Directed by Marcos Siega
Written by Tyler Bensinger & Karin Lewicki (uncredited)
The murder of Vaughn Bubley was the first case that Lilly Rush investigated but she gave up on it. Years later, she is horrified to find out that his three younger brothers (Cedric, Quincy and Luther) have also been killed. She becomes determined to solve the cases and save the life of the last Bubley son, Patrick.
Tropes:
- Arc Words: "This is for Web D!" which was said by the the slain brothers when they confronted the gang. Lilly only found out later that Web D isn't a person, but a prized scooter Patrick won in an essay contest.
- Black and Nerdy: Cedric Bubley wore glasses and worked at a pet store.
- Chekhov's Gun: The scooter that Carlos is riding right before Luther attacks him turns out to have both motivated Luther's wrath and started the feud in the first place back in 1999 after Miguel stole it from Patrick and then killed his eldest brother for trying to take it back.
- Cycle of Revenge: Four of the five Bubley brothers were killed confronting a street gang, all for stealing the youngest brother's prized scooter and murdering the eldest brother over it. This was not helped by the fact that Lilly's then partner was a Bigot with a Badge who dismissed the family as Gangbangers and not worth their time.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Miguel sees Patrick riding a scooter into his hood, and he attempts to steal it from the young boy. When Patrick's brother tries to intervene, Miguel shoots him dead.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: The Bubleys saw all but two of the family be completely slaughtered by the exact same gang who has terrorized the neighborhood, the mother had become a drug addict, and the youngest son Patrick was about to follow his siblings to the grave. Thankfully, Miguel is put away for good, and his cousin can hopefully stop the violence and raise Miguel's son better. The mother goes to drug rehab, and Patrick returns to school with the spirits of his brothers happily watching over him.
- Hate Sink: Miguel Maldonado is a vicious leader of a street gang not unwilling to steal a scooter from a young boy, Patrick, and murder his older brother for it. He then killed all of Patrick's other brothers in retribution killings, and even tried to use his own girlfriend as a human shield when confronted by one of them. When Patrick's mother came to him to claim her second son's body, he pressured her into sex, then got her hooked on crack. His associates, including his cousin and girlfriend, fear him so much that none dared to testify against him.
- I Coulda Been a Contender!: Luther wanted to become a basketball player but he gave up on it when tragedy buried his family.
- Limited Wardrobe: Luther only wore basketball jerseys.
- Neighborhood-Friendly Gangsters: Cartier is a drug dealer who is never specifically mentioned as having a Freudian Excuse or Justified Criminal status, but he has Thanksgiving with the Bubleys and seems to avoid the kind of violence that surrounds the O's
- Outliving One's Offspring: Maeve raised five sons, but she lost four of them to gang violence.
- "Mister Sandman" Sequence: Luther mentions that he wants to be a basketball player like Allen Iverson.
- Plot-Triggering Death: The death of Luther causes Lilly to reunite with Maeve.
- Police Are Useless: None of the Bubleys were willing to talk to the police, mostly due to the racist, dismissive attitude towards them by Lilly's old partner Detective Fulcrum. In a moment of self-doubt, Lilly began to question if the case is worth her time, and fear she is turning into her old partner.
- The Reveal:
- "Web D" is not a person but a stolen scooter.
- The case was dropped by Lilly's then partner due to his racism.
- That One Case: This was the first case for Lilly, and the failure to solve the initial murders haunted her for years to come.
