police station. It should seem heavy handed but it comes off naturally and unforced. The episode also has an incredibly poignant coda when Patrice comes to Mary’s place of business and tries to offer her sympathy. The two younger children play together, and there seems the tiniest glimmer of light--- which is immediately shot down when Mary asks what will happen if those two get older and learn that one’s brother killed the other. There is no real hope and this makes everything even more poignant.
Now given the grimness and senselessness of the tragedy one would have to be made of stone not to feel something. But Pembleton does a good job of seeming relatively calm and impartial as always---- until he goes into the coffee room before taking the boy to processing. Howard asks his counsel on a case, whereupon Pembleton delivers one of the most memorable monologues in the shows history:
“Every day I get out of bed and drag myself to the next cup of coffee. I take a sip and the caffeine kicks in…. I’m ready to rock. The time is coming when I wake up and decide I’m not getting out of bed. I’m not getting up for coffee or food or sex. If it comes to me, fine; if it won’t, fine. No more expectations. The longer I live the less I know. You’re suspicious of your suspicions? I’m jealous, Kay. You still have the heart to have doubts. I’m going to lock up a fourteen year old kid for what could be the rest of his natural life. I gotta do this; this is my job. This is the deal, this is the law, this is my day. I have no doubts or suspicions anymore. Heart has nothing to do with it anymore. Its all in the caffeine.”
This distress is not the only sign that Pembleton is disturbed by this. The day Ronnie Sayers is held for bail, Pembleton influenced by a sleepless night, gives him his card and tells him to “keep his ass to the wall. Don’t ask for anything.” He knows what prisoners will do to this boy. He knows that his life is over.
Frank’s reflection and anguish is probably due to the fact that he and Mary are considering having a baby. And the thought of bringing a child into a world where these horrible, pointless tragedies take place frightens him. Frank, like all the detectives is cynical, but he needs to believe even in the darkness there is a possibility for something. But he knows there is a little chance. As he says after Sayers goes to jail, “One time, I’d like to hear about a murder that makes sense.” Not gonna happen.
There are some light moments in this episode. Most of it coming from Munch and Lewis’ problems with The Waterfront, combined with the unlikely role that George Washington played in the buildings history. But for the most part, ‘Every Mothers Son’ is one of the most wrenching hours the show produced. You come away from it feeling drained and overwhelmed--- like you do with the best television
Fans Rating 9th
Score: 10
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Pembleton and Bayliss investigate the shooting of a young boy. During the investigation, the mother of the victim meets the mother of the shooter in the aquarium. The shooter shows no remorse for the killing, although he shot the wrong kid. Munch, Bayliss and Lewis can't remodel the bar when they discover it's been classified a historical landmark. Then when they find out back taxes are due on the building, which shuts them down before they open. Beau finds out his kids are in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, so he goes to find them.moreless
 Andre Braugher |
Det. Frank Pembleton (seasons 1-6, TVM) |
 Kyle Secor |
Tim Bayliss |
 Richard Belzer |
Det. John Munch |
 Ned Beatty |
Stan Bolander (Seasons 1-3) |
 Daniel Baldwin |
Beau Felton (Seasons 1-3, recurring subsequently, TVM) |
 Isabella Hofmann |
Megan Russert (Seasons 3-4, recurring otherwise) |
Sean Nelson |
Ronnie Sayer |
Guest Star |
 Howie Mandel |
Interior Decorator |
Guest Star |
Gay Thomas |
Mary Nawls |
Guest Star |
Harlee McBride |
Dr. Alyssa Dyer |
Recurring Role |
Helen Carey |
Maggie Conroy |
Recurring Role |
Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions
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TRIVIA (0)
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QUOTES (7)
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Pembleton: You know, the wife and I were talking the other day about children. About maybe having a kid.
Bayliss: You, a father?
Pembleton: Something wrong with that?
Bayliss: No. No, I think it'd be great.
Pembleton: How do I bring a child in this world when we have to charge children with first-degree murder? -
Ronny Sayers: Hey, what's the deal? I meant to shoot this other kid. I made an honest mistake. You can't blame me for that.
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Lewis: (on being informed that The Waterfront bar has a connection to George Washington) George Washington slept here?
Penelope Smith-Haddon: Well, no …
Munch: He had dinner?
Smith-Haddon: No.
Lewis: So what did he do here?
Smith-Haddon: Apparently the President, just coming from a dinner party where he had consumed quite a bit of wine, was in something of a bind. He had no time to seek out a public chamber pot.
Munch: Are you telling us the reason we can't tear down the bathroom is that it's where George Washington once took a whizz? -
Pembleton: One time, one time I'd like to hear about a murder that makes any sense. One time, for any reason.
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Pembleton: Every day I get out of bed and drag myself to the next cup of coffee. I take a sip and the caffeine kicks in, I can focus my eyes again, my brain starts to order the day. I'm up, I'm alive. I'm ready to rock. The time is coming when I wake up and decide I'm not getting out of bed. I'm not getting up for coffee or food or sex. If it comes to me, fine; if it won't, fine. No more expectations. The longer I live the less I know. I should know more. I should know that coffee's killing me.You're suspicious of your suspicions? I'm jealous, Kay. I'm so jealous. You still have the heart to have doubts? Me, I'm going to lock up a fourteen year old kid for what could be the rest of his natural life. I gotta do this; this is my job. This is the deal, this is the law, this is my day. I have no doubts or suspicions anymore. Heart has nothing to do with it anymore. Its all in the caffeine.
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Older Waitress Applicant: One rule I don't abide by is, "The customer is always right." The customer is never right.
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Pembleton: You've got the fear now, don't you? I don't usually find myself giving advice--especially to 14-year-old killers. But, please, listen to me just this one time: Keep your eyes to the wall. Don't trust anybody; don't believe anybody. Don't help anybody and don't ask anybody for anything. You understand?
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NOTES (3)
ADD NOTES-
Isabella Hofmann does not appear in this episode.
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A transcript of this episode can be found at http://www.windowseat.org/homicide/scripts/.
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Music in this episode: Belly "Full Moon, Empty Heart" alb: Star.
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Season 3 Episodes
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The Gas Man
Ep 19
Colors
Ep 18
Nothing Personal
Ep 17
In Search of Crimes Past
Ep 16
The Old and the Dead
Ep 15
Law and Disorder
Ep 14
End Game (3)
Ep 13
Dead End (2)
Ep 12
The City That Bleeds (1)
Ep 11
Partners
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Cradle to Grave
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Every Mother's Son
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Happy to Be Here
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A Model Citizen
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Extreme Unction
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