All Due Respect (The Wire)
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"All Due Respect" is the second episode of the third season of the
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
original series ''
The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created and primarily written by the American author and former police reporter David Simon for the cable network HBO. The series premiered o ...
''. The episode was written by
Richard Price Richard Price (23 February 1723 – 19 April 1791) was a British moral philosopher, Nonconformist minister and mathematician. He was also a political reformer and pamphleteer, active in radical, republican, and liberal causes such as the F ...
from a story by
David Simon David Judah Simon (born February 9, 1960) is an American author, journalist, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work on ''The Wire'' (2002–2008). He worked for ''The Baltimore Sun'' City Desk for twelve years (1982–1995), wrote '' ...
& Richard Price and was directed by
Steve Shill Stephen A Shill (born 1957) is a British television and film director, actor, screenwriter and television producer. Early life Shill was born in 1957 in Buckinghamshire, England. He attended Keswick Grammar School in Keswick, Cumbria, England ...
. It originally aired on September 26, 2004.


Plot

McNulty McNulty is an Irish surname. 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'' ( MacDonlevy), a branch of Dál Fiatach, who fled Ul ...
visits medical examiner Randall Frazier, skeptical that
D'Angelo Barksdale D'Angelo "Dee" Barksdale is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Larry Gilliard Jr. D'Angelo is the nephew of Avon Barksdale and a lieutenant in his drug dealing organization which controls most of the trade in West Bal ...
's death in prison was a suicide. Frazier reports that D'Angelo's death could have been a homicide, citing bruises on his neck and back. McNulty visits D'Angelo's ex-girlfriend Donette, who doesn't tell him anything. Meanwhile,
Cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...
euthanizes his dog when it loses in a
dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an air combat manoeuvring, aerial battle between fighter aircraft that is conducted at close range. Modern terminology for air-to-air combat is air combat manoeuvring (ACM), which refers to tactical situations requir ...
. Soon afterwards, Tree, a drug dealer attending the dogfight, approaches and kills another dealer named Jelly. The MCU hears chatter about the murder over the wire, assuming a gang war has erupted. Daniels and the Major Case Unit want to make arrests for the murders, but McNulty argues that they should gather more evidence in the hope of ultimately bringing down
Bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...
. The unit arrests Cheese's crew. Under questioning, Cheese admits to killing his dognot a person as the detectives assumedmeaning he can't be charged. The following day, the MCU finds that their wiretaps have gone dead. While patrolling the
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
, Herc and Carver pick up Poot. Herc, Carver and Kenneth Dozerman go to the movies with their girlfriends, where they are mortified to bump into Poot, Bodie and Puddin with their dates. Later, Dozerman is shot and wounded while undercover, and his gun is stolen. The next day, Colvin tells his men that he is suspending all undercover narcotics work, likening the War on Drugs to
Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
. Back out on the street, Herc cannot understand Colvin's reasoning.
Omar Umar ibn al-Khattab (; ), also spelled Omar, was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () and is regarded as a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muh ...
and his crew stick up
Shamrock A shamrock is a type of clover, used as a symbol of Ireland. The name ''shamrock'' comes from Irish (), which is the diminutive of the Irish word and simply means "young clover". At most times'', Shamrock'' refers to either the species ...
and
Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
while they collect money for a drug resupply. Bell visits Avon in prison and reveals his plan to supply other dealers. Avon asks Bell to target specific high-turnover areas, but Bell expresses reluctance to use violence to maintain their
street cred Credibility comprises the objective and subjective components of the believability of a source or message. Credibility is deemed essential in many fields to establish expertise. It plays a crucial role in journalism, teaching, science, medicin ...
. Country, Shamrock and Bodie are sent to talk to mid-level dealers to try to displace their suppliers. Bodie is tasked with approaching
Marlo Marlo as a girls' name. Modern name: possibly variant of Marlene or from the surname Marlow. Popular in the 1970s due the actress Marlo Thomas. Also english form of Mary or Marilyn. ''see also'' Marla (disambiguation) Marlo as a boys' name may or ...
, but is unable to find him; Marlo instructs his corner boss
Fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...
to ignore Bodie and go back to work. At the funeral home, Bell sends Bodie out to look for Marlo again and learns of Omar's robbery. Marlo meets with
Vinson Vinson may refer to: Places * Vinson, Oklahoma, a community in the US * Vinson Massif, the highest mountain in Antarctica People Surname * Vinson (surname), people with the surname ''Vinson'' ** Vinson political family Forename * Vinso ...
, who advises him to prepare for war if he doesn't compromise with the Barksdales.


Production


Title Reference

The phrase "all due respect" is spoken by several characters, starting with a drug dealer addressing Omar Little as Omar is robbing him. "Respect" is a recurring theme in the episode, in which many characters, on either side of the law (e.g., McNulty and Bodie), struggle against authority figures. In particular, a strong contrast is drawn between the cordial meeting between police (Herc, Carver and Dozerman) and drug dealers (Bodie and Poot) at the movie theater, when they are all "off-duty", and their more fraught interactions during a typical day.


Epigraph

Colvin makes the comment "There's never been a paper bag for drugs" in a speech in reference to an unofficial policy of declining to arrest people concealing open alcohol containers in paper bags in public, technically a violation of open container laws, in order to focus on more significant crimes. This is a prelude to his forthcoming policy of non-enforcement of narcotics laws in unofficial free zones, which will become a significant part of the season's storyline. Colvin's "paper bag" speech is very similar to an extended discussion of the same topic in David Simon's book The Corner.


References


External links


"All Due Respect"
at HBO.com * {{The Wire episodes The Wire season 3 episodes 2004 American television episodes Television episodes directed by Steve Shill