Cleaning Up (The Wire episode)
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"Cleaning Up" is the twelfth and penultimate episode of the first season of the
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original series '' The Wire''. The episode was written by
George Pelecanos George P. Pelecanos (born February 18, 1957) is an American author. Many of his 20 books are in the genre of detective fiction and set primarily in his hometown of Washington, D.C. He is also a film and television producer and a television writ ...
from a story by David Simon & Ed Burns and was directed by Clement Virgo. It originally aired on September 1, 2002.


Plot summary

Stringer collects the pagers belonging to
D'Angelo Michael Eugene Archer (born February 11, 1974), better known by his stage name D'Angelo (), is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He first garnered attention after co-producing the single "U Will Know" ...
's crew and tells them that all business talk will be conducted face to face. Stringer and Avon meet with Levy, who tells them that they need to walk away from Orlando's club, as well as clean up any other 'loose ends' that might be sources of information for the police. Levy also suggests that Nakeesha Lyles, a female security guard who had planned to testify against D'Angelo, may be a problem. After Levy departs, Stringer convinces Avon to insulate himself from their crew by passing all communication through him. D'Angelo tells Stringer that
Wallace Wallace may refer to: People * Clan Wallace in Scotland * Wallace (given name) * Wallace (surname) * Wallace (footballer, born 1986), full name Wallace Fernando Pereira, Brazilian football left-back * Wallace (footballer, born 1987), full name ...
has left "the game" and appeals to Avon to leave him alone. Back at the pit, Wallace returns and asks for his old position back.
Bodie Bodie ( ) is a ghost town in the Bodie Hills east of the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountain range in Mono County, California, United States. It is about southeast of Lake Tahoe, and east-southeast of Bridgeport, California, Bridgepo ...
tells Wallace that he would have to accept a demotion, but D'Angelo overrules him. D'Angelo's mother Brianna arrives with a lunch for him. Daniels visits Greggs and bumps into a drunken
McNulty McNulty (also spelled MacNulty or McAnulty) is a surname of Irish origin. It is derived from the Gaelic ''Mac an Ultaigh'' meaning "son of the Ulsterman". Usually considered a branch of the Ulaid ruling dynasty of ''Mac Duinnshléibhe'' ( MacDon ...
outside of her room. He tells McNulty to either see Greggs or go back to work. McNulty confesses that he is wracked with guilt over his role in starting the detail, saying that the case does not mean anything. Daniels tells him that the case meant something to Greggs and that they must continue their work and find her shooters. McNulty returns to the detail office as Freamon fits Shardene with
contact lens Contact lenses, or simply contacts, are thin lenses placed directly on the surface of the eyes. Contact lenses are ocular prosthetic devices used by over 150 million people worldwide, and they can be worn to correct vision or for cosmetic ...
es. Freamon tells McNulty that their surveillance is faltering because the Barksdale Organization is changing its operating procedure. He has sent Prez to
Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
to chase the paper trail in campaign contributions. Freamon suggests that they have Shardene wear a wire in Avon's club. Daniels meets with
Burrell Burrell may refer to: Places *Burrell, former name of Burrel, California, United States *Burrell, variant spelling of Boorlo, the Noongar name for Perth, Western Australia *Burrell Boom, Belize *Burrell, California, United States *Burrell Township ...
and Reed to discuss his investigation. Burrell feels that the case is over now that the wiretaps have gone dead. Daniels argues that they should keep up the surveillance as they still have time remaining on the court order. Burrell orders Daniels to return Santangelo and Sydnor to Homicide, but allows him to keep Freamon and Prez. Burrell still assumes Freamon and Prez are the most useless detectives on his detail, unaware that they have revealed themselves to Daniels as valuable investigators.
Pearlman Pearlman ( he, פרלמן) is a surname. It is typically an Anglicized version of the Ashkenazi Jewish surname Perelman. Notable people with the surname include: *Alan R. Pearlman, American engineer and entrepreneur, founder of ARP Instruments, Inc ...
meets with the
State's Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...
, who is worried about the political angle in the Barksdale investigation. He gives Pearlman evidence of returned contributions from unknown sources from his own offices to hand over to the detail. Pearlman is distressed that the investigation is worrying her superiors, as this reflects poorly on her, and she denies any knowledge of the detail's actions. Shardene attempts to infiltrate the office at Orlando's while wearing a wire but has little success in obtaining pertinent information. Later that night, beat officers find Nakeesha's body. Bunk reports the murder to Barksdale, and they realize that Wallace may be in danger. Daniels scrambles to organize his men to locate him while Freamon offers to let Shardene stay at his apartment. Daniels is called into a meeting with Burrell and
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
Davis Davis may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Davis (Antarctica) * Davis Island (Palmer Archipelago) * Davis Valley, Queen Elizabeth Land Canada * Davis, Saskatchewan, an unincorporated community * Davis Strait, between Nunavut and Gre ...
, who is concerned about the detail looking into his campaign finances and his driver. Daniels refuses to apologize for the driver's arrest and tells Davis that if he is clean, he has nothing to worry about. After Daniels leaves the meeting, Davis insists that Burrell needs to control him. Daniels returns to the office and learns that Wallace has left his grandmother's house. Freamon trains Shardene in measuring her steps to map the inside of the club. Using Prez's math skills, the detail installs a camera in Avon's office from an adjacent building. Stringer orders Bodie to kill Wallace, and Poot unsuccessfully tries to dissuade him from doing so. McNulty and Daniels visit Wallace's old squat but find it abandoned. McNulty finds an address for Wallace's mother, Darcia, and he takes Daniels there to see if she knows his whereabouts. She is little help and is more concerned about her next drink than her son being in danger. After bringing Chinese takeout to the young children whom he looks after, Wallace goes out for a meal with Bodie and Poot. When they return home, the children have all left. Bodie and Poot corner Wallace in his bedroom and Bodie draws his weapon. He steels himself to shoot Wallace as he pleads for his life but is unable to do so until prompted by Poot. After the first shot, Poot takes the weapon and finishes the task. Bunk investigates Wallace's murder the next day while Avon clears his office at Orlando's, frustrating the detail. Avon asks D'Angelo to drive to
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
to receive their next package. With this information, Daniels and McNulty borrow a tracking device from the FBI and install it on D'Angelo's car. D'Angelo is stopped by the
New Jersey State Police The New Jersey State Police (NJSP) is the official state police force of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a general-powers police agency with statewide jurisdiction, designated by troop sectors. History As with other state police organization ...
and brought in by the detail, after which McNulty and Daniels interrogate him without a lawyer. D'Angelo refuses to believe McNulty when he says that Wallace is dead. However, he is enraged when Stringer doesn't answer his questions about Wallace, accepting McNulty's story and refusing to let Levy represent him. Meanwhile, Burrell pressures Daniels to close the case and ignore the political leads, threatening to release the FBI's report on his excess capital. Daniels counters by stating that he is willing to go down for the sake of the Barksdale case, noting that the bad publicity is what Burrell is most afraid of. McNulty and Daniels watch a SWAT team prepare to arrest Avon. McNulty tells Daniels that they should make the arrest themselves, and they go in together. Daniels cuffs Avon but McNulty lets Stringer go, telling him that they will catch him later. At the office, Freamon, Prez, and Sydnor review the board. Freamon adds a newspaper article about a downtown business revitalization project being built in an area where the Barksdales have been amassing property. Sydnor tells them that the case is the best work that he has ever done, but he still feels that it is not finished. At the pit, the dealers' orange sofa stands unused.


Production


Title reference

The title refers to the cleaning up of loose ends performed by the Barksdale crew, as recommended by their lawyer Maurice Levy, as well as that of the police, who are forced to bring in the case in the wake of the effects of " The Hunt" that interfered with their case due to the resulting changes made by the Barksdale organization.


Epigraph

The epigraph is spoken by Wallace as he discusses his return to "the pit" with D'Angelo, explaining why he cannot stay in the countryside, and why he can't move to another part of Baltimore. This is because everything that he is has been molded into his part of the drug dealing institution of "the pit", meaning that he is stuck in the life the institution forced him into.


Music

The song playing during the conversation between Bodie and Stringer Bell is "Hip Hop", from the album '' Black on Both Sides'' by Mos Def.


Credits


Starring cast

Although credited, John Doman,
Seth Gilliam Seth Gilliam (born November 5, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayals of Ellis Carver on ''The Wire'', Clayton Hughes on '' Oz'', Detective Daniels on ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (2007–2008), Dr. Alan Deaton on ''T ...
, Andre Royo, and Sonja Sohn do not appear in this episode.


Guest stars

*
Seth Gilliam Seth Gilliam (born November 5, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayals of Ellis Carver on ''The Wire'', Clayton Hughes on '' Oz'', Detective Daniels on ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (2007–2008), Dr. Alan Deaton on ''T ...
as Detective Ellis Carver * Domenick Lombardozzi as Detective Thomas "Herc" Hauk * Clarke Peters as Detective Lester Freamon * Jim True-Frost as Detective Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski * Michael B. Jordan as
Wallace Wallace may refer to: People * Clan Wallace in Scotland * Wallace (given name) * Wallace (surname) * Wallace (footballer, born 1986), full name Wallace Fernando Pereira, Brazilian football left-back * Wallace (footballer, born 1987), full name ...
*
Corey Parker Robinson Corey Parker Robinson (born February 9, 1975) is an American actor. He has appeared on the Home Box Office, HBO program ''The Wire (TV series), The Wire'' as Detective Leander Sydnor. He also appeared in ''The Wire'' creator David Simon's earlie ...
as Detective Leander Sydnor *
Wendy Grantham Wendy is a given name now generally given to girls in English-speaking countries. In Britain, Wendy appeared as a masculine name in a parish record in 1615. It was also used as a surname in Britain from at least the 17th century. Its popularity ...
as Shardene Innes *
J. D. Williams J.D. Williams (born May 22, 1978) is an American actor known for his starring roles in the HBO television programs '' Oz'' as Kenny Wangler, ''The Wire'' as Bodie Broadus and ''Pootie Tang'' as Froggy, ''Surviving Family'' (2012) as Bobby, ''T ...
as Preston "Boadie" Broadus *
Tray Chaney Tray Chaney is an American actor. He appeared on the HBO program ''The Wire'' as Poot Carr, which became his most successful acting role. He also appears in the Bounce TV soap opera Saints & Sinners as Kendrick. Career Chaney began his entert ...
as Malik "Poot" Carr *
Michael Hyatt Charlene "Michael" Hyatt is a British-born American actress. Before her work in film and television, she performed on stages throughout the United States, particularly in ''Ragtime'' on Broadway. She has played Brianna Barksdale on ''The Wire'' ...
as Brianna Barksdale *
Michael Kostroff Michael Kostroff (born May 22, 1961) is an American actor. He appeared on the HBO program ''The Wire'' as defense attorney Maurice Levy. Kostroff starred in the fifth season of the series and appeared in all four earlier seasons as a guest star. ...
as Maurice Levy *Latonya Borsay as Orlando's Dancer *Tony D. Head as Major Bobby Reed *Michael Salconi as Detective Michael Santangelo * Isiah Whitlock as Senator Clay Davis *Ingrid Cornell as Nakeesha Lyles *Jarvis George as Ronnie Mo *Doug Roberts as State's Attorney Steven Demper *Giselle Watts as Darcia Wallace *Derren M. Fuentes as QRT Leader Torret (uncredited) *Joe Gerrety as State Trooper (uncredited)


First appearances

Brianna Barksdale: D'Angelo's mother and Avon's sister who is fully aware of their business.


Reception

The Futon Critic named it the fifth best episode of 2002, saying "You'd be hard pressed to find a harder to watch sequence than this one in 2002 as Poot and Bodie have to step up and get rid of the gentle and kind-hearted Wallace. I get the shivers just thinking about it." Alan Sepinwall wrote in '' The Star-Ledger'' in 2008 that the episode is considered by many "fans to be the series' best -- and most painful -- episode ever." Sepinwall wrote that Wallace's death was the first of the show's "many great tragedies...and still the one that probably cuts deepest."


References


External links


"Cleaning Up"
at HBO.com * {{The Wire episodes The Wire (season 1) episodes 2002 American television episodes