Frank Pembleton
| Frank Pembleton | |
|---|---|
 Frank, February 1996 | |
| First appearance | January 31, 1993 (1x01, "Gone for Goode") |
| Last appearance | May 8, 1998 (6x23, Fallen Heroes (2)) (HLOTS) February 13, 2000 Homicide: The Movie |
| Created by | Tom Fontana |
| Portrayed by | Andre Braugher |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Title | Detective |
| Occupation | Teacher Homicide Detective (Formerly) |
| Spouse | Mary Whelan-Pembleton |
| Children | Olivia (daughter); Frank Jr. (son) |
| Religion | Catholic |
| Nationality | American |
Francis Xavier "Frank" Pembleton is a fictional homicide detective on the television drama series Homicide: Life on the Street portrayed by Emmy Award winning actor Andre Braugher. He is a primary character of the show through the first six seasons. Although the show featured an ensemble cast, Pembleton would become a fan favorite and is often identified by them as the show's signature character. He is based on Baltimore Police Department Detective Harry Edgerton,[1] who, like Pembleton, was an eccentric New York bred African American detective in the BPD homicide unit featured in David Simon's book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets.
Early life
Pembleton was born into a Catholic family in New York City on July 1, 1961. It was implied that he had siblings, but they never appear on the show. He was educated first in a Catholic elementary school and then in a Jesuit high school, a reference to Braugher attending a Jesuit school, St. Ignatius College Prep, in Chicago. Frank later said that "the Jesuits taught me how to think," which comes up on the show from time to time. He knows Latin and Greek and is well versed in Catholic theology. He met his future wife, Mary, on the Great Lawn in Central Park shortly after graduating from the Police academy when he was 24. He claims that he knew as soon as he met her that she was "the one." They married sometime afterwards.
In October 1988, Frank and Mary moved to Baltimore because Frank wanted to be a detective and felt there was no room for advancement in the NYPD. The move caused a permanent rift between him and his in-laws, since he had moved "their little girl" so far from home. He loved working in Baltimore, however, and Mary got a job as a lobbyist and often took trips to Washington, D.C. where her family lives.
Family
Frank and Mary, once settled in their careers, decided to have a family. They were forced to see a variety of fertility specialists before Mary was able to become pregnant. They had two children, a daughter Olivia and later a son, Frank, Jr.
Frank was the only detective to maintain a marriage — the others either never married, had their spouses die, or got divorced. Frank and Mary's did go through some rough times, owing to Frank's incredible drive for work. Even after marriage counselling, Mary felt that he had become too detached from his family. She was also bothered when he lost his faith, especially when he denied Olivia a baptism for many months. Mary left for a couple of months while pregnant with Frank, Jr. but eventually came back. She was happy that he quit the force in the Season 6 finale.
Pembleton the detective
Pembleton and Bayliss
When Det. Tim Bayliss was assigned to the homicide unit, Lieutenant Giardello partnered him with Pembleton, much to Frank's chagrin. Pembleton had no patience for a rookie, but Tim eventually managed to win his respect. For most of the series, the two would be partners, though Frank never allowed Tim to get too close to him. Their relationship was strained more than once, but they always eventually came back to working together and being an effective team. Although Bayliss had great respect for Frank, to the point of once calling Frank his best friend, Pembleton was often cruelly dismissive of Bayliss and Bayliss' attempts at friendship. Pembleton does not seem to respect Bayliss as a colleague. Following his stroke, Tim treated him in a similarly cold manner though Frank worked very hard to win back Tim's respect. After repairing their partnership, Frank became frustrated with Bayliss disappearing for hours and not telling Frank where he has gone. Eventually Frank follows him and sees that Tim is taking care of the Uncle who had abused him. By the end of the season, they had developed a greater understanding of each other. While Frank thought he could handle himself, he later realized that he wasn't half the Detective he was without Tim to help him.
The first major "breakup" occurred when Pembleton was investigating the shooting of a foreign exchange student accidentally shot by Tim's cousin, Jim (portrayed by David Morse), to whom Tim was as close as a brother. Pembleton was convinced that Jim, if only in the few seconds before the shot was fired, was motivated by racism (the victim was Turkish and Jim's brother had been killed in the Gulf War). Pembleton investigates the case vigorously, despite the familial connection. Frank was outraged when Jim was acquitted at trial and he told Tim he was furious that crowds erupted in cheering at the news, asking incredulously if there would have been that much joy for an acquittal if the victim had been a white kid from the U.S.
They split again midway through season 5, after a painful case where Frank is sympathetic to a pregnant woman who allowed the father of her child to beat her daughter to death. Tim reveals that he was sexually abused by his uncle as a child and then says he doesn't want to be partners with Frank anymore. They get back together after Mary asks Tim to do it and Frank manages to swallow his pride and agreed to restart their partnership. They remain together until Frank leaves the force following Tim's shooting. He returned in The Movie to find Gee's shooter and Frank seemed realize that he misses working with Tim. The final scene between the two of them involved Tim telling Frank about his Murder of Luke Ryland and Frank refusing to arrest Him.
The stroke
In the fourth season finale, Frank suffers a stroke while interrogating a suspect, and nearly dies. When he returns to duty, his speech and memory have been noticeably impaired. He is assigned desk duty until he passes his firearms exam, and is frustrated when others baby him. When his blood pressure medication impairs his focus, he takes the risk of flushing it.