Hostage: Part 2
Directed By: Jean De Segonzac
Story By: Tom Fontana and James Yoshimura
Teleplay By: Julie Martin
The hostage situation at the school ends with the shooter finally taken into custody, though not before he shoots another student. As the Homicide unit tries to figure out what happened, Pembleton continues to struggle with his condition.
This episode contains examples of:
- Bestiality Is Depraved: After various jokes being made ever since the previous episode, Bayliss outright asks Uba if he and the pig had a sexual relationship while interrogating him at the hospital.
- Dramatic Irony: Bayliss and Munch go looking for Uba, unaware he's the one who's taken the students at the school hostage.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Uba, who takes an entire school hostage and shoots a couple of the students and teachers, has a pet pig he cares about. At the hospital, when Bayliss is trying to question him, Uba seems more concerned about the pig than what he did.
- Foreshadowing:
- Frank's issues with whether or not to take his medication become important for the next several episodes.
- Danvers is engaged to be married, which becomes important later in the season.
- I Can Still Fight!: Despite Mary's refusal to drive him, Frank takes a cab to the school out of desperation to be useful. Gee tells him in no uncertain terms to go home, and it's revealed Mary expected it and is already there with the car.
- Insistent Terminology: When Bayliss brings up to Uba the fact his father was Driven to Suicide, Uba insists his father murdered himself.
- It Amused Me: After Lewis breaks the news to Howard Danvers is engaged to be married (Howard unconvincingly says she's fine):Kellerman: Why do you always give her such a hard time?
Lewis: Because it is so easy. - The Loins Sleep Tonight: Pembleton is implied to have become impotent due to side effects from his blood pressure medication.
- Mama Bear: Mrs. DiGrazi (Anne Meara), the teacher of the students taken hostage, insists on returning to her students (after she's given a message to QRT from Uba) even after Barnfather asks her to stay, saying she needs to protect them. Though she doesn't turn into an Action Girl, Mrs. DiGrazi is able to protect her children, getting all of them out when Uba sets the place on fire, even the one Uba shot.
- Mercy Kill: Uba's killing of his mother turns out to be because he intended to kill himself, and didn't want to leave her alone after seeing her grief over his father's own suicide.
- No Medication for Me: Non-psychiatric example — at the end of the episode Frank flushes his blood pressure pills down the toilet due to frustration over their side effects and his whole situation.
- Pet the Dog: When Pembleton admits he can't call Mary back because he doesn't remember his own phone number, Munch, who's been snippy towards Pembleton the entire time, writes it down for him, and later tells Giardello he's being too hard on Pembleton.
- Running Gag: This episode begins Brodie's season-long quest to find a permanent place to live, after he gets kicked out of his cousin's apartment. Munch decides to let Brodie stay with him, changes his mind, and then changes it back.
- What the Hell, Hero?: After seeing how Munch treats Pembleton, Brodie calls him out on this, though Munch later changes his tune (see Pet the Dog above).
- Working the Same Case: Bayliss is shocked to discover that the school shooter is the suspected matricide who he's been pursuing for two episodes.
