Birthday
Directed By: Alison McLean
Story By: Julie Martin
Teleplay By: Anya Epstein and David Simon
Falsone and Lewis team up with Stivers when a woman is found raped and beaten in an alley. Pembleton goes to the hospital when Mary goes into delivery. Georgia Mahoney tells Kellerman she has a tape of him shooting Luther.
This episode contains examples of:
- And Another Thing...: Falsone, Lewis, and Stivers are interviewing the bartender who turns out to be the serial rapist, and everything seems to be going normally (the rapist claims he saw an earlier suspect at the bar, and says he wants to help catch him), even after he claims a dog bit his arm. As Falsone is getting ready to leave with the others, he asks what kind of dog it was. The bartender says pit bull, and when Falsone says he wants to see the bite, that's when the bartender runs out of the bar.
- Birth-Death Juxtaposition: After Falsone is told of Grace Rivera's death, the Pembletons' and Bayliss's celebration of the birth of Frank's son is intercut with Dr. Cox preparing Grace's body for autopsy.
- Bittersweet Ending: Grace Rivera ends up dying of her injuries, but Falsone, Lewis and Stivers end up finding her attacker before she dies.
- Foreshadowing: Pembleton tells Mary she and her daughter are more important to him than his job, and he also tells Bayliss again while he was bored with working on the Robbery Squad, he was glad to be home at the same time every night, and so was Mary, which foreshadows his decision to quit at the end of the season.
- Hard-Work Montage: Falsone, Lewis, and Stivers interviewing bar patrons and bartenders to find out if anyone recognizes Grace Rivera.
- If I Wanted You Dead...: When Kellerman brings up the fact Junior Bunk tried to kill him on her orders, Georgia brings up this trope.
- It's Personal: Falsone feels this way about the case because he feels he has to prove himself to the other detectives in Homicide.
- Jurisdiction Friction: The Homicide unit were called in when Grace Rivera was found because the paramedics thought she was dying. When she turns out to still be alive, Giardello and the head of Sex Crimes argue about which unit should investigate.
- Off the Wagon: At the end of the episode Kellerman, who had quit drinking at the end of the previous season, goes into the Waterfront and downs a large bourbon in one.
- Police Brutality: Falsone loses control and punches the rapist after he confesses, which Giardello is furious about because it would make it look as if the confession was beaten out of him.
- Rank Up: Lt. McClendon, the shift commander at Sex Crimes, previously appeared helping Munch and Kellerman investigate a rape and murder in "Kaddish", in which she was only a Detective.
