Homicide Rewatch: Blood Wedding

 

Written by Matthew Witten ; story by Tom Fontana & James Yoshimura

Directed by Kevin Hooks

 

In 1996 network TV  - the only game in town but not for much longer when it came to drama – had never been big about killing series regulars. Tom Fontana had done so quite a bit on St. Elsewhere, famously having Doctors Wendy Armstrong and Peter White meet onscreen ends and nighttime soaps, such as Dallas and Dynasty, as well as Melrose Place, were willing to do so in the 1990s. But by and large network dramas weren't doing that. David Milch was reluctant to do so on Hill Street Blues and despite the fact that David Caruso helped give him a heart attack in the first season of NYPD Blue he still didn't hold enough of a grudge to kill John Kelly off when Caruso left the show at the start of the second season.

Series regulars had never had that kind of protection and as the 1990s progressed it was starting to become a common occurrence.  It had happened quite a few times in 1996, One of the first tragic deaths on NYPD Blue came when Andy Sipowicz's son met a tragic end not long after becoming a police officer himself and the fourth season of The X-Files had begun with the shooting of Steven Williams' X who had been a series regular for the past two seasons.

While none of the characters had been thrilled about the fact that three of their series regulars had to be shot in order to boost their ratings back in Season Three Homicide had already proven itself to be the kind of series that would kill off associates and friends of the detectives for emotional power. One of the first brilliant stories had been the shooting of Officer Thormann and Giardello had witnessed the loss of his friend Sam Thorne back in Season Three.

Ed Danvers was by this point in Homicide one of the biggest recurring characters who wasn't a series regular. He appeared in three or four episodes a season, had dating Kay Howard during the first two seasons before the two broke up. A recurring storyline involving Danvers has been his upcoming nuptials. So when we see Danvers with his fiancée shopping for a wedding dress and a robber comes in and points a gun at Danvers, it wouldn't seem to be much of a cheat to have the show kill him off. The fact that this is Pembleton's first case as a primary might seem like a bit of a stretch had the series not made it very clear of the random nature of who gets what murder since the Pilot. The fact that the squad would now have to deal with the death of a colleague – and in Kay's case, a former lover – is the kind of thing Homicide was good at doing.

So when the detectives arrive and we see Danvers still alive, our first reaction is relief. Until we learn that Homicide has yet another kick in the teeth to give us.  It's not Ed Danvers who's the victim of a robbery gone wrong; its Meryl Hansen the women he was days away from marrying. And Zeljko Ivanek, who has been known for being known as very much as an everyman, gets to give the most wrenching performance he will ever give during the series run.

As I mentioned previously every season Homicide has done at least one episode a year in which the process of investigating a murder is turned around and we have to look at it from the perspective of those left behind. 'Blood Wedding' is the first episode since 'Crosetti' that turns this narrative on its head and forces a character we are familiar with to have to endure that loss from a fresh perspective. Homicide will deal with this theme quite a few times during Season Five, bringing it to its ultimate end in the season finale, so this episode can be seen as transitional because of Ed Danvers status on the show: he's a recurring character but not one we see every week so in theory this shouldn't be as terrible as 'Crosetti' was. Critical words: "in theory."

Because the moment we see Danvers standing over the body of Hansen with blood still on his shirt we know how wrecked were going to be. Long-time viewers have to be reminded of 'Bop Gun' where Robin Williams' character spent much of the first act and well into the second with the blood of his wife on his shirt. Only this time Homicide goes even further: every time Danvers hears his name mention, we cut to a flashback of Meryl and Danvers' shouts 'Get Down!"

The bigger problem is that because of Danvers' position as a states attorney when he gets in the face of Pembleton or other witnesses he can't be pushed aside the same way they would if it were any other witness. When Danvers starts getting in Frank's face about the tape recorder he gets annoyed and when he starts berating the cashier for her description as part of a conspiracy it’s the kind of thing any decent defense attorney if they found this out would have a meal with. Frank knows this and tries to tell Gee as much when they meet in his office. Gee knows in his heart this is true but because Danvers is a vital part of the office – and more because he wants to look him in the eye when this is over – he tells Frank that he has to take him seriously. Considering how much Al doesn't like it when the bosses stomp all over any investigation its telling Al is willing to bend over backwards to accommodate Danvers.

When Danvers demands Frank be taken off the case because he's not up to the job – and critically goes to Kay with this first – it’s the kind of undermining we've seen the bosses to and Al always takes his men's side. He does so with Frank here. It becomes easier to do so when Danvers comes back to the squad room having skipped going to the hospital with eight possible suspects.  Pembleton gives Danvers some rope – more, I should be clear, then he would give anyone else in this situation. He only humors Danvers because Al looks over his shoulder and he takes the suspects.

Then when Danvers tries to press him, he goes with Bayliss on what he knows will be a wild goose chase. Ed then shouts angrily at him and everyone else, and only when he nearly faints from a combination of shock and blood loss does he agree to go to the hospital. Howard has no illusions; she gently orders the paramedics to cuff him if he gives them trouble.

The bigger issue is the continuing friction between Bayliss and Pembleton. Tim thinks the robber is an amateur, a coke fiend who screwed up his first big job and he wants to pursue it that way. Frank believes that this is the job of a professional, who struck in broad daylight. Tim keeps pushing the theory until Frank points out that the robber has a car and that even if he was in the neighborhood, even the most brain-dead crackhead has the sense to have a robbery in a place he isn't know. Frank finishes with "I am not incompetent."

And Frank is proven correct. He finds a pattern of robberies that each take place one block or less from an exit on the interstate, each involving a cash register. Using a state troopers description they narrow it down to a list of the cars and then do a lot of good old-fashioned policework the type that the detectives are very good at but that the sequences in the box often distracted us from. (We're about to get another good one, of course.) This leads them to Julius Cummings, a former felon who was on parole for armed robbery and who doesn't want to go but is facing a violation.

They find ammo but no gun, ski masks, none of which are orange and an orange thread. As States Attorney Conroy says: "Evidence of evidence, but no actual evidence." Bayliss and Pembleton start out with the Miranda warning, go through the first two and skip the number three: right to an attorney.  Cummings can't afford an attorney of course and he makes it clear he wants a 'public defender'.

This is the plan of course. Then Pembleton tells him that Meryl Hanson was a public defender. The moment Cummings hears Hanson was the woman who was shot, he clearly gets unnerved. He keeps denying it but Pembleton makes it clear that not a single one of them will want to defend him. (Which isn't true but they won't be thrilled to do it.) Then they drop Danvers name and his relationship to Hanson, and they make it very clear that the states attorneys will be lining up to prosecute him. (That's closer to the truth.) The more evidence is piled up they paint a picture which is true: a bunch of prosecutors, mostly white, itching to put an African-American on death row and that the public defender will do nothing to help him. That this is a situation that would later be used to put innocent men in jail for life and on death row is a scenario that has aged poorly, I will admit; it is only muted if it were not for the likelihood that Cummings doesn't confess.

And its negated completely by Danvers attitude. When Helen Carey makes it clear the case may not be strong enough for a conviction he gets pissed. When Howard tells him he'll be going back to Jessup for the parole violation and robbery charges, it's not enough. And when Carey flinches on the idea of the death penalty, Danvers gets nasty saying: "She's never taken a case beyond life without parole." Carey is calm reminding Danvers yes she is against the death penalty but so is Ed and so was Meryl.

The last two scenes involving Ivanek are his finest hour on the series. He comes to lockup and confronts Cummings, who makes the mistake of asking what he wants. Danvers slams his briefcase at the bar: "What do I want? I want to kill you. But unlike you I don't have a gun. I'm going to kill you the only way I know how. Through the law…It may take the rest of my life…but I will live to see you die."

Much of the episode sees Kellerman  acting very much like a spoiled child. We see the aftermath of his night with Juliana but when she gets beeped to the Hansen murder, he takes things way out of context. First he takes a sick day, and then he shows up at the morgue – while Juliana is in the middle of her job – and tells her to go with him on a sailing trip.

Cox, its worth noting, asks very much like the grownup in the situation (and it must have been refreshing in 1996 to see the woman give the guy the brushoff the morning after) and wants to do her job. Kellerman asks very much like the temperamental child he's been for the last few weeks and when Al acts like he's being so, he acts just as childish towards him. Much of the last few weeks have done much to make us forget of Mike's judgmental attitude involving the grand jury investigation. To be clear he's getting drunk in the middle of the afternoon and tells Al "If you can't do anything at least spare me the lecture." If Giardello was the boss we know him to be he would have slapped the drink out of Mike's hand and told him to get his head out of his ass.

But as we know Al has always tried to do right by his men. When this began he said they couldn't fight the Feds and he knows that this is true in a sense. But he's also spent a month two men down and he needs every man he's gone. So he decides to try and work behind the scenes and talk to the other three detectives who've been indicted.

Pires and Goodman tell Giardello that they won't give the prosecutor anyone she doesn't already have. They both make it clear that Ingram is trying to make a name for herself and that name comes from indicting as many cops as possible. There's a different context that Ingram is only interested in indictments and getting as many people in jail as possible; Roland and the three detectives are going to get relatively light sentences for their cooperations. Ingram is clearly as much a boss as Bonfather and Gaffney: all she cares about are the splashy headlines of the indictments and the convictions which she hopes to leverage in moving up the ladder. (This pattern will be seen later on in a different context in The Wire a few years from now when the idea of 'dope on the damn table' is more important than doing something about the real problem.) Connally is much harsher: he's angry and bitter at being cut dead and he doesn't care whether Kellerman's dirty or not. All he cares about is going home in three years.  We also remember he thought Kellerman was the original rat and the fact that Mike chose to beat him up in the Waterfront has to be considered as good a reason as any to throw him under the bus.

The key scene comes when Giardello goes to Deputy Commissioner Harris practically with hat in hand. Harris then makes it very clear that he blames Al for the fact that the department caused Wade to be indicted and consequently lost the election. This was, as we know full well, something that Harris went over Al's head to Frank Pembleton, that he followed Harris's orders to the letter and when the truth came out regardless Frank was held out to dry. Frank did everything possible to protect the commissioner and the bosses. That Wade ended up losing the election was entirely because of Harris's maneuvering.

But Harris is like every boss on this show: he sees the world as he wishes to see it and has the power to mete out punishment. When he makes it clear that Gaffney was promoted over Al last year on his orders he makes it clear who the buck stops with and its not him. Harris believes everyone should dance to his tune and if things go wrong, it is their fault and not his. This is unnerving enough – and when we learn the truth of Harris rise to power by the end of the season, it is genuinely frightening. Al Freeman is magnificent in his last appearance as all of the genial attitude he showed towards Frank before is gone and we see a man who gloats in showing his power over his underlings.

At the end of the episode we see everyone feeling lost. Kellerman has just learned that the grand jury has been postponed until mid-January. So he now he must spend the holidays not knowing if he has a future. Seeing Kellerman confess he can't handle his family's kindness shows just how lost Mike is and it’s a good moment of humanity in this dark period.

Then we see Danvers in his office looking through his old cases and plea agreements looking lost. Danvers recognizes the indifference in Pembleton and Maggie as what he's seen in himself, and realizes how he came into this job with the determination to mete out justice and then:

Unless a case was absolutely winnable I'd make a deal so I wouldn't lose a court! If we can't get first degree, let's set second degree…manslaughter!....involuntary manslaughter! …Put him away for a year or two, maybe he won't do any more drugs, maybe he won't rape any more girls, rob any more stores!"

And then he collapses in tears in Kay's arms.

The episode ends with Al wondering if he has failed in Kellerman's path, something Frank never picks up on. Because then he gets a call and goes to see Danvers. Cummings has committed suicide, having hung himself with his shirt. And as always the ambiguity is maintained: we will never know whether Cummings did so because he was guilty of the crime or because he believed he was boxed in because of what Pembleton and Danvers said.

So in typical fashion the case is over and there's no closure: Meryl Hanson's name will be in red forever because no one was charged. And most horribly Danvers will go back to work in a few months with no new approach to his job. He'll still be cutting deals, still playing politics, still not going into court unless a case is winnable.

This is vastly different from how Law & Order played things in the aftermath of Claire Kincaid's death, which took place in May of 1996. McCoy became more of a heavy drinker, more inclined to push the boundaries of his profession and more often to risk his job. (We'll actually see the consequences of this in a crossover between the two shows.) In Homicide Meryl Hanson's murder is never mentioned again, not when Danvers shows up in the squad.  This is the detectives being polite and Danvers, who never wore his heart on his sleeve before, doesn't do it ever again.

Blood Wedding is the last show Homicide aired in 1996 before the Christmas hiatus. And no one, Kellerman least of all, is eager to celebrate the holidays. No one knows that 1997 is going to bring in even worse personal problems for the squad, only some of which have to do with being murder police.

 

NOTES FROM THE BOARD

 

Brodie is on the Move! We find Brodie sleeping under one of the body bags in the morgue this week and giving Scheiner a heart attack. He actually asks Scheiner what he has for a headache. "We don't do requests," Scheiner says gruffly. Which leads to…

Detective Munch: Spotting Brodie he says: "You look like a corpse." Brodie actually gives back as good as he gets: "I slept like a stiff." In recounting Brodie's failures over the past week, he asks if he'll choose Pembleton's walk-in closet, an offer Brodie seems considering. In fact Munch then shows Brodie the classified ads this time. Brodie says he can't afford a deposit. Lewis suggests a roommate. "I hear Sigfried and Roy split up," Munch says. Brodie has an answer to that: "I'm allergic to cats." (Remember this is 1996, the incident that would end things forever for that team was still seven years in the future.)

Hey, Isn't That… R Emery Bright was making his TV debut on Homicide as Julius Cummings. He would have a brief career in TV, appearing as Doug in The Corner and a Community relations officer on the third season of The Wire. He would do some work as a writer and producer, most recently producing Loudmouth, a documentary on Al Sharpton.

On The Soundtrack: As Pembleton tells Danvers about Cummings death in the final minute we hear 'Reason' by Torn and Frayed. This can be heard on either the DVD or streaming.