Television Review: Blood Ties: Part II (Homicide: Life on the Street, S6X02, 1997)
Blood Ties: Part II (S06E02)
Airdate: 24 October 1997
Written by: David Simon
Directed by: Nick Gomez
Running Time: 46 minutes
The sixth season of Homicide: Life on the Street seemed to attempt to compensate for a perceived lack of quality with an excess of quantity. At least, that is the impression one might gather from the season premiere, Blood Ties, which was unnecessarily stretched into three parts rather than a single episode or the traditional two-parter format. This decision often results in artificial methods to prolong the plot, and in this particular case, it is evident in the middle instalment, which suffers from a frustrating lack of resolution.
Despite its flaws, the episode does feature a slightly intriguing side storyline that, if it had been the sole focus of screenwriter David Simon, could have provided an outstanding episode, returning Homicide to the "slice of life" ethos of its early seasons. In this subplot, Detectives Kellerman and Munch are dispatched to Camden Yards ballpark during a Baltimore Orioles baseball game against the New York Yankees. A Long Island man, apparently a Yankees fan, has been found beaten to death, and the authorities, including the governor, insist that the murder be solved before the game concludes to preserve tourist income. Kellerman and Munch swiftly identify a man named Scott Russell, played by Brian Tarantina, who is drunk and all but admits to getting into a fight with the deceased. Russell confesses to the killing but only after being allowed to watch the end of the game on television.
The main storyline continues the investigation into the murder of Malia Brierre. The team of detectives, led by Pembleton, is focused on a man named Kaja, the victim's abusive boyfriend from Haiti. They are astonished to discover that this detail has been leaked to the Baltimore Sun, which Pembleton suspects is an effort to protect Malia's employer, Felix Wilson. Malia had engaged in sexual activity shortly before her murder, and Laura Ballard suggests that Felix and his son Hal provide blood samples to rule them out as suspects. Pembleton is vehemently opposed to this idea, believing that Felix Wilson's reputation as a pillar of the Black community could be jeopardised. However, a phone conversation with Haitian authorities reveals that Kaja was in jail at the time of the murder. Felix then unexpectedly admits to having sex with Malia but takes legal action against providing a blood sample, ending the episode in a typical cliffhanger.
The episode also continues the Luther Mahoney saga, particularly through Detective Falsone's persistent questioning of Lewis and Stivers about the circumstances surrounding Luther Mahoney's death and whether Kellerman's shooting of the drug lord was within regulations. This subplot adds an additional layer of tension but feels more like a plot device to keep the narrative moving rather than a meaningful exploration of the characters or their motivations.
One of the most frustrating aspects of "Blood Ties: Part II" is its overstretched nature, which can perhaps be attributed to the producers' and NBC executives' desire to maximise the use of James Earl Jones, one of the most iconic actors of his time, during his guest stint. On the other hand, Jeffrey Wright, who was still in the process of establishing himself as a great character actor, delivers a much more effective performance as Hal, whose guilt or innocence remains ambiguous. This contrast highlights the episode's unevenness, with some performances and plotlines standing out more than others.
The biggest flaw of the episode is the portrayal of Pembleton, who, in earlier seasons, was depicted as the most tenacious and uncompromising of all the Homicide Unit detectives. Suddenly, he adopts a protective stance towards the Wilsons, which some viewers might even characterise as a cover-up. Pembleton's attempts to justify his inaction and his accusations against his colleagues as being racist make this episode look particularly poor. Some fans later tried to justify Pembleton's inexplicable behaviour as a result of his stroke, but this issue was never hinted at in the show, leaving his actions unexplained and unsatisfying.
Where "Blood Ties: Part II" fails the most is in the subplot involving Falsone's inexplicable crusade to bring Kellerman down for the crime of shooting the infamous drug lord in cold blood. Jon Seda plays his character in a rather annoying manner, primarily due to the writing, and from the start establishes Falsone as one of the least liked regular characters and an incarnation of everything that went wrong in the last two seasons of the series.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
Blog in Croatian https://draxblog.com
Blog in English https://draxreview.wordpress.com/
InLeo blog https://inleo.io/@drax.leo
Hiveonboard: https://hiveonboard.com?ref=drax
Rising Star game: https://www.risingstargame.com?referrer=drax
1Inch: https://1inch.exchange/#/r/0x83823d8CCB74F828148258BB4457642124b1328e
BTC donations: 1EWxiMiP6iiG9rger3NuUSd6HByaxQWafG
ETH donations: 0xB305F144323b99e6f8b1d66f5D7DE78B498C32A7
BCH donations: qpvxw0jax79lhmvlgcldkzpqanf03r9cjv8y6gtmk9