Michelle Paress

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.

Marlo forges an alliance with a drug connect, who shows him a new communications trick. McNulty's case gets increased attention from the newspaper, in large part thanks to the addition of Templeton to the reporting team. Dukie turns to Cutty and Michael to hone his self-defense skills; Clay Davis finds a new ally; Bond raises his public profile; Levy and Herc prepare for litigation; Elena confronts McNulty about his behavior; Bubbles fears new opportunities; Greggs gets some overtime work; Omar shows patience as Marlo throws out his bait.

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.

Carcetti's master plan for the police department is leaked to the press, sending the brass into a panic. Marlo turns to Proposition Joe to help with an enviable problem. Whiting and Klebanow drop a bombshell on the newspaper staff. Michael finds temporary respite from his life on the corner by taking Dukie and Bug on a trip. McNulty shares some inside info with Alma, but her subsequent story doesn't cause the splash either envisioned. Undaunted, McNulty looks for a new ally in Freamon.

Campbell tries to smooth out the transitions in the police department. The newspaper scrambles to confirm surprising news from City Hall, but lose out to the TV media in scooping a high-profile Grand Jury appearance. As Marlo tries to win favor with the Greeks, Proposition Joe pays his last respects to a fallen colleague, and prepares to make himself scarce in anticipation of a showdown. Freamon enlists the help of a past partner to help with the investigation.