The Damage Done
Directed By: Jace Alexander
Story By: Henry Bromell and Tom Fontana
Teleplay By: Jorge Zamacona
Kellerman and Lewis have to deal with a number of dead people caught in an Escalating War between two drug kingpins, Drak Fortunado (Kevin Thigpen) and Luther Mahoney (Erik Todd Dellums). Kellerman becomes attracted to Amy Jennings (Ingrid Rogers), a teacher who takes care of the daughter of one of the victims.
This episode contains examples of:
- Back Story: Bayliss admits he once tried shrooms, though he cried because of the colors he saw and got cotton mouth from eating Sno-Balls.
- Berserk Button: Drak doesn't like it when Kellerman comes to his building after he told Kellerman about Mahoney, but he especially doesn't like the fact Kellerman drew his gun on him.
- Boom, Headshot!: Drak gets shot in this way at the end.
- Continuity Nod: While Lewis and Kellerman are discussing dating, Kellerman alludes to the two recent times when attractive women displayed themselves to him naked during investigations.
- Convenient Misfire: While attempting to arrest the drug dealer Drak, Kellerman points his gun at him and pulls the trigger, but the gun failed to chamber a round. Drak then takes Kellerman's gun away and holds him at gunpoint, but then gives the gun back to him to prove that he's a better man than that.
- Faux Affably Evil: Luther Mahoney, who's nothing but smiles and charm when Kellerman and Lewis question him about the murders. It doesn't fool anyone in the audience, however.
- Foreshadowing:
- Luther Mahoney, and Kellerman and Lewis trying to pin something on him, becomes very important over the next season.
- Lewis asks Kellerman if he ever took any money, which also becomes important over the next season.
- Lewis mentions he's in love, which will become important later in the season.
- Hope Spot: When Kellerman sees Jennings at the rally, given the fact he has a crush on her, he smiles when he sees her and they say hi to each other - and then she introduces Kellerman to her boyfriend.
- Irony: A rather cruel one - Drak is shot and killed at the end during a rally against gun violence and drug gangs.
- Moment Killer: When Jennings visits Kellerman at the gym, where he's working out, they bond over the fact they're both divorcées, and she starts holding his hand and talking to each other, even starting to lean towards each other, when Lewis comes in. Unlike most people who do this, Lewis excuses himself and leaves, though the moment is over.
- Police Brutality: Lewis and Kellerman go and talk to a couple of drug squad detectives while they are waiting for a dealer to arrive to run a sting. When their target arrives, the three drug detectives jump on him and start repeatedly punching him while he's on the ground. Lewis's only response is a sarcastic "and that's why you don't do drugs".
- A Shared Suffering: Lewis and Drak find out they both not only grew up in the same projects, but they also went to the same high school (albeit eight years apart), and they both had the same tough teacher.
- Shout-Out: When Lewis goes to visit Kellerman on his boat, he calls Kellerman "Gilligan".
- Start to Corpse: In contrast to Homicide's traditional avoidance of explicit violence, The Teaser of this episode has two separate on-screen shootings in as many minutes.
- Taking the Heat: A man ends up confessing to committing all six murders. Kellerman guesses he's doing this on behalf of Luther Mahoney, and Lewis agrees, but they also agree there's probably nothing they can do about it.
- Titled After the Song: The episode title comes from the second half of the Neil Young song "The Needle and the Damage Done".
- Tranquil Fury: According to Lewis, the fact Giardello is smiling and saying encouraging things to Kellerman and Lewis when he visits them at the crime scene of the latest drug-related murder means he's really pissed off.
- Two Scenes, One Dialogue: One scene intercuts Lewis and Kellerman, and Pembleton and Bayliss, both sitting in their cars discussing their attitudes and experiences regarding illegal substances.
- Verbal Backspace: When Lewis mentions he walked out of the projects in his own shoes, Drak says, "Maybe you should walk back." When Lewis, upset, asks what he means, Drak backtracks and says he meant the kids from there would like to see Lewis as an example of The One Who Made It Out.
- Villain with Good Publicity: Luther is a drug dealer who happens to run a school and a day care, as well as donating books that the school needs.
