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the black husserl posted:Nick says he is proud to be from Locust Point. That area is now super hip and has gentrified like crazy, I'm not sure he could afford to live there now. They make that point in Season 2, too. He tries to buy an old house that used to belong to the family for his girlfriend and kid and discovers that the growing gentrification has priced it out of his range. It's part of his justification to himself for moving into selling drugs instead of just taking a single money payment from Glekas for collecting up the chemicals for him. I really love season 2 and I can't wait to start writing up the episodes for it.
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Mar 29, 2013 07:32
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Randomly Specific posted:Part of that is showing how fleeting the opportunities for major coups are. The Greek is not a comic book villain who's going to come back and taunt the heroes. He knows full well how close he was to getting perp-walked. The FBI maybe gets him out after he's publicly busted, but at that point he's damaged goods and his position in the grand scheme is greatly complicated. So he steps back and lets the boredom do its killing (scores half the detail by the end, right?) and then he returns to the scene. And then you have to ask, who's the real villain? The Greek or the institution that, truly, allows him to operate?
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Mar 29, 2013 14:21
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Boywhiz88 posted:And then you have to ask, who's the real villain? The Greek or the institution that, truly, allows him to operate? The Greek is pretty villainous all by himself- this is the dude who calmly lights the cigarette and chats with a guy, then orders Vondas to cut his throat. But really both are joined in co-villainy in my opinion. The Greek is part of the system and plays it to his own ends. However, I was considering last night that if you recast the series to focus on the Greek's level you'll see that he's not the king either- he's still close enough to the mix to be dangerously exposed. There's probably somebody further behind who's sitting a comfortable estancia somewhere with a bunch of Greek-level pawns moving on his board. You can scale this story up clear to the top of the food chain and the biggest change will be the geographical scope. On another tack, one element that recurs in every season is the time factor, and it's the king of why and what gets done. Like I said about how rare the opportunities for major coups are, they also take time, diligence, and a bit of luck. Lester spends the better part of two years hunting Marlo directly, while also chasing Clay Davis and the other political actors that he can demonstrate are on the take. Every season shows the protagonists trying to get something working as best they can against the pressure of time that's trying to kill it. S1 is obviously trying to keep the detail going long enough to get their smoking gun on Avon, S2 is trying to catch the Greek before he buys a plane ticket out of town/trying to keep the docks afloat long enough to get the dredging, S3 is Hamsterdam, S4 is trying to keep school program alive, S5 is Jimmy and Lester with their serial killer stunt.
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Mar 29, 2013 14:52
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From the man himself: "Slate Interview posted:Simon: {...}Let me ask you this: Did you have any allegiance to the Greek in Season 2?
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Mar 29, 2013 17:20
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In sort of Wire related news: Domenick Lombardozzi @D_Lombardozzi 13h #Orioles #ripGusTriandos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxsiZjHO7SA
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Mar 29, 2013 17:47
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Oh goddamnit. Knew it even without the Youtube clip. Well done, Dom.
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Mar 29, 2013 18:24
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armoredgorilla posted:In sort of Wire related news: I love Poot's reaction to overhearing,"How about a handjob?"
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Mar 29, 2013 23:41
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I absolutely love the callback to the joke in season 4. Didn't catch it until rewatch. As a bonus it's also the introduction of Nerese. This show.
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Mar 30, 2013 00:00
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cletepurcel posted:I absolutely love the callback to the joke in season 4. Didn't catch it until rewatch. "You'd gently caress a guy to have a chance to gently caress a hot broad? You don't think that makes you some kind of fag or something?" "It's just an expression man." *Funny look on Herc's face* It's easy to forget because immediately afterward is one of the funniest most "holy poo poo" scenes in the show.
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Mar 30, 2013 02:06
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armoredgorilla posted:In sort of Wire related news: It's got to be pathetic that I know these lines almost by heart.
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Mar 30, 2013 08:11
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I'm in the middle of my own rewatch and just got to another one of my favorite scenes: Marlo and the security guard in episode 4 of season 4. I was wondering what thoughts you guys had about what Marlo means when he says, "You want it to be one way, but it's the other way." I have my own ideas about it but it was something that I was always fascinated by and I wanted to hear other peoples thoughts on. -Blackadder- fucked around with this message at 19:57 on Mar 30, 2013 |
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Mar 30, 2013 19:48
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You want things to be such that you matter, that your life has significance, such that I can't openly punk you like this. But things are not such.
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Mar 30, 2013 19:53
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Marlo's acknowledging and simultaneously admonishing the guard for believing that the laws, rules, and regulations which apply to the regular world are the same in the ghetto. Marlo's power stems from his enforcement of that difference, and people like the guard who try to get by honestly at best can only hope to be ignored and made useless, but because he's attempting to exist within the legitimate world he will ultimately be punished for his inability to contain the power of the illicit world. Then there's the larger Marlo as an element of unrestrained late-stage capitalism similar to the Greek; in this ruleset the guard becomes a marginalized/extraneous person, which is a necessary byproduct of continual accumulation in system which mandates unlimited growth in a world of limited resources.
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Mar 30, 2013 20:00
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Am I the only one who wished that Omar blew a hole through Andy Krawcyzk before he killed Stringer?
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Mar 30, 2013 21:14
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Not to mention that the guard wants acknowledgement and acceptance of his own personal value, not so much as a mark of respect but just not to be treated as a complete non-entity. He asks Marlo WHY he had to deliberately steal in front of him, acknowledging that he knows who Marlo is, respects (or rather, fears) him, but is only asking for the same common courtesy of one human being to another in not making that other human being's life more difficult. "You want it to be one way, but it's the other way," is (on top of the other things mentioned) a statement that the security guard is not only a nobody, but might as well not even exist as far as Marlo is concerned. Of course, this being The Wire, Marlo isn't just a flat villain - if I remember right this event follows directly on from Marlo losing at the poker game against people whose respect/fear/acknowledgement he desperately craves. His theft in front of the guard is a direct slap to the face from a guy who has just recieved one of his own and is feeling inadequate/unvalued himself. And of course, when Marlo finally does manage to beat the other players his moment of victory is punctured by Omar. Marlo is a deeply insecure person, he orders the guard killed for "talking back", but really it's down to him once again feeling undervalued/unacknowledged by the fact that the guard didn't fear him enough to keep his mouth shut, even though he was completely cowed and impotent in the wake of Marlo's power. His initial revenge against Omar is smarter (but more horrifying) than anything Avon or Stringer ever came up with, but Omar gets the ultimate revenge by damaging the one thing that Marlo truly cares about - his name/reputation. Chris and Snoop keeping Omar's insults from Marlo shows that even they don't truly understand Marlo, even though they were correct in keeping him from falling into Omar's trap and going out to face him in the street. Omar basically set up a no-win situation for Marlo, and victory is ultimately his.
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Mar 30, 2013 21:35
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escape artist posted:Am I the only one who wished that Omar blew a hole through Andy Krawcyzk before he killed Stringer? He wasn't in the (right) game.
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Mar 30, 2013 22:02
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escape artist posted:Am I the only one who wished that Omar blew a hole through Andy Krawcyzk before he killed Stringer? I think this every time I watch this scene. I mean yeah he's a civilian but he's also as much of a piece of poo poo as any civilian we see on the show. Watching him be so scared he takes loving oxygen afterwards and then Bunk and Holley being utterly disdainful towards his "BNBG" description is pretty funny though.
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Mar 30, 2013 22:03
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Man got to have a code.
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Mar 30, 2013 22:21
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I don't know if you guys like hip-hop, but this is a great song that came out in the early 90s, and it's "moral" or the didactic end of the story, reminds me of The Wire. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A__90V2h_9o Basically it's about a man who hustles for a living, and through certain circumstances, comes to realize that he only knows "half the game" and is disgusted and alarmed when he overhears a discussion between the Mayor and a corporate executive. It's a great song, and well, it always reminds me of The Wire because of the conclusion to the story.
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Mar 30, 2013 23:37
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Kill My Landlord makes an excellent companion piece to reading/watching David Simon's work.
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Apr 1, 2013 03:07
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Jerusalem posted:Marlo is a deeply insecure person, he orders the guard killed for "talking back", but really it's down to him once again feeling undervalued/unacknowledged by the fact that the guard didn't fear him enough to keep his mouth shut, even though he was completely cowed and impotent in the wake of Marlo's power. His initial revenge against Omar is smarter (but more horrifying) than anything Avon or Stringer ever came up with, but Omar gets the ultimate revenge by damaging the one thing that Marlo truly cares about - his name/reputation. Chris and Snoop keeping Omar's insults from Marlo shows that even they don't truly understand Marlo, even though they were correct in keeping him from falling into Omar's trap and going out to face him in the street. Omar basically set up a no-win situation for Marlo, and victory is ultimately his. What was the initial revenge against Omar again anyway? I can't recall and I'm not that far along yet.
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Apr 1, 2013 06:05
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Frostwerks posted:What was the initial revenge against Omar again anyway? I can't recall and I'm not that far along yet. Killing Butchie. Or was it shooting the delivery lady and framing him for it? Either one was loving ruthless and I couldn't imagine Avon or Stringer doing it, because they were of an older, a somewhat more respectable (comparatively) generation than Marlo's. escape artist fucked around with this message at 06:59 on Apr 1, 2013 |
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Apr 1, 2013 06:54
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escape artist posted:Killing Butchie. I think the delivery lady was first. Not to mention putting a bounty on his head. As for Butching, they also tortured him before killing him.
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Apr 1, 2013 07:04
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Stringer knew Butchie and his connection to Omar but was still classy enough not to exploit it like Marlo did. It's at Butchie's bar that Stringer sets Omar after Brother Mouzone (though he still required Joe to set up the parlay - perhaps it was only his relationship with Joe that kept him from doing anything, or maybe he was just smart enough to know that killing Butchie would be more trouble than its worth).
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Apr 1, 2013 07:12
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BattleCake posted:I think the delivery lady was first. Not to mention putting a bounty on his head. As for Butching, they also tortured him before killing him. I know the order of the events and everything that happened, I was just wondering what he meant when he said "initial revenge"? My issue was about whether or not he asking about revenge for the poker game or the huge heist at the end of Season 4. Sorry, I could have made that clearer. cletepurcel posted:Stringer knew Butchie and his connection to Omar but was still classy enough not to exploit it like Marlo did. It's at Butchie's bar that Stringer sets Omar after Brother Mouzone (though he still required Joe to set up the parlay - perhaps it was only his relationship with Joe that kept him from doing anything, or maybe he was just smart enough to know that killing Butchie would be more trouble than its worth). It's funny, if he just killed Butchie, he probably would have succeeded in drawing out Omar, and Stringer would have never been killed by Mouzone and Omar. But I think that it was a generational thing. Butchie was a respected, retired gangster-- moved a little dope, I think, but other than that, he was retired. Marlo had no disregard for the rules. Could you imagine Marlo ever getting upset about the Sunday truce like Avon did? It goes to the point that everyone (including David Simon) always makes that Marlo represents end-stage capitalism-- devoid of respect and rules, just ruthless and cutthroat. (As an aside: I was thinking of closing this thread and saying that Jerusalem and I had a dispute over episode write-ups, so I was no longer participating... and then letting you all have enough time to read it and stew for a day... and then re-opening it and posting the next episode. But you know what stopped me from doing it?? The fact that I don't want to take a break from talking about this show. I loving love reading about and talking about this show.) escape artist fucked around with this message at 07:28 on Apr 1, 2013 |
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Apr 1, 2013 07:23
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I was talking about the delivery lady in regards to Marlo's initial revenge - it's a surprisingly clever but utterly deplorable method of getting Omar where he wanted him. Like Omar used the police to get to Avon, Marlo uses the police to get to Omar, but in an incredibly cold-blooded way. Rather than wasting his men's time searching for Omar or putting a big bounty on his head ala Avon, he just kills some poor woman and makes sure Omar gets the blame, so the cops are out hunting for Omar instead. It's an elegant solution, because either Omar goes to ground/leaves town or he gets caught, either way he's not gunning after Marlo and his crew. Once caught, Marlo will know EXACTLY where Omar is at all times, and can send in his men/put on the bounty in a far more effective method than Avon's. Of course, he didn't take into account the idea that Omar would have his own support network inside the prison, or that he'd be able to wriggle his way out of what seemed an airtight case. Like Avon, his desire for revenge/paranoia over his reputation ends up backfiring on him.
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Apr 1, 2013 08:42
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Christ, I thought people were kidding when they said this show would ruin other TV for you. I was watching The Walking Dead recently and found myself rolling my eyes at how heavy-handed the storytelling was in one episode. Thanks a lot, David Simon 
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Apr 2, 2013 19:24
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HelmetCheese posted:Christ, I thought people were kidding when they said this show would ruin other TV for you. I was watching The Walking Dead recently and found myself rolling my eyes at how heavy-handed the storytelling was in one episode. Thanks a lot, David Simon I'm notorious in the Breaking Bad thread for making criticisms and everybody likes to jump on me and add "BECAUSE THE WIRE DID THIS INSTEAD" comments. I try to explain to them that I still love Breaking Bad, but it's flaws are more apparent because of how good of a show it is. You hold certain shows to higher standards.
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Apr 2, 2013 23:18
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Hey escape artist... is that write-up coming any time soon? 
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Apr 2, 2013 23:45
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Jerusalem posted:Hey escape artist... is that write-up coming any time soon? Yes. edit: (I couldn't resist) "Jerusalem used my name? In the thread? Did he call me a punk? Yo, when we get out of here, let everybody know, word did not get back to me. Escape Artist will step to anybody-- Jerusalem, Aatrek, Lowtax, whoever. My name is my name!" escape artist fucked around with this message at 01:43 on Apr 3, 2013 |
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Apr 2, 2013 23:54
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Without further ado: Season 1, Episode 12 Cleaning Up The episode begins with Daniels' exiting Kima's hospital room to meet the McNulty in the lobby. Kima is stabilized, but is in and out of conciousness due to the strong pain medication that is being administered. Daniels suggests McNulty go in and see her. Daniels says McNulty can either go back to work, or go pay his respects to Kima, but cannot remaining moping around in the lobby. McNulty says "gently caress the case" and Daniels is surprised that, now, at this point, McNulty wants to "call off his crusade." McNulty explains that the case was only a way for him to show demonstrate his intelligence and expose the faults within the BPD. "It was never about Avon Barksdale... it was all about me" McNulty says. Daniels is quick to respond that everyone knew that, while McNulty says the brass was correct the whole time-- Burrell, Rawls, everyone was right that the case didn't mean anything from the beginning. Daniels explains to McNulty that now, after Kima's shooting, the case is personal, and it will be proceeding with or without him (and his liquor smell and self-pity).  The credits roll and we are given the opening epigraph, which is from Wallace. As we've all seen the show before, I'd like to point out a pattern I noticed: whenever a major character is going to be killed in an episode, they are the ones who are quoted in the epigraph. Wallace, D'Angelo, Stringer and Snoop, come to mind immediately.  D'Angelo runs his shop with Bodie and Poot in the pit, fretting that they cannot get anyone on the phone about a re-up, and that they are about to tap out. Bodie goes through D'Angelo's bags and notices a curious item: fish food. Stringer arrives with a solemn look on his face. He collects everyone's pagers and says that no pay phones or pagers are going to use. Cell phones are given to Bodie and D'Angelo only, and they are instructed to memorize three numbers -- one for muscle, one for re-ups, and one for Stringer-- and to only use the phones to set up face to face meetings. The bust of the main stash house has certainly rattled the usually calm and collected Russell Bell. Stringer departs and D'Angelo chases him down, informing him that they are in desperate need of a re-up.  "Re-up from where?" Stringer asks D'Angelo, informing him that the police have seized all the drugs from the main stash. Back in the detail's headquarters, Lester helps Shardene put in her new contact lenses, so that she can identify faces. "Dang, you all are focused." Shardene says excitedly, now being able to see well without glasses. "What man wouldn't be?" Lester, smooth as ever, manages to turn her benign statement into a remark about Shardene's beauty. Herc and Sydnor lock eyes and smile about Lester's brazen comments. McNulty enters the room and looks at the computers, noticing all the wiretaps have been interrupted. Lester gets him up to speed, telling him that there has been no activity since the bust of the main stash, and that Prez is downtown looking for finance reports. McNulty seems to panic, but Lester is just as calm as ever. He introduces the new CI to McNulty. As Shardene tells Lester how scared she is, the stoic detective calms her down, and then gets her some coffee-- he knows exactly how she prefers it. Back at Orlando's, Avon is panicking, while meeting with Levy and Stringer. Levy suggests "cleaning up"-- explaining how Avon needs to distance himself and sever all ties from anyone who can hurt him. Levy suggests the witness that they turned, the security lady, Nakeesha Lyles. Without explicitly saying so, Levy is telling Avon to kill Nakeesha, and anyone else that can hurt him. Avon is confident that Nakeesha is fine, because she's been paid off... Levy steers him otherwise. This is a point where the audience is made to realize just how much of a scumbag Levy is. Avon would not have greenlit Nakeesha, without his lawyer's advice. Levy departs after making himself clear, saying "the less I hear, the better."  Avon and Stringer go down the list of everyone connected to them. Wee-Bey is a rock. Bird will stand tall. Savino can handle a 3 year jail sentence. Little Man is dead. "Who else" Avon asks? Daniels is in Burrell's office, along with Major Reed. Daniels stands up to him, invigorated by his friend and colleagues nearly fatal shooting, saying that he is going to keep the case moving forward. Burrell says it's not up to him. Burrell decides to let him keep a few detectives-- "the old guy from the pawn-shop unit and Valchek's braindead son-in-law." Burrell has no idea that these two detectives have blossomed in the past three months.  Major Reed laughs at Deputy's Burrell's decision, as Lt. Daniels smirks subtly, knowing that the detectives Burrell thinks are useless are in fact the opposite. Burrell says that Daniels needs to brief him on anything else that happens with the case, and that if he plays his cards right, he can get promoted to Major, as the Northwestern commander is retiring soon. In state's attorney Demper's office, Rhonda Pearlman is informed about all the extra stuff that Freamon has been hiding from her, investigating campaign finance reports. "You got back doored too, huh?" Demper remarks. Demper gives Rhonda some paperwork that shows several checks, for campaign contributions, have been returned. This implies Demper knows the money is dirty and though despite Rhonda not having any idea about what is going on, she is instructed to take the paperwork to the detail to clear Demper's name. (Note: This is the first appearance of State's Attorney Demper. He appears twice in season 3 and once in season 4, as he loses the election to Rupert Bond.) D'Angelo arrives to a meet with Stringer and Avon in the strip club. D'Angelo's expression turns grim when he realizes that he has been called up so that Stringer can "holler at" Wallace. D'Angelo, indignant, stands up to his superiors Avon and Stringer (much like Daniels finally stands up to Burrell and Reed) and says to "let the boy be." As D'Angelo exits, Shardene stares at him, with her newly corrected vision. Shardene begins to play with her hair, and then we cut to the surveillance van outside. Shardene has a wire in her hair. Sydnor and Herc discuss chili dogs, very loudly, and Freamon tells them to be quiet. Avon meets with a couple of his underlings who have been waiting outside the office, and thus are being recorded by the wire in Shardene's hair. He scolds them: "you niggas talk to drat much." We cut to a murder scene. A couple of officers, the first-responders, discuss the victim: she was a civilian security guard. "She wasn't armed, or nothing?"  Cut back to the strip club, Shardene departs and frantically runs to the van as Lester laments that there is no reason for Shardene to be in the office, where the wire might actually be effective. The next day, Bodie and D'Angelo greet Wallace-- who has taken a bus back to Baltimore. Bodie and Wallace and Poot discuss meaningless stuff-- stuff that children their age should be discussing-- getting girls and shopping for shoes. Wallace wants back counting the money; Bodie chastises him and says that he has to start out at the bottom of the totem pole; D says Wallace can be back on the money if he wants to, but he may be considering a return to school. D'Angelo instructs Wallace to walk with him. Poot says "You didn't cornhole no animal for real, did you?"  It's a bittersweet moment, as those of us who have seen the show realize, this is basically the last moment of any of these kids' innocence (Bodie, Wallace and Poot). Bunk delivers the news of Nakeesha's murder-- Detective Garvey has caught the case, but isn't going to tell the bosses about the witness angle until he's got solid evidence. McNulty realizes Avon is cleaning up. It's at this moment that Freamon realizes that Wallace is in danger.  His face says it. Then Bunk vocalizes it. Bunk wonders why Wallace hasn't been "grand juried" yet-- Kima's shooting led to everyone forgetting about Wallace... everyone in the unit, at least. Stringer certainly hasn't forgotten. The plan is to pick up Wallace and he will sleep on Daniels' couch, and see the grand jury in the morning. Shardene will be protected by Freamon. Daniels tells Freamon to remember who he is, and Freamon makes a double entendre: "protect... and serve!" Wallace is back in the courtyard and D'Angelo tries to dissuade him from staying. D'Angelo, much like the police in the previous scene, are looking out for Wallace, given recent situations. Brianna Barksdale stops by and brings D lunch-- spicy fish cakes on crackers with mustard. He kisses his mother goodbye, and returns to talk to Wallace. Wallace thinks Brianna is D's "new girl". When asking where the food came from-- a place called Sterling's-- D'Angelo says "Don't you know anything?" Wallace remarks with the epigraph: "if it ain't west side, I don't know poo poo... This is me yo, right here." A declaration of loyalty which will do nothing to save him in the end. Daniels meets with Burrell again, this time with Senator Clay Davis. Burrell wants to know what's up with the campaign finance reports, and Clay declares that he will "help" with whatever he can. When it's made clear that Daniels will not lay down, Clayton becomes indignant: "Erv will you explain to this motherfucker what the gently caress it is he is doing here." We get a glimpse into the politics of Baltimore: "We don't care about who gives us the money... we just cash the checks, count the votes, and move on." Clay says. He scolds Burrell, saying that he is taking money from the Mayor, and other prominent politicians.  Befuddled Burrell. Back with the detail, Herc has received the results of the Sgt's exam: Herc is 18 on the list-- 19 spots ahead of Carver, who constantly harped on Carv to study. This scene is important in retrospect, but not at first glance: we find out Carver is absent because he is training elsewhere. (This is why Burrell is not getting all the updates like he normally would; Carver is the mole in the detail.) Daniels congratules Sgt. Hawk. The mood quickly turns somber: the police in the county have informed Daniels that Wallace left 2 days ago. Back in the Franklin Terrace Projects, Stringer beckons Bodie to his car. Bodie informs Stringer of what has been up with Wallace lately-- something D refused to do. (Here's a parallel to think about : Stringer -- D'Angelo -- Bodie are like Burrell -- Daniels -- Carver. Both D'Angelo and Daniels refuse to take orders lying down from their superiors, Stringer and Burrell, respectively. But each one is undermined by someone below them in the chain of command-- D'Angelo undermined by Bodie who squawks to Stringer, just like Daniels is undermined by Carver who squawks to Burrell.) Stringer asks Bodie if he is dedicated, strong and if he has a gun. The implication is obvious: Bodie is to kill Wallace for Stringer. Bodie puts up a front for Stringer, but when he departs, Bodie is visibly disturbed. (Consider how Carver explains his snitching to Daniels: "Burrell is the Deputy loving Ops.) Both of these institutions run on fear.  Daniels and McNulty go to where Wallace and Poot used to live. They notice that there is no longer a power cord, nor are there juice boxes in the refrigerator: the place is not vacant. We are shown that Wallace and Poot are now living elsewhere. Wallace brings home some chinese food to feed the kids, and Poot smiles to himself as he watches how good Wallace is at taking care of the kids (despite Wallace only being a kid himself.)   (A couple of warm family photos, before the poo poo hits the fan...) Back at the details' HQ, everyone discusses the search for Wallace. Santangelo is sent back to Homicide, confident that he will not be punished by Rawls for not snitching. (Next episode we'll see Rawls busts him back, and Sanny is downgraded from detective to officer.) Freamon has blueprints for Orlando's, and says that Shardene is going to help them figure out where to put a remote mic and possibly a fiber optic camera. He explains to the "draft-dodging peace freaks" the military step -- the Quick Time. More info, if you really care, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_step Bodie informs Poot of Stringer's orders. When Poot asks "Why?" Bodie replies simply: "because the man said so, that's why." Poot explains: "Wallace ain't no snitch." Bodie explains that they have to follow the orders-- "that's the game." Poot watches the kids that Wallace looks after gleefully playing in the pit.  Rhonda arrives and confronts Daniels about the scolding she received from Demper. "Have you ever heard of a Baltimore politician giving money back?" All of the addresses are Eastside, so Freamon and Daniels are unaware if they are Barksdale's money. Rhonda admits that they have scared the bosses, and asks why she wasn't informed of the details of an investigation of which she is an ongoing participant. "Aren't you better off that we didn't?" Lester asks, rhetorically. Shardene practices the military step outside of the office. Rhonda gives everyone a confused look and departs. Bodie, Wallace and Poot have lunch, and Wallace reminisces about his childhood, and how his alcoholic mother used to put rum into the drinks she ordered from this place. Poot says "there wasn't much she didn't put it into." Bodie derides Wallace for talking about his mother. Wallace tells Bodie that he doesn't have to act like a tough guy all the time. Bodie asks Wallace if he is a boy or a man? Wallace says that he is a man, and then asks "what are we going to do-- go have some fun?" At Orlando's Shardene has done her deed. She tells Lester exactly where Avon's office is located on the buildings blueprints. As Herc writes down all her measurements, (future math teacher) Prez already has made the calculations in his head. You might find that a lot of these moments are just coincidences, but they are not. Simon had all 5 seasons mapped out at the beginning of the show (but at the same time, had each season mostly self-contained, in case HBO ever cancelled them-- which almost happened, many times). Since the adjacent wall to Avon's office is a vacant building, there is no need for judicial authorization to bug Avon's office. Wallace, Bodie and Poot are dropped off by a man who wants $15 for the ride, but Bodie only gives him $10. Wallace laughs, blissfully unaware, at Bodie's defiance. In the vacant building next to Avon's office, Herc drills a hole and Lester tells him that it only needs to be the size of a regular finger-- not a giant sausage finger like Herc's. Herc says "You know what big hands mean?" and repeats it again. The commentators on the DVD say the first time he says it is not funny, but the second time is what makes it funny. (Note: this episode was written by George Pelecanos, an acclaimed crime novelist, who writes many of the penultimate episodes of each season. You should check out some of his books. They are fun and very Wire-ish.) McNulty arrives and says that they have a fresh address for Wallace's mother. McNulty and Daniels depart in a hurry. Wallace looks around for the children he takes care of, and Bodie and Poot follow him from behind. He can't find them downstairs, so he goes upstairs. Bodie follows Wallace upstairs while Poot remains at the bottom of the stairs, with a reluctant countenance. Bodie motions for him to continue.    Make note of the way this scene is shot, because it is deliberately paralleling a scene later in the episodePoot follows Bodie up the stairs. It's time. Wallace enters a room and is cornered. Bodie pulls out his gun. Bodie calls Wallace weak, among other things. Tears are welling up in Poot's eyes. After a protracted statement by Bodie about what Wallace should have done to prevent this, Poot has had enough-- "Just do it goddammit if you're going to." he yells at Bodie.  The gun is shaking in Bodie's hands before he pulls the trigger. And after he does, he is shocked. Wallace groans after being shot. Poot steps up, and shows that he is actually "more of a man" than Bodie-- as he puts two bullets in Wallace, in rapid succession, to finish him off.  Note how Poot holds the gun correctly, as Bodie holds it the way he's likely seen people do in the movies. (Even after having seen this show 10 times over, I have to say that the acting in this scene by J.D. Williams, Trey Chaney, and Michael Jordan is spectacular-- Bodie, Poot and Wallace, respectively.) McNulty and Daniels arrive to meet Wallace's mother, who is up past 3am, very drunk. She says that she's looking for him to, because he took $10 from her recently, presumably for heroin. She says that if he sees him, she will "slap the bright out of his eyes." A haunting line. Wallace never had a chance. McNulty futilely gives Wallace's mother his card. Avon enters Orlando's the next morning, and is being recorded by Freamon and Prez. Prez and Freamon are disappointed-- Avon is packing everything up and leaving the office. Meanwhile, Poot pays a girl to call 911 and say "there's an animal hurt inside the house" so that Wallace's body is found. D'Angelo enters Avon's office and is instructed to run down to NYC to pick up some heroin, an emergency supply to hold them over for the time being. D'Angelo's face shows reluctance, but he agrees to do it anyway. Freamon calls McNulty and gives him the good news-- they've finally got something real. Bunk is the primary once Wallace's body is discovered. He is not shaken at all by the sight of a young dead black man in Baltimore, but once he realizes it is the one who was essential to his friend's case, he lets out an audible expression of his disappointment: "poo poo!"  Sydnor puts a GPS tracking device on the car that D will use to make the drug pick-up. Daniels receives a phone call about the murder of Wallace. McNulty utters one word: "Wallace?" and from the expression on Daniel's face as he nods yes, he can deduce what has happened. Back in the vacant building, Prez eats some chicken wings and uses the Baltimore Sun to absorb the excess grease. He tosses it in the trash, and something catches Lester's eyes. He pulls the filthy newspaper out of the trash and reads it, an expression of intrigue on his face.  "Poor loving kid" laments Daniels, who is sitting in the car with McNulty, as they surveil D'Angelo. "With Wallace gone, that's Stringer out of the box." McNulty doesn't care about the kid like Daniels does, he only cares about the case. Daniels is visibly disgusted. D'Angelo emerges from his apartment and McNulty realizes D'Angelo was in his apartment the entire time just to change his clothes, he points out to Daniels, in astonishment. "Boy had to get himself correct." Daniels states plainly. With the GPS tracker, there is no need to follow D'Angelo. He is picked up on the way back to Baltimore, after staying in NYC for only 30 minutes. As D'Angelo is placed in handcuffs, McNulty, Daniels, Herc and Carver pull up. D'Angelo realizes he has been caught, dead to rights.  In the interrogation room, Daniels and McNulty try to talk to D'Angelo. D won't budge-- he only wants his lawyers. McNulty explains that despite D'Angelo having done nothing wrong, D will take the heat for Avon's gently caress-up. McNulty also points out that Levy puts Avon's interest before D's. It doesn't matter to D-- he's not saying a word. As they leave, McNulty informs D of Wallace's death. An incredulous D'Angelo thinks it's another one of McNulty's games. Brianna chastises her brother, for his carelessness which led to D'Angelo's arrest. "He should have been trailing a mule. Haven't you ever heard of a trap car?" Brianna demonstrates her knowledge of the game. Avon apologizes, and after an anti-Semitic remark about Levy, Brianna expresses her confidence that D'Angelo will not flip. Stringer and Levy meet with D'Angelo and says that he was the one who didn't gently caress up. Stringer says "then who did?" D'Angelo is skeptical about their ability to help him... and wants to know one thing: where is Wallace? Stringer tells him to shut up. A wonderful (and improvised) performance by Larry Gilliard Jr. makes this scene noteworthy: he screams at Stringer and Levy and tells them to get the gently caress out of there. Yes, this classic and powerful scene, was in fact improvised by the actor portraying D'Angelo. Daniels is meeting with Burrell, and the Deputy tells the Lieutenant that it is time to wrap up the case. When Burrell says that Daniels didn't brief him on the new wire, Daniels snidely says "I thought your little bird told you everything." Burrell, furious about the campaign finance reports and feeling pressure from his political superiors, instructs Burrell to shut it down. Daniels says he would have done this before, to help cover up the dirt, but not after Kima is shot. Daniels doesn't play the game that way anymore. Burrell counters with his report about Daniels' thievery during his time in the Eastern district, threatening to destroy his career. Burrell flaunts the binder full of FBI field reports and threatens to put Daniels in jail.  "This case is done." Daniels calls his bluff. He says that Burrell fears nothing more than a "bad headline." "You can order us to serve warrants, but as long as I have days left on those dead wires, this case will go on." Daniels has grown a spine, and a strong one at that. Burrell is surprised. Daniels salutes him and exits the room. The SWAT team gathers outside Orlando's, ready to arrest Avon. Stringer and Avon watch on security cameras and laugh "look at these delta force motherfuckers." Stringer is already on the phone with Levy, who will meet them at the courthouse. Avon opens up the safe-- he is frugal, and the police can have the $150,000 inside of it. He doesn't want them to have to destroy it. Meanwhile, Daniels and McNulty have similar feelings about the SWAT team. McNulty says "What, do they think it's Tony Montana up there?" (Dominic Williams British accent slips through when he says Montana). McNulty proposes that he and Daniels make the arrest themselves. Daniels agrees, and orders the SWAT team to stand down. Avon and Stringer turn around, and put their hands behind their backs. They are willing to go peacefully. Daniels cuffs Avon. McNulty looks at Stringer and says "catch you later." Stringer and Avon exchanged confused looks. Daniels leads Avon down the stairs in handcuffs. Here is the parallel scene I mentioned earlier. Remember Bodie instructing the reluctant Poot to follow him up the stairs to kill Wallace? Daniels instructs the reluctant McNulty to follow him down the stairs, leaving Stringer.   McNulty follows, without Stringer. Back at the detail's HQ, Freamon pins the Baltimore Sun to the board, and says nothing. There was deliberately no dialogue here. The camera simply pans from the cover of the Sun to the cluster of Avon's vacant property, almost identical images. (In exchange for campaign contributions, Avon has been given tips as to what vacant properties to buy-- he's been tipped off about a redevelopment downtown. Meaning, he can flip the property for a much higher price than what he bought it for. This way, both Avon and the politicians get paid.)  Sydnor informs Prez and Freamon that Barksdale has been arrested. Freamon updates the bulletin board:  They all gaze at the board and Sydnor remarks "this is the best work" he's ever been involved with, but he can't shake the feeling that "it's not enough. . . it just ain't finished." Freamon shakes Sydnor's hand and walks away. Prez shoots a smile at Sydnor.  The detectives depart.  The final shot of this episode shows the pit, which has been decimated by the police's activity. The iconic orange couch, for the first time, is empty. The credits roll and the familiar song plays. 
escape artist fucked around with this message at 09:34 on Apr 3, 2013 |
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Apr 3, 2013 03:29
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This was an excellent episode, thanks for the write-up, escape artist! Something I really noticed is how Stringer plays Bodie - when he first arrives at the Pit with the cell phones, Bodie tries to say hello and Stringer deliberately snubs him BUT also makes special point of mentioning that Bodie is one of the trusted few to have a phone (if I remember right he also scares Poot away, showing his place in the pecking order). He then organizes a separate meeting with Bodie later, which Bodie is obviously concerned but also highly flattered by. It's clear Bodie sees Stringer's order re: Wallace as a very important test of his "manhood" and his place in the Barksdale Organization. escape artist mentions that like Carver he really had no choice but to agree, but like Carver he sees the benefits in it for himself, as well as feeling flattered/overwhelmed by the attention of such an important person. Remember it was Stringer who decided to float the notion to D'Angelo of getting Bodie out of the Juvenile Detention Facility - he's marked Bodie as somebody with potential, and for Bodie this is the kind of positive attention that has probably been lacking all his life from male role models. I noticed that Bodie holds the gun in a very stereotypical way when he confronts Wallace, but that as he argues with Wallace (and wrestles with his own conscience) the grip shifts to a more appropriate one. I feel like this represents Bodie's realization of the reality of the situation - this isn't something out of a movie or a T.V show, this is his friend. When he shoots him he's clearly overwhelmed, and it's Poot who steps up to finish things off (which cements their friendship/bonds forever in my mind). The troubling thing with Poot is how quickly he gets over things like this - we saw how he handled seeing Brandon's corpse as opposed to Wallace, and now we see how once they're committed to Wallace's death he accepts it and steps up to join/bond with his other friend. He at least has the decency to have somebody report the corpse, but it is a little scary to see how easily Poot puts these things behind him. Think about season 5 when he talks to Dukie and casually mentions he was in the drug game but just decided to leave - he's murdered one friend, seen another die, been to prison and been complicit in the torture and murder of another person and yet... he just kind of moves on. The parallel between Bodie and Poot on the stairs against Daniels and McNulty later in the episode is just fantastic, it really is.
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Apr 3, 2013 04:29
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I love how Herc and Carver just cannot loving believe that Lester is managing to hook up with Shardene. I mean who can blame them. Something I didn't notice until this rewatch: Clay explaining how he doesn't care who gives him money is basically a less flamboyant version of the same thing he tells Royce in season 4. "I'll take any motherfucker's money if he GIVIN' it away!" All these years later and this is still one of the hardest episodes to watch. Everyone notes the scene in season 2 where Bodie goes to Philly and is utterly baffled at the city having different radio stations, but this episode shows Wallace's world is even more isolated: he hasn't even been outside the West Side by the looks of things. The scene which kills me on rewatch now is the last scene before Wallace is killed, where they're eating hot dogs (I wonder if there's a reason there are two scenes with hot dogs, one funny and one tragic, here) and Bodie asks Wallace if he's a man. I read it as Bodie trying to give Wallace one last subtle warning about what's coming. Also holy poo poo I never made the connection between Carver snitching to Burrell and Bodie killing Wallace. Really adds another layer to their parallel journeys - Carver gradually learns the truth about being "good police" and becomes the new Daniels, Bodie gradually realizes the truth about the Game and ends up just like Wallace. Both characters the first time you watch this season don't appear sympathetic at all, but end up two of the most well rounded characters on the series. grading essays nude fucked around with this message at 04:41 on Apr 3, 2013 |
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Apr 3, 2013 04:36
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cletepurcel posted:I read it as Bodie trying to give Wallace one last subtle warning about what's coming. I feel that this was Bodie continuing to try to justify the deed to himself - they'd taken Wallace out for one last good time together but the entire time he rides him because he wants to fool himself that he truly believes AND is truly disgusted by the fact that Wallace isn't a real man and he wouldn't be able to survive in the game and that Bodie is maybe even doing him a favor because he doesn't belong and this would have happened eventually anyway and also it's Wallace's own fault for not staying away etc, etc.
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Apr 3, 2013 04:41
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Such a great episode. Great recap, too. Levy's what really stands out for me here. Yeah, the Wallace death scene was great, but Levy's understated little death warrant for the guard was so damned... drat. That's why he could punk DeAngelo the way he did after Dee got pulled in and started writing that letter- with the Barksdale gang, he was basically a co-conspirator for some while. He kept close enough to just keep himself clean on the heavy poo poo like the murders.
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Apr 3, 2013 04:49
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So I finally tried Utz crab chips. They're really good chips. Not just the flavor either. Like the actual chip has a great crunch and a good texture.
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Apr 3, 2013 06:06
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Something else I like is that Freamon finally has to sit on stake-out like Sydnor, Carver and Herc etc have to do and he loses his goddamn mind in the space of a few minutes  True, Herc and Sydnor were having an incredibly asinine conversation while he was trying to listen to Shardene's wire, but these guys are used to the drudgery and boredom of a stakeout and use things like that to fight off the boredom. It was neat to see the boot on the other foot and see how he took this aspect of "the Job!"
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Apr 3, 2013 06:31
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Frostwerks posted:So I finally tried Utz crab chips. They're really good chips. Not just the flavor either. Like the actual chip has a great crunch and a good texture. Utz makes fantastic chips. The crab flavored ones are great, but most of them are good. It's a shame I can't get them in my state. One time, when I was flush with money and on a Wire binge (before Season 4 even aired), I went to their website and ordered 4 bags of chips for like $22. Jerusalem posted:Something else I like is that Freamon finally has to sit on stake-out like Sydnor, Carver and Herc etc have to do and he loses his goddamn mind in the space of a few minutes Well, he's used to drudgery too-- pawn shop unit, anyone? But he takes the case seriously, and knows that all the pieces matter... unlike the other two. Luckily, Sydnor grows into a good detective by the end of the show.
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Apr 3, 2013 06:34
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At least with the Pawn Shop Unit, when he wasn't doing the paperwork he could work on his miniature furniture. Here, he's got no choice but to just sit there and listen to low level enforcers trying to pick up strippers or strippers gossiping, plus white noise inane conversations from Sydnor and Herc who are trying to find a way to pass the time (like they're so used to). Seeing him out of his comfort zone was pretty neat, especially given how little regard he seems to have for sending Herc, Carver and even Sydnor out to 8-12 hour shifts.
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Apr 3, 2013 06:42
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Frostwerks posted:So I finally tried Utz crab chips. They're really good chips. Not just the flavor either. Like the actual chip has a great crunch and a good texture. The original Grandma Utz's lard-fried ones are the best, but you can only eat a few at a time. Crab chips are my favorite of their normal flavors. Old Bay is great on popcorn too. Jerusalem posted:The troubling thing with Poot is how quickly he gets over things like this - we saw how he handled seeing Brandon's corpse as opposed to Wallace, and now we see how once they're committed to Wallace's death he accepts it and steps up to join/bond with his other friend. He at least has the decency to have somebody report the corpse, but it is a little scary to see how easily Poot puts these things behind him. Think about season 5 when he talks to Dukie and casually mentions he was in the drug game but just decided to leave - he's murdered one friend, seen another die, been to prison and been complicit in the torture and murder of another person and yet... he just kind of moves on. It really plays up the dehumanizing aspect of the drug trade (and institutions/capitalism/etc. etc.) that the two people who manage to escape, well one for certain- Poot, and Marlo's fate is sort of left up in the air, are the two who exhibit the least amount of empathy, nostalgia, etc. that traps everyone else. Alec Bald Snatch fucked around with this message at 07:23 on Apr 3, 2013 |
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Apr 3, 2013 07:17
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