See No Evil
Written By: Paul Attanasio
Directed By: Chris Menaul
Felton tries to stop his friend from killing his father (Wilford Brimley) in an assisted suicide. Pembleton investigates the possible police shooting of an unarmed suspect.
Tropes applying to this episode:
- Abusive Parents: Chuckie mentions that Harry once nearly drowned him by throwing him into the ocean to force him to learn to swim, and he admits this only convinced the man that he was weak, and thus not worth his time. Harry also spends most of his screentime forcing Chuckie to kill him, even though he's blatantly uncomfortable with it.
- Based on a True Story: The police-involved shooting Pembleton and Bayliss investigate is based on a similar shooting depicted in David Simon's book, though in that case, it was Donald Worden, the Expy of Bolander, who investigated it.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Lewis manhandles Felton for coaching Chuckie and threatens to kick his teeth in over it.
- Driven to Suicide: Harry Prentice's terminal cancer has left him just wanting the suffering to end, and he tries to talk his son Chuckie into mercy killing him. Eventually, he succeeds.
- Karma Houdini: Chuckie gets away with killing his father because Felton and Lewis cover for him, though he'll always be haunted by his guilt over it.
- Mercy Kill: Harry wants to end his suffering from terminal cancer, and forces his son Chuckie to shoot him.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Lewis is clearly guilt-ridden after helping Chuckie get away with murder. The final shot of him shows him sadly staring at himself in a mirror.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat: Giardello of all people turns into this over the police shooting. He refuses to grant Pembleton permission to investigate cops for the shooting and angrily screams at him when he questions Gee's decision. Pembleton is forced to go to Barnfather to properly pursue the investigation.
- Sympathetic Murderer: Chuckie.
- Therapy Is for the Weak: Bolander is convinced of this. It stems from him blaming a marriage counselor for his wife leaving him.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Chuckie spent his entire life trying to earn his father's respect. He eventually does, by helping in his assisted suicide, but at the cost of no longer being able to live with himself.
