Requiem for Adena
Directed By: Lee Bonner
Written By: Julie Martin
Bayliss and Pembleton get the murder case of Janelle Parsons, an 11-year-old African-American girl. Because this brings up memories of Adena Watson for Bayliss, and because Pembleton wants to avoid the glare from a red ball case, he asks Giardello to let him work alone on the case, and Giardello lets him, though Bayliss' emotional state threatens the case even after Pembleton is able to catch the killer, Carver Dooley (Chris Rock). Elsewhere, Brodie lets it slip he has a crush on Howard, which amuses Kellerman and Munch.
This episode contains examples of:
- Ask a Stupid Question...: When Pembleton asks Munch what his note, "See me - Munch" meant, Munch responds, "It means, 'See me - Munch.'"
- Bait-and-Switch Comment: Brodie runs into Howard in the hallway and says he wants to ask her something. Howard, thinking he's going to admit he has a crush on her, tells him while it's Nothing Personal, she doesn't date people from work, only for Brodie to ask if he should leave the tape on Howard's desk, or send it to Danvers.
- Based on a True Story: The Janelle Parsons murder is based on the similar murder (which David Simon wrote about in his book) of a young girl by the name of Andrea Perry, down to the fact the Expy of Pembleton, Detective Harry Edgerton, insisted on working alone and was able to because of a high clearance rate, manages to catch a suspect, and is made furious by the murderer being stupid and African-American.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: A heroic version - when Bayliss is interviewing one of Tucker's friends, his friend asks Bayliss if he remembers him, and Bayliss admits he doesn't because he interviewed a lot of people when investigating Adena Watson's murder.
- Flashback: Bayliss has a number of flashbacks to when he was investigating Adena Watson's murder.
- Foreshadowing: When Pembleton gets upset about Bayliss talked to a reporter about the Parsons case, Giardello tells him to calm down or he'll burst a blood vessel, which predicts Pembleton's stroke at the end of the season.
- Hard-Work Montage: There's a brief sequence of Pembleton interviewing people to see if they know anything about Parsons' murder.
- It's All About Me: Pembleton accuses Bayliss making the Parsons case all about him, even though Bayliss admits it's about Adena Watson and the possibility, however remote, this might be a break in the case.
- I Work Alone: Pembleton goes back to his preferred method of working alone, because, as he explains to Giardello, investigating like a red ball would let too many people interfere with the investigation and might keep him from finding evidence, which letting him work alone wouldn't do.
- Pet the Dog: Barnfather is willing to let Pembleton work alone for 48 hours on the Parsons case because of Pembleton's high clearance rate.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Pembleton has this reaction when he finds out Bayliss talked to a reporter about the Parsons case.
