Unconfirmed Reports

"Unconfirmed Reports"
The Wire episode
Episode no.	Season 5 Episode 2
Directed by	Ernest Dickerson
Teleplay by	William F. Zorzi
Story by	David Simon William F. Zorzi
Original air date	January 13, 2008 (2008-01-13)
Running time	58 minutes
Guest actors
see below
Season 5 episodes
January 6, 2008 – March 9, 2008 "More with Less" "Unconfirmed Reports" "Not for Attribution" "Transitions" "React Quotes" "The Dickensian Aspect" "Took" "Clarifications" "Late Editions" "–30–"
List of The Wire episodes

"Unconfirmed Reports" is the second episode of the fifth season of the HBO original series, The Wire. The episode was written by William F. Zorzi from a story by David Simon & William F. Zorzi and was directed by Ernest Dickerson. It originally aired on 13 January 2008.

Production

Title reference

The title refers to Scott Templeton's fabricated report, as well as McNulty's imaginary serial killer and the purported insults to Marlo's sexuality.

Epigraph

While discussing the situation in Baltimore with Lester and McNulty, Bunk sardonically remarks that Baltimore is not like Aruba, apparently referring to the Natalee Holloway case. Had McNulty's "killer" garnered anywhere near as much media coverage as the Holloway case, the Baltimore P.D. would likely start to receive their much needed funding. This was made in reference to the fact that the death of Black males in inner cities seem to be handled as less of a concern than that of Whites (see Missing white woman syndrome).

Credits

Starring cast

Although credited, Lance Reddick, Seth Gilliam, Domenick Lombardozzi, Michael K. Williams, Jermaine Crawford, and Michael Kostroff do not appear in this episode.

Guest stars

Uncredited roles

• Curt Boushell as Andy - Sun copy editor
• Louis Stancil - Unknown Corner Boy

Notes

• Kevin Infante and Nancy Porter (the people McNulty runs into at the medical examiner's office) are characters from novels by Laura Lippman, who is married to series creator David Simon.

Plot

Summary

Bubbles

Bubbles attends a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. He follows a speaker named Dee-Dee who discusses her struggle with her inner addict and her inability to maintain a personal code because of her addiction. Bubbles is engaging and humorous but unable to discuss an emotional memory. Walon tries to convince Bubbles that he has to share the tragedy of Sherrod's death in order to move on. Walon convinces Bubbles to at least occupy his time and he volunteers at a local soup kitchen.

Baltimore Sun

Scott Templeton plans a color piece about the Baltimore Orioles opening game. He fails to find a suitable subject and returns with an unverifiable story about an orphaned wheelchair user truanting to attend. Gus Haynes is concerned about the piece's lack of corroboration, implying that the story was fabricated, but is forced to print it after James Whiting gives his approval. Later, Rebecca Corbett also questions the authentication of the story, but Haynes tells her there's nothing he can do.

Stanfield Organization

Marlo Stanfield meets with Chris Partlow and Snoop about the withdrawal of the year-long police investigation. Stanfield decides to reassert his authority and orders several murders and the luring of Omar Little out of retirement. Accompanied by Partlow and one of the young protégés they have been training, Snoop carries out the murder of a rival drug dealer. Afterwards, Snoop, Partlow and Michael Lee watch the house of one of Stanfield's targets named June Bug. Michael questions the necessity of the murder and is admonished by Snoop for second guessing Marlo's orders. Michael is instructed to wait in the back alley and to shoot anyone who runs out of the back door. Snoop and Partlow disable the street's security cameras, stage a home invasion, and kill the three adults inside. Two children escape - one hides undetected in a closet and another flees via the back door. Michael does not shoot the child and appears to be even more disgusted at the entire operation.

Stanfield visits MCI Jessup to see Sergei Malatov, but finds Avon Barksdale waiting in his place. Barksdale tells Stanfield that in order for him to talk to Malatov, Stanfield has to give his sister $100,000. Stanfield agrees and later talks to a defiant Malatov. Stanfield convinces Malatov, with encouragement from Avon, to give him a line to Vondas.

Politics

Commissioner Burrell struggles to deliver clean statistics and accommodate the mayor's crime reduction target while implementing budget cutbacks. Burrell alienates Clay Davis by refusing to interfere in his corruption case. Mayor Carcetti plans a run for governor despite the city's fiscal difficulties; Odell Watkins expresses disappointment in the mayor's priorities.

Major Crimes Unit

Detectives Freamon and Sydnor are still preparing the Davis case for court. Freamon believes this type of sprawling and interconnected case is career-defining but also spends his own time surveilling known Stanfield meeting places. Jimmy McNulty desperately wants to return to the Stanfield case and is increasingly frustrated in the homicide unit.

Freamon and McNulty meet with FBI agent Terrence Fitzhugh seeking support for their investigation. Fitz arranges a meeting between the local and federal authories, but the proposal is shot down by the Republican federal prosecutor with whom (Democrat) Mayor Carcetti previously disagreed about the case's jurisdiction. Freamon and McNulty bitterly drown their sorrows with Bunk afterward.

Homicide

McNulty is assigned a case deemed a natural death and learns at the morgue that postmortem pressure on the neck is indistinguishable from deliberate strangulation. Later, Detective Greggs is assigned to June Bug's homicide and finds a child hiding in the closet. She picks up the child and leaves the building, a portion of which is used in the title sequence.

McNulty and Bunk Moreland are assigned a probable overdose. McNulty goes to his car and drinks some whiskey he had in the trunk. He returns to the crime scene, bottle in hand, and chokes the deceased and stages the scene to suggest a strangulation. McNulty tells Bunk that he plans to create the illusion of a serial killer with the intent of compelling City Hall to better fund the police department in response to public pressure. Bunk wants no part of it and leaves the scene in disgust.^[1][2]

Deceased

June Bug + 2 others - murdered by Chris and Snoop on orders by Marlo Stanfield.

Unknown Corner Boy - shot and killed by Snoop Pearson.

References

External links

• "Unconfirmed Reports" at HBO.com
• "Unconfirmed Reports" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Unconfirmed Reports" at TV.com