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.