FYI, there’s now a category for The Wire here at Virtual Bomaniland. I’ve never had a category before, but I thought some people might want to look over old recaps as we prepare for the finale. I don’t know who out there is like me, but I study this here. I like to go back and track the progress of things, see what little tidbits I can pull out. Ultimately, it kinda ruins the suspense, but I’m more concerned with understanding and appreciating this show than being jolted by it.
Also, my fancy schmancy all-in-one remote went belly up on me, and I’m too lazy to get up and turn on the episode on the TiVo. Soooo, I’m doing this from memory. I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t seen the episode about five or six times. At least.
1. Dope on the table. One of the best thing about Wire fanatics–we all described the press conference from the dope seizure the same way. That was a lot of damn dope on the table. $16 million. And it wasn’t like that was enough dope to last until summer. Cats is moving serious weight, jack.
2. Lester’s the coolest. First, that he’s still with the scripper from Season One is so interesting. That he had Daniels fooled was just the power of Lester Freamon. And the way he gamed Clay Davis all the way down was masterful. In a lot of ways, this has been Lester’s season.
3. Give Marlo this–he’s real about his. The first glimpse of emotion from Marlo in three seasons came in jail. And it went away right fast. I gained back a small measure of respect for Marlo once it became clear he didn’t know Omar was calling him a bitch in the streets. He would have stepped up. He’s ruthless, and his respect for the game is suspect, but no one can say Marlo doesn’t carry his. Also…
4. …you notice how Marlo was sure he could trust all his people? Wasn’t noooooobody snitchin on Marlo. Haaaaaaayuuuuulllllll no. However, I found it interesting that he could think Michael gave up info on dope deals, even though he didn’t know anything more than when the re-up was coming. Then again, what else could have happened, far as Marlo knows?
5. Chris is a G, also. He’s got Mike’s back. I do respect that. I no longer wish he catches on fire, especially now that I’m sure he’ll never get out of jail. Dead to rights.
6. Let Bubbles in the house! I know he robbed her blind before, but it’s been more than a year. Let him get a plate! But goodness, anyone that doesn’t love Bubs doesn’t love life. And now, finally, he’s getting right. That’s worth a trip to the dinner table.
7. Mike, Mike, Mike. Peeping game from the backseat of a car? Straight Omar. “You look good, girl.” Possibly the best non-Omar or Clay line in the last two seasons. The kid’s an absolutely fascinating character. And seeing him drop his brother off in the county broke my heart. That was the most emotional scene since Wallace.
8. But Dukie walking down the alley to become a junkie was just as bad. All because he had nowhere else to go. The game, man. The game. But yo, what’s up with the fiend rolling down the street with a horse? That’s how they do in Baltimore? I’m from TEXAS, and we don’t even do that. TEXAS, I said. TEXAS!
9. Boooooo Kima. Yeah, she had to follow her conscience. But she really went off and messed everything up, with no eye to the greater good reached in the end. Kinda simple, really. Then again, simple has its plusses.
10. Herc. You moron. Came this close to putting himself in. Then again, Levy wouldn’t care if he did. Levy just wants his paper, and doing that helped him get quite a bit.
11. Gus is headed down. The writing’s so clear, even though your man Templeton’s so obviously dirty. Time to go ahead and say it.
12. The newspaper storyline is the worst Simon has given us. Why? Because it’s the one he’s too deeply invested in. What makes The Wire so fascinating is that every character is a portrait in gray. Few are outright good, and few are outright bad. However, there are white and black hats all through that newsroom. That’s what has made the story less interesting. Oh, it’s certainly done the job of explaining the relationship between government and media, but it fell short on nuance. Perhaps this would be different if we got to see what the editors have to deal with from Chicago, like we saw Burrell have to deal with mayors. Either way, we don’t see that. As a result, we got something that served better as a plot device than as its own independent story.
13. Snoop is dead. This drink I’m having right now is purely a coincidence. I promise. Would have liked some Cheese with this wine, though.
14. And now, it’s on. The jig’s up. Now what?
12 Comments
by dewfish
i think you are right about the newsroom. It just seems so simplistic as compared to rest of the enivironments in the show. I am following the newsroom characters and their actions, but there is nothing to them that makes you actually care. why are they so two dimensional when everyone else is three dimensional? Also, I hope Dukie dosen’t end up on the drugs. It isn’t looking good though….
by Stephanie E.
This episode was so incredible, and incredibly emotional, that it’s hard to even write about it. I think the genius of the story lines with the kids over the last two seasons, is the way in which their development intersects with the lives of characters we’ve encountered previously. Mike as Omar, Dukie as Bubbles, Namond as possibly a cop like Bunny or Daniels (perhaps even a lawyer), Randy as possibly any one of the number of street characters we’ve encountered. The scenes with Michael were so masterfully structured, particularly him and Snoop in the car. For once, she’s human, nuanced, and even a little vain, but in a complete nod to the truth of her character, a soldier until the end.
by killa vam
You spotted it correctly. All the newsroom cats are so transparent, you know who and what their about without any interpretation.
Dukie, really should know better. I know he has it real bad but becoming a junkie, why Dukie why?
Michael really had no choice or chance once he stepped to Marlo for help. He has two feet firmly in the game now and it’s no turning back, atleast for a while. Hopefully, he can get out like Cutty did.
I kinda hope Marlo beats the case against him. I like Marlo, scary as that may sound.
Chris has a code and I really respected Chris and Marlo for ATLEAST admitting that Michael probably didn’t snitch despite putting a hit on him. It is what it is, i guess?
I can’t imagine what it is to live with memories of people you killed especially ones that you know didn’t do you no wrong. Tha’t some cold -ass stuff man.
It’s just too much to tie up in one episode unless it’s like 2 hours long.
But we’ll see…
by Chapped Larry
I don’t have On Demand, but I’m willing to bet my whole soul that everybody walks. Chris, Marlo, Cheese, errbody.
It’s the “fruit of the poison tree” principle- McNulty and Lester lied about one element of the case against the dealers, so that sours every other part.
What’s more, any lawyer (like Levy) could call McNulty a corrupt cop and work back on all of his cases. Know what that could mean? Avon’s back!
by dcdame
“But yo, what’s up with the fiend rolling down the street with a horse? That’s how they do in Baltimore?”
Yep, the guy’s an Arabber. See:
http://tinyurl.com/3xqmt7
When I was a little girl (in Baltimore, early 1960s), my great-grandmother would hear an Arabber coming down the street and start her own call: “Rags and bad girls, rags and bad girls” (implying that she was going to give me to the junkman).
If you were a fan of Homicide: Life on the Street, you may recall the prime suspect for killing Adena Watson was an Arabber (played by Moses Gunn).
by Adisa
#9 was the best of the season. The grand finale better be GRAND. Feel me?
Nice recap, Bo. You hit all the right points.
On Dukie and Mike:
1) I think they cast Mike too young for the role he’s supposed to be playing. He’s mentally too far ahead of the curve to believe, sometimes.
2) I think it’s cheap the way they turned Dukie into the next Bubbles (or Sharrod). Back when we first met Dukie we could see the similarities between him and Bubs, but then his character took a detour and it looked like he might have a future. Now he _willingly_ walks into a den of dope shooting arabbers? Hmm… Too easy and unsatisfying.
You’re telling me that THIS is the only future Dukie sees for himself?
Nah, I don’t buy it. Not from Dukie. It just doesn’t add up for the character.
3) That scene with Mike and Snoop. Perfectly executed. I actually had to shed a tear and pour out a little liquor for Snoop. It was the first time that I really _liked_ her character.
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I can’t wait for #10. HBO are some muthafuckas for making me wait until next week to see the other shoes drop.
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Remember what I said about McNutty’s outgoing. I predict he’s going to die but it’s not gonna be clear if it was suicide or homicide.
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Re: Lester… you’re right. This has been ‘his season’. Nice observation. Finally he got to stretch his legs and work without fetters. And it paid off. He might not see the final payoff because Levy is likely to work the illegal wiretap angle to get Marlo released. That fuckin’ ape Herc. But still… Freamon did his thang this season.
I hope McNutty doesn’t drag him down.
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I really wish we could have seen more of Randy… and I’ve just about given up hope that Mouzone will make a re-appearance. There’s no reason for it now. Sadly.
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Where the hell is Kenard?
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One more episode ain’t enough.
by Jason
There are ways around the fruit of the poisonous tree. The info received for the bust wasn’t from the phones it was from your ci, in this case my ci would be Snoop, dead women tell no tales. Through title 3 you search everyone elses phone the phones show the clocks the emails originated from Marlo and that info corroberates the info from your “ci”. That was the original strategy until Kima blows it all to hell.
by Adisa
Damn Jason, nice work. I like the Snoop as informant spin.
Are you, by chance, a dirty cop? 😉
by Chapped Larry
That plan would have worked if no one was the wiser, but I doubt Daniels and Pearlman are willing to support the lie when they know the wiretap was illegal. Also, Herc’s meeting with Levy showed that he was already more than a little skeptical- not too long before he figures it out.
by RHH
check out the first twenty seconds. tribute to Bomani’s favorite character.
by PTCruiser
I thought the final scenes between Michael and Duquan were probably the saddest ever depicted on the Wire. One of the things that puzzled me, however, is why Michael did not throw a few dollars Dukie’s way to tide him over for a month or so. Real partners do that for each other all the time without being asked.
Michael may be too young for the degree of mother wit that he displays. If, however, you look again at the scenes leading up to his shooting Snoop the clues were too obvious for him to ignore. Snoop telling him, for example, that she needed him to do a job but that she would supply the piece was a dead giveaway. Only a fool, which Michael is not, would allow himself to be in the company of another killer and not be armed.
BTW, I think I am the only viewer who enjoyed the newsroom slant that Simon introduced. Simon may have been too close to the material but I’ll cut him some slack here because he is trying to say something about the failure of our institutions and the human wreckage caused by their collapse.
by Marrs
The bust of Marlo’s cartel was high profile for Garcetti. It ought to work well as a jumping off point for his campaign.
I wouldn’t be suprised if most of McNulty’s foolishness gets swept under the rug. Sure he’s done as a cop but given the fact that he financed the whole thing I wouldn’t be suprised if he didn’t get a smaller version of the golden parachute Burrell got to keep him quiet. He will have to take a substantial hit. But that kind of bust has to get national attention. Garcetti gets credit for the bust whichcan be creditted to the shake up he made at the top of the police department. Politics, Baby!