Homicide Rewatch: White Lies

 

Written by Anya Epstein ; story by Tom Fontana & James Yoshimura

Directed by Peter Weller

 

White Lies is one of the more interesting episodes in Season 5. So much of the series is devoted to the detectives doing everything they can to work against impossible odds to close cases. The board is a reminder of how frequently they fail, even if the viewer doesn't see every investigation.

White Lies turns the narrative on its head as we see two separate investigations where the detectives overcorrect in their job. One investigation involves a detective who vigorously pursues what he believes to be a crime, only to learn that there was no crime committed. The other involves the work of two detectives which lends the possibility that they have the right criminal in custody but they can't prove it. And all of this is done by progressing the investigation into Kellerman's corruption and reveals he's not the innocent he claims to be.

The most interesting story of the night involves John Munch, Throughout his tenure despite having a relatively minor role Richard Belzer never complained once about it how little he was used. (He had no idea at the time that he was going to be playing it for the rest of his life in practically every show on TV long after it was cancelled.) With the unit depleted by retirements, suspensions and elopements Munch would finally be giving a chance to put more center stage and White Lies is the first time that happens in Season 5.

This is Munch's first encounter with Cox and its great to see the two of them play off each other.  Cox is observant on things that only a woman who get: particularly that Nina Engle was wearing makeup to bed. She can tell that something's strange is going on even if she doesn't know if she died. Munch then has a discussion with Engle's husband and its clear to the viewer that there's something off. Munch picks up on it immediately and tells Cox to let him know the moment the preliminary is done. He knows the husband is lying.

When Cox comes down to the squad room (after some clear flirtation with Bayliss) we see a side of John we rarely see: the kind of thorough investigator trying to poke holes in the suspect's story.  When Cox interferes and says that there's no sign of foul play Munch might be inclined to let it go but Cox chooses to challenge him by saying that he's traumatizing the husband and that it isn't a murder unless she says it is.  Its telling that most of the time John would be inclined to let it go and its clearly the challenge as well as the flaws in the story that keep him going.

It's also worth noting how Howard reacts to this. When he calls her that woman, she immediately says: "She has a name." But Kay's always been a cop first and her feminine sympathies do not extend to those who don't wear a badge. "Since when do we let an M.E. dictate investigative procedure?" She tells John to follow his instincts.

The way John manages to get to Engle is a superb example of his process because he never threatens violence, never even gets angry. Instead he starts to poke holes in the husband's story about how a 29 year old woman could not just die in her sleep. He basically tells the truth – they are going to have to perform a complete autopsy on Nina Engle and that will reveal the cause of death. Her husband admits "It was me" and collapses in tears and its clear this surprises Munch.

And then we get the twist – Nina Engle died of a lethal heroin overdose. Munch is infuriated by all of this but Cox gets to the root of it: "Who are you angry at, me, the husband or yourself?" And Munch as always is honest: "How about three for three?" When Cox asks if he's curious to know why he lies Munch gives an answer that could serve as the mantra for the show:

"I'm a Homicide detective. The only time I'm surprised is when they tell the truth."

The scene where Cox goes to talk to Philip Engle is out of sync with how Homicide usually works: there's no point when an ME would ever talk to someone suspected of murder. However for dramatic purposes its necessary because the viewer needs  closure and Munch isn't interested in giving it. So the husband tells Cox that it was his fault because she promised she'd stop using and he went on a business trip – therefore he takes responsibility for it. He found her naked on the floor and to preserve her memory he dressed her, put makeup on her and put her on the bed hoping to spare her family the truth. Cox lets him off the hook by telling him the autopsy would have revealed it anyway. Forbes's gentleness in the scene shows her with the capability of giving the kind of grace the detectives won't.

Pembleton spends most of the episode working a cold case – Alison Lambert, the only open case on Bayliss' side of the board.  This is clearly him trying to avail himself of what Gee suggested he do when he came back and its telling that Bayliss seems to humoring his old partner when he agrees to run the prints. It doesn't help that when Frank keeps pressing he can't remember the victim's name.

But Bayliss does find the prints of a suspect Samuel Colby, whose fingerprints were on the steering wheel and who wasn't in the system six months ago. So he brings him in the box and interrogates him. He comes close to doing but in the midst of the interrogation goes off on a tangent in which he mistakenly loses the thread. (Or does he? See below.) Bayliss knows he does but Frank observes him and then makes it clear where and when.

Tim is already mad at himself for what he did and the fact that Frank is pissing on his leg in the aftermath has got to be a bridge too far. He chafed enough under Frank's tutelage when they were partners and the fact he's doing it even though he's suspended is a bridge too far. So he calls Frank on his BS and tells him to go into the box. You can see the longing in Frank's eyes as the offer is extended as well as the desperation. We actually see him doing so in his mind before we realize that it is just there and then Bayliss walks out.

At the end of the episode Pembleton finally expresses the misery he's in ever since he came back. "My old life hangs over me," he tells Frank. And he tells Tim just how much he misses the box. "Four walls. A mirror. A table. Two chairs but getting a confession…its better than a cigarette better than coffee1"

The final moments feature one of the best segments in Homicide history (see Get The DVD for the full effect.) Frank goes into the box for the first time since coming back to the squad as Garbage's iconic song "I'm Only Happy When It Rains" plays. No suspects are there so he won't be in trouble. And in a series of quick cuts we see Frank in some of the most famous interrogations during the show's run going back four seasons and like him we are reminded of just how great Homicide was when Andre Braugher was working his magic. Like him, we long for what we can't have…though that time is coming closer.

Of all the storylines Homicide pursued during the run there's an argument that Kellerman's attitude during the FBI investigation is the most problematic. Much of it has to do with Kellerman himself. It's worth noting that every week Mike takes a different position on the kind of support he wants from the squad. When he was first suspended he was pissed when people stopped talking when he entered the room. When the Feds were interviewing his fellow detectives he was upset both when they withheld what they discussed and when Meldrick shared information, he was pissed by what he shared. And now that he's actually being asked directly what happened in the opening teaser he immediately turns on Bayliss as though even the questions are an offense.  It's never clear if anyone in the squad even momentarily thinks Mike took bribes but considering just how mean Kellerman says no matter what his fellow detectives say it would be hard to blame him for thinking it.

And when Kellerman chooses to go to the man who has named him in a bribery charge, physically threaten him and basically tell him to call the U.S. attorney and recant, it shows that Kellerman doesn't seem so much to think he's above the law but has forgotten how it works. He has no cards to play against Roland and has to know that a defendant accosting his accuser only makes him look guilty because he's been on the other side of it. The fact then he knocks stuff of his desk and threatens to hit him would be bad enough even if Roland hadn't called the U.S. Attorney on the other line.  That he doubles down by choosing to yell  at Ingram shows just how badly he's forgotten the idea of due process.

Again its worth noting that everyone in the process, whether they are Feds or the chain of command are following the law and doing everything by the book. And when he's called into Barnfather's office with Giardello presence he decides to lie to their faces. Ingram then calls him on it immediately and he seems more upset he's been caught on his lie then the trouble he's in. Ingram seems willing to bend over backwards to make sure Kellerman doesn't end up getting added more charges to his indictment that might end up with him going to jail right then. Furthermore he doesn't think he should be suspended and when Ingram offers him a string he demands full reinstatement. Kellerman's behavior is childish from the moment he meets the woman charged with his prosecution and if anything he seems inclined to make it worse.

When the polygraph takes place and Kellerman answers various questions we seem to get a sense that he's probably telling the truth – until he's asked if he knows if other detectives were taking bribes. He first refuses to answer the question and takes the equipment off. Ingram seems fine with this but Kellerman knows different as he tells Lewis

The thing is Kellerman is guilty – not of taking a bribe but because he knew that Goodman, Connelly and Perez were taking bribes and didn't report it to anybody.

The attitude of Hoffman on this storyline argues that there is a larger dilemma: "What is the culpability of those who knew the wrongdoing of others but chose to remain silent?" Andre Braugher it should be noted was vocal about the moral shortcomings of this storyline and expressed it at the time:

How pure is a cop who sits back and watches corruption going on? What is the virtue in remaining silent?"

Indeed Hoffman argues that the so-called blue wall being invoked is dissatisfying. He tries to take the burden off Kellerman by saying his 'fellow arson bunkies did nothing to free him from the jam even though they knew he was innocent." But then he adds: "Maybe the answer is Kellerman wasn't such a good cop from the beginning." We've already seen quite a few examples of it even before the investigation began and if anything Kellerman is making actively worse with each week.

And it is telling that even though his job is on the line its basically understood that going to prison is being equated as nearly as bad as being a rat. This is not a theory that other detectives in the unit might believe. Pembleton in particular would look down on it. One of the quick flashes we get is of one of Frank's most problematic interrogations – when he got Gerry Staley to falsely confess to the murder of C.C. Cox. Frank did so out of deference to Giardello because he was convinced that a cop had killed Cox and Al had made it very clear the fellow police officers were to be assigned the benefit of the doubt. Frank felt otherwise and as was proved Frank was correct.

Perhaps its not shocking that Gee chooses to stick up for Kellerman with Ingram as he walks her back to her car. Ingram may be doing this purely for political gain but she's right when she calls Al on whether he can trust a man he's known for a year and a half for something he did before he knew him. For Al that kind of blind loyalty is typical and most of the time its one of his most enduring characteristics. But by the end of the episode we know its misplaced. Al may not think Mike is guilty of a crime but the law is a different beast.

And by the end of the episode we know that as well. Ingram comes to the squad room and tells Mike that he passed the polygraph. But so did Mitch Roland and unlike Mike he answered every question. When Mike asks Ingram what that means he already knows the answer and its not a comforting one.

The truth will not set Mike Kellerman free. In fact, it may be the thing that ends up sending him to prison.

 

NOTES FROM THE BOARD

 

The story line of Nina and Philip Engle is borrowed from Simon's book, which also tells the tale of a man concealing his wife's heroin overdose. He wasn't arrested as the autopsy revealed the truth.

Brodie Is On The Move! As you'd expect Lewis throws Brodie out of his apartment claiming he wrecked his marriage. Brodie bemoans his fate and when Howard overhears she agrees to let him move in with her.  

Brodie doesn't think this is a good idea as he's worried as to how it will be if he moves in with a woman. He's proven correctly as Munch and Lewis (both of whom seem to be doing this solely to be petty to him) tease him with sexist terms and Lewis gives him condoms leftover from his honeymoon. Howard doesn't seem to mind but Brodie does. With the kind of sympathy we don't see he tells Howard that she's a sergeant and its important the detectives respect her. "Your reputation is more important then my comfort," he says with chivalry. Then he goes on to sleep in the nook. Aww.

In the episode guide Kalat reminds us that in 'Stakeout' Bayliss was planning to move to California but seemed to be talked out of it. The last line was that he wasn't going to leave until he closed the Lambert case. That may be an unconscious reason why he tells Frank not to bother with it and might explain why he confuses Colby with his out of left field speech above leaving Baltimore for Sunny California. As Frank points out: "That's you, not him!"

Get The DVD: In addition to the soundtracks use of Garbage in the closing the opening sequence where we see the Baltimore Sun with Kellerman on the front page being delivered to everyone including the squad we hear The Subdudes: "Tell Me What's Wrong." The former can't be heard on streaming.

This episode marks the first appearance of Rebecca Boyd as States Attorney Gail Ingram. She will appear for the remainder of this storyline and quite a few episodes for the remainder of Homicide's run.

Hey, Isn't That… Scott Bryce who plays Philip Engle was a familiar face to viewers of TV throughout the 1990ss. He made his TV debut as Rick on The Facts of Life and then played Will Forrest, Corky's eventual husband on Murphy Brown. He had recurring role on LA LAW during seasons 6 and 7 as well as roles on Matlock and Sex and The City. His most famous role was as Mike McQueen on Popular. His longest role was on As The World Turns where from 1982 to 2008 he would appear as Craig Montgomery. He has since appeared in the first season of Homeland, the first season of The Good Fight and of course Law & Order and Law & Order:SVU. Also a producer and director, he directed and produced several Lifetime movies