WIRE, THE: PORT IN A STORM {SEASON TWO FINALE} (TV)
Summary
One in this dramatic series about both sides of the Baltimore drug scene: the dealers and the law enforcement officers that go after them. This is the twelfth and final episode of the series' second season, which focuses on crimes committed on Baltimore's waterfront.
Nick and a crowd of stevedores look on as the police fish a body out of the bay. It turns out to be Frank, whose throat has been slit. Elsewhere, Landsman informs Freamon that a number of bodies have been found, all male, but missing their heads and hands. Bell visits Brother Mouzone in the hospital, promising to get revenge on his shooter. However, Brother Mouzone responds that no one is under any obligation to provide him help. Nick swears vengeance on The Greek and his associates, and must be physically restrained by his fellow workers. They all mourn Frank's death as Louis comes to pick up Nick. Bubbles attempts to steal drugs from an ambulance but is caught along with Weeks by Santangelo.
Landsman calls in Daniels and his unit to view Frank’s body. Russell is particularly broken up by Frank’s death. While out on duty, Carver and Hauk discuss their futures; Hauk believes he would be better served going back into the narcotics unit, but Carver points out that Daniels has been good to them so far. Daniels discusses Frank’s death with Valchek. Valchek still intends to press charges against Pryzbylewski for punching him. Daniels points out that this will be difficult, due to the many officers and FBI agents present at the time who witnessed Valchek berating his son-in-law. Valchek decides to drop the charges, instead planning to demote Pryzbylewski for a time and forcing him to write letters of apology for the incident before sending him back to Daniels’ unit. Louis accompanies Nick to the police station, stating that Nick wishes to turn himself in. Greggs and McNulty question Bubbles and Weeks in an interrogation room, and Greggs expresses her disappointment in him.
Vondopoulos meets with The Greek, noting that they had “bad luck” that Frank’s body surfaced. They plan to flee the country, although they talk about their latest shipment of heroin. However, The Greek decides that they cannot risk being caught by the police and that they must forsake the shipment. Burrell and Rawls meet with Daniels to discuss the state of the case. With Frank’s death, much of it has disintegrated, but things change when Daniels receives word that Nick has turned himself in. Greggs warns Bubbles that he will be going to jail, but he and Weeks pique her interest by mentioning the incident where Brother Mouzone shot Wagstaff. McNulty is interested in the developing aspects of Bell’s relationship with the East Side gang members and how this incident affects them. Nick recounts to the police the events leading up to Frank’s death, including attempts by Vondopoulos to keep everyone quiet and his offer to get charges against Ziggy dropped. Nick realizes that The Greek will likely want him dead as well, and expresses regret that he did not go to the meeting with Frank. The police reveal to Nick that Ziggy turned himself in and that the claim by Vondopoulos was for naught, as his manipulation of the witness would not have changed anything. The unit offers Nick the same deal that they offered Frank, and he tells them everything he knows about The Greek’s organization, including pointing out The Greek in a photograph.
Bubbles and Weeks are released as Fitzhugh discovers that The Greek is listed in a database as a lawyer in Washington D.C. He also produces information on a falsified manifest for a ship bound to enter Baltimore the following day. Fitzhugh tries to contact Koutris, but is informed that he was transferred to a counter-terrorism unit in Washington D.C. over a year ago. Carver and Hauk pound on Louis’s door and demand that Nick turn himself in, unaware that he has already done so. Louis clears up the misunderstanding, making Carver furious at being left out of the loop. Nick, Aimee, and Ashley are placed in witness protection and are taken to a motel room. Meanwhile, the unit attempts to connect the headless bodies with information provided by Nick that The Greek’s organization took care of a “loose end” in Philadelphia. Carver and Hauk return to base, both incensed. Little discusses his encounter with Brother Mouzone with Butchie. The bartender calls Bell’s assertion that Brother Mouzone tortured Wright into question; Little maintains that he still wants to kill Bell. Hauk and Carver confront Daniels over not being told about Nick’s arrival, leaving them on duty overnight. They believe they have been consistently treated with disrespect and Carver threatens to leave the unit.
Greggs and McNulty follow up on the information provided to them by Bubbles. Meanwhile, Russell and Moreland travel to the Port of Philadelphia to follow up on the leads involving the headless bodies. They make little progress until they discover a series of security footage tapes that may hold what they need. Greggs shops for baby supplies with Cheryl, and Cheryl has to talk her into showing some interest. Pakusa orders the cargo container abandoned by The Greek to be dumped, although he and the other stevedores are ignorant of its contents. Vondopoulos talks to Stewart and assures him that the operation will continue despite him leaving the country. The police seize the dumped container and all of the heroin contained within. Bell tells Avon about Little nearly killing Brother Mouzone. Realizing that they have been put into a difficult position due to their apparent weakness, Avon authorizes Bell to work with Stewart.
The unit reviews the tapes recovered from Philadelphia and find that they captured a fistfight. Bell briefly meets with Stewart, who tells him that their next shipment will come in a week. Greggs and McNulty secretly take pictures of the meeting. The FBI warns the union to elect new officers or be decertified. Freamon and Moreland interrogate Malatov, having ample evidence that he was behind the murders of the headless victims. Malatov admits that while he was present at Frank’s murder, Vondopoulos did the deed. He also claims that Vondopoulos killed the crewman responsible for the deaths of the Jane Does. Moreland is pleased that the Jane Doe case has finally been solved. Daniels asks Malatov for The Greek’s real name, which he doesn't know. However, he gives them a hotel where The Greek might be staying. They break in to the room but find it now unoccupied. Later, at a bar, the police discuss how their case has stalled, perhaps irrevocably. Fitzhugh admits to Daniels that Koutris was behind the security leak.
Valchek receives another photo courtesy of Frank, showing him that his stolen surveillance van is still making its way around the world. Valchek expresses grudging admiration for the deceased Frank. Nick heads down to the union hiring hall to see if he can find work, but none is available. After union members refuse to elect anyone but Frank as the next treasurer, the union hall is closed by order of the U.S. Marshals; a condominium is slated to be constructed where the new grain pier was to be built. Pakusa and several other union members go to trial and Russell is back on her old beat patrolling the docks. The investigation into the port is officially closed, as is the unit’s field office. However, shipments of drugs and woman from overseas continue to enter the port. As Nick stares out at the ocean, he's saddened by much of the pier being either abandoned or continuing to deteriorate.
This selection from the Alan Gerry Cable Collection has been made available by the Gerry Foundation, Inc.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: August 24, 2003 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:02:54
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:78846
- GENRE: Drama, police/private detective
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - Drama; TV - Drama, police/private detective; LGBT Collection - Drama
- SERIES RUN: HBO - TV series, 2002-2008
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Robert F. Colesberry … Executive Producer, Director
- David Simon … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Nina Kostroff Noble … Co-Executive Producer
- Karen L. Thorson … Co-Producer
- Norman Kinderlein … Researcher
- Ed Burns … Writer
- Rafael Alvarez … Writer
- Joy Lusco Kecken … Writer
- Dominic West … Cast, Jimmy McNulty
- Chris Bauer … Cast, Frank Sobotka
- Paul Ben-Victor … Cast, Vondopoulos "Spiros" Vondas
- John Doman … Cast, William Rawls
- Idris Elba … Cast, Russell "Stringer" Bell
- Wood Harris … Cast, Avon Barksdale
- Deirdre Lovejoy … Cast, Rhonda "Ronnie" Pearlman
- Clarke Peters … Cast, Lester Freamon
- Wendell Pierce … Cast, William "Bunk" Moreland
- Lance Reddick … Cast, Cedric Daniels
- Andre Royo … Cast, Reginald "Bubbles" Cousins
- Amy Ryan … Cast, Beatrice "Beadie" Russell
- Sonja Sohn … Cast, Shakima Greggs
- Seth Gilliam … Cast, Ellis Carver
- Domenick Lombardozzi … Cast, Thomas "Herc" Hauk
- Jim True-Frost … Cast, Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski
- James Ransone … Cast, Chester Karol "Ziggy" Sobotka
- Pablo Schreiber … Cast, Nick Sobotka
- Melanie Nicholls-King … Cast, Cheryl
- Michael Potts … Cast, Brother Mouzone
- Bill Raymond … Cast, The Greek
- Michael K. Williams … Cast, Omar Little
- Maria Broom … Cast, Marla Daniels
- Al Brown … Cast, Stanislaus Valchek
- Robert F. Chew … Cast, Joseph "Proposition Joe" Stewart
- Kristin Proctor … Cast, Aimee
- Tray Chaney … Cast, Malik "Poot" Carr
- Robert Hogan … Cast, Louis Sobotka
- Michael Salconi … Cast, Michael Santangelo
- Charley Scalies … Cast, Thomas "Horseface" Pakusa
- Delaney Williams … Cast, Jay Landsman
- Chris Ashworth … Cast, Sergei Malatov
- Doug Olear … Cast, Terrance Fitzhugh
- Richard Burton … Cast, Sean "Shamrock" McGinty
- Leo Fitzpatrick … Cast, Johnny Weeks
- Jeffrey Fugitt … Cast, Claude Diggins
- S. Robert Morgan … Cast, Butchie
- Luray Cooper … Cast, Nat Coxson
- Kelvin Davis … Cast, La La
- Bus Howard … Cast, Vernon "Ott" Motley
- Lance Irwin … Cast, Maui
- Jeffrey Pratt Gordon … Cast, Johnny "Fifty" Spamanto
- Benay Berger … Cast, Amanda Reese
- Tommy Hahn … Cast, Salmond
- Isaiah Whitlock Jr. … Cast, Clay Davis
- Kevin McKelvy … Cast, FBI Agent
- William L. Thomas … Cast, FBI Agent