Television Review: Unto Others (The Wire, S4X07, 2006)

Unto Others (S04E07)

Airdate: October 29th 2006

Written by: William F. Zorzi
Directed by: Anthony Hemingway

Running Time: 58 minutes

The midpoint of The Wire's fourth season presented Baltimore with a flicker of hope rarely afforded by David Simon’s unflinching Baltimore saga. Following the reform-minded Tommy Carcetti’s improbable victory in the mayoral primary – an event radiating uncharacteristic optimism for the series – viewers might have dared to believe the city’s entrenched dysfunction could finally yield to change. Yet, as the very title of the subsequent episode, "Unto Others," chillingly implies, the Golden Rule’s idealism is swiftly dismantled. This masterful instalment, written by former Baltimore Sun reporter William F. Zorzi, acts as a narrative defibrillator, violently resetting the series’ tone. It dispenses with any lingering euphoria from Carcetti’s win, delivering a stark, systemic rebuke: in Baltimore, the machinery of power, race, and institutional inertia ensures things rarely improve, merely perpetuate, often with devastating human cost.

Carcetti himself becomes the immediate vessel for this disillusionment. His celebratory lunch with Tony, the shrewd former mayor (Sam Coppola), is a masterclass in political realism. Tony’s decision to retreat to a less stressful legal career isn’t mere cowardice; it’s a tacit admission of the near-impossibility of meaningful reform against the city’s calcified structures. The veneer of courtesy during Carcetti’s discussions with the outgoing Clarence Royce starkly contrasts the vicious primary, yet this civility masks a deeper trap. Carcetti’s impulsive announcement to fire Police Commissioner Ervin Burrell – a move intended to signal decisive change – is instantly countered with the brutal, unspoken racial calculus of Baltimore politics: as a white mayor, he simply cannot fire a Black commissioner without catastrophic political fallout. His hands are bound before he even takes office; the mandate for reform is immediately constrained by the very racial dynamics he sought to transcend. His task shifts from enacting change to merely finding a suitable Black replacement, a symbolic gesture that barely scratches the surface of the department’s deep-seated rot. The optimism of the primary vanishes, replaced by the suffocating weight of political necessity.

Conversely, Rhonda Pearlman experiences a qualified, yet significant, reprieve. The newly elected State’s Attorney, Rupert Bond (Dion Graham), embodies the rare, genuine reformer within the system. Despite Pearlman being white – a potential liability in Baltimore’s racialised power struggles – Bond recognises her competence and integrity, forged through her work with the Major Crime Unit. His decision to not only retain her but appoint her to lead the new Violent Crime Unit (VCU) is a beacon of meritocracy amidst the gloom. The VCU’s explicit mission – to tackle the soaring crime rate that doomed Royce – offers a tangible, if fragile, pathway for systemic improvement. Yet, even here, the episode injects caution; the VCU’s success hinges entirely on navigating the same dysfunctional police bureaucracy Carcetti is now entangled with, a system currently exemplified by the abject failure of the Major Crime Unit itself.

This failure is laid bare through Herc and Carver’s hapless pursuit of Marlo Stanfield. Following Marlo’s brief railroad station arrest, the crew’s audacity peaks when they brazenly steal the police’s own video camera – not out of necessity, but as a calculated taunt to discern if the investigation is federal or state. It’s a humiliating demonstration of Marlo’s dominance and the unit’s incompetence. Herc, meanwhile, embodies the unit’s moral and professional bankruptcy. He callously disregards Randy Wagstaff, the vulnerable foster child who bravely volunteers crucial information about Marlo’s body dumps – information potentially vital to the very MCU’s mission. Herc’s dismissal is a systemic failure to protect the most vulnerable, prioritising easy arrests over genuine justice, directly enabling Marlo’s continued reign of terror.

The school storyline offers a microcosm of both potential and despair. Prez, liberated from the worst disruptions, ingeniously harnesses his students’ street awareness, teaching complex mathematical concepts like probability through board games and mock gambling – a pragmatic adaptation to his environment yielding genuine progress. Namond Brice, however, spirals further into his performative "gangsta" persona, openly defying Bunny Colvin’s attempts at intervention in the special class. His time is increasingly spent on the corner, attempting to deal, leading to a violent clash with a rival crew involving Sherrod. Sherrod’s subsequent descent into drug use, and Bubbles’ heart-wrenching realisation that his surrogate son is lost to the streets he sought to protect him from, delivers the episode’s most visceral emotional blow. It underscores the tragic human cost of the systems failing Randy and Namond – a cost measured not in statistics, but in shattered lives and broken trust.

Adding layers of bitter irony, the murder case that propelled Carcetti to victory – the death of a key witness – is solved by Kima Greggs. Her meticulous reconstruction, echoing the iconic scene from Season 1’s Old Cases (a subtle nod by director Anthony Hemingway), reveals the truth: the witness died accidentally, struck by a stray bullet from youths using bottles for target practice. The case that symbolised the city’s lawlessness and became Carcetti’s springboard was ultimately meaningless, a random tragedy exploited for political gain. This underscores the series’ central thesis: the narratives constructed by institutions often bear little resemblance to the messy, indifferent reality on the ground.

Omar Little’s predicament under robbery murder charge in detention further illustrates the inescapable nature of the game. Surrounded by enemies he robbed, a substantial bounty on his head leads to a violent assassination attempt. While Omar, with characteristic resourcefulness and the aid of temporary bodyguards, survives the immediate threat, his call to Bunk Moreland highlights his vulnerability. Bunk, now a homicide detective whose unit believes they’ve solved the case, reluctantly concedes Omar wouldn’t kill civilians – a rare moment of professional respect across societal divides. Yet, Bunk’s power to help is limited to securing Omar’s transfer to a safer cell; he cannot alter the fundamental reality that Omar’s life remains perpetually forfeit within the system’s confines. Survival, not justice or change, is the only achievable goal.

Unto Others stands as a pinnacle of The Wire’s unparalleled storytelling. Zorzi, drawing on deep journalistic insight into Baltimore’s institutions, weaves these disparate threads – politics, law enforcement, education, the streets – into a cohesive tapestry of systemic failure. The title’s reference to the Golden Rule is profoundly ironic; the episode relentlessly demonstrates how characters fail to act with the empathy or reciprocity it demands, constrained by self-preservation, institutional pressure, and ingrained cynicism. The script thrives on devastating irony – the solved case that was meaningless, the reformer immediately shackled, the protector (Bubbles) powerless to save his charge. Hemingway’s direction, particularly Kima’s scene, pays homage to the show’s legacy while showcasing the cyclical nature of police work, where skill persists but systemic change remains elusive. Far from a downer, Unto Others is essential Wire – a brutally honest, meticulously crafted dissection of why cities like Baltimore remain trapped.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)

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