Extreme Unction
Directed By: Keith Gordon
Story By: Tom Fontana, James Yoshimura
Teleplay By: Keith Mano
Annabella Wilgis (Lucinda Jenney) comes into the Homicide Unit, claiming to have witnessed two men loading the latest victim of the Serial Killer into a dumpster. However, as Pembleton interrogates her, Bolander finds evidence implicating her as the killer. Unfortunately, Pembleton's efforts to get a confession out of her do not go well. Russert decides to end things with Felton, and Bayliss, Lewis and Munch continue in their efforts to get the bar.
This episode contains examples of:
- Despair Event Horizon: Pembleton crosses this after his failure to get a confession out of Annabella.
- Drowning My Sorrows: After Beth is unsuccessful in getting Felton to come in and be with her to try and save their marriage (he only came to the house because he told him he could see their kids again), she sits alone at her kitchen table, drinking beer.
- Female Misogynist: Annabella turns out to be this - she tells Pembleton her victims should have not tried to help women in the community because that's a slight against God, and they should Stay in the Kitchen instead.
- Ironic Episode Title: The title refers to the Catholic sacrament of what is now called "anointing of the sick or dying", which is what Annabella only thinks she's doing when she's cleaning up her victims and putting white gloves on their hands.
- Meaningful Name: Annabella has registered her apartment under the name "JMJ Wilgis", which Pembleton figures out stands for "Jesus, Mary and Joseph", showing how much of her psychosis is attached to religion.
- Mirthless Laughter: Pembleton's reaction after what Annabella tells him while in jail (see Female Misogynist above). He goes on to tell Annabella even though he's going through a Crisis of Faith, he has to believe God will punish her for what she's done, even if he himself can't.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Pembleton calls out Giardello for interrupting him with Russom's arrival before he could get a confession out of her. Giardello counters Pembleton should ask himself who he's really angry at - Giardello or Matt Rhodes for being the one to get the confession.
- Obfuscating Insanity: Pembleton believes that Wilgis is faking MPD in order to run an insanity defence. Whether she is or not is left ambiguous.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat: Bayliss begins to feel all the bureaucrats he, Lewis and Munch have to go through in order to get the bar going are like this. Lewis and Munch aren't happy about his attitude.
- Split Personality: Annabella has this, which her lawyer claims came about through years of abuse. We certainly do see this in Pembleton's initial interrogation of her, as she goes from being a barfly to an Irish student to a seven-year-old child.
- Verbal Backspace: When touring the bar with the health inspector, Lewis brags that the floor is clean enough you could eat off of it - though he quickly adds, "Not that we'd serve any food that fell on the floor."
- Xanatos Gambit: Annabella goes to the Homicide Unit to go through interrogation just so her lawyer Darin Russom could interrupt at the right time, and they could sell their story to Intrepid Reporter Matt Rhodes, where she could tell her story about living with Abusive Parents to get people to feel sorry for her. It works.
