Recap / Homicide Life On The Street S 5 E 17 Kaddish

Kaddish

Directed By: Jean de Segonzac

Story By: Ron Goldstein, Julie Martin, and James Yoshimura

Teleplay By: Linda McGibney

Helen Rosenthal, Munch's teenage crush, is found murdered in a parking lot, which brings up painful memories for him as he and Kellerman investigate her death. Pembleton tries to deal with Mary leaving him.

This episode contains examples of:

• Call-Back:
  • In "Nearer My God to Thee", Munch talked at the beginning of the episode how technology and television were going to change. In a Flashback, the younger John Munch says the same thing.
  • Pembleton ends up talking again with Sister Magdalena Weber.
• Flashback: Munch flashes back to his teenage self (Joe Perrino) when he knew Helen (Kennen Sisco). Also, Pembleton flashes back to when when he was investigating a Serial Killer, causing him to lose his faith.
• Mirror Character: Munch and Pembleton in this episode, as both of them reflect on having lost their faith - Munch in Judaism, Pembleton in Catholicism - and both deciding whether to go back, though the parallel ends when Munch decides to join in the religious ritual for Helen's death, while Pembleton walks out of church.
• Schoolyard Bully All Grown Up: George Young (Robert Riggs), who was Helen's boyfriend, was like this as far as Munch is concerned, along with being a Jerk Jock, but Munch has to concede George did love Helen.
• Serial Killer: A serial rapist/killer turns out to be responsible for Helen's death, much as Munch would like someone he disliked as intensely as George Young to be the one who killed her.
• Shout-Out: Watching the show Johnny Staccato (starring John Cassavetes) is apparently what made Munch want to be a police detective in the first place.
• Terminology Title: Kaddish is a Hebrew word that refers to a prayer proclaiming the greatness of God. The most well-known of these is the Mourner's Kaddish, which gets said over someone who dies.
• Yiddish as a Second Language:
  • When Dr. Cox mentions she knows about getting Helen ready for the Jewish burial ceremony, Munch wonders how she knows more about that than he does, to which she responds, "What can I say? I'm no ordinary shiksa."
  • Munch needles Kellerman until he says, "Oy vey iz mir^note Oh, woe is me, I'm so meshuga^note crazy I could plotz^note faint."