Episode 55 - Carrying water... and then some.

Episode 55 was like a Wire episode of old for me. It moved quickly between storylines and had a number of important developments happening at once. There was less explication and we were asked to watch more carefullly. I think it was the best episode of the season thus far.

With my blanket-praise out of the way, I'll turn to specifics. The parallel of the "masterminds" of the show was fantastic. Marlo, McNulty, Freaman, Templeton, Omar, even Levy, all had the sense that they were now taking steps toward plans that will result in wins of grand proportions. Of course, we know that all of these plans cannot come to be -- the question is which, if any, will succeed?

I was not convinced by what we saw in this episode that the Greek is aware that Marlo took out Prop Joe, and I am not sure that he will be happy to find this information out. Marlo's ruthlessness is coupled with an ignorance that I think will cause him progressively more problems the more he strays from the streets of the West-side. I know I have already said this many times, but I can't help thinking that Marlo is going to end up being caught or killed out of the arrogance he shows in thinking he is able to deal with the Greek. Also, it is only a matter of time until the co-op figures out that Marlo pulled the trigger, and that fact coupled with Slim's dislike of Marlo is not going to put him in a safe position either. I really liked the shot of Chris with his family in this episode -- he and Snoop are presented as not really having lives outside of Marlo, so it was interesting to see that another Chris does exist (sort of in contrast to Marlo's statement that he wasn't made to play the son -- Chris apparently does see himself as able to play father and husband, albeit one with a greater commitment to his boss than to them). Now, can we see something of Snoop? I have always imagined her as lesbian, truth be told, -- anyone else? -- but something tells me we won't see a shot of she and her girlfriend at City Cafe or The Stable anytime soon.

It was great to see some characters pushed in ways we haven't previously -- Clay fighting for a chance to defend himself; Royce getting to pull the strings for once; Freaman on his knees to Daniels; and Daniels admitting that he has no power. And how about that fabulous exchange at The Sun between McNulty and Templeton. I am not sure I bought that anyone would really have found that exchange altogether convincing in terms of the validity of the caller, but I really liked the way McNulty made a play for calling Templeton's game and using it to his advantage. (BTW, do you think McNulty suspects Templeton, or do you think it was just a prank caller? I had the sense he suspected Scott, but I've only watched the episode once.)

After I read some of the posts on Slate last week, I was surprised to see they actually predicted a plot I didn't see coming -- Herc getting Marlo's number. I didn't really think Herc would care enough to do such a thing, but I suppose since it gives him a chance to get revenge as well, it works for him. Still, it was a great moment for me -- as was Freaman's WTF face when he realizes that the call is encrypted (or at least not easily tapped).

Also, can I just say this is Bunk's season? He's had such a central role this season, and I've loved getting to see his character out of his comfort zone. The exchanges between he and Beadie and he and McNulty (after Greggs is pulled to help on the serial) were both very tightly done and showed two very different aspects of his character.

But my post would not be complete without talking about Omar -- I thought some of the best moments in this episode were the scenes in the car with Omar and Donnie AFTER we know that Chris is watching Omar and Donnie watch Monk. Ughh!! We've never seen Omar go into such an awful trap, and the suspense was excruciating. The actual trap-scene was also great; Omar's face when he sees Donnie's dead body and realizes that he is out of bullets -- my stomach dropped! I don't know how Omar will manage to stage a comeback, but I am hoping that he gets Slim involved. And, in an ideal world, maybe Slim will make an appeal to Avon to talk to Serge against Marlo. I know, I know, far fetched... but these guys carry a grudge and stranger things could happen.

I've got a ray of hope for Bubs and Carver in all of this. I wanted to see Dukie thrown a chance, but Cutty's inability to advise him on a way out just seemed that much more crushing.

Looking forward to reading your comments!

Episode 54 - Woe to them that call evil good.

Well, it happened. As predicted, Marlo took out Prop Joe. He treated Marlo like his son though I would not have been shocked to see him meet the same fate at Marlo's hand had he had been his father! I am rooting for Slim to join forces with Omar -- he already hinted that he would do so had Joe given up Butchie -- to end Marlo's reign of terror. Perhaps there is justice in the game. Didn't Weebay tell Namond that used be that a punk like Marlo would be taught his place?

Speaking of ends of eras, Burrell finally vacates the office that he has held on to like his life depended on it. And Daniels is on his way to the top. (The scene in Burrell's office where he refuses to say a word to Daniels' pleadings was pretty good.) I got thinking about contrast between a Daniels and Bunny Colvin. Both are clearly good poh-lice. But while Bunny got fed up with what he saw and made an extravagant move two seasons ago, Daniels stayed within the system and is reaping the rewards. In a tiny way the same parallel can be drawn between McNulty and Freeman. And now McNulty is pulling a Bunny this season. Of course, Freeman has also abandoned all sense by "gilding [McNulty's] lily." We already know that this is the sub-plot where the Baltimore Police Department will meet the Baltimore Sun. Lord help us.

Continuing on the theme of demises, we were given the hope that the state of Maryland will finally be rid of the leach that is Clay Davis. I enjoyed the transformation in his demeanor brought on by Rhonda's questioning at the Grand Jury. I'm sure you guys noticed that the i-Team was on hand to cover his appearance at the Court! What's that investigative reporter's name? Jane?

I was sad to see Herc having to accept Marlo's needling about his camera. That scene connected a lot of people in this week's episode, ending with Joe telling Herc about Erwin being in the Glee Club.

The one bright spot in the episode was, of course, Sgt. Carver. He finally tells Herc about his mishandling of the kid from last episode and decides to write up a fellow cop for conduct unbecoming. Bunny Colvin would be proud.

This was pretty action-packed episode for us not even being halfway through the season. I think we are all dreading very horrible things happening over the next six weeks. Brace yourself!

On an administrative note, sorry for being the first post again. I'm doing it so that I can watch the next episode only after I've penned my thoughts about the previous. If somebody else wants to go first, just let me know!

Episode 53 - Enter Omar

This to me was one of The Wire's more minor episode. Sure some events took place that will have major consequences in the future but isn't that true of virtually every scene in the show? If X had not done Y, then the horrible thing Z would not have happened.

The pre-title sequence has a Jimmy telling us why he came back. He "came back out on a promise" and by God, he will save the village even if he has to burn it first. feel really bad for Bunk. Don't you hate it when someone you love puts you in a compromising position? Bunk will not rat out Jimmy yet he can see that Jimmy (and he) can both lose their "lawn chairs." And Freeman's encouragement of Jimmy only made it worse for Bunk.

It's the third episode of the season and we still haven't talked about the title song. What do people think? I think last season's version was my favorite and the current season is second.

My favorite from last night's show were when one middle-aged man retorts "Who isn't"? to the other's plea that "[He] is the Vice President of a major financial institution." I also enjoyed Chris and Slim Charles comparing the styles of their bosses outside the money-laundering church. And of course, Snoop's expression on her opinion that going after Omar was a "fucked-up plan" if you ask her. (Just when you started loving the odd couple of Chris and Snoop, you see what they are capable of -- torturing and killing a blind man.)

Like I said, we are now in the consolidation phase. Which of these events will come back to haunt us? Marlo makes overtures to Vondas. Monsieur Marlo goes to the islands. Daniels reminder that he has skeletons in his closet for the old days that Burrell knows about. (Will we ever find out? I am thinking not.)

Looking forward to hearing what you guys thought.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change

It appears that everyone has already condemned the media subplot. O ye of little faith! Has The Wire disappointed yet? Do you remember the start of Season 2? Did we not all come to love Ziggy, the Pollacks, and the Greeks?

That said I agree that the characters of that subplot have thus far only been one-dimensional. I do enjoy Gus and the other old-timers at The Sun being all professional and crusty at the same time. Let me also make the most obvious of observations: Gus is David Simon. He believes that everything needs a lot of "context." You can't tell just one part of the story. ("Johnny can't read 'cause Johnny ain't got a pencil.") And as Jason observed, you see several examples of how children are not getting the upbringing they deserve. By the way, though Michael did spare the escaping child I was reminded of his brutal beating of the Namond's little lieutenant who he suspects of stealing the stash.

I agree with helen that this is going to be a very dark season and we will not be uplifted. There was a mention of some character redeeming themselves in the New Yorker profile so there may be a silver lining in there somewhere. Sufficeth to say that there will be a lot of heartache before that. There are a lot of characters that are ripe for picking...

You know, regardless of the whether or not this season is living up to the sky-high expectations that we have, it is still the best written and acted show on TV. Many, many good lines in last night's episode:

• Snoop: "Niggas need to shut the fuck up."
• McNulty: "Pro forma. Latin for lawyers jacking each others off."
• Avon: "Up in this bitch, I am what you might consider an aut'ority figure."

I am really starting to hate Carcetti. He started off in Season 3 as an ambitious politician, seemed to have risen a bit in Season 4 (even turning down a post-victory romp with his campaign manager), and has reverted again to putting his ambition above everything else. His decision to turn down the Governor's $52 million (anyone else notice Robert Erlich's cameo in the last season?) has inexorably set into motion events that can only be mitigated by a Magnolia-like finale, complete with frogs raining from the sky. We see that his dissing of the Republican US Attorney also results in the Feds turning down Freeman and McNulty.

My favorite scenes from last night's episode were the two in prison. (Jessup?) In the first, the door opens and in a masterful bit of camera-work, instead of a wide shot showing the full body of the person entering we see just the face in tight close-up, which delays the recognition of the character just a millisecond. It is Avon! West Side, yo!!!! In the second scene in prison we see the bid'ness skills of Marlo. Sure, he is a stone-cold gangsta', not afraid to take by force what he wants but he also knows how to make his case. Witness how he convinces the "Russian" to take his message to the Greeks. Brilliant.

I wanted to write this before I leave for home today because otherwise I would be colored by knowing what happens in Episode 53. I am looking forward to the drive home!

It's All Connected -- Which Means There's No Escape

Nevin and Jason, you've both highlighted something in your posts that I'd like to talk about in a slightly different way after last night's episode, and that's this idea of everything being connected. Things are not only connected, but in Baltimore, they're all part of the same larger System, or Machine. What last night's episode highlighted for me, and what I think is going to be the legacy of the series, is that, for the most part, the System destroys people, especially people who care. The only people who can get a break are those with enough power to escape, a choice not available to most. Those who are spared within the System are spared only due to chance. It's not because they've made better or worse choices or deserve it any more or less. And, the fact that they survive isn't always a victory in itself. Most of them will survive in such a damaged state that despite their best efforts and hopes, they will continue the cycle they grew up hating. I think if we're lucky, Simon might give us one ray of hope in all of this, but I think it's going to be fairly dark otherwise, because the only other way out is to actually topple the System itself, and in Simon's Baltimore, that's just not possible -- let alone feasible in eight remaining episodes.

The implicit Marxist message isn't foreign to me. After all, I did teach in Baltimore City. And I left. It's something that still causes me a lot of guilt: the feeling that I abandoned children who really needed me. But when I feel guilty, I remind myself of what the System was like and of the problems that prevented me from being able to affect real change. This is not to say I think what I did didn't make a difference. I believe it made a big difference; but it came at a heavy cost to me, because for all of what I could do, there was a ton that I couldn't do. And while the kids do appreciate what you do for them, they also often see the few adults who do care as idealized figures who can rescue them. And, of course, we're just average people doing the best we can, and we can't save them. They can't all come home with us; we can't address their home lives; we can't arrange for therapy for the abuse they have, and in many cases continue to, endure. We can listen to them while they are in class; take their writing seriously; show them compassion when we can. But the fact remains that the kids often want more, and they deserve more, but we can't deliver it. And I can tell you first hand that it absolutely sucks to feel like you have failed a child who just wants help. It sucks to feel completely powerless to witness situations that are appalling and wrong and yet all part of the average day. So I left. It was that or to learn how to make myself immune to the daily realities -"to feel nothin'," as we hear Bubs say as he leaves his meeting in frustration and shame.

And so I think that's where this last act of The Wire is taking us. It's taking us to a dark place where we realize that the good guys aren't going to win. And not only will the good guys lose, they will make mistakes or concessions of epic proportions because they've been driven past their breaking points. Last night was the first time that I realized that Simon's work is less Dickensian than it is ancient tragedy. (And then I remembered that Simon actually said that was part of his project in The New Yorker profile. There's definitely no mistaking it thus far this season.) The story takes place in a world where fate cannot be outfoxed, and we are left to simply see how everyone will end up dead on the stage. But make no mistake, most everyone will be dead. Because that's what the System does; it sucks your will to live; your will to believe; your will to hope.

And isn't that what we're starting to see now with a heavier hand than in any other season? Last night's episode gives us characters who are breaking under the weight of the System. Deedee begins the episode saying, "Whatever it is you tell yourself you won't do to get high -- you're pretty much making a list of what you will do." It's sort of like Oedipus remarking that the last thing he's going to do is kill his father and sleep with his mother; it's already fixed on his agenda. That's true for all these characters. The longer they stay within the System, the more likely it is they will fall in ways that are both gut-wrenching and spectacular. The only hope is to get out of the System, and for most people, that's not an available option; that takes privilege, something most of these characters either don't have or have temporarily forsaken. The longer they stay within the System trying to circumvent it, the greater the odds that they will be eaten alive. The tentacles of power are strong and reach through institutions, across party lines, into various sectors of power. They are all part and parcel of a larger machine that no longer needs or values the individual, or Simon seems to argue. And of course, this makes sense. Simon and Burns are both men who ultimately left the System. Their penance for the guilt they feel, is a series like this one.

Last night we saw different characters breaking under the weight of the System, characters that we now understand are all at risk. The system is intractable -- look at Avon and Serge. These are people who understand how the System works. These are the people who will survive, and if they don't, they won't die afraid or surprised but rather with knowledge that it could've been no other way. "The game's the game." It doesn't change, regardless of new players. Marlo tells Avon this as a sign of his understanding. I think Avon does know this; but I remain unconvinced that Marlo actually understands the game in the truest sense. I think his pride at thinking he can deal with the Greeks may be where he learns about the game for real.

And on that note, I'll get into some specifics now about the episode -- things that struck me and that I am interested to get your read on. I'm curious to see what Simon will do with Freaman. In many ways, he's the best police we've got. He understands the System. He's stayed in, but he's been underground most of that time. Unlike Jimmy, he knows how to shut himself off, or has up until now, and unlike Bunk or Kima, he cares more than his paycheck mandates. But he doesn't dream big like McNulty, so Simon may let him off the hook. Freaman may while out the rest of his days in the same way we've seen him -- sneaking the good fight when he can, making minatures the rest of the time.

As I've already alluded to, I think Marlo is in for some schoolin' himself this season. The fact remains that most people who stay in the street don't live, so unless we see Marlo get locked up (a la the real-life Deacon, Melvin Williams) or get out of the game, I don't know how much longer Marlo has on his ticket. He's incredibly arrogant and I think shows a blatant disregard for the established code. I think we saw a questioning in Chris's face when Marlo suggested going after Omar. Sure, the preview for next week tells us that Chris goes after Butchie in an effort to bring Omar out of retirement, but that doesn't mean that it's going to sit well with Chris in the end. The fact that Chris has a soft spot for Michael tells us that there's more to him than Marlo or Snoop, both of whom either are are antisocial or have conditioned themselves to be so. (Recall that Marlo only sees Michael as a valuable to his crew, and Snoop seems to still question Michael's value, period.) And, as I've already said, Marlo is in way over his head getting in with The Greek. I don't think any of us have forgotten the end that Frank met...

We know what's going to happen with the newspaper plot, since Simon can't stop talking about it, which is sort of annoying. It would be nice if Templeton's turn as Jason Blair came as a surprise, but instead I find myself waiting for it, and last night's handling wasn't particularly deft. I would've liked a scene with Templeton on the street when he's trying to get the O's story. Is he any good as a reporter? We need to know more about him. I must say, in starting to rewatch seasons 2 and 4, it's my opinion that we got a lot more nuances about who the new subplot characters were than we seem to be getting here. I also think that Simon's characterization of Whiting comes across as dumb, and I think that's problematic. He might be unlikeable, selfish, arrogant, without morals, but I doubt he'd be dumb. I like Gus okay, but we need a bit more. I think he's not being enough of an asshole himself, which someone like him would certainly be. He's likely to be very self-righteous as he sees himself as the real reporter in a room a wannabes (not all, obviously). But the point is that he is likely a large part of his own problem, perhaps if only through years of butting his head against a wall in frustration.

I will end with two scenes. The first Jay already mentioned, and that's the juxtaposition of the Bubs and Freaman scenes, where both watch examples of child mistreatment. Freaman's ability to remain uninvolved in that scene is in stark contrast to Bubs, who seems unable to finish his meal. This to me, is very much at the heart of Simon's project. These are the choices people are left with. To survive, you just can't care about it all. You can't allow yourself to be too attached to any of it. I like that Simon has Freaman on the stakeout in this scene, because while Freaman knows he cannot affect change in the situation with the child, we see him making his own misstep of caring too much by being on a stakeout when the case is over.

And, it is Freaman's caring too much, going on the stakeout, and telling McNulty what he's seen that brings me to the final scene for discussion: McNulty's corruption of the crime scene to make a homeless man's death look like a homicide. McNulty's breakdown is really cemented earlier in the episode when he kicks the broken squad car in frustration. We know then that McNulty never should've returned to homicide. I think McNulty's descent appears unbelievable because we've missed the year where this has been slowly coming on, and now we're left with an abrupt about face. Relapse rarely happens quite that quickly for someone who had been doing as well as McNulty, though a year is certainly believable. I think given McNulty's prior behavior of soliciting prostitutes and the like all as a means to an end for the job, I guess manipulating a crime scene isn't wholly unbelievable. I don't know. But I agree, Nevin, I am still feeling like it pushes the boundaries of credibility a bit, but I think the way scene happens is great. Bunk says, "Get a fuckin' grip." Followed by, "Have you lost your fuckin' mind?" McNulty never responds, he just quietly goes about his business, and all Bunk can do is watch. It is only when McNulty is convinced he has tricked the fates and is going to get the last laugh that he decrees, "There's a serial killer in Baltimore. He preys on the weakest among us. He needs to be caught." Of course, Bunk walks out, completely horrified, and McNulty continues readying the crime scene. The scene tells us two things: McNulty is no longer a viable candidate for any kind of emergent hero -- he will be, at best, a tragic hero, and it's a pretty low crown he'll wear at that. The other thing I love about this scene is the way McNulty's line makes the point that I tried to make above using a lot more words. The serial killer is the System, and it preys on the weakest among us. Case in point, McNulty. Those who actually care. He does need to be caught, but I think we all know, he won't. Not much of a welcome for the so-called prodigal son...

The Wire: Episode 52 - Where it all goes wrong

It's still too early to call the Wire-worthiness of the newspaper subplot, but early returns are saying there is something not quite right there. The city editor, Gus, is too good. We see him awakened in the night because he worries he transposed two numbers in a piece, only to find out that he is [better than this than he thinks] (I can't quote it because I forget the exact line). It would have been more interesting if he was wrong. What does the newspaper do in that case (although it would have been fine under the circumstances provided since the article had not gone to print)? Gus always seems like the voice of reason (so far) against the executive editor. This guy is a real asshole (so far). From his handling to the color piece to the conversation about the schools in the meeting room - he is just all bad (so far). There are no other characters on the Wire that are all good or all bad. One of the closest is Rawls - but even he shined when Kima got shot in season one - oh they all shined that day... one of the finest 10 minutes ever seen on a television.

I saw a very central theme to this show being set up and revolving around above mentioned meeting with the newspaper people. The jerk head editor wants a piece that really explores [read blames] the city schools for the disaster that is Baltimore city. Gus and another argue that it's all connected and you can't just look at the schools by themselves. (One of the funnier, cynically speaking, lines in the show come in this scene when the head editor defends his position with, "my wife volunteers in a city school". This reminds me of the I-am-not-a-bigot defense of "I have [black, white, gay, etc...] friends"). Anyway - the very next scene shows Lester on a extra-curricular stakeout. As he waits, we see a scene unfolding in the background - a mother threating her young child with physical abuse, then leaving him alone in the house while she goes who knows where. I thought David Simon was trying to say in this episode, "Hey - think for a minute what it would be like to grow up in the poor streets of Baltimore". This is not a new message - much of season four revolved around this theme, but this was a different treatment. We see it again in episode 52, twice through the eyes of Bubbles (and his reaction is notable) - once in the mission house where Bubbles sees a young mother losing her temper with her fussy child and again when Bubbles sees the drug addict from the first scene playing with a young child (her's I assume). We also see Kima rescuing a young child from a house where all the adult occupants have been brutally murdered by Chris shortly before. Michael witnesses another child run out of the house as the shooting happens (his mercy for the child seemed like a no-brainer to me - but I am not sure what Chris and Snoop would have done). After seeing these scenes you have to agree with Gus - how can you expect more from kids who experience such violent and neglected childhoods and how can you put all of the blame on the schools?

I will close by saying, "Woah Jimmy!" I see what McNulty thinks he is doing. But damn Jimmy! Even Bunk is horrified. If it wasn't so disturbing, that last scene would have been funny. As a response to Nevin's last post - I think the McNulty plot is not that unrealistic. The guy has a problem with addiction clearly. He tried to stay away from Murda-police and that seemed to help. The promise of a new-day lured him back in, but all that new-day stuff is just, "polished shit" from the Mayor's office. It's not unbelievable that the man would fall off the wagon. I admit he is falling with gusto though!

The End is Nigh (Season 5, Episode 1)

Thanks to helen for suggesting we do this. The name of the blog is apt too in more ways than one.

It's been two weeks since I watched Episode 51 and some of it has already escaped my memory. In the future I plan on jotting down some notes as I watch the show. Luckily we have helen's excellent recap of the show. As I read it I could replay the episode.

The pre-title opening sequence was not as memorable as the last season's where Snoop dazzled the salesman at a local hardware store with her knowledge about "recoil." Here I will take some issue with Jason's comparison of the season opener with that of Season 2 of The Sopranos. You are comparing apples to oranges. The Wire has a fairly strict one montage per season policy. For everything but final few minutes of a season The Wire relies on diegetic sound. I think this enhances the authentic feel of the show. There is no commentary from the creators be it with the use of expository music or camera work. All we have are the words the characters speak. The audience needs to think for themselves. This observation doesn't contradict helen's fairly convincing evidence of Simon's transitions and juxtaposition which is at a more macro level.

I think the use of the school budget shortfall affecting the police department was a great touch. Again, we see that everything is connected to everything else. You cannot "fix" things individually. (I will digress a bit to say I heard interesting commentary from Robert Reich on NPR explaining why voting for candidates just based on checking off issues that you agree with them on isn't perhaps the best thing to do. You need to understand that everything affects everything so it is more important that you vote for someone whose general philosophy is in line with yours.)

I will end with what is bothered me the most about Episode 51. McNulty. His recidivism really bothers me because I don't see why it is happening other than Simon's misanthropy. I can understand him going back to Major Crimes at the end of Season 4 because it was a "new day." But why is he back to his drinking, philandering (?) ways? Can you not be a good poh-lice without being a jerk?

Apologies for not writing earlier. I hope to do better next week.