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!