McNulty (Dominic West) is assigned to a team of outcasts assigned to probe drug lord Avon Barksdale's (Wood Harris) operations.
A witness who testified against D'Angelo is found murdered; Greggs is briefed on the Barksdale probe.
Detectives' inquiries spark a minor riot, causing a boy to lose an eye and giving police a black eye publicity-wise.
Gang members arrested in the raid face arraignment; Greggs and McNulty try to turn Hardcase into an informant.
Campbell tries to facilitate the transitions in the police department; the newspaper scrambles to confirm surprising news from City Hall; Proposition Joe prepares to make himself scarce.