"I still wake up white in a city that ain’t."
— Carcetti
Carcetti continues his campaign, but isn't making much headway (the teachers union and police union both endorse Royce) until, thanks to Valchek, he hears about how another state's witness has been murdered (a case Norris has caught), and he hammers Royce on it at a debate between the two of them and Gray. As if that wasn't enough for Royce, Lester decides to send his subpoenas out, going after, among others, Clay and Krawczyk, both of whom are pissed off at Royce for that. Also, while going to remind Royce of a meeting, Herc catches Royce getting a blowjob from his secretary, leaving both him and Royce spooked.
The kids are getting ready for school. Marlo gives all of the kids in the neighborhood money for school clothes, and everyone takes it except Michael, who also stands up to Marlo when Marlo calls him out on it, which impresses Marlo. Prez also gets ready for teaching, and learns from some of the other teachers how he'll need to lower his expectations to survive.
Elsewhere, Bubbles, impatient with Sherrod's lack of skills, enrolls him in school again, and Bunk tries to figure out what happened to Lex.
This episode contains examples of:
- Actually Pretty Funny:
- Rhonda laughs at first when Daniels imitates Lester, even though she's still pissed.
- Holley finds the dead witness' answer to the officer who found him asking who shot him ("A guy with a gun") to be hilarious.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Played with; Norman and Terri both think Carcetti is being like this when he interrupts their debate planning to take a call from Jen, but it turns out Carcetti is paying attention, he just thinks the election is a Foregone Conclusion.
- Brief Accent Imitation: Rhonda and Cedric both imitate Lester.Cedric: Did he do that thing where he, uh, stares at you over the top of his reading glasses? You know, that look that says, "I'm the father you never had, and I don't want to be disappointed in you ever again."
- Call-Back:
- When Lester says he's putting the subpoenas out now because the politicians have to worry about scandal, Rhonda reminds him he originally claimed he wanted to do this a year ago except fresh cases got in the way.
- Herc is worried after seeing Royce's Interrupted Intimacy, he'll end up riding a boat just like McNulty did. Also, when Carver recommends Herc talk to Valchek, he recalls he once served under Valchek.
- Carcetti brings up the last time a witness got killed, and how he went to Royce about it, as well as the fact he wrote a letter about it, and offered to get matching funds from the state.
- Catchphrase: Clay Davis. All together now - "Sheeeit!" He does it twice.
- Chick Magnet: The mothers of the boys Dennis trains are very interested in going out with him, and while he claims he's busy, he'd be more than happy for them to bring by "dinner".
- Continuity Nod:
- Once again, when he's hard at work trying to fix something in disarray, Prez puts on Johnny Cash (this time, "Ring of Fire").
- Also, Herc is still obsessed with making sergeant, and Wee-Bey is still worried about his fish.
- When Burrell and Rawls talk about the subpoenas, Burrell immediately assumes McNulty is the one responsible, until Rawls points out he's no longer working Major Crimes.
- Corrupt Cop: Officer Walker, who not only takes money from Randy (given to him by Marlo), but pockets it for himself.
- Drives Like Crazy: Donut, though to be fair, he can barely reach the pedals.
- Epigraph: "I still wake up white in a city that ain't", said by Carcetti.
- Foreshadowing: The dead witness, Lex being missing, Herc witnessing Royce's Interrupted Intimacy, Old Face Andre (whom Marlo and Monk talk to, and who holds their supply), Namond's ambivalence at being tough like his parents - Wee-Bey and De'Londa - want him to be, Rawls' idea of "proper supervision" for the Major Case squad, and Michael being eyed by a few authority figures (good and bad) all become important later.
- Interrupted Intimacy: What Herc catches Royce at.Carver: What the hell'd you say to him?Herc: I said, "Mr. Mayor, that's a good, strong dick you got there, and I see you know how to use it." I didn't say shit!
- The Mole: Jay is feeding information to Valchek.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Lester's response to Rhonda's tirade; "Me? I'm just the police."
- Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: When Carcetti is playing Battleship with his daughter, Aidan Gillen gives the distinctly Irish pronunciation of "H" as "haitch."
- Out-of-Character Moment: Bunk is used to people lying to him - especially the family mothers of suspects - but he's convinced there's something going on with Lex, because his mother didn't lie to him "in the usual way".
- Pet the Dog: Valchek gives friendly advice to Herc about what to do with his knowledge about the Mayor's indiscretions. He actually treats Herc better than he does his own son-in-law and only asks for a possible future favor in return.
- Phrase Catcher: Both Clay and Namond say, "I'll take any motherfucker's money if he giving it away!" Also, during Clay's tirade at Royce, he becomes the latest character to say, "It's all in the game".
- The Pig-Pen: Dukie, though as we learn, it's entirely due to his home life. When Donnelly tells a student to deliver clothes to Dukie, she specifically tells her not to give it to anyone else but him.
- Really Gets Around: Monk; he describes Old-Face Andre as someone who needs "more maintenance than both (his) babies' mamas."
- Refuge in Audacity: Right after Carver comes around to warn all the kids what'll happen if he catches them stealing cars again, Donut, after getting a glimpse of Carver's car, says, "Damn, yo! Nice ride!", though at least he has the sense to wait till Carver's out of earshot.
- Shout-Out:
- Lester tries to inspire Rhonda and the others at the detail by quoting Theodore Roosevelt ("The thrill (in hunting grizzly bears) is in overcoming your own fear"), and calls the developers and politicians targeted by the subpoenas "princes of the city".
- Dennis' landscaping boss cracks that Dennis is trying to be the next Angelo Dundee (the trainer of Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard, among others).
- Staring Down Cthulhu: Michael is the only one who refuses money from Marlo, and when Marlo confronts him about it ("You too good for my money? Or is you such a bitch-ass punk you worried about where my money come from?"), Michael doesn't say anything, but stares directly at Marlo. This actually impresses Marlo, and he not only lets Michael go, but begins to think Michael might make a good addition to his crew.
- Title Drop: One of the teachers tells Prez, "You need soft eyes."
- Too Much Information: Wee-Bey telling Namond how he rubbed urine on his upper lip so he could grow a mustache quicker.
- Young Entrepreneur: Randy takes Marlo's money because he wants to use it for his candy-selling business.
