Television Review: Finnegan's Wake (Homicide: Life on the Street, S6X21, 1998)

Finnegan's Wake (S06E21)

Airdate: 24 April 1998

Written by: David Mills
Directed by: Steve Buscemi

Running Time: 46 minutes

In its final two seasons, Homicide: Life on the Street often struggled to recapture the gritty realism and emotional depth that defined its earlier years. Yet, even in its waning phases, the series occasionally produced episodes that transcended its declining momentum, either by revisiting its roots or boldly straying into uncharted territory. Finnegan’s Wake, the Season 6 episode, belongs to the latter category. It ventures far beyond the show’s own origins, delving into Baltimore’s shadowy past to explore themes of unresolved guilt, generational legacy, and the moral complexities of policing. By intertwining a decades-old cold case with the present-day trauma of its protagonist, the episode not only revitalises the series but also underscores its enduring relevance as a meditation on justice and human fallibility.

The episode opens with recounting of the unsolved rape and murder of 11-year-old Adena Watson, first introduced in the pilot, Gone for Goode. This cold case has haunted Detective Tim Bayliss (Kyle Secor) for years, a wound that refuses to heal. The cold open—a fragmented, dreamlike sequence—depicts Bayliss reliving the crime through disjointed flashes of Adena’s death. This visual and emotional overture establishes the central tension: the inability of the past to stay buried. Yet Finnegan’s Wake pushes this further by introducing a second, even older unresolved mystery, one that predates Bayliss’s tenure by decades.

Bayliss’s new investigation begins when an elderly man, William Devlin (Bronson Dudley), arrives at the Homicide Unit claiming his late father, John Devlin, murdered 12-year-old Clara Slone in 1932. The case, a notorious entry in Baltimore’s criminal annals, had been shelved for 66 years, its files missing and its witnesses long dead. Bayliss’s colleagues, aware of his vulnerability due to Adena’s case, had intentionally withheld information about Clara Slone. However, after consulting with Lt. Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) and Assistant State’s Attorney Danvers (Željko Ivanek), the unit decides to reopen the case. The decision underscores the series’ recurring theme of institutional memory and the weight of history on its characters. For Bayliss, the overlap between Adena’s case and Clara’s becomes a personal crucible, forcing him to confront his own complicity in unresolved trauma.

The investigation is handed to Detective Falsone (Jon Seda), a choice that proves contentious. Falsone navigates the logistical quagmire of a 1932 murder: missing evidence, senile witnesses, and a trail long obscured by time. The crux of the mystery lies in Detective Thomas Finnegan (Charles Durning), a retired officer who, in 1974, had taken the case files home shortly before retiring. Finnegan, now living in a rural retreat, emerges as a pivotal figure. His enthusiasm for the case clashes with his latent bigotry, revealed during a drunken monologue where he nostalgically recalls the “good old days” of policing. This duality—his dedication to justice juxtaposed with his toxic views—mirrors the show’s broader critique of law enforcement’s moral ambiguity. Finnegan’s eventual role in closing the case, by locating the murder weapon and corroborating forensic evidence, highlights how even flawed individuals can contribute to justice, albeit with uncomfortable compromises.

Written by David Mills, a veteran collaborator of David Simon (later of The Wire), the script balances ambition with the series’ signature grounded storytelling. Mills cleverly frames Finnegan as a predecessor to Bayliss, a “proto-Bayliss” whose relentless pursuit of closure prefigures the protagonist’s own obsessions. The parallel between the two eras—1932 and 1997—serves as a microcosm of societal change and continuity. The 1932 murder, rooted in a different era’s prejudices, is solved by 1990s methods, yet Finnegan’s bigotry (echoing the era’s racial and sex biases) reminds viewers that some issues persist. The episode’s exploration of generational shifts is particularly nuanced: Giardello, a veteran of the 1960s and 1970s, mediates between Finnegan’s outdated attitudes and the younger officers’ modern sensibilities, embodying a bridge between eras.

Director Steve Buscemi lends the episode a muted gravitas, balancing the weight of history with intimate character moments. However, the true standout is Charles Durning’s performance as Finnegan. Durning imbues the character with a gruff charm and vulnerability, rendering Finnegan neither a villain nor a hero but a man burdened by contradictions. His final scene—delivering the news of Clara’s case to her surviving sister—is a masterclass in restrained emotion, illustrating how even flawed individuals can achieve a measure of grace.

Despite its strengths, Finnegan’s Wake is not without flaws. The opening dream sequence, while thematically resonant, occasionally overindulges in poetic abstraction, distancing the audience from Bayliss’s emotional journey. The choice to centre Falsone as the lead investigator also risks alienating purists who prefer the show’s core ensemble. Falsone’s prominence here feels tonally inconsistent with earlier seasons, where Bayliss and Pembleton were the emotional anchors.

Ultimately, Finnegan’s Wake is a triumph of thematic ambition and character-driven storytelling. By intertwining past and present, it reaffirms Homicide’s prowess in exploring the intersections of justice, memory, and human frailty. While not flawless, the episode stands as a testament to what the series could achieve when it dared to look backward—and forward—with unflinching clarity. Its exploration of legacy, both personal and institutional, remains a poignant reminder that the past is never truly buried; it merely waits for someone to dig it up.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)

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