The Wire

Hard Cases

Season 2, Episode 4, Aired 6/22/03

Episode Summary

"If I hear the music, I'm gonna dance." - Greggs

The medical examiner determines that the bad package which killed five inmates and hospitalized eight others was cut with strychnine, so the heat is on to close the case quickly; as the pressure mounts to deliver Omar's testimony in the Gant case, McNulty enlists Bubbles in the search, but an unhappy Omar finds Bubbles first; Dee confronts Avon about the bad package and washes his hands of the business; Daniels and Burrell strike a deal on the detail, but Rawls refuses to reassign McNulty while okaying Greggs, Hauk and Lester; Stringer continues to struggle with poor quality product from his suppliers; Avon brokers a deal to give up Tilghman for a reduction in his sentence; McNulty continues his efforts to identify his floater; pleased with the outcome of their prior deal, the Greeks come to Nick and Ziggy with a request for bulk chemicals; after Sobotka chews Nick out for stealing the container and tells him to keep a low profile, Nick passes the word to his cousin, which falls on deaf ears; Daniels and Greggs get the silent treatment in their respective homes after they break the news of the new detail to their wives; McNulty signs the separation papers as he asks Elena for another chance; Bunk, Lester and Russell terrify Sobotka when they drop by the bar for a little quality face time.moreless

9.1

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Cast & Crew

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Wendell Pierce

Det. William "Bunk" Moreland
Paul Ben-Victor

Spiros "Vondas" Vondopoulos
Wood Harris

Avon Barksdale

Fan Episode Reviews (1)

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They're baaaaack! After an uncharacteristically plodding episode last week, The Wire is back to giving me what I came for. The characters I'm invested in have returned, and the plot continues to take shape. This looks to be an interesting season.moreless

9.1

"Superb"

By rockin01, Sep 17, 2011 Report Abuse

I should have known that this show would get back to form. There is another detail, almost identical to the one in Season 1, with the omission of Carver and (at Rawls' demand) McNulty. Bubbles makes an appearance, as does everyone's favorite psycho stick-up kid, Omar. And Kima- love me some Kima. Barksdale hatches a plot to reduce his sentence, but Dee wants no part of it, and severs ties with Avon. Bunk, Russell and Lester roust the dockworkers, shaking Sobotka up. And the inane subplot with Nick and Ziggy continues, with the Greeks requesting tons of suspicious-sounding industrial chemicals for their next heist. A very good episode- from here, the action should get hot and heavy pretty quickly.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
- Help by adding trivia to this episode. Add trivia
Notes
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- This is the only season 2 episode to feature the entire starring cast. Edit
- Although credited, Seth Gilliam, Deirdre Lovejoy and Paul Ben-Victor do not appear in this episode. Edit
- Andre Royo is billed with the main cast during the opening credits for this episode. Edit
Quotes
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- Rawls: Do you even know what this details about Lieutenant? Daniels: Some kinda beef that Valchek has. Rawls: Two fuckin' Pollock's pissin' on eachother's leg. Edit
- Frank Sobotka: We ain't back in the day, Nicky. When's the last time you saw trucks backed up for 3 miles outside Patapsco terminal? If it weren't for the car ships, we'd be starvin'. Edit
- Prison Warden: Hell, if you can't win the war on drugs in a prison, where the hell you gonna win it? Edit
Allusions
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- When McNulty comes into the Homicide unit, Sgt. Jay Landsman refers to him as "Gilligan, little buddy." Because he is now in the Marine unit, calling him "Gilligan" is a reference to the title character of Gilligan's Island, a television series about a shipwrecked crew. Edit