Yeah, I’m late. Been busy times here at the Palatial Bomaniland Estate. Plus, you know what’s going on tonight.
Anyway, Episode 55 was interesting on a number of levels. First, the ending screamed out that this must be a set-up episode, which is a frustrating phenomenon of The Wire. Since the show has basically abandoned the notion that episodic television requires some measure of resolution at the end of each show, we occasionally get episodes that can feel a tad unsatisfying. I don’t really go through that, though, because I get that it’s the set-up. Just gotta be a bit more patient. That said, let’s get into 55.
1. The Greeks confused me. I didn’t get the feeling that they gave Marlo the green light to take Joe out, and their meeting with Marlo didn’t give me that feeling, either. However, their willingness to deal with him seemed uncharacteristic of their cautious ways. They gotta know this dude is trouble.
2. Chris has a family! Now, Chris has become interesting to me. That angel of death thing didn’t do a lot for me, honestly. It was creepy, but not fascinating. Now, that he can be like that, have a family and a yard and all of that, and be the victim of abuse? Now that’s something that gets me to thinking.
3. Poor Dukie. He’s got 8-year old’s testing him. AT least he handled the little dude. That said, Duke vs. Spider–formerly Cutty’s prize pupil–was quite a mismatch. Not even sure why Spider bothered throwing more than the one-hitter-quitter. Further, the kid that plays Spider does have nice hands. He looked like he was on some “Enter the Dragon” when Dukie was going down.
4. Mike’s really nice with a pistol. He scares me. But I find it so interesting how encouraging he is of Dukie, even though the kid’s so overwhelmed. He never plays him for not being cut out for the street. Only encourages him that he can do other things. That’s beautiful.
5. Marlo on a cell phone? Recipe for disaster, and Levy knows it. But you know what’s even more of a recipe?
6. Herc stole Marlo’s cell number! Yep, go ahead and initial that death certificate, kid.
7. Omar in the car with the old man is so interesting. Listening to oldies and staking out a house. The scene when the old man sings the wrong words on “Just My Imagination” is brilliant.
8. The scene with Lester and Daniels in the office arguing about moving the case is some of the greatest stuff in the history of the show. The frustration on Daniels face. The look of understanding on Lester’s. Great stuff.
9. As was Cutty and Dukie. How heartbreaking was it for Cutty to say he wishes he had more than goodwill to someone that wants to get out of the hood?
10. Not working well for McNulty’s serial killer. Guess it’ll get better for him, but this ain’t enough to get the dough. That’s gotta suck.
11. Noreese is gangster. Put ol’ Clay in check. For real.
12. You know what sucks? Bubbles was happier as a dope fiend. Not sure what to say about that.
13. Break out the kente cloth! Cuz Clay’s about to take it there. Watch.
14. And the scene with Mayor Preach? I love the hustle.
15. Omar is a superhero. Really, out the window? Marlo outsmarted him, and all he could do was go out of the window. That actually was plausible. But he better be really messed up on the back end. Ain’t no surviving that, in general. But man, Omar doesn’t have anyone left now. He’s totally rolling for dolo, and he’s gotta be crippled. How can he keep this stuff up with no crew and no legs? Simon’s got a tall order, trying to make sense of this. If he doesn’t, this is just another TV show.
13 thoughts on “The Wire–Episode 55”
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One of the other things that’s so fascinating about Chris, is that he seems to be one of the few who actually takes a stand with Marlo. When he tells dude that it better not be more than a few weeks, he meant that shit. I wouldn’t trip too much on Omar going out the window. They’ve always played with a sort of hood superhero thing when it comes to the character. It does leave a lot of unanswered questions though.
It seemed like the old Greek wanted to get rid of Joe. When the younger Greek, who seems kind of like a fake front, said “but he’s not joe”, the old greek also said “yes, he’s not joe” but then did a sort of criminal sneer.
Joe was a crafty bastard, and he’d basically unionized the dealers, creating a purchasing bloc by offering them some of the savings. Theres a chance the old Greek was using Marlo to kill Joe. They needed someone to pull the trigger then step in as the new buyer. Its a safe bet he’s paying alot more than Joe, first of all he can afford to because he has the muscle to push a more expensive package. That old Greek has been around for awhile, he’s probably used to dealing with Marlo types instead of cutesies like Joe.
1. The Greeks gave Marlo a bunch of rope. hell make them rich until he hangs himself.
2. Chris is probably like one of those Truck Driving dads i USED to see in the hood. Some kids had dads…some didnt…and some had dads that went away for daaaays at a time. and then showed up out the blue about once a month.
3. If Dukie was a real kid….id adopt him. Thats really all he needs. Some Parents, preferably ones who know how to challenge a gifted kid. Id snap him up in a second. way back when, I got a pass in the hood cause i was smart. I took a few lumps and gave out a couple, but as I got older…the old heads on my block spread the word that I was off limits and to go bother some other kid. I dont think they give those kinds of passes out anymore.
4. Being kinda like Dukie…i had a few friends like Mike. Dukie would be DEAD if he didnt. Ask Randy.
5. Levy is counting the billable hours ALLLREADY. He an evil bastard.
6. Herc thinks he’s bulletproof. Typical Cop logic.
7. Im kinda mad they offed old dude so quick. He seemed out of his element.
8. Those kinda conversations are what MAKES this show and keeps it from being Baltimore Undercover.
9. I thought Cutty was cracked out in the First episode of Season Five? Maybe it was someone else. The world needs more Cuttys.
10. I almost wanna FF past all the McNulty parts. I am so sick of him.
11. Noreese could GET it, but I digress. Noreese is a bad mofo. Im smitten.
12. I know a few ex and current druggies. They all say aint nothing wrong with being high…its all the OTHER parts of their life. Thats what Bubs is going through.
13. Like Death and Taxes. let a Black man get in trouble and out comes the Kente…and Kente aint even fresh no more.
14. I envision Kwame Kilpatrick in 6 months. Just you wait…
THEN that boy gonna try and run his ass for his mommas seat…im TELLIN you I see it playin out.
15. Omar is turning into a sort of archetype of Dave Chappelle for me. Its like we see all the underlying subtext that makes it work…but the white folk just see the surface stuff and that kind of alarms me, cause i feel like that dont GET what the show is really putting out.
per usual, bo, spot on. but i firmly disagree re the greatness of the cutty-dukie dialogue. it seemed a little contrived by wire standards. them walking into the night musing on hood life? come on simon. it doesnt stand up in the face of the utter realness of 99 percent of the scenes in the show. only other scene i remember being so contrived was randy’s “u gon look out for me?!” scene.
Whats funny about the whole Mike situation is that he never really liked or trusted Cutty, but most likely that is who he will become. Like DaveyWayne said, Mike is kinda old school in that even though he’s out there, he realizes not everyone is cut out for the streets, and lets those people go about their business. I think Mike will eventually get tired of doing what he’s doing, but the problem is that Marlo won’t be as forgiving as Avon, even though Mike is just as loyal as Cutty.
actually, the cutty-dukie dialogue was a great scene. Everything dosen’t have to be “gritty”, sometimes people just have normal conversations. Not saying its often, but it does happen. Aaron Mcgruder talked about this when he used to draw the Boondocks comic strip. Some people would be upset at the strips that weren’t “political” or expected each strip to be an angry diatribe by Huey. Aaron responded by saying that the story was about a family, not an “angry black rant”. Same with the wire. Once again, not saying it happens all the time, but sometimes there are quiet moments. Thats true for anywhere in the world.
My first visit here and already I am feeling you. I do have a question. There’s a lot of buzz going on about Kennard offing Omar. Any thoughts on this?
Mike is definitely old school. Why does he even care about Dukie? Spider & Kenard think Dukie is a loser. But Mike still watches out for him. He’s basically raising Dukie too by giving him $$$ and a place to live. He also stood by Randy the snitch. Mike is always protecting those weaker people. I don’t think he’s really cut out for street life. He’s tough and got the right skill set, but his mentality is too much like D’Angelo. You can tell that he doesn’t agree with Marlo. He was questioning the Junebug hit, running his mouth and being critical, acting all sorrowful about it, then leaving his corner to go to Six Flags. Mike should go back to school or something. Maybe join the army or the police department.
I can see Mike taking out Marlo somehow, like if there was a season 6, Mike would definitely become “the man”. I’d picture it being something like Marlo kills his lil’ bro and Mike settles the score. Mike to me seems like one of those people that are smarter than the game. The crazy thing is that he’s only a kid, but he’s wise far beyond his years.
dewfish,
I’m not complaining that the scene wasn’t “gritty” or “angry” or “real”. Those are your words, bro. All I say is that it seemed a little theatrical for Wire standards. Keep that rant about raging against the “angry black” desired viewing. That’s not my issue.
You all need to watch the episode again. Omar landed on a landing between balconies. If you remember he always wears black to blend in with the shadows. If you look closely you will see his head pop up slightly.
IMHO when the head of the Greeks responded to the “He’s not Joe” comment I think he was referring to the fact that Marlo brought cash no haggling. I just can’t see Prop Joe not trying to negotiate on the price or services.
Chris’ girl didn’t seem to be too happy about none of it. She just kept grittin as Chris was walking back to the truck. In fact she never moved from her spot.
The line of the night for me came from Snoop in the rim shop. “you don’t think he’d (Omar) that, plus he would be aiming at your head. I know I would” Then you see Butchie’s friend in the apartment lying dead with a bullet in his head. Dang!!! 😉
DaveyWayne wrote:
“10. I almost wanna FF past all the McNulty parts. I am so sick of him.”
I second that.
No one is saying anything about the way Simon shows the workings of a newsroom. I worked in one. Lots of truth there.
sherman, it’s not that the greeks wanted to get rid of joe. they luuuuuuvd joe, he was smart, fair, dependable, everything a supplier wants in his consumer. but they saw the ambition in marlo. remember he said marlo would still come back? it’s cause they knew they wouldnt have much choice if they still wanted to do biz. he knew marlo would do prop joe and then the greeks would be out with no buyer. they’d lose their baltimore market (atleast temporarily) cause they’d not have a person they could trust. so they walked slowly with a new connect, marlo, and let that relationship develop on its own. “he is not joe” the greek said. meaning there can be some good stemming from that.