"Took" is the seventh episode of the fifth 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 cast member

Dominic West Dominic Gerard Francis Eagleton West (born 15 October 1969) is an English actor, director, producer, and musician. He is best known for playing Jimmy McNulty in HBO's ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Noah Solloway in Showtime's '' The Affair'' (20 ...

. It aired on February 17, 2008.

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 ...

, Freamon, and Sydnor plot to get Templeton to take a phone call from the "

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

." McNulty, posing as the killer, acts upset about Templeton's articles painting him in a sexual light and says that no more bodies will be found in Baltimore; instead, he will simply send pictures of his victims. Both the BPD and ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

'' prioritize the serial killer and resolve to see the case to its end. Freamon, now able to intercept cell phone images via his illegal

wiretap Wiretapping, also known as wire tapping or telephone tapping, is the monitoring of telephone and Internet-based conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitoring connecti ...

on Marlo, runs up against a tougher code than he expected – a simple clock face showing a different time in each picture – and he needs more manpower to determine what these messages mean. McNulty, knowing the serial killer case is a hoax, sends his surveillance teams to Freamon while allocating the extra manpower assigned to him to allow other detectives to earn their

overtime pay Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

. McNulty is overwhelmed as the bosses offer him more and more men. Eventually, the fact that he's giving away time gets out and people come looking for it. Knowing the truth about McNulty's hoax, Bunk refuses to attend a mandatory meeting about the serial killer and instead goes back to investigating the vacant murders. Carver brings in

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

to let Bunk interview him about his stepfather. Omar robs a Stanfield stash house, killing a

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

and flushing several kilos of

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

. He later traps and executes Savino Bratton, now working for Marlo. Later, Omar tells Michael that he will take out all Marlo's muscle until Marlo comes at him himself. Gus consults his old friend, Major Dennis Mello, about whether someone can go through the court system with a false name. Mello's answer casts doubt on Templeton's reporting. Gus and Corbett show disgust at Templeton's maudlin story about living with the homeless. Gus sends ''Sun'' reporter Mike Fletcher to research the homeless, which leads Fletcher to

Bubbles Bubble, Bubbles or The Bubble may refer to: Common uses * Bubble (physics), a globule of one substance in another, usually gas in a liquid ** Soap bubble * Economic bubble, a situation where asset prices are much higher than underlying fundame ...

' soup kitchen. Bubbles guides Fletcher to the

Jones Falls Expressway Interstate 83 (I-83) is an Interstate Highway located in the states of Maryland and Pennsylvania in the Eastern United States. Its southern terminus is at a signalized intersection with Fayette Street in Baltimore, Maryland; its northern ...

, where he talks to local homeless. When Fletcher offers to pay Bubbles, he turns him down and tells him to "write it how it feels".

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Davis hires high-powered attorney Billy Murphy. Despite another round of incriminating testimony from Damien Price, Davis is able to charm the jury and present himself as a man of the people. To the shock of Bond and Pearlman, Davis is

acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal means that the criminal prosecution has failed to prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charge presented. It certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an o ...

. Greggs, assigned to the homeless killings full-time, spends an entire day getting background information on the homeless victims. She plans to keep her ex-partner's son Elijah for the night. When Elijah can't sleep, Greggs sits with him in the apartment window and says goodnight to the denizens of the inner city à la ''

Goodnight Moon ''Goodnight Moon'' is an American Children's literature, children's book written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd. It was published on September 3, 1947, and is a highly acclaimed bedtime story. This book is the second in ...

''.

Production

Guest stars

Peter Gerety Peter Gerety is an American actor. He played officer, later detective, Stuart Gharty on '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' (1996–1999), and Judge Daniel Phelan in ''The Wire'' (2002–2008). Early years Gerety was born in Providence, Rhode I ...

as Judge Daniel Phelan *

David Costabile David Costabile (; born January 9, 1967) is an American actor. He is best known for his television work, having appeared in supporting roles in several television series such as '' Billions'', ''Breaking Bad'' and ''Better Call Saul'', ''Damages ...

as Thomas Klebanow *

Sam Freed Sam Freed (born August 29, 1948) is an American actor who has performed on Broadway and television and in movies. His first major regular role on television was as Bob Barsky in the last three seasons of '' Kate & Allie''. In the short-lived ser ...

as James Whiting * Delaney Williams as Jay Landsman * Ed Norris as Ed Norris *Gregory L. Williams as Michael Crutchfield * Brian Anthony Wilson as Vernon Holley *Kara Quick as Rebecca Corbett *Brandon Young as Mike Fletcher * William F. Zorzi as Bill Zorzi * Dion Graham as Rupert Bond * Billy Murphy Jr. as himself *

Donnell Rawlings Donnell M. Rawlings (born December 6, 1968) is an American comedian, actor, and radio host. He is best known as a cast member on the Comedy Central sketch comedy TV series ''Chappelle's Show'' and the HBO drama ''The Wire''. Early life Donnell ...

as Damien "Day-Day" Price *

Richard Belzer Richard Jay Belzer (August 4, 1944 – February 19, 2023) was an American actor, comedian, and author. He was best known for his role as BPD Detective, NYPD Detective/sergeant and investigator John Munch, whom he portrayed for 23 years in the NBC ...

John Munch John Munch is a fictional character played by actor Richard Belzer. Munch first appeared on the American police procedural, crime drama television series ''Homicide: Life on the Street'' on NBC. A regular through the entire run of the series from ...

*Thomas J. McCarthy as Tim Phelps *Crissandra Spencer as Reporter *Stanley Boyd as

Cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet '' Prunus avium'' and the sour '' Prunus cerasus''. The na ...

*Christopher J. Clanton as Savino Bratton *Edward Green as

Spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...

*Kwame Patterson as Monk Metcalf * Thuliso Dingwall as Kenard *James Jorsling as Vincent * Jay Landsman as Dennis Mello *Michael Salconi as Michael Santangelo *Curt Boushell as Andy *David Goodman as Budget Advisor *Dennis Hill as Detective Christeson *Elijah Grant Johnson as Elijah *Kim Tuvin as Judge Emily Johnson *Stu Evered as Detective *Seymour Horowitz as Father *Rosemary Knower as Mother *Ken Ulman as Reporter Ken Ullman *Vickie Warehime as Patrol Sergeant Stanley Boyd's name is misspelled in the credits as Stanely Boyd.

Uncredited appearances

*Michael Stone Forrest as Frank Barlow *Derek Horton as Brian Baker *Todd Scofield as Jeff Price

Special appearance

makes a cameo appearance as former Baltimore police detective

, the character he portrayed on the Baltimore-based police drama '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' (1993–1999), and subsequently on the New York-based '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (1999–2014). Clark Johnson's character, Augustus Haynes, walks into a bar to speak with Major Dennis Mello, played by Jay Landsman (the John Munch character was based upon Landsman from David Simon's non-fiction book '' Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets''). On ''Homicide'', Johnson's character Meldrick Lewis owned a Baltimore bar with Munch. As Haynes walks past him, Munch can be heard telling the bartender that he cannot ask a regular to pay his entire outstanding tab as "it just isn't done" and adds that he once owned a bar. As the audio of their conversation fades, the bartender can be faintly heard saying "Whatever, John."

References

External links

"Took"
at HBO.com * {{The Wire episodes The Wire season 5 episodes 2008 American television episodes Crossover television