Am I the only one who thought that Levy had figured out that it was Herc who had leaked Marlo's number to the police? I thought the whole scene at the jail where Levy showers Herc with praise and invites him over for brisket with the family was a cover for a settling of scores, where Marlo's enforcers would take their revenge on Herc on his way to the Levy house.

Of course he knew. I was hoping Carv would find out and knock Herc into next week. I never did like Herc. May his sleaze choke him.

Levy had to have known--he knows just where Herc hails from (BPD) and thus the code getting broken so quickly by the BPD.

...and the "brisket" bit seemed a bit threatening...do you really want to go to a street lawyer's place for a "a little brisket?"

Why would Levy be mad at Herc, even if he does know it was him that gave up the number? The illegal wire tap will make Levy a ton of money - his client beat charges and got away scott free. He mentioned it himself - every drug dealer in Baltimore is going to want Levy to be their lawyer.

Levy mentioned, to Herc, that Marlo using a cell phone was going to be good for business. Maybe he expected Herc to give it to his old cop friends.

It kind of had that air to it, but I think we may be a bit paranoid. It also was not the best-written line. A brisket - it sounds fake, so we think it is fake. Levy would never in a million years tie himself so closely to a murder. He'd wait until he was in Hawaii. (Also, how would he benefit from killing Herc? Fire him, sure, but kill him? That's not Levy's style.)

Finally, in that last montage, we see Herc running up the company credit card, buying drinks for cops so he can get more information to feed to Levy. Levy knows Herc is incredibly valuable despite this lapse (if he even knows about it).

Worth noting that by the end of episode, Marlo's known muscle is just about gone.

"Brisket"? Am I the only one who finds that odd? Why is a rich guy like Levy eating a cheap cut like brisket? Who eats brisket if he can afford steak? Herein lies a commentary on Herc: Brisket is a cheap hunk of beef, and so is Herc. Levy is chumming him up, but not wasting his money buying him an expensive meal.

Herc's tip about the wire did save Levy's ass. Levy is no fool, and he knows he will need Herc again in the future, hence the dinner invitation. But he's still just a cheap hunk of beef.

You're right, I'm wrong. I stand corrected!

only partly wrong. its certain that Levy knew where the cell number came from but the invite to come over for brisket is sincere. jewish guys aren't kidding around when they want you to meet the wife and share the family's time honored "best brisket" --better than even aunt sara's or whoever his grandmother's sister was.. its implausible he would have any violence at or near his home in Pikesville/Owings Mill.

Brisket is a traditional jewish dish, and if its done by a good cook its some damn fine eating. Plus it gives a nice little bit of parallelism. The first time we ever see Levey in season 1 he complains about being called away from the Levy homestead on a Friday night to bail out D. One of his big complaints was that he was missing out on the brisket.