As Proposition Joe predicted, Herc goes on the warpath in trying to get his camera back, from pulling over Marlo on a traffic stop, to raiding the place where Marlo conducts his meetings, and even to pulling Chris and Snoop over on a traffic stop (the side effect of this is Herc spots their nail gun, forcing them to throw it away later). Marlo gets Herc's card out of it, and thanks to a phone call, Proposition Joe finds out Herc's working in Major Crimes, though thanks to Herc's misguided arrest of Marlo and the train passenger, Marrimow has put Herc on his shit list. As for Marlo, while Proposition Joe and the co-op are happy with how Chris and Snoop are disposing of the New York drug dealers, they don't want the dead bodies put in the vacant row houses, because the message won't get sent.
Bunk is still unable to convince Crutchfield to re-investigate the delivery woman's murder, but Holley, reluctantly, decides to go along. Sure enough, when Bunk shows up at Old Face Andre's store, he finds the physical evidence doesn't add up (and, like Kima and Omar before him, figures out the store is a front for a drug stash). When Bunk gives Old Face Andre a grand jury summons, and successfully bluffs him about what will happen if he lies to them, Old Face Andre backs up from his story, and though Jay is furious at what Bunk and Holley did, he reluctantly concedes they're right about Omar being the wrong culprit.
Carcetti continues his fact-finding tour of the police department - going on a drug bust, visiting the Homicide department - and becomes convinced the department is going the wrong direction. Ever the canny politician, Rawls decides to make his play by telling Carcetti he doesn't want to play the numbers game anymore when it comes to police work, but Carcetti is more convinced by Daniels, who reluctantly tells Carcetti things need to be improved.
Colvin, Duquette and Parenti finally break through with the kids in their class when they get them talking about the corner, and what it means to be on it; Namond in particular is animated during this discussion (on the actual corner, of course, he delegates responsibility to Kenard, and makes excuses to De'Londa about the count being short). Prez, on the other hand, finds himself unable to reach his students when he has to go back to the standardized material, and wonders to the other teachers what they're doing; he's not convinced when he's told he's being evaluated as much as the students are.
Finally, Michael's reason for not trusting male authority figures becomes apparent when Bug's father, Devar Manigault (Cyrus Farmer), comes home from prison, and it's implied he molested Michael when he was younger. Michael is furious about this, but still reluctant to talk to anyone about it, even when Prez gives him an opening.
This episode contains examples of:
- Abusive Parents: Michael's stepfather.
- Actually Pretty Funny: Colvin laughs when Namond claims the magazine Duquette caught him with wasn't even his; "Y'all little pissers."
- An Aesop: The same teacher who told Prez he needed "soft eyes" tells him, "The first year isn't about the kids, it's about you surviving."
- Asshole Victim: Played with: Crutchfield is not going to grill the witness who said Omar shot the delivery lady, because Omar is like any other perp to him (except his name pops up in 5 or 6 cases Crutchfield knows of). Bunk has to convince Holley to come check out Old Face Andre's story.
- Bluff the Imposter: Chris' way of figuring out who's really from New York City is to have Snoop ask a question only a Baltimore native would know, like who's the best DJ on a local radio station. Unfortunately, Snoop doesn't listen to it, so when she asks someone on the corner a question, and gets an answer she doesn't recognize, she's ready to shoot the guy until Chris pulls her off and decides he should ask the questions from then on.
- Brief Accent Imitation: Proposition Joe does this three times to try and find out where Herc is working. Hilarity Ensues:Operator: Baltimore City Police Department.Proposition Joe: Uh yes, ma'am, this is Sydney Handjerker with Handjerker, Cohen, and Bromburg. I'm trying to locate a Sergeant Thomas Hauk in regards to a client I'm representing.Operator: Hold, please. (the operator transfers him to another line)Lt. Hoskins: Mayor's office, Lieutenant Hoskins.Proposition Joe: (ghetto accent) Uh, yes, hello, this is Ervin Pepper of Pepper, Pepper, and Bayleaf. Uh, I'm calling in regards to a Sergeant Thomas Hauk in regards to a-Hoskins: He's no longer on this detail. Hold on for a minute. (he is transferred AGAIN)Marrimow: Major Crimes. Marrimow.Proposition Joe: (different voice) Uh, this is Dr. Jay, calling with test results for Thomas Hauk.Marrimow: He's on the street. You want to leave a message on it?
- Call-Back: Marrimow reminds Herc he no longer has Royce watching out for him.
- Crutchfield reminds Bunk they're not looking for "the man who came up with 62 ways for the peanut."
- Kima reminds Carcetti she's the one whom Gray blasted as "new and inexperienced".
- Character Death: Raymond DeAngelis, who played Col. Foerster, died of complications due to cancer, so his character is reported dead of the same thing in this episode.
- Continuity Nod: Once again, the police have a wake at Kavanagh's, complete with The Pogues' "Body of an American". We don't see Jay deliver a eulogy there, though he does give an abbreviated one inside the Homicide squad room.
Jay Landsman: As most of you are already aware, our C.I.D. Commander Raymond Foster, after a long bout with cancer, passed away last night at Johns Hopkins. Better eulogies are coming. So, let me just say that the man served 39 years— attaining the rank of colonel— without leaving a trail of bitterness or betrayal. In this department, that's not a career, it's a miracle. - Continuity Nod: In addition to what's listed above, Herc initially claims the false arrest of Marlo at the train station came because of information from Fuzzy Dunlop.
- The hooker who buys cigarettes from Old Face Andre is the same junkie buying an 8-ball in Hamsterdam.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: In-Universe; Colvin realizes the kids in class see him, Duquette and Parenti the same way they see the cops on the street.
- Epigraph: "We got our thing, but it's just part of the big thing," which Zenobia says in class.
- Foreshadowing: What Carcetti continues to learn about the police department (along with his ambitions to be governor), Michael's stepfather coming home, and Herc's continued Escalating War with Marlo all become important later. Also, Norman says Carcetti has to stay away from the schools.
- Hypocrite / Jerkass Has a Point: Namond calls out Colvin, Duquette and Parenti, along with other adults, for being this, for telling him and his classmates not to lie, cheat or steal, and yet the government does all of that (he brings up Enron); as for drugs, he brings up cigarettes (Duquette claims she's trying to quit before realizing what she said), and the police who make their money off of drugs (Colvin admits as much).
- Lying to the Perp: Bunk and Holley bring Old Face Andre to the lobby of the courthouse, where DiPasquale, the grand jury prosecutor, happens to be, and asks what a witness would get for lying to the grand jury; naturally, DiPasquale claims he'd seek the maximum of ten years (Bunk lies and says he thought it would only be two or three). This is what finally gets Old Face Andre to tell the truth.
- My Beloved Smother: Randy thinks this way about Miss Anna, saying she's got him on a short leash, though Michael points out that's not the worst thing in the world ("Shit, at least you got a leash"), and unfortunately, he would know.
- Oh, Crap!: Michael when he learns Bug went home with his father.
- Political Overcorrectness: Rawls blames the department's obsession with stats on this; Carcetti and Norman don't say anything, but don't believe him.
- Pun: Jay tells the rest of Homicide that Carcetti's "been fact finding within the department. So, if you go leaving your fax lying around and he finds them, that shit's on you."
- Serious Business: Crutchfield and Kima don't let Carcetti get away with the old "leave-the-empty-pot-of-coffee-without-making-a-new-one" trick.
- Shout-Out: When Duquette asks the class where they think they'll be in ten years, Albert says he wants to be Ben Carson, who, as Parenti whispers to Colvin, is a noted surgeon at Johns Hopkins.
- Also becomes a case of
Retroactive Recognition because of Carson's rise to national prominence since 2013 and subsequent presidential campaign. - Old Face Andre claimed the person who shot a hole through his glass wore a mask, to which Bunk cracks, "Like Zorro, huh?"
- Also becomes a case of
- Title Drop: Namond says in class, "Right now, we're just corner boys."
- Verbal Backspace: In telling Colvin, Duquette and Parenti the rules of the corner, and what happens when someone screws up the count, Zenobia says, "You got to fuck him up," before correcting herself; "Mess him up".
- Vomit Indiscretion Shot: Bunk, who again Can't Hold His Liquor, vomits outside of Kavanagh's. While he does go to Old Face Andre's store to poke holes in his story, he also desperately needs a bottle of Mylanta.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Jay's reaction after Bunk and Holley give him a report that says Omar should be released.
