Homicide Episode Guide: Heartbeat

Written by Kevin Arkadie; story by Henry Bromell and Tom Fontana

Directed by Bruno Kirby

     It was perhaps inevitable that a show based in Baltimore would pay tribute to the most famous author from the city--- Edgar Allan Poe. Considering that Poe’s dark writings are a good fit with  the mood as well as the fact he wrote the first American detective story, it’s only surprising that it took them until Season 4 to pay tribute him. Adding to the episode’s creativity package is that the episode  focuses on underused characters  Munch and Howard, giving Richard Belzer his  most memorable showcase in a while.

     The case is far from typical for the Homicide crew to begin with. Given an incredibly vague lead on the location of a dead body who was murdered ten years ago, the two detectives find the dead man walled up in the basement of a building in a church. With no leads and precious little evidence Munch and Howard eventually track down a bizarre suspect---  Joseph Cordero, a drug-dealer with an ear for  poetry and a man with a major shine to Edgar Allan Poe. (Indeed the wellread viewer will recognize that the nature of the murder is very similar t the classic Poe story ‘A Cask of Amontialldo’)

     Considering the dark nature of the case as well as that of Poe’s writing Munch understand the nature of this man and  becomes rather heavily involved in getting Cordero.  Indeed, Gee notes that Munch hasn’t been this vigilant about a murder for a very long time. Munch shows a tenacity that we don’t normally associate with him going after the killer. This leads to  a confrontation in the box between the detectives and Cordero (in a memorable performance by Kevin Conway). The two of them go after the poet with an unusual prop for them--- a tape recording of a human heartbeat, slowly getting faster. Despite the fact that he is clearly unsettled, he does not confess to the murder.

     However, even though he doesn’t confess, Munch and Howard do break him. Immediately after their confrontation Cordero begins tearing apart his walls and floors looking for the sound of a heartbeat. Eventually, he walls himself back in the very same place the murder victim was interred with only a small candle and some lines of poetry (I don’t know if its Poe or not) for company. This may not be realistic but it is very unsettling nevertheless.

     Even if the case wasn’t as interesting as it is the episode would be worth the time because its gives Belzer and Leo a rare chance in the spotlight. Here again we see the contradictory parts of Kay Howard’s personality. First we see her superstitious nature (first noticed in ‘Ghost of a Chance way back in season one)  on seeing a black cat. Then we see her frustration at the illogic of the crime and the nature of their main suspect (memorably expressed by her as ‘diarrhea of the mouth). We also see that despite her promotion she is still good murder police.

     However Belzer is at the focus of the episode, professionally and personally. The perpetually lovelorn Munch has fallen in love again, this time with Medical Examiner Alyssa Dyer (a semi-regular placed by Belzer real-life spouse Harlee McBride) Howard mocks Munch for his attitude in  general but he seems genuine—until he goes to pick up Dyer for their date and ends up having sex with her roommate mere minutes after having met her. As he puts it : “I am a weak man.” He spends the rest of the episode agonizing over his indiscretion and avoiding Dyer until the end of the episode where he apparently tells her and she slugs him in the eye. Surprisingly Munch is upbeat by this, claiming it gives them a fresh start but we’re pretty sure that this relationship, like all of Munch’s, is doomed. (We also hear  again that Munch has been married and divorced twice. By the end of the season, the number will have gone up. You try and figure out who the extra wife is)

     Even though Munch and Howard are at the focus, we also get a very memorable comic sequence in which Bayliss tries to convince Pembleton to be happy about his wife’s pregnancy. Unfortunately, in doing so, he tells Captain RUssert and by the end of the episode everybody in the squad knows. They all give positive and congratulatory remarks, none of which Frank hears because he is so pissed by what  Tim has.  This is all very funny but it does have a serious undertone as Frank tells Tim that he is one of the few—for that matter, probably only the second--- persons that he has ever trusted with a secret.  Now Tim has violated the confidence. He does eventually get over this, but it is more because of outside events not a change in Frank’s nature.

     ‘Heartbeat’ is not a perfect episode but the quality of the acting and the rare fine mixture of comedy, drama and suspense make it one of the better examples of the old school Homicide. However, the brief period of respite from the spectacular is just about to disappear. We are about to enter a more sensational period in the show’s history which while interesting is far from perfect.

My score: 4.5 stars.