Though frustrated by his earlier failure to move the drug dealers into his "free zones", Colvin hasn't given up, and when Mello makes an offhand remark at a Comstat meeting about "shit rolling downhill", decides to persuade the mid-level drug dealers to do so. He's unable to get intelligence on them from Carver, or the Narcotics or Intelligence divisions of the police unit, but when he goes to visit the Major Case unit, Daniels and Lester are able to give him all the information he needs. Colvin then has all the officers in his squad round up the dealers (though Carver and Herc aren't able to get Marlo to go along), and he tells the dealers (including Bodie) the offer; if they deal within the free zones, they won't be bothered at all, but if they don't, and go back on the corners, the police will put their foot down on them in ways they'd never experienced before. The dealers do go out to the free zones, and once Carver orders Herc and the others to bring in customers, business starts taking off.
After seeing Stringer in action on the legit side, and even visiting him in the copy shop he owns, McNulty is reluctantly ready to concede Stringer is completely out of the game, and is ready to turn his attention to Kintel Williamson. However, while following Marlo, Kima makes the startling discovery that Marlo is meeting Stringer, and McNulty's obsession with getting Stringer returns.
Though Cutty goes through the show of meeting with the Deacon after Grace set it up, he decides the Deacon has nothing to offer him, and continues working as muscle for the Barksdales. Gerard and Sapper find out the girlfriend of the dealer they think is stealing from them now has a lot of expensive jewelry, and Cutty is able to get her to spill the beans about her boyfriend's thieving.
Carcetti is upset when he reads about a state's witness getting killed, though for once, he claims he's not using the incident for political gain (he even keeps Gray from pressing Burrell and Rawls about it when they appear before the subcommittee). He goes to directly to Royce, who promises immediate action, but Carcetti is skeptical.
Elsewhere, Bubbles and Johnny part ways for good, Avon comes home from prison and gets a big welcome-home party, McNulty hooks up with Terri while at an open house for a school Elena wants to send their sons to (Terri's an alumnus), Stringer and the other drug dealers in Baltimore form a Thieves' Guild, and Bunk continues in his investigation into Tosha's death, though Jay orders him to pay more attention to finding Dozerman's gun.
This episode contains examples of:
- Back Story: It turns out McNulty trained under Colvin. Also, Avon and Stringer talk about how when they were kids, Avon talked about getting people with an AK-47, while Stringer was a fan of the Black Power movement.
- Calling Me a Logarithm: when Terri and McNulty trade small talk, Terri mentiones the crudités, which McNulty takes as a comment on his clothes.
- Call-Back:
- McNulty reminds Stringer they saw each other at Bird's trial. Also, McNulty tries to ask his sons about Elena's new boyfriend.
- When Avon greets Brianna at his welcome home party, he says he wishes D'Angelo was there as well.
- Continuity Nod: Kimmy still hasn't forgiven Dante for what happened to Tosha. Also, when Colvin runs into McNulty at the detail office, Colvin asks him where he's at; unlike the new recruits, McNulty's able to answer correctly right away.
- Crazy-Prepared: When Cutty turns down an offer of drugs because he has a drug test the next morning for his parole, Sapper tells him they have it covered ("You think you're the only motherfucker on parole?"), and sure enough, the next day, he and Gerard take Cutty to a place to buy clean urine samples.
- The Dragon: This episode marks the first appearance of Chris Partlow (Gbenga Akinnagbe), who is this to Marlo.
- Epigraph: "I had such fuckin' hopes for us", said by McNulty to Stringer at Stringer's copy shop.
- "Eureka!" Moment: When Mello makes the comment about "shit rolling downhill", this leads Colvin to realize he's been pitching Hamsterdam to the wrong people. The corner boys aren't the ones calling the shots and wouldn't move to Hamsterdam even if they were inclined to do so. If he pitches it to the mid-level dealers, they will at least talk it through with their bosses.
- Foreshadowing:
- The feud that develops between Herc and Marlo becomes important next season. Also, we'll see more of Bubbles' T-shirt business, and Stringer's attempts to get Avon to go straight, and Avon's reluctance to do so, also become important (along with Stringer's dealings with Clay Davis).
- Also, Carcetti's previous interrogations of Burrell and Rawls start to have an effect on Gray, who chews them out over the dead state's witness until Carcetti stops him, and Gray admits Carcetti helped light a fire under him. This also becomes important later.
- Hidden Wire: Played for Laughs; when Bodie starts to tell Stringer how he and others were scooped up by the police, Stringer replies, "Well, you shouldn't sell drugs." After a second, Bodie gets it, and pulls up his shirt to show he's not wearing a wire. Not sure yet if Stringer believes him yet, he also starts to unbuckle his pants, until Stringer tells him that's enough.
- In-Series Nickname:
- Colvin calls McNulty "Bushy Top", which amuses the others.
- Also, the drug dealers begin to call the free zones "Hamsterdam" in this episode.
- Insistent Terminology / Malicious Misnaming: When he sees McNulty, Stringer calls him "officer"; McNulty says it's "detective", but Stringer insists on "officer" as an insult.
- Ironic Echo: Back when Herc thought he was becoming sergeant and not Carver, he told Carver to address him as sir because of his stripes. When Herc refuses to go pick up customers for the dealers, Carver points at his arm where his sergeant's stripes would be.
- Let Me Get This Straight...: When Johnny insists Bubbles shouldn't snitch:Bubbles: Let me track this. You hypopulatin' that you can tattle-tale when you locked up but you can't do it straight up for the money? I mean, no offense, son, but that some weak-ass thinkin'.
- Mirror Character:
- Also, Colvin and McNulty; one's a boss and the other's a detective, but they're both willing to bend or break the rules, and both respect good police work.
- Also, Colvin, like Stringer, is an Internal Reformist when it comes to the game. It doesn't end well for either of them.
- Never Going Back to Prison: Avon leaves prison this episode, and as he does he notes the sign saying “never again” and says that he never wants to go back.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Gerard and Sapper gave a very brutal beat down to the thieving dealer in an alley, culminating with Gerard knocking him unconscious with a metal bat.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Colvin and the mid-level drug dealers he arranges the meeting with; as he says, "These are the lieutenants running the corners, and I personally feel their pain."
- Oh, Crap!: Colvin when he realizes there's someone living in one of his free zones.
- Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Usually, Idris Elba does a very good American accent, but he has a little trouble with "loft apartments".
- Pragmatic Villainy: While Gerard and Sapper whale on the dealer who cheated them, Cutty points out it'll be harder for him to pay them back if he's that beat up.
- Properly Paranoid: Marlo, to a degree that even impresses Stringer.You smart, man, I can see that. I wanted you to choose somewhere safe for us to speak, but goddamn; only bugs in this motherfucker gotta have legs.
- Pun: When Santangelo brings Johnny to the free zones, and we can hear a dealer advertising "WMD!", Santangelo cracks, "I hear that WMD is the bomb."
- Shout-Out:
- Gray teases Carcetti, asks if he wants his cape and little red underpants, or if he stashes them in a phone booth.
- Kima compliments Bubbles on being CSI with how he gathers evidence and talks about it.
- Sophisticated as Hell:
- Bubbles tells Johnny he's "equivocating like a motherfuck."
- Also, at the co-op meeting of drug dealers, Ricardo "Fatface Rick" Hendrix (Troj Strickland) says, "Point of order and shit," and Proposition Joe congratulates the others by saying, "For a cold-ass crew of gangsters, y'all carried yourselves like Republicans and shit."
- Not to mention:Stringer: (to Shamrock, who's taking notes on the meeting as per Roberts' Rules of Order)
Nigga, is you taking notes on a criminal fucking conspiracy?
- Tempting Fate: When he gets released from prison, Avon says the only thing he's taking from prison is the idea "never again".
- Terrible Interviewees Montage: Jay orders Bunk to go to the jailhouse to talk to inmates who supposedly have info regarding the whereabouts of Dozerman's gun. Naturally, Hilarity Ensues:Inmate #1: Little Man, up on "b" tier, one of his boys in the dormitory his brother's tight with the girlfriend of the boy that shot that po-lice. Little Man sayin' if you sprung the three of us we could get her talkin', you know, find the gun.Inmate #2: I'm hearin' the boy, Dink, got that man's gun. Now, I ain't sure yet if that Dink be Dink Dink or Inky Dink or maybe Fat Dink. Then again, it might be Flat Nose Dink. No, wait that can't be him, that Dink dead.Inmate #3: Look, man, I can help you but first you gotta get me out from under these murder beefs.Bunk: How many murders we talking? (the inmate holds up four fingers)Inmate #4: Look, man, do it have to be the cop's gun? 'Cause if it's guns you want, I can get you guns.
- Three-Way Sex: Implied; after depositing Avon in his new home, Stringer leaves. A few seconds later, there's a knock on the door, with Stringer saying he forgot something, except when Avon opens it, he finds two women there, including one he had been eyeing earlier, and they both head inside, to Avon's delight.
- Virtue Is Weakness: Stringer's meet with Marlo about putting aside differences to come together like all the other dealers are doing just comes off as weakness to Marlo.
- Would Hit a Girl: Cutty.
