Season 1, Episode 12
Cleaning Up
Stringer reorganizes everything after the raids: no telephones, no pagers and more importantly, no dope now that their main stash has been seized. Avon and Stringer start to target anyone who could do them harm and are cleaning house. Shardene gets contact lenses and agrees to wear a wire at the club. With the wire dead, the Deputy Chief wants some of the men on Daniels' squad returned to regular duties. Wallace has returned to the pit but Stringer thinks he may be the snitch they've been worried about. Everyone is getting nervous about the squad looking into campaign contributions including the DA and Senator Clay Davis. The Deputy Chief orders an end to the investigation and the arrest of Avon Barksdale. Freamon and Prez finally figure out why Avon has been buying abandoned commercial properties. D'Angelo is arrested but breaks away from Avon when he hears about Wallace.
This episode contains examples of:
- The Alcoholic: Obviously, McNulty. We also hear Wallace's mom was this, as she'd put rum in her food.
- Armor-Piercing Question: When Stringer and Levy show up to talk to D'Angelo, D has already heard from McNulty what happened to Wallace. Disbelieving the cops, he starts asking String "Where's Wallace?" When Stringer fails to give him a straight answer D realizes Stringer had his friend killed.
- Badass Pacifist: The police and a SWAT team are about to arrest Avon Barksdale in his office. Sitting in their car, McNulty and Daniels are unimpressed with the show of force. So the two proceed to simply walk up the stairs to the office like a walk in the park, wordlessly put the handcuffs on Avon, then walk out. The only words being when McNulty tells Stringer, "Catch you later."Jimmy McNulty: This isn't as much fun as I thought it would be...
Cedric Daniels: SWAT guys do love to break out their tools, don't they?
Jimmy McNulty: Do they think there's Tony Montana up there? These guys probably haven't touched a gun in years. [beat] Ah, fuck this shit. You and me, Lieutenant. - Broken Bird: D'Angelo.
- Call-Back: When Daniels and McNulty go into the interrogation room, D'Angelo sarcastically asks if McNulty is going to make him write another letter.
- Also, when Bodie sees a canister on the couch in the Pit, D'Angelo admits it's fish food.
- Epigraph: Wallace tells D'Angelo, "This is me, yo. Right here."
- Foreshadowing: The reason why Burrell didn't know about the bug being planted at Orlando's becomes important later.
- Also, just who Davis takes his money from comes up in Seasons 4 and 5.
- Heel–Face Door-Slam: Wallace's murder.
- Heel Realization / My God, What Have I Done?: D'Angelo after he learns what happened to Wallace.
- Idiot Ball: Brianna accuses Avon of this when D'Angelo is arrested. He claims D'Angelo was the only one he could trust, but she doesn't buy it.
- It's All About Me: McNulty admits to Daniels the investigation was this.
- Killed Off for Real: Poor Wallace.
- Lampshaded Double Entendre:
- When Lester volunteers to let Shardene stay with him so she can be safe, and Daniels says to remember who he is, Lester responds, "Protect and serve, Lieutenant."
- Also, Herc tries to make a "You know what big hands mean" joke, but no one pays attention to him.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Nakeisha Lyles was bribed and lied on the stand to get D'Angelo off. After that, William Gant (the other witness in D's trial) was killed in retaliation by the Barksdales. This episode, she herself is killed for being a witness and a loose end the Barksdales need tied up.
- Put on a Bus: This is the last we see of Sydnor until Season 3.
- Mercy Kill: Poot's shooting of Wallace can clearly be read as such. Bodie struggles muster up the determination to kill Wallace, but can only shoot him once before loosing his nerve and stands dumbfounded and stares at the heavily wounded Wallace as he wheezes for breath. A clearly emotionally torn-up Poot then takes the gun of Bodie's hand and Double Taps Wallace, killing him, but also putting him out of his misery.
- Shout-Out: When McNulty and Daniels see the SWAT team ready to converge on Avon, McNulty wonders if they think Tony Montana is up there.
- Tempting Fate: When McNulty warns Santangelo to watch himself with Rawls, Santangelo responds that he gave Rawls his clearance, and adds, "What can he do to me?"
