Sentencing
The Wire | Season 1 | Episode 13

Sentencing

TV-MA | 1 HR 5 MIN

Directed by Tim Van Patten
Written by David Simon & Edward Burns

"All in the game." - Traditional West Baltimore

Bunk goes to the hospital to visit Greggs, who is conscious and though weak, able to name Little Man as her assailant. Pushed by Bunk to ID Wee-Bey, she refuses. "The other one was out there in the dark," she says.

The squad arrests 20 other people in the Barksdale case and Avon is quickly out of jail on a quarter-million-dollar bail. He and Stringer meet Levy in an underground garage. "It's "the only place we can safely talk," says Levy, who urges Avon to consider a structured plea: "That means you gotta deliver all your people-all of them-down to a man." Later, Avon and Stringer go to the funeral parlor they own and begin setting up a new office. "We gotta be back up quick," says Avon, "'fore we lose the Towers."

'DAngelo is feeling talkative in jail, and McNulty, Pearlman and Bunk are all ears. He acknowledges he sold drugs for Barksdale, attended meetings and delivered money. They show him photos of five people Avon has had murdered: Gant, the security guard, Wallace, Orlando and Deidre Kresson. Shaken, 'DAngelo admits to calling Stringer about Brandon's location and implicates Wee-Bey in Deidre 's death, adding that Wee-Bey is hiding in Philadelphia. He also implicates Avon in the death of Wallace and is remorseful about the 16-year-old. "I should a done more," he says. "But I didn't. That's on me." Saying he was freer in jail than he was at home, 'DAngelo says he wants to start over. "I just wanna go somewhere — anywhere — where I can breathe like regular folks," he says. "Gimme that, and I'll give you him."

Pearlman is ecstatic after the meeting, telling McNulty "The drugs! The money! It's a career fucking case." As McNulty awkwardly tries to apologize for the insults from the meeting with Levy, Pearlman starts to unbutton his shirt. "Like you never did it in the headquarters' garage before."

McNulty finally gathers himself to visit Greggs in the hospital. She presses him for details on the case, but he tells her to give it a rest. Becoming emotional, McNulty tells her how sorry he is. "On a case like this, it's always you or Sydnor or some other black cop who ends up going undercover." She asks him for a favor, and gives him money for Bubbles. But when McNulty passes it on, it becomes clear that Bubbles is no longer clean.

Through a phone company contact, Freamon and Bunk track down Wee-Bey in Philly and he is arrested. McNulty, Freamon and Daniels meet with the Feds to see if they can convince them to come in on the case. But the Feds are interested only if the case will deliver crooked politicians, and McNulty is outraged when he realizes they would try to flip Barksdale and lighten his sentence. "West Baltimore is dying and you empty suits are running around trying to pin some politicians' pelts to the wall!" The discussion ends.

Brianna visits 'DAngelo in prison and, ignoring her son's desire to join the witness protection program and start over, leans hard on him to protect Avon, not implicate him. "How you gonna start over without your peoples?" she says. And she is successful. Pearlman soon gets a call from 'DAngelo's new lawyer, Maury Levy.

Levy, also representing Avon, acknowledges that Avon may get hit with one count of attempted possession. But the violence, Levy says, will land on Wee-Bey for killing Orlando and wounding Greggs. As for property assets, the cops can seize the strip club, the cash in Avon's safe and "whatever cars and trucks you link to the drug trafficking," Levy says. The other property assets — the funeral parlor, the copy shop and the empty storefronts are untouchable, and Stringer Bell goes free, since there's nothing to implicate him.

Wee-Bey, choosing life in prison over the death penalty, agrees to cooperate and confesses to nine murders, including ones he didn't commit, in order to exonerate Bird and others in the Barksdale gang. As for 'DAngelo, choosing to protect Avon, with two prior convictions, prosecutors are asking for 20 years.

Daniels learns that Carver was his detail's snitch. Freamon goes to work in Rawls' unit. And McNulty is reassigned by Rawls to harbor detail-the one job he dreaded, just as Landsman predicted.

Avon is in jail, and Stringer is back in business at the funeral home. Bubbles and Johnny are back on the prowl, looking to score. Omar returns to town and sticks up a dealer, saying "All in the game... all in the game." And back at the projects, with Bodie taking over a tower and Poot the Pit, the beat goes on...

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