Bunk asks Freamon to try to talk sense into McNulty, but is stunned when Freamon gets on board with the fake serial killer idea. The two then set about sensationalizing the murders so as to draw more attention to them. The morale of the officers in the Western District reaches rock bottom when Ofc. Anthony Colicchio assaults an innocent civilian. Daniels goes to see Burrell to explain he had nothing to do with his removal from the commissioner's chair. Sydnor inadvertently stumbles across evidence that can nail Clay Davis, but Bond proves reluctant to act on it, as it would mean the case would have to go federal. Meanwhile, Joe organizes a funeral for Butchie in an attempt to placate Omar, well aware it was Cheese who gave him up to Marlo. Carcetti finds himself having to suck up to the ministers to appease them regarding the removal of Burrell, and Campbell learns of Daniels' history. Elsewhere, Marlo finally makes in-roads with the Greeks, when Vondas' loyalty to Joe is questioned by The Greek himself, and Omar returns to Baltimore seeking vengeance.
This episode contains examples of:
- As the Good Book Says...: The message Proposition Joe leaves on Butchie's wreath ("Woe to them that call evil good and good evil") is from Isaiah 5:20.
- Back Story: Proposition Joe gives a little history on Butchie to the flower shop owner ("Came up under Teensy. Caught him a slug early, took his sight. Dabbled now and then, but kept it quiet as a puppy walking on cotton.")
- Also, apparently, Proposition Joe and Burrell were in high school together, and Burrell was in the glee club.
Herc: You're killing me. I gotta ask-Proposition Joe: Stone stupid. - Bait-and-Switch: When Burrell grabs a putter and walks behind Daniels as Daniels is insisting he had nothing to do with the story in the paper, it looks at first as if Burrell is thinking of hitting Daniels with the putter, but instead, he just walks over to play Office Golf.
- Bring My Brown Pants: According to Snoop, Hungry Man, after being kidnapped and bound and gagged, "shit hisself, and we ain't even started yet."
- Call-Back:
- You can tell Carver is trying to give Colicchio an out, just like Daniels did when Carver was involved in a situation involving police misconduct. Colicchio is far too bullheaded and crazy to realize this and go along with it, which makes Carver decide not to protect him after all.
- The homeless man with the dog is Johnny Fifty.
- At the press conference, Burrell reminds Daniels, "You once told me that if I was gonna do you, you'd be done already."
- Continuity Nod: The place where Proposition Joe gets a funeral wreath for Butchie is the same place where Bodie bought a floral arrangement for D'Angelo (and has the same owner).
- Also, we've already seen Bond's not going to take Clay's case to the feds.
- The roof of the western is still littered with empty beer cans.
- Once again, Cheese is impressed at Marlo's (or in this case, Chris') secretive ways.
- Don't Tell Mama: As McNulty uses the dentures to put bite marks on the dead man, he implores Lester not to tell his mother, or his priest, what he's doing.
- Donut Mess with a Cop: When Oscar says he'll take a call, the dispatcher teases him about his eagerness; "She said 'DOA', not donut."
- Epigraph: "Buyer's market out there", which Scott says to Alma about getting a job at another paper. Oscar also says it to McNulty when talking about the real-estate market.
- Killed Offscreen: Though we hear Proposition Joe get shot, we don't actually see the death. On the DVD commentary, Ed Burns confirms they wanted Marlo to grant Proposition Joe's death more dignity than his other victims.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Carver's reaction when he finds out the man Colicchio tried to beat up was a schoolteacher.Carver: Boy, I seen some stupid shit in my day, but even by western standards, this rates a whole new category.
- No Name Given: The homeless man that McNulty interviews who collects business cards is credited on IMDb as "Business Card Homeless Man".
- Noodle Incident: Though we get a few more details of what dirty business is in Daniels' file from his time in the eastern (he was part of a drug unit skimming money), we still don't get the whole story.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: After Klebanow chides Gus for his profanity, and says they need a "collegial" atmosphere at the paper, he walks away, and Gus mutters, "I failed out of journalism school. What the fuck do 'collegial' mean?"
- Put on the Bus: This is the final appearance of Burrell in the series.
- Roman à Clef: The Back Story Lester tells McNulty about Oscar is taken from an incident that happened to one of the detectives David Simon wrote about in Homicide: A Year On The Killing Streets.
- Sophisticated as Hell: When Hungry Man complains about Cheese making "unlawful incursions" into his territory, Cheese scoffs at the word "incursions", and responds, "Ain't you the articulate motherfucker."
- Tactful Translation: Inverted and Played for Laughs while Gus and the others are watching Carcetti's press conference on TV:Carcetti: I chaired the public safety subcommittee, and I called upon him (Burrell) many times. We worked closely together then, and when I became Mayor, we formed a strong relationship...Gus: He feared and hated me, and I merely wanted him dead.Carcetti: ...making Baltimore a safer city...Gus: Don't stray from the Inner Harbor.Carcetti:...I know that the criminal justice coordinating council need a new...Gus: It took a while, but I finally put his ass out to pasture.
- They Call Me Mr Tibbs: When one of the dealers Colicchio arrests tries to reason with him, and says, "Colicchio...", the response is, "That's Officer Colicchio, shitbird."
- Thousand-Yard Stare: The child witness the psychologist is trying to interview, though for entirely understandable reasons.Kima: How do you come back from something like that?
