Television Review: Old Cases (The Wire, S1X04, 2002)

Old Cases (S01E04)

Airdate: June 23rd 2002

Written by: David Simon
Directed by: Clement Virgo

Running Time: 59 minutes

In a television saga as monumentally complex and socially intricate as The Wire, the sheer volume of characters and the labyrinthine nature of their interwoven relationships necessitate substantial narrative real estate dedicated to exposition. David Simon, particularly in the series' nascent stages, demonstrated a masterful ability to weave this essential groundwork into the fabric of the plot without succumbing to tedium or impeding the story's natural momentum. Consequently, many early episodes, rather than merely advancing the central narrative, function as vital refracting lenses, casting previously established characters and dynamics in startling new light through carefully deployed revelations. Old Cases, the fourth episode of the inaugural season, stands as a prime exemplar of this technique.

The immediate plot thrust emerges directly from the failed raid on The Pit, the open-air drug market controlled by the Barksdale Organisation. This operation, meticulously planned yet yielding pitiful results – primarily the capture of low-level soldier Marvin Browning (Jeorge Watson) with a trivial quantity of narcotics – forces the Liutenant Daniels' into a desperate scramble for leverage. Their initial gambit, attempting to flip Browning against his superiors, founders on his chilling pragmatism: he chooses a guaranteed five-year sentence for parole violation over the mortal risk of cooperating, understanding the street's unforgiving code. A second, fleeting opportunity arises with Boadie, severely beaten but facing assault charges against a police officer. Yet, this avenue collapses spectacularly when Boadie, after being sent to Boys Village juvenile detention centre, simply walks out the front door and vanishes back into the streets of Baltimore.

This operational impasse, however, pales against the storm brewing within the Barksdale camp itself. Avon Barksdale (Wood Harris) exhibits far less concern over the police task force's blundering than over the brazen robbery of his stash by the legendary Omar Little (Michael K. Williams). His fury escalates into a declared hit on Omar and his associates upon learning two critical details: Omar is gay, and his young accomplice, Brandon Wiley (Michael Kevin Darnall), is not merely an accessory but his lover.

This apparent stagnation in the primary investigation paradoxically grants McNulty (Dominic West) the latitude to indulge a personal itch: assisting his old partner Bunk Moreland (Wendell Pierce) in revisiting the cold case of Deirdre Kresson, a college girl found shot dead, naked, in her apartment. Sergeant Jay Landsman (Delaney Williams), ever the pragmatic clearance-rate calculator, posits a potential Barksdale link based on a nebulous tip mentioning someone named "D." McNulty and Bunk, demonstrating the intuitive forensic brilliance that defines their partnership, meticulously reconstruct the scene, their dialogue consisting almost entirely of expletive-laden variations – a scene famously critiqued for its stylistic audacity – yet they unearth crucial, previously overlooked evidence. Unbeknownst to them, D'Angelo Barksdale (Larry Gilliard Jr.) is simultaneously confiding in his Pit crew: Deirdre was Avon’s girlfriend, and he executed her on Avon’s orders after she threatened the kingpin in a jealous rage. This parallel revelation – the detectives stumbling towards truth while D'Angelo confesses it to his crew – is quintessential The Wire, highlighting the gulf between institutional procedure and street reality.

Convinced conventional avenues against the Barksdale hierarchy have reached a dead end, Lieutenant Cedric Daniels (Lance Reddick) finally concedes to McNulty’s persistent argument: the wiretap is the only viable path forward. Deputy Commissioner Ervin Burrell (Frankie Faison), chastened by Judge Phelan’s (Peter Gerety) sharp reprimand over the Pit raid’s shoddy execution, reluctantly sanctions the request. Crucially, the groundwork for this pivotal operation is laid not by the unit’s leaders, but by the seemingly peripheral Detective Lester Freamon (Clarke Peters). His quiet brilliance manifests in tracing a pager belonging to D'Angelo Barksdale – an act of meticulous police work overlooked by others. Deeply impressed by this "clerical" pawnshop detail, McNulty probes Freamon’s history, uncovering a devastating institutional injustice: Freamon was once Homicide’s finest, sidelined for thirteen years to menial duty after filing charges against a politically connected suspect.

Old Cases is indeed an episode saturated with significant revelations, though their contemporary resonance varies. Omar Little’s sexual orientation, a potentially incendiary detail in early 2000s Baltimore and television, is handled with Simon’s characteristic matter-of-factness. Its relative banality now speaks to shifting societal attitudes, but Simon’s genius lies in never treating it as sensational. Omar’s sexuality is simply a facet of his character, relevant only in how it fuels Avon’s rage, not as a narrative hook. Far more compelling are the deepened portraits of established figures. Lester Freamon emerges unequivocally as the intellectual anchor of Daniels’ squad, his enforced desk duty transformed into a crucible where he honed not just investigative skills but lucrative miniature-making crafts – a poignant symbol of resilience amidst institutional neglect. Cynical Sergeant Landsman, despite his profound disdain for McNulty’s maverick ways, delivers a brutally pragmatic assessment to his superiors Rawls: McNulty’s very flaws – his obsession, his disregard for procedure – make him an unparalleled detective whose skills could significantly boost Homicide’s clearance rates. This moment underscores the show’s nuanced view of institutional pragmatism versus personal animosity. Most dramatically, D'Angelo Barksdale, previously positioned as the Organisation’s flickering moral conscience, is irrevocably tarnished by his confession to Deirdre Kresson’s murder. While the act seemingly seeds his later existential crisis, it shatters any lingering illusion of his inherent decency, forcing viewers to confront the inescapable moral corrosion of his world. McNulty, meanwhile, receives a devastating personal vignette: his awkward, ill-timed appearance at his son’s suburban soccer game, accompanied by the destitute Bubbles (Andre Royo), incurs the justified fury of his ex-wife Elena (Callie Thorne). This scene crystallises McNulty’s profound failures as a husband and father, revealing a domestic life as fractured as his professional obsession is singular.

Yet, Old Cases is not without significant flaws, flaws intrinsically linked to Simon’s artistic choices. The most famous sequence – McNulty and Bunk’s near-silent forensic reconstruction using only the F-word – is undeniably the episode’s most memorable moment. Simon’s intent was clear: to establish The Wire’s unflinching, profane authenticity, a deliberate middle finger to network sanitisation. While undeniably bold and initially darkly humorous, the conceit rapidly curdles. The relentless repetition transcends realism, becoming a self-conscious, almost theatrical stunt. It feels less like authentic police work (even for these two) and more like Simon prioritising a statement about the show’s identity over believable character behaviour. This artifice jars violently against the series’ otherwise meticulous commitment to procedural and social realism, marking the scene as the episode’s greatest conceptual weakness, a moment where the creator’s authorial hand becomes distractingly visible.

Similarly problematic is the episode’s concluding sequence. McNulty’s late-night visit to Kima Greggs’ (Sonja Sohn) apartment ostensibly to discuss the case quickly devolves into gratuitous titillation. The lingering shots of Greggs in scant clothing, swiftly followed by her disrobing for a steamy encounter with her lesbian partner Cheryl (Melanie Nicholls-King), feel utterly disconnected from the preceding narrative gravity. While the show later develops Greggs’ relationship meaningfully, here it functions purely as fan service – a calculated appeal to a presumed male gaze. The abrupt shift from the grim realities of murder investigations and institutional decay to this stylised, eroticised interlude feels exploitative and undermines the episode’s otherwise rigorous tone. More critical viewers are entirely justified in finding this conclusion not only gratuitous but fundamentally at odds with The Wire’s celebrated commitment to substance over sensationalism.

Despite those misssteps, Old Cases remains a vital, richly textured chapter, proving that in The Wire, the most compelling stories are often found not in the grand busts, but in the quiet, devastating revelations buried within the old cases themselves. It lays the essential, intricate groundwork upon which the series' unparalleled exploration of institutions and individuals would firmly stand, warts and all.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)

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