| "One Arrest" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| The Wire episode | |||
| Episodeno. | Season 1 Episode 7 | ||
| Directed by | Joe Chappelle | ||
| Story by | |||
| Teleplay by | Rafael Alvarez | ||
| Original air date | July 21, 2002 (2002-07-21) | ||
| Running time | 59 minutes | ||
| Episode chronology | |||
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| The Wireseason 1 | |||
| List of episodes | |||
"One Arrest" is the seventh episode of thefirst season of the American crime dramaThe Wire. The episode was written byRafael Alvarez from a story byDavid Simon andEd Burns and was directed byJoe Chappelle. It premiered on July 21, 2002, onHBO in the U.S. In this episode, Baltimore police detectiveJimmy McNulty attempts to wiretapBarksdale Organization drug dealers, while being unknowingly undermined by commanding officerWilliam Rawls.
On its premiere, "One Arrest" had over four million viewers on HBO.The Guardian andThe Star-Ledger praised the episode's storytelling and character depth. This episode marked the debut ofIsiah Whitlock Jr. in the cast as State SenatorClay Davis.
The Barksdale detail discusses the information they have garnered from their surveillance, withPrez showing a surprising gift fordecrypting messages. They have identified a resupply with a specific time.Herc,Carver,Sydnor andGreggs make a labored arrest of the package carrier but allowStinkum to get away so as to not compromise the wiretap. Stinkum pagesStringer from outside the towers and Sydnor rushes over to photograph him as the call is returned, so they can legally monitor the phone call. In interrogation, Prez recognizes the carrier as Kevin Johnston, the boy heblinded in one eye.Daniels appeals to Johnston to contact him if he ever wants to change his life; Johnston mocks his offer.
McNulty andPearlman meet withPhelan, who agrees to back the detectives. Phelan is surprised that Daniels stood up for thewiretaps and worries that McNulty no longer trusts him since the Gant murder hit the newspapers. McNulty feels that he cannot trust anyone at the moment. Daniels attends afundraiser with his wife,Marla. Also in attendance areBurrell andState SenatorClay Davis. Daniels finds himself in the kitchen with Davis' driver, Damien "Day-Day" Price, who is viewing the house's valuables. He speculates about the profit that could be made byburglarizing the home until Daniels reveals that he is a police officer.
Rawls givesSantangelo anultimatum: if he wishes to remain in Homicide, he must either clear at least one of his unsolved cases by day's end or inform on McNulty.Landsman jokingly recommends a psychic, Madame LaRue, and a desperate Santangelo follows his advice; the psychic turns out to be a phony. McNulty andBunk work the Gant case based onOmar's tip thatBird was involved. They canvass the buildings opposite the crime scene looking for witnesses and find an older woman who corroborates Omar's story and is willing to testify. Based on Omar's tip, the Barksdale detail tracks down and apprehends Bird. Aballistics test confirms that his gun was used to kill Gant.
After Bird refuses to cooperate and profanely insults the interrogators, he is beaten by Daniels, Landsman and Greggs. Omar gives a statement to Bunk, criticizing Bird for killing a civilian. When Bunk asks Omar if he has any other tips on old murders, he gives information about Denise Redding, which happens to be one of Santangelo's open cases. McNulty relays Omar's information to Santangelo, who in gratitude warns McNulty that Rawls is after him. McNulty visits Pearlman to discuss his worries about Rawls, as he loves the job too much for Rawls to take it from him.
Greggs getsJohnny out of his charge for possession onBubbles' behalf; part of his deal involves going into a treatment program. Bubbles and Johnny attend aNarcotics Anonymous meeting as part of the deal. Bubbles is impressed by the speaker,Walon, and declares that he has a strong desire to live at the end of the meeting.
D'Angelo visitsOrlando's to seeAvon. Orlando tells D'Angelo he has a proposition for him. Later, in the Pit, Orlando asks him to help sell somecocaine fromNew Orleans behind Avon's back; D'Angelo tells Orlando he will have to think about it. Meanwhile, Stringer berates Stinkum for talking on the phone and insists that something is wrong in D'Angelo's crew. Avon tells D'Angelo to change up and stop all trade for the time being. He also worries that the police do not seem to be onto Stinkum, as they should have connected him through the plate number on his vehicle already. In the Pit,Bodie quizzesPoot aboutWallace, who has holed up in his squat and started taking drugs sinceBrandon's murder. Stringer orders them to rip out the payphones in the Pit and to vary which payphones they use, not using the same one more than once per day.
A man must have a code. - Bunk
Bunk uses this phrase when Omar discusses his rules for life on the street.
This episode marks the first appearance ofClay Davis (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) and his aide Damien Price. Davis had a brief appearance in a scene depicting a party; he would become a more relevant character in later episodes.[1] This is also the first appearance of Walon, Bubbles's sponsor and friend.
This episode premiered July 21, 2002, onHBO in the U.S.[2] In the UK, this episode had its broadcast TV debut on April 7, 2009, onBBC Two.[3]
This episode had nearly 4.12 million viewers and ranked fifth in theNielsen Media Research U.S. premium cable ratings for the week ending July 21, 2002.[4]
In a 2008 retrospective review forThe Star-Ledger,Alan Sepinwall cited this episode as an example of "people in long-standing institutions who try to think outside the box, and who get mocked or outright attacked for doing so."[5] ForThe Guardian in 2009, Saptarshi Ray praised the story pacing: "For a slow-burning drama, this episode packs plenty of action."[6] Ray also praised the scene of Bubbles and Johnny at the Narcotics Anonymous meeting as "the most powerful scene" for depicting the "naked destruction" that drug addiction causes.[6]