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Wire Finale

09 Mar 2008 10:38 pm

Wow. The newspaper plot was still hokie, but in essence all is forgiven and season five delivered in the end. Best show ever.

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Comments (80)

The newspaper plot was totally worth it if only for that scene where McNulty chews out Templeton.

Utterly depressing. I think I'll go watch Terms of Endearment to pick up my spirits.

Why is the Wire the best show ever? Dukie and Herc. The way they let those two character's stories finish would never be allowed by the rules that govern TV dramas. Of course, the fact that they still ended it that way is probably why the Wire ended up barely surviving in the first place. I guess David Simon proves that TV is part of "the game" too.

I think that was the only finale (of a TV series I loved) that ended in a satisfying manner.

I tired an episode well into the series and it did not work for me. Not surprising I guess since I did not have all the background and nuance, which, I assume, is why it is indeed good. It has that jerky camera thing that makes me a bit nauseous (Blair Which project…so yesterday). Though, based on Matt’s recommendation, I’m going to rent the first season and take it from there.

All hail Commissioner Valchek!! The only problem with the last episode is that we didn't see everyone's favorite Atlantic reader, Brother Muzone, back at work on the streets.

Best last episode of any show ever, also -- displacing, in my heart, the finales of "Newhart" and (letting my geek flag fly) "Star Trek: The Next Generation".

Right to the end, also, the amazing eye for little details: leaving the hi-rise party to get back to the streets, Marlo hits both the up and down elevator buttons -- he hasn't spent enough time in tall buildings to know that that strategy can be counterproductive. (And if I'm not mistaken, just before the cut we see him getting in an "up" elevator.")

Random comments:

No justice for Butchie? That shit ain't right.
At least Tall Man got Cheese. Cheese had it coming for a long time.

But Dookie becoming a ragged ass, face scratching junkie over a day or two? That's a bit of a stretch even if you live in a stable. But I understand it had to fit into the plot the way that it did.

Prezbo should get the beard of the year award by the way. That thing was Majestic and left me with serious beard envy.

Best show ever.

Oh, indeed.

Exactly, best show ever.

Did you folks stay on to watch the teaser for The Adventures of President Grizzly Adams? After the music cue, the first words on the screen are:

"Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning book by David McCullough".

The Wire -- it's brilliant even after it's over!

I missed Brother Mouzon too but I figured since he is actually more a part of the New York scene than it would have been a bit of a stretch.

Not only do the 5 seasons of The Wire represent the greatest achievement in television history, The Wire stands with the Godfather movies as one of the greatest film achievements in American culture. I’d even go so far as to say it’s one of the greatest American achievements in narrative art, to rival Hemingway, Sinclair and Twain.

hmmm, all seemed terribly rushed to me: didn't we see all the slightly embarrassing plot machinations of a conventional police procedural deployed to get us out? and simon is the worst dialogue writer of an of the main writers.

that said, The Wire is stuff this white person likes.

The show was ok, not great. A solid B. That last montage was a mix of the finale of "Six Feet Under" and "Animal House." Sure, it tied up a lot of loose ends, but what made the Wire so great was its *refusal* to tie up loose ends. This was way too conventional. For a truly subversive and true-to-itself last episode, I still go w. Sopranos or even Seinfeld.

mrbubbs, did you see the finale of Six Feet Under? that was also a completely fulfilling and satisfying ending

In fairness, that's probably the best ending they could have made given the amount of ends in need of tying. But for the amount of goings-on in that hour and a half, they probably could have made a full Season 6.

In fairness, that's probably the best ending they could have made given the amount of story they needed to relate. But with the amount of goings-on in that hour and a half, they probably could have made a full Season 6.

Sure, it tied up a lot of loose ends, but what made the Wire so great was its *refusal* to tie up loose ends. This was way too conventional.

I don't think The Wire embraced loose ends so much as it disavowed conventional happy - or at least satisfactory - endings. If you go back over each of the previous 4 seasons, there is a general end to the major story arc, albeit one that may be less than satisfactory. Season 1 had Barksdale's imprisonment (if only for a fraction of what it was worth); Season 2 cleared the 14 Jane Does and neatly ended the Port story, although Frank Sobatka gets offed and the future of the Port remains bleak; Season 3 saw the end of Stringer Bell, but with his death, not arrest, to the dismay of McNulty.

This season is no different. There is closure, if not finality, to many story lines, but certainly not in a way that is uplifting.

So I think this season was very much in line with the rest of The Wire, and I thought it was a great ending to a great show.

I hate to disagree with Stringer, but I'd disagree with his characterization that the The Wire didn't tie up loose ends. Wasn't McNulty's character driven by his desire to tie things up? I'd say the Wire was great because it never felt the need to * resolve * anything. Corruption continues apace and the drug trade never seems to miss a beat.

erict said: "It has that jerky camera thing that makes me a bit nauseous."

Huh? No it doesn't.

Definitely check it out, though-- and you have to watch it from the beginning, episode to episode.

I agree with many: best show ever.

McKingford -- I think we are agreement about the tying up loose ends. In fact, the role of Homicide Police is to tie up a particular loose end but never to stem the tide of death. Look at Kima's and Bunk's last scene -- working another homicide.

andrew -- I never watched Six Feet Under, but it's somewhere on my Netflix queue.

Gotta agree with Matt. This was a surprisingly satisfying ending to an amazing series.

Haven't watched it yet, but planning to. But just in case Matt didn't pick up on it yet, there's a nice interview with Ed Burns over at reason magazine. http://www.reason.com/news/show/125309.html

My wife and I had to hit pause when we saw Commissioner Valcheck, we were laughing so hard. My favorite scene was seeing Bubbles being allowed out of the basement to sit at the table with his sister. Loved Slim Charles taking out Cheese, one of the most annoying and despicable characters on the show.

I think you are bang on mrbubbs. Individual story lines end but in doing so - and in the greater scheme of things, there is no resolution: to the war on drugs, to the corruption, to the urban decay.

Look at this ending, for instance. The initially well-intentioned and high minded city councilor sells out all principles to become governor, and in doing so abandons any chance of achieving the very type of change that motivated him to seek higher office. We get an ending to the police commissioner story, but one - with Valchak - that points to more of the same failed policy. Marlo's "downfall" is simply an opportunity to change leaders of Baltimore's drug trade.

Another example: I have to say that Bubbles was - probably not my favourite - but the most important character in terms of bringing everything together. And although many people might take his story line as a happy one, I don't. Of course he achieves sobriety - which is a happy point - but in the larger picture, what is there for him? He is unskilled entering middle age, with few institutional supports...sobriety may be the *only* good thing that happens for him.

Haven't watched it yet, but planning to. But just in case Matt didn't pick up on it yet, there's a nice interview with Ed Burns over at reason magazine. http://www.reason.com/news/show/125309.html

The show doesn't at all tie up loose ends, though it plays a little of that old Sean Penn movie, Colors, "recycling" theme with Sydnor, the new up-and-coming cop, going to the Phelan for a few favors.

The show was a masterful blend of slices-of-life. There's shit going on in the docks in Season 1,3,4, and 5, as there is school shit in seasons 1,2,3, and 5 and newspapers shit in 1,2,3, and 4 - even if we can't see it. Simon just chooses to pan the camera over to a different canvas each season - occasionally coming back to tie in a story thread.

In the meanwhile, no one can improve the system and survive. Everyone's got ambition (some even noble), but either they've got skeletons (Daniels) or end up having to grift the system to make it better...thereby ending up with skeletons (McNulty, Carceti, Freamon, Pearlman, et al). Either way, they can't beat the system. If you play within the system's rules, you can stay - otherwise, no.

"What are they doing now' montages can end up being sugary. The Wire's is subtly brutal. Freamon and McNulty (and Bunny Colvin) get kicked out of the game. Alma's been exiled. Pearlman sold her soul and got a judgeship, Carceti's governor, Rawls is head of state police and so on. Daniels is a little so-so, no longer head cop, at least he's a lawyer. (It's possible that the Greek and Vondas are the only ones unaffected either way in the entire series!)

And a shitload of people die in the process.

This is in no way an uplifting ending or one with loose ends tied.

I agree with SenderC re: Valcek and the demise of Cheese, but you must admit, just before he left, Cheese was the character who delivered the (or a part of the) summary for the episode and the series. Interesting placement by Simon or whomever.

I don't know anything about the Maryland court system, but didn't Clay Davis having his trial (two episodes ago) days after indictment ring false for anyone else? There was no motion practice at all?

Only seeing Michael for a minute of the episode was an interesting choice, and makes some sense with how he ended 9, but I'm not sure I like it. And I know I didn't like the absence of Bunk from the closing montage.

I assume y'all have seen this. The lede:

For five years, I've begged you to watch the best show on television, but you didn't listen. That's why I've kidnapped you, my closest friends and family members, and locked you here inside my apartment. I know how tired you all are of me telling you about The Wire's deliciously complex plotlines, its unflinching sociological commentary, and its note-perfect gallows humor. Well, I'm tired, too.

I agree with SenderC re: Valcek and the demise of Cheese, but you must admit, just before he left, Cheese was the character who delivered the (or a part of the) summary for the episode and the series. Interesting placement by Simon or whomever.

I agree with SenderC re: Valcek and the demise of Cheese, but you must admit, just before he left, Cheese was the character who delivered the (or a part of the) summary for the episode and the series. Interesting placement by Simon or whomever.

Do you mean best television show ever? Or best show in this series? Because if the former, you are, young man, sadly misinformed. The original Avengers, with Diana Rigg, is Best Series Ever. Too cool to be true. Ironic before ironic was ironically fashionable. The second is the original Twilight Zone. The third is All in the Family, just because of its geopolitical imprint. (A friend of mine's father was cultural minister for Cyprus, who explained that he had to ban to show, because no on understood that Archie Bunker wasn't being played for laughs, but staight up.) Dianna Rigg is Goddess of the Universe, and woe to you that place other above her.

I don't know anything about the Maryland court system, but didn't Clay Davis having his trial (two episodes ago) days after indictment ring false for anyone else? There was no motion practice at all?

I'm a criminal lawyer, so I'm a little more in tune with the way courts work (although not in Maryland), and I often get frustrated at the way the courts or trials are depicted on tv/film [ed. you want a really realistic show about criminal litigators? Have a show where everyone waits around all day getting nothing done - damn would that be realistic...and boring]. Having said that, and bearing in mind the poetic license necessary to pull off the necessary drama, I have very little problem with the way the Clay Davis trial came off.*

I think the mistake here is to look at the depiction of story lines in sequence and in parallel. I don't think it's realistic that Clay Davis would have a trial days after being indicted, but I don't really think that's what the show was trying to convey. The series showed Clay Davis' trial when it was convenient to fit it in, but without suggesting that it was unfolding at the same time or in sequence with the other story lines.

Same with Dukie. Probably unrealistic to think that he's an addict tying off veins the day after Michael drops him off, but I don't think anything about the show says that Dukie showing up at Prezbo's school says it *is* the next day - it could be anytime.

*This is something all those whiny journalists could learn from. I realize that - especially compared to legal dramas - there's little in the way of journalistic dramas or story lines. So when this season put a focus on it the journalists went overboard, nitpicking to death every single detail - because for once, they were watching the one thing they know: their profession. Well, get a grip, and welcome to my world. I've constantly rolled my eyes in disgust at the Slate discussion: there was one time when they went on ad nauseum about Templeton's homeless vet story and how it would never run without first taking 3 weeks to check with the Pentagon about the guy's service record (never mind the fact that the real meat of the story was about homelessness, which needed an immediate story, not about the particulars of his Iraq service record; and of course, the very next week they got their comeuppance when the issue of service records came up and Gus learns it'll take 3 weeks) - which seemed like a criticism that was so picayune that you might as well complain that over the course of 5 seasons on the Wire - they *never* showed someone taking a dump, and yet everyone does it! How unrealistic!

Y'all are so white.

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/2008/03/09/85-the-wire/

'For the past three years, whenever you say “The Wire” white people are required to respond by saying “it’s the best show on television.” Try it the next time you see a white person! Though now they might say “it WAS the best show on television.”'

Y'all are so white.

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/2008/03/09/85-the-wire/

'For the past three years, whenever you say “The Wire” white people are required to respond by saying “it’s the best show on television.” Try it the next time you see a white person! Though now they might say “it WAS the best show on television.”'

DeliciousPundit, great catch. I've been begging my family to start watching this show so I have people to talk about it with. I may have to resort to locking them all in my apt with the box set, when it comes out.

And the finale was stunningly perfect. I loved the Balmer-love that oozed through the whole thing, down to the scenery shots and the glorious, perfect ending montage.

I will miss this show.

"Hokie?" Admit it, you use voice recognition software, don't you? the word is "hokey."

McKingford,

When Marlo was in the holding pen he walked over to a table to tell Chris and the others about his meeting with the lawyer. There was a row of toilets in the background and a guy was sitting on one, taking a dump.

Just sayin'. David Goddamn Simon thinks of everything!

LOL, Woody. Classic - perfect.

LOL, Woody. Classic - perfect.

~

I should also say, apropos something entirely different...

I think people may be giving Slim Charles too much credit for offing Cheese. The only way Marlo's deal works is for Cheese to take the years (20!). No way a guy - on bail, no less - takes 20 years for someone else's convenience...he might as well roll the dice on a trial. Not to mention, no way a guy expecting to do 20 years is chipping in part of $10M for the connect. So while Charles may appear to be doing the right thing, I think there's an unspoken undercurrent there, and Charles is simply making the deal work.

Anyone catch that cameo of David Simon himself in the newsroom? It was about halfway through, they panned across the newsroom and Simon was sitting at the desk with a "Save our Sun" sign on his cubicle. Tight!

I was pretty freakin happy with the finale. It was more optimistic than I expected. Many of the individuals were redeemed, but the institutions were not. So goes the world of The Wire.

Three of the four kids we met in Season 4 have now taken their rightful place as the next incarnations of Bubbles, Omar, etc. (who knows what will happen to Randy, but it probably won't be good). The school system has failed another generation.

I didn't really understand Marlo, though. He just peacefully accepted Levy's arrangement, and became a real-estate developer?! Why? That seemed out of character to me. And then he jumps those guy on the corner... I just didn't get it.

Anyone else want to see a spin-off where McNulty and Freamon move to Miami and become private investigators?? ;)

A couple of points to some responses above: Duquan didn't necessarily become an addict over night- the scene with Duquan shooting up came during the ending montage, when a bunch of other things that obviously happened months later were also depicted (Carcetti as governor, etc.). Yes, he got money for heroin from Prezbo before the montage, but I figure he was doing that on behalf of his new "mentor" and then he became a user himself.

Also, as for Marlo leaving the business schmoozefest and jumping those guys on the corner, it goes back to one of the themes of the show- it's hard to escape the game when it's the only thing you know. It's also that fish out of water aspect, like when Colvin took the kids to the steakhouse in season 4.

Overall, I was very happy with the finale. By The Wire's lofty standards, the season started out weak but it also got better as it built towards a relatively satisfying climax.

I'm suprised no one has pointed out the biggest revelation of the finale: Lester's married to the stripper/informant from season 1. Way to go Lester!

"That sentimental motherfucker just cost us money!"

Thank god for sentimental motherfuckers like Slim Charles. Fuck the game.

Best show ever.

The scene with Bubbs being allowed to sit down at the table with his sister and niece actually brought tears to my eyes.

Oh yeah, and props to the commenter that lit up those idiots over at Slate. Haven't even checked it yet but I guarantee they come down with some "Scott Templeton would never be allowed to get away with that" nonsense. BET THAT.

And one more thing - great to see Slim Charles (one of my favorite minor characters) taking that step up to the next level.

Great finale. Sepinwall is crucial reading today. He's got a great rundown of the episode, as well as a lengthy interview w Chase.

This sentimental motherfucker just cost us money!

And I'll agree with all the previous commenters on The Wire's placement in the TV firmament. Definitely the third greatest show on HBO in the history of the past five years, right behind The Sopranos and Rome.

And RIP, Method Man. We'll always have Method and Red.

See, people think Petey jumped the shark when he embraced Hillary. But that was a reasonable leap. Similar health care plans, appeal to blue collar Dems. There are some problems, but I can totally understand it and accept it.

But Rome over the Wire? Now that is trolling.

"But Rome over the Wire? Now that is trolling."

If I'd wanted to troll, I'd have said John from Cincinnati was better than The Wire...

A plot is hokey.

A Hokie is a member of the Virginis Tech football team.

Slim Charles wasn't just avenging Joe. By pulling and pointing a gun in that context, Cheese had just proven he couldn't be a reliable partner. The rest of the group was ready to follow Prop Joe's example and be a real coop. Cheese had to go.

Best show ever -- not.

Sopranos. Better.
I, Claudius. Better.
Six Feet Under. At its best, better.
I could go on.

Rome was terrific. I'll take Wire over it. But not by the margin some hereabouts would suggest.

It makes sense that Marlo would accept the deal; it got him out, with his money. All other options depend on that, and he was hardly bound to the developer route.

We can see the likely continuing arc with many of these characters, but with Marlo, What's next? He really can't survive high profile around B-more, even with $10 million in pocket. He has no muscle, and anyone in the coop will cap him both as revenge, but more important because he has proven he is bad for business. The 'Greeks' wouldn't have talked to him in any event, and certainly not now. He could put some money out there financing major packages, but that doesn't seem his style. He could do the really reasonable thing and leave town.

What do you think?

BTW, here's the backstory behind that Atlantic article on David Simon. Here's the story Matt's corporate paymasters won't let him tell you!

"When all they've got is the ad hominem, then that's all they've got. I'll tell you a little something about [Mark Bowden, the author of the Atlantic's piece on Simon, "The Angriest Man in Television"]. He sent me an unedited version of his story and asked for comment. And my comment to him was, Listen, Mark, I don't care what you say about the show. I don't even care about you calling me angry ... But I do resent you basically declaring -- as he did in the piece that he sent me -- that by criticizing these guys [Carroll and Marimow] for tolerating a fabricator and defending a fabricator long after he'd been caught repeatedly, I have slandered two honorable worthies. You acknowledge that they've been your career-long friends in journalism ... this is really about your loyalty to old friendships.

And so, I then asked him, Given that Bill Marimow has recently hired you for a job, to be a columnist for the [Philadelphia] Inquirer, do you think there's an ethical problem here? And he didn't answer, and in a separate snail-mail letter, I posed the question to [Atlantic editor James Bennet]. I said, I don't care what you write about the show, but the only guy who's being slandered here is me. I never slandered or libeled anybody in hundreds of bylines and a couple of books, and now I'm going to come up to two editors and just claim they did something that they didn't do?

And he responded by saying, Well, I have complete faith in Mark Bowden. And then Bowden, upon finding out that I dared to pose this question to his editor, he took the fact that my response to him was off the record and decided to characterize it [in his Atlantic essay]. Have you ever heard that you can take somebody off the record if they ask your editor an ethical question? I've never heard that. "

Stringer Bell, the ending wasn't in keeping with the end of Six Feet Under so much as it was in keeping with seasons 1-4 of The Wire. Every season has ended with a similar montage. Since the Wire's first season ended in 2002 and the final season of Six Feet Under didn't air until 2005, I'm guessing it wasn't a rip off.

Check out hitsville. It's covered much of the Simon/Sun story. Even tracked down the Brill's Content article Simon wrote about the real life Scott Templeton he despised. How annoyed am I that I threw away all my issues of Brill's Content. I know I read that article when it first came out, too bad I can barely recall it.

http://www.hitsville.org/

The cycle goes on - Dukie becomes Bubbles ( a junkie with a heart of gold) , Michael becomes Omar (who robs only drug dealers) , Marlo becomes Avon ( the gangster who can't go straight ). Slim Charles becomes Prop Joe. Chris becomes WeBay.

It is really an ecosystem.

Wow. Just WOW.

Here's another entire series I never saw, along with the other entire series' mentioned here, that I never saw either.

No TV. Never TV.

Ahhh.

"Rome" ? Ugh.

Al Swearengen shat bigger than those Roman ponces.

I did think the newspaper plot was weak at first, but really identify with it. I was a colleague of Steve Glass', the TNR reporter who was fired for making shit up. And that character is really modeled on him and pretty convincing.

I'm still working through the last 4 episodes, but the season definitely gets better as it goes along.

Bill, 4:02 AM: Good catch, I didn't pick up on that. I noticed that she was quite a bit younger, but didn't register that was the same character.

...season five delivered in the end. Best show ever.

Best show ever? I think this is a bit over the top. It was fine, but I still wish theyda had thirteen episodes to work with. Then again, I'm not one of the people who's been complaining about Season five all along. I think it's mostly been pretty great TV.

To be honest, I found the killing of Cheese one of the most hilarious scenes in the whole series. And not because I'm some bloodthirsty psycho or gain any special moral satisfaction out of his demise, but rather because of the editing: Cheese gets started on of those speeches designed to give the the whole dirty business a somewhat meaningful narrative framework, yada yada yada - and then poof he's lying dead on the ground with a bullet in his head and all the silly rhetoric counts for shit.

Bill and Albany,

We knew that Lester and the stripper were together since season 1.

So Michael is the new Omar, but is he gay? Personally, I would have to think yes, if only because he is so good looking (plus the whole molestation thing, but that is pretty outdated thinking on homosexuality). And Bubbles sitting at the sister's tables was by far the high point - his was a story of redemption. That he doesn't have a great future ahead of him isn't really the point.

The scene with Bubbs being allowed to sit down at the table with his sister and niece actually brought tears to my eyes.

Me too.

I know you were being facetious regarding Michael's sexual orientation, but I think Michael's little brother was the one that was molested, right? Also, I was kind of surprised there was no mention of Cutty(sp?) in the montage.

Eric K,

I didn't know they were an item. It definitely looked like he had a thing for her but I didn't see anything beyond that... one more reason to re-watch old episodes I guess!

Bill,

It may have been season 2 where they made it clear that they were living together. During a converstation someone asks him how it is going and he says she is going to school

"To be continued" is one of my all time favorite moments in this series. Is there an actor who does slow burn better than Lance Reddick?

Re: Wire's place in the firmament

If we are talking say first 2ish seasons of Soprano's, maybe a discussion, but as a whole, it can't even be considered close. I mean the extended dream sequence alone practically disqualifies it.

I never really liked 6 feet under, so I'm the wrong one to make that comparison.

I, Claudius = miniseries? Anyway, interesting will have to rewatch and compare, though my recollection is that I, C may come off as a little dated.

"Dianna Rigg is Goddess of the Universe, and woe to you that place other above her."

Well, she USED to be - now she's in her late 60's and not looking that good last time I saw her. But she was great back in the day.

BTW, that's DAME Diana to you.

Meanwhile, "Terminator" wrapped up its first season last week. Both Derek and Cameron were cleared of being the traitor who sold out the Resistant fighters safehouse. Derek still doesn't trust Cameron. John is falling in love with her - and she's clearly trying to seduce him into doing so.

Agent Ellison discovered Chromartie was posing as an FBI agent. He and fellow agent Greta led an FBI SWAT team to take him down. The SWAT team all ended up dead in the apartment swimming pool. Greta is down, but not necessarily dead. Chromartie spared Ellison, as Ellison expected to be killed and stopped resisting.

Sarah's Crew are still are no closer to "The Turk". Carlos and his Crew got whacked by a thug and his henchman. Cameron took out the henchman and stuffed him the trunk of the car. Then she told that idiot kid Morris about it, but he thought it was a joke. Then Morris asked her to go to the prom - John told her to say "yes". Prediction: Morris will end up stuffed in the trunk of a car.

Carlo's girlfriend, the silent Latina, took them to the thug's location. They took him out. Unfortunately it turns out he wasn't the main man.

And that proved unfortunate for Cameron, since the real main man wired their car and blew her up in it.

Stay tuned for next season, where we find out how badly damaged Cameron is. And since she's the babe everybody watches the show for (not to slight hottie Lena Headey), she better not be too damaged.

Well, she USED to be - now she's in her late 60's and not looking that good last time I saw her. But she was great back in the day.

Still a goddess--just an older, more dignified goddess. Who else could retain her dignity while picking a condom out of her hair (accidentally flicked there by Daniel Radcliffe)?

Craigory Gregory -
No, it was Michael. He wanted to keep the father away from the little brother so it wouldn't happen to him too. And I wasn't beging totally facetious. There was also a line in the previous episode, which they showed in the "Previously On," where Snoop says to Michael, "You were never one of us." I really think Simon wanted to at least suggest the possibility about Michael. It has a nice unity to it.

Snoop said it best:

"deserve's gots nothing to do with it."

I was pleasantly surprised to see Michael taking Omar's place and sad to see Dukie descend into drug addiction.

Marlo didn't even like the drug dealer meetings, so it was funny to see him stuck at that rich developer meeting and then slip out. He'll go back to what he was doing and they'll arrest and prosecute him. Omar's legend got the best of him, though, in that jail scene and the street corner scene. But he seemed oddly happy. Earlier in the seaon he seemed perfectly affectless. Nihilistic. He seemed to lighten up at the end.

I don't think the Wire was radical/reactionary. It was realistic. The schools are broke. Even public services like the police are broke. Daniels had a great pissed-off speech about the failure of society's institutions and their supposed leaders (though he was just talking about law enforcement).

But most people seem to have sort of sense of solidarity hard-wired into them even so. Bubba's sister for instance. Also, I really enjoyed the bar scene finale.

bobbo,

I don't think that's the correct interpretation of that line from Snoop, as I think her character is gay (I remember there being a throwaway exchange similar to the scene in S1 when Kima tells McNulty that "I date women" between Snoop and either Chris or Monk...)

Idiots!
Dukie was a junkie already when he asked Prezbo for the money - his face had all that Bubbles make-up on it, duh! You could also tell this when P went back inside and D's smile fades to an embarassed look. He was getting the money to get drugs. Did you really think he was trying to get an apt. and a GED? Prezbo is a chump and should have taken Dukie's adorable ass home the way Bunny did with Namond. Carver tried everything he could to take Randy home, and he didn't have the same bond as Prezbo and Dukie. Prezbo is a jackass and didn't want to take Dukie home to his white wife. Screw him.

Bunk: I'm thinking about some pussy.

Snoop: Yeah, me too.


Comments closed March 23, 2008.

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