"Gray Matter" is the fifth episode of the first part of the fourth season and the twenty-ninth overall episode of the HBO television series Oz.
Plot:[]
Convicted detective Bruno Goergen arrives at Oz, which immediately becomes a problem for Johnny Basil, as he is still undercover as Desmond Mobay, and Goergen seems to be the one person in Oz who know's Mobay's true identity. To prove his legitimacy to Simon Adebisi, he is told to kill someone, but to make it look like an accident and committed far away from Emerald City. Mobay attempts to get his cell mate Augustus Hill to help him out, only to be quickly rebuffed by him. The next day, Mobay informs Goergen that Hill is aware that Goergen is a convicted cop, and the two plot to have Hill meet them by the elevator shaft in the dress factory. Hill meets them, but is then grabbed by the two in an attempt to push him down the shaft. However, Mobay, still trying to prove himself to Adebisi, ends up pushing Goergen down the shaft, killing him instead. Oz is put on lockdown as a result. Mobay has a visitation with "Kina", who is also an undercover cop, posing as Mobay's girlfriend. She threatens to inform the lieutenant about his lack of reporting and drug use within Oz,
Leo Glynn gets a surprise from his wife Mary Glynn, who shows up while Leo is preparing for his public service announcement. Mary informs Leo that The Tribune is planning to break an announcement in regards to Leo's brother Mark serving a life sentence for murder. James Devlin tells Leo that this would be a good opportunity to use this to his advantage for his campaign, with Leo mentioning to the press that the brother his murder committed shook him as much as the rape of his daughter Ardith.
Tim McManus is still adjusting to the changes within Oz, still upset over Diane Wittlesey's departure, Sean Murphy for taking his place when he got fired, and especially that he is now overseeing Unit B instead of Emerald City.
Supreme Allah - a 5 percenter - is sent to Oz, with Kareem Saïd being his sponsor and Poet being his cell mate. Zahir Arif finds Allah's way of the Muslim faith to be a threat to the Muslims.
Under Martin Querns' authority as unit manager, he does away with the council and instead appoints Adebisi, Enrique Morales and Chucky Pancamo as trustees. The bikers and Aryans are then sent to Gen Pop. Murphy confronts Querns about this and threatens to step down from his position in response. Arif is also disappointed that as the leader of the Muslims, he is not made a trustee as well.
In Death Row, Nat Ginzburg has fallen ill due to complications of AIDS, much to the dismay of Mark Miles, who is painting a mural of himself on his prison wall, as he wants to leave something behind before he dies. Moses Deyell tells Len Lopresti that he has been witnessing him having sex with Shirley Bellinger, although Lopresti won't be punished as he convinced Glynn that Bellinger was lying about it. During a heated argument with Miles, Deyell gets angry when Miles calls him a racial slur, up to the point that he breaks his hand attempting to punch through the cell wall between him and Miles.
In the library, Ryan O'Reily is introduced by Timmy Kirk to Patrick Keenan, a fellow Irish inmate who was sent to Oz for raping Gloria Nathan. Meanwhile in Em City, his brother Cyril O'Reily gets tripped by Leroy Tidd, with Mondo Browne attempting to rape him orally. Cyril responds in a fit of rage by knocking out Browne, Tidd and a female CO before being restrained and transferred to the infirmary, where Nathan sedates him with Haldol. Ryan immediately confronts Adebisi about it, who in turn tells Tidd and Browne to not do anything like that ever again.
Nikolai Stanislofsky is confronted by Querns in regards to the death of Ralph Galino. He then talks to Hoyt in the cafeteria and asks him to kill O'Reily, but Hoyt refuses as he doesn't want to spend his birthday in solitary. At the gym, Ryan tells Hoyt that Stanislofsky hasn't told him about the cell phone that Galino had. Hoyt then confronts Stanislofsky at the gym and attempts to kill him; this ends up with Hoyt being sent to Ad Seg, while Stanislofsky is sent to protective custody.
Narrations:[]
The criminal mind. For the past 200 years, scientists, sociologists and other folks who've read about such things, have debated whether a person commits a violent act because of their environment or their biological makeup. What turns on the red crime light in a man's brain? If we find the cause, can we eliminate the effect? Can we end violence now and forever?
Prisoner number 00G115, Detective Bruno Goergen. Convicted March 15th, 2000. Illegal possession and sale of firearms, murder in the first degree. Sentence: 36 years. Up for parole in 18.
There's a new study out which claims that some people are wired to commit violent crimes. That they have defects in their brain. That they have less gray matter in their pre-frontal lobe. Just behind the eyes, they're missing the piece that keeps rage inside. If true, those people are pre-destined to rape and murder. They can not be held accountable. Anatomy is destiny.
Prisoner number 00K251, Kevin Ketchum, AKA Supreme Allah. Convicted March 22nd, 2000. Murder in the second degree. Sentence: 25 years. Up for parole in 10.
Prisoner number 00K414, Patrick Keenan. Convicted March 25th, 2000. Assault in the first degree, rape. Sentence: 12 years. Up for parole in 7.
Everybody's always looking for an excuse. I killed that man 'cause, A., I was abused as a child; B., I had shitty parents; C., I was raised in poverty; D., All of the above. If the only thing you know from the cradle on us is violence, what other choice have you got? What other reason do you need?
Genetics or environment? Like in everything else, society searches for "the magic bullet". The easy answer. 'Cause the more complex the answer is, the more terrified we become. Is the root of violence much deeper, much darker? How about pure evil? Maybe we human creatures are inherently evil. Maybe evil is ingrained, embedded in our souls. Flip Wilson used to joke, "The Devil made me do it." Maybe he was right. Or maybe not.
Deaths:[]
Unnamed (Flashback)- Shot twice in back by Bruno Goergen
Unnamed (Flashback)- Shot twice in back by Supreme Allah
Bruno Goergen: Pushed down an elevator shaft by Johnny Basil.
Gary Beecher (off-screen)- Hand cut off, murdered by Hank Schillinger
Crime Flashbacks:[]
Bruno Goergen: Illegal possession and sale of firearms, murder in the first degree
Supreme Allah: Murder in the second degree
Patrick Keenan: Assault in the first degree, rape