Joe Urla

Season Five premiere. As McNulty and the detail continue staking out Marlo's crew, recently promoted Sergeant Carver is welcomed by a cauldron of discontent from officers coping with unpaid overtime. Though he wants to keep his campaign promise to lower crime, Mayor Carcetti is strapped by his commitment to schools, and faces some tough choices. Col Cedric Daniels is forced to reallocate his resources, retaining Freamon and Sydnor for the Clay Davis probe. Meanwhile, City Editor Haynes and the staff of a local newspaper are reeling from corporate cutbacks, losing key personnel from both the metro and international divisions. Still, with the help of reporters Gutierrez, Price and Templeton, Haynes is able to break a front-page story that links a politician to a co-op drug dealer. Proposition Joe, Marlo, Fatface Rick others meet in a hotel conference room to discuss divvying up drug frontiers across East Baltimore's county line.

Although he tells Sydnor the Davis investigation could be a 'career case,' Freamon keeps a wary eye out for Marlo, who takes care of some unfinished business and strikes a business deal with Barksdale. Carcetti throws the police a bone by removing the cap on secondary employment, sending the detectives into fantasy-job reveries. With an eye on the state house, Chief of Staff Steintorf tries to find good news for the mayor while blaming the Royce administration for the Campbell revelation. Davis turns to Burrell for help with his problem, but the commissioner's hands are tied. At the newspaper, Executive Editor Whiting outlines a Pulitzer-worthy series in broad strokes, trumping Haynes while liberating the ambitious Templeton. Fed up with broken-down cars and unsolved serial murders, McNulty decides to take matters into his own hands.

Detective Saliyah "Sunny" Qadri (Shoreh Aghdashloo) goes in search of Brooklyn District Attorney Page Ferguson, who she fears may be in danger. Qadri finds Ferguson just in time to witness her fall from the top of a parking garage. When Benson (Mariska Hargitay) arrives, she discovers that the crime scene has been tampered with. Benson turns to an old friend, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Danielson (guest star Gloria Reuben) for help. As the investigation progresses, Benson begins to question Ferguson’s suspicious past and Qadri’s involvement in the case.

New York City bike messenger Holden March (guest star John Karna) creates a video diary of his troubles with women. Talk soon escalates to action, and the SVU scrambles to find his manifesto before he commits another violent act. When Rollins (Kelli Giddish) and Amaro (Danny Pino) come face to face with Holden, they find out just how dangerous a desperate man can be. Meanwhile, as Benson (Mariska Hargitay) balances the responsibilities of motherhood and career, the new Deputy Chief of SVU (guest star Peter Gallagher) calls her leadership into question.

Baltimore's renewed police commitment brings fresh recruits to Daniels and McNulty, starting with Carver. Facing a new political challenge, Carcetti is forced to make dangerous political deals. As the Pulitzer season winds down, Haynes approaches Templeton about his sources. Bunk returns a McNulty favor; little Kenard makes a big score; Dukie finds work; Fletcher continues his interview with Bubbles; Freamon presents his latest plan to a prosecutor; Sydnor uncovers the missing piece to a puzzle; McNulty comes clean.