Recap / The Wire S 02 E 12 Port In A Storm

Season 2, Episode 12

Port in a Storm

"Business. Always business."

— The Greek

As Herc and Carver consider their future, Daniels tries to talk Valchek out of charging Prez for punching him. With the FBI putting pressure on the union, Rawls demands a clearance for the Jane Doe murders, the Greeks prepare to leave Baltimore, and Nick turns himself in. The detail follows one final piece of evidence in Philadelphia, and Stringer cements his deal with Prop Joe, with Avon's reluctant approval. When Bubbles and Johnny Weeks are arrested trying to steal supplies from an ambulance, Bubbles alerts Greggs and McNulty to Joe and Stringer's alliance, and the newly formed MCU is handed its first case.

This episode contains examples of:

• Actually Pretty Funny: Up until now, Valchek would frothe in rage everytime a picture of his stolen van came to his mail from a different american city. When the last mail arrives after Frank's death all the way from Australia, Valchek instead chuckles with almost fondness in his voice.
• Bilingual Bonus: Valchek's rambling to Frank's last prankmail:
  Valchek: Frank, you cock-sucker. Spoczywaj w spokoju.^note Rest in peace.
• Call-Back: In addition to all the others listed above, there's also Bubbles reminding Kima how worried he was about her after she was shot.
• Cool and Unusual Punishment: After some careful appealing to Valchek's ego, Lt. Daniels manages to secure the following punishment as a consequence for Prezbylewski punching Valchek in the face: a two-month graveyard shift filing paperwork, a handwritten letter of apology to everyone (MCU, FBI, etc) who bore witness to the punch, an unequivocal admission that said punch was a cheap lousy sucker-punch that would have gotten his ass kicked if it were thrown in a REAL fight, and a personal in-person apology to Valchek saying the same thing. Upon completion of all steps, Valchek agrees to let Prez stay with Daniels' unit. The sheer petty grievance makes Daniels struggle not to smile as he accepts Valchek's terms.
• Dissonant Serenity: Brother Mouzone certainly seems even-tempered considering the fact he's been shot, and the fact he realizes Stringer may know more about that than it may appear.
• Downer Ending: The union is decertified, the prostitution and drug trades still go on, and the Greek and Spiros slip away unscathed. Even the fact the detail has now become a permanent crime-fighting unit (not to mention the fact with Proposition Joe and Stringer partnering up, they have a viable target) and that the murders were ultimately put down doesn't mitigate this.
• Dramatic Irony: Kima wondering if Frank can come in and fill in details of what they know, not knowing yet that Frank is dead.
• Epigraph: "Business. Always business." The Greek says this to the women at the reservation counter when she asks if his trip is business or pleasure.
• Foreshadowing: Obviously, Proposition Joe and Stringer's alliance plays an important role in Season 3, as does McNulty and Omar's obsession with getting to Stringer. Furthermore, Avon and Stringer's argument about the Brother Mouzone situation and working with Proposition Joe hints the growing tensions between the two in the next season, as Stringer's idea of business versus Avon's idea of tradition begin to clash.
• Idiot Ball: The usually shrewd Stringer slips up during his visit with Brother Mouzone.
• Killed Off for Real: Frank Sobotka.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Carver and Herc find out this has happened to them when Nick turns himself in and they didn't know about it, which pushes Carver's Berserk Button.
• The Reveal:
  Spiros: And you? To them, you're only "the Greek".
  The Greek: And, of course, I'm not even Greek.
• Scenery Gorn: Capping the traditional season finale montage is a brutal collage of scenes of industrial decay and abandonment around Baltimore.
• Sleeping Single: Daniels and Marla by this point are together in name only.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial: As mentioned in Cool and Unusual Punishment above, Valchek is most concerned with Prez making it clear that the punch he got in on his father-in-law was in fact a cowardly, sissy, limp-wristed sucker punch that would have gotten him absolutely destroyed if they were to have a real fight. Which as you can see is totally what happened.