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Jerusalem
May 20, 2004

Would you be my new best friends?

escape artist posted:

I kind of feel like what I imagine one of the guys who started up Facebook and then didn't stick with it feels like.

If it wasn't for you we'd still be in the old thread arguing about whether we were spoiling things for new viewers (and scaring them off!) - so long as you keep the OP updated that's all anybody can really ask.

Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 05:02 on Apr 16, 2013

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Lugaloco
Jun 29, 2011

Ice to see you!

I've been a little slow in my rewatch and just finished Season 1 last night. If the show was cancelled then and there it would've been a great loss, but I can't help but feel that those 13 episodes told a brilliant self-contained story. At the end of "Sentencing" no side really wins (only loses more slowly...) and as a viewer you are felt deliberately unsatisfied. Avon's only doing 7 years, Stringer's walking free, D'Angelo (one of if not the most sympathetic character on the side of the dealers) got a full 20 years, McNulty's on the boat, we don't know if Greggs will be the same again and Daniels has effectively been shitcanned. I can't help but feel that Simon et al purposefully concluded the arc of Season 1 this way in order to teach us that the system's hosed and you're never going to get a satisfying conclusion due to the very nature of The Game on both sides. If there was no Season 2 you could still take away a lot of the major points the series makes as a whole and feel satisfied with those points whilst craving for more that would never come.

I guess that's why a lot of people were thrown by Season 2. We were specifically trained as viewers to look at both sides of the law through a different, more critical lens and were expecting more of that the next time around. To an extent we got that, but I'm not sure anyone was really ready for the sheer scope the show was about to undertake over the next four seasons. If you asked someone in September 2002 (jesus it's been that long) where the show would go in the upcoming seasons I don't think anyone would have said "Well we're going to see how the fall of industry in America has affected the working class, also we're going to delve deeper into the political side of things by seeing how a mayoral campaign is run and what happens once you get to be mayor. Oh yeah we're also going to explore the rotting carcass that is the inner city school system and the decline of print newspapers/media as we know it". The only things I can see anyone guessing would be the fall of a drug empire and the rise of a new one. I've tried explaining the scope of the show to friends who are interested in it without sounding like it's too much and the best I've been able to say is "Don't really think of it as a cop/drug dealer show, just think about it as the story of a single American city."

escape artist
Sep 24, 2005

Slow train coming
I believe Simon (and company) wrote every single season with the possibility in mind that it could be cancelled. Really, if you look at the end of each season, any one could serve as the ending to the series. I really like that about the show. I also really like that HBO said gently caress the ratings, and let the show finish out because it is great.


When I describe the show, I always say "it's not about cops vs. drug dealers, it's about institutions vs. individuals."

Jerusalem
May 20, 2004

Would you be my new best friends?

escape artist posted:

I also really like that HBO said gently caress the ratings, and let the show finish out because it is great.

The way ratings are worked out is such a lumbering dinosaur, one of the smartest things HBO ever did was look deeper into the details/motivations of their viewers. They found out that while The Wire rated relatively poorly, the vast majority of those who were watching had subscribed SPECIFICALLY for The Wire and nothing else. HBO realized that if they dropped The Wire and replaced it with another show, they were going to lose a good number of paying subscribers.

Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

The greatest sensual pleasure there is is to know the desires of another!

Fun Shoe

Jerusalem posted:

The way ratings are worked out is such a lumbering dinosaur, one of the smartest things HBO ever did was look deeper into the details/motivations of their viewers. They found out that while The Wire rated relatively poorly, the vast majority of those who were watching had subscribed SPECIFICALLY for The Wire and nothing else. HBO realized that if they dropped The Wire and replaced it with another show, they were going to lose a good number of paying subscribers.

I don't really have any knowledge of HBO politics then or now, but I always heard that The Wire was just really really highly regarded by a few important people at the network who gave it a few extra seasons than maybe it deserved(based on ratings). I've always thought of HBO as the only network that will once and a while make artistic decisions based on quality and not business, but I suppose that is only true to a degree if not completely false. T.V. is a business after all.

the black husserl
Feb 25, 2005

Jerusalem posted:

The way ratings are worked out is such a lumbering dinosaur, one of the smartest things HBO ever did was look deeper into the details/motivations of their viewers. They found out that while The Wire rated relatively poorly, the vast majority of those who were watching had subscribed SPECIFICALLY for The Wire and nothing else. HBO realized that if they dropped The Wire and replaced it with another show, they were going to lose a good number of paying subscribers.

There weren't enough of them. Simon still seems really bitter about the contemporary OMG LOVE for the Wire because well, where were those people when the show needed it?

He was always fighting for more, there absolutely could have been a sixth season.

EvilTobaccoExec
Dec 22, 2003

Criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot, so my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts!

the black husserl posted:

He was always fighting for more, there absolutely could have been a sixth season.

If the show had found that audience by like the third season, then it might have gone to six seasons. He said the only other area they really wanted to explore they didn't get to was Baltimore's Latino population and immigrant workers, but they didn't have much first hand experience on staff and it's something that would have been done before they covered the schools and papers. So it's not really like a sixth season idea they never got to do.

Blood Boils
Dec 27, 2006

Its not an S, on my planet it means QUIPS
edit: beaten!

the black husserl posted:

There weren't enough of them. Simon still seems really bitter about the contemporary OMG LOVE for the Wire because well, where were those people when the show needed it?

He was always fighting for more, there absolutely could have been a sixth season.

I remember reading he wanted to take a deeper look at immigration, through the Hispanic community. And the same interview suggested health care as another institution that's a big part of a city, although I think he dismissed that as overdone.

While I certainly wish there was more Wire to watch, it's probably better that it ended when it did, before it risked repeating itself.

Crumbletron
Jul 21, 2006



IT'S YOUR BOY JESUS, MANE
Totally would've watched if I actually had HBO available here back then (only rich people with satellite had the option) and I was actually old enough to derive meaning from it at the time, as well.

poo poo, I didn't even know about it until about 2 years ago.

Crumbletron fucked around with this message at 18:13 on Apr 16, 2013

Alec Bald Snatch
Sep 12, 2012

by exmarx

Basebf555 posted:

I don't really have any knowledge of HBO politics then or now, but I always heard that The Wire was just really really highly regarded by a few important people at the network who gave it a few extra seasons than maybe it deserved(based on ratings). I've always thought of HBO as the only network that will once and a while make artistic decisions based on quality and not business, but I suppose that is only true to a degree if not completely false. T.V. is a business after all.

HBO's business model for the past decade has relied largely on dvd sales with subscription fees supplementing them.

Randomly Specific
Sep 23, 2012

My keys are somewhere in there.
Hell I was living on the road for most of the series, so I couldn't help Dave out there.

I'm in the 'best end it when it did' section, though. While the fifth season was still excellent TV, there was a definite drift there. A lot of the stories in the basic guts of the setting had been told- we'd thoroughly explored the cops and robbers. I totally agree that the series as a whole is the tale of Baltimore institutions, the underlying framework was built around the police and criminals. The fake serial killer plot kind of reflects that, because by that point we've already had a major legalizing drugs in a section of the city, how much further can we go with the department and keep it from degenerating into standard police procedural fantasyland?

Alec Bald Snatch
Sep 12, 2012

by exmarx

Jerusalem posted:

The way ratings are worked out is such a lumbering dinosaur, one of the smartest things HBO ever did was look deeper into the details/motivations of their viewers. They found out that while The Wire rated relatively poorly, the vast majority of those who were watching had subscribed SPECIFICALLY for The Wire and nothing else. HBO realized that if they dropped The Wire and replaced it with another show, they were going to lose a good number of paying subscribers.

Plus there were other shows like Lucky Louie and John From Cincinnati which had better numbers and only lasted a season.


the black husserl posted:

There weren't enough of them. Simon still seems really bitter about the contemporary OMG LOVE for the Wire because well, where were those people when the show needed it?

He was always fighting for more, there absolutely could have been a sixth season.

Actually the comment he made about that to the NYT was about people only engaging with the show on a superficial level (which season is the best, etc.) due to coming to it outside the original context of the first airing. He clarified it in a comment to the piece:

David Simon posted:

Wow. I sign on tonight to see I've fired everyone up.

But actually, the comments I made that seem to critique viewers who found The Wire late were not so intended. I thought, when I made that remark, that I was speaking to the reporter not about viewers in general, but specifically about folks pursuing the recent bracket-tourneys about best characters, shows, scenes, etc.

It was to that silliness -- and nothing more -- that I tried to say simply this: The folk sponsoring such belated silliness were not there when the show aired. Now, years removed, they parse it piecemeal and to meaningless effect. And rarely in the debate of Omar v. Stringer or Season Two vs. Four does anyone argue, say, the drug war, or the role of public education or the vagaries of market capitalism. That's the wearying part for me.

That people find the show when they do, or that people like or dislike what they will -- who can take offense at that? But is it okay to admit the Omar-is-so-cool bracket tourneys don't interest people who made the show? That debate about what we got right or wrong about urban America would be, to us, more purposeful and validating?

Apparently, no such context conveyed, either through my fault or in the edit of the Q&A, or both. Sorry if anyone thinks I was actually complaining about people liking The Wire, or when they got there. I wasn't. My critique went to how certain media folk assess the story, and how empty that stuff seems to our real purpose.

Alec Bald Snatch fucked around with this message at 19:12 on Apr 16, 2013

Grumpwagon
May 6, 2007
I am a giant assfuck who needs to harden the fuck up.

Randomly Specific posted:

I'm in the 'best end it when it did' section, though. While the fifth season was still excellent TV, there was a definite drift there. A lot of the stories in the basic guts of the setting had been told- we'd thoroughly explored the cops and robbers. I totally agree that the series as a whole is the tale of Baltimore institutions, the underlying framework was built around the police and criminals. The fake serial killer plot kind of reflects that, because by that point we've already had a major legalizing drugs in a section of the city, how much further can we go with the department and keep it from degenerating into standard police procedural fantasyland?

Maybe this is just me being a David Simon fanboy (I am), but I attribute a lot of the 5th season's problems to HBO cutting the order down from 13 (?) episodes to 10. It just felt rushed. Not enough time to develop the nuance of the "bad guys" (the higher ups in the newspaper), etc.

grading essays nude
Oct 24, 2009

so why dont we
put him into a canan
and shoot him into the trolls base where
ever it is and let him kill all of them. its
so perfect that it can't go wrong.

i think its the best plan i
have ever heard in my life

Grumpwagon posted:

Maybe this is just me being a David Simon fanboy (I am), but I attribute a lot of the 5th season's problems to HBO cutting the order down from 13 (?) episodes to 10. It just felt rushed. Not enough time to develop the nuance of the "bad guys" (the higher ups in the newspaper), etc.

According to Simon HBO was open to a full season but gently suggested that it be 10 instead and he agreed to 10.5. He likes to claim it was his decision but I think he was just gracious they let him finish it. I agree that it's a major problem, but then again Simon's personal grudges against the Sun editors come through so much that I don't know if 13 episodes would have fixed it.

Hard to see how a 6th season would have been pulled off without feeling superfluous given the endings for all the characters. I mean as soon as McNulty starting mutilating corpses, it became impossible to ever root for him again, and I think the implication of Sydnor replacing him was good enough, we didn't need to see it. There was really no direction to go with the political stuff - Carcetti selling out was a story that fit well enough in 10 episodes (well 12, since it began with the S4 finale). That goes for most of the stories - the newspaper and serial killer plot itself was a bit rushed but the rest of the characters endings fit pretty well into 10 episodes I think.

A more interesting what if to me - between seasons 3 and 4, Simon fought for a miniseries called The Hall that would have entirely followed the mayoral election, and s4 would have started with Carcetti in office. Obviously, since the show barely got renewed for S4 as it was, this never had a hope. But I feel it would have been interesting - as difficult to imagine as it is to improve season 4, I wonder what would have been with the extra time to devote to non-political stories.

grading essays nude fucked around with this message at 20:39 on Apr 16, 2013

Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

The greatest sensual pleasure there is is to know the desires of another!

Fun Shoe

Grumpwagon posted:

Maybe this is just me being a David Simon fanboy (I am), but I attribute a lot of the 5th season's problems to HBO cutting the order down from 13 (?) episodes to 10. It just felt rushed. Not enough time to develop the nuance of the "bad guys" (the higher ups in the newspaper), etc.

I totally agree. Imagine Season 4 with three less episodes to develop the school system storyline or Season 2 with three less episodes to establish the docks and its cast of characters. Its easy to see how the newspaper storyline could have been a lot better with more time to develop the higher-ups and the Gus character. Gus especially, with more room to breathe maybe he would have felt more like a fully realized character.

Edit: ^^^^I assume if he knew the show was continuing then Simon would have held back a little more on completely ending the McNulty story. Maybe something similar to what happened but less definitive. I suppose maybe thats an example of why its a good thing the show ended when it did. No half measures(sorry to mix my references)

Basebf555 fucked around with this message at 20:39 on Apr 16, 2013

grading essays nude
Oct 24, 2009

so why dont we
put him into a canan
and shoot him into the trolls base where
ever it is and let him kill all of them. its
so perfect that it can't go wrong.

i think its the best plan i
have ever heard in my life

Basebf555 posted:

I totally agree. Imagine Season 4 with three less episodes to develop the school system storyline or Season 2 with three less episodes to establish the docks and its cast of characters. Its easy to see how the newspaper storyline could have been a lot better with more time to develop the higher-ups and the Gus character. Gus especially, with more room to breathe maybe he would have felt more like a fully realized character.

Edit: ^^^^I assume if he knew the show was continuing then Simon would have held back a little more on completely ending the McNulty story. Maybe something similar to what happened but less definitive. I suppose maybe thats an example of why its a good thing the show ended when it did. No half measures(sorry to mix my references)

The ending for McNulty was perfect as it was though I think, at least as long as he was going to have him hit rock bottom in the way that he did. I'm not sure it is definitive - just like Marlo, he's a man without a country. Not being on the police force is definitely better for his life, but is he really self-reflective enough and not self-destructive enough to always recognize this and keep himself together? I am biased because I don't like the character but I'm not sure.

Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

The greatest sensual pleasure there is is to know the desires of another!

Fun Shoe

cletepurcel posted:

The ending for McNulty was perfect as it was though I think, at least as long as he was going to have him hit rock bottom in the way that he did. I'm not sure it is definitive - just like Marlo, he's a man without a country. Not being on the police force is definitely better for his life, but is he really self-reflective enough and not self-destructive enough to always recognize this and keep himself together? I am biased because I don't like the character but I'm not sure.

Yea I guess when I think of his ending as definitive, I'm thinking in terms of every other T.V. show I've ever seen, which doesn't work with The Wire. "McNulty's not a cop anymore, welp, story over!" Its cool to think of what they may have done with him in his new life and how it would connect to whatever mainline story they decided to go with.

Randomly Specific
Sep 23, 2012

My keys are somewhere in there.
I expect McNulty ends up being a PI somewhere, which could be its own interesting set of stories.

the black husserl
Feb 25, 2005

cletepurcel posted:

The ending for McNulty was perfect as it was though I think, at least as long as he was going to have him hit rock bottom in the way that he did. I'm not sure it is definitive - just like Marlo, he's a man without a country. Not being on the police force is definitely better for his life, but is he really self-reflective enough and not self-destructive enough to always recognize this and keep himself together? I am biased because I don't like the character but I'm not sure.

The montage at the end of season 5 seemed to be at least partially shown from Mcnulty's perspective. He reflects on his decisions in the police force and on the city, it overwhelms him.

And then he drives the guy home. It seems like he's learned something.

escape artist
Sep 24, 2005

Slow train coming

the black husserl posted:

The montage at the end of season 5 seemed to be at least partially shown from Mcnulty's perspective. He reflects on his decisions in the police force and on the city, it overwhelms him.

And then he drives the guy home. It seems like he's learned something.

Don't forget that conversation he had with Beadie in on of the latter episodes, and when she left him and took the kids for a few nights-- so that he would have time to reflect on his decisions. The note also said "next time, you're leaving, because this is my house..."

cheese and crackers
Apr 27, 2007
crackers and cheese
I also think it would have been great to have a few more episodes in season 5. it would have allowed for less of the newsroom per episode (I liked the storyline as a whole and feel it is important, but it definitely felt boring to me at times) and for a more realistic takedown of Marlo and the others. The way he was arrested felt rushed and a little too serendipitous... I doubt a kingpin would ever use a cellphone at all even at the behest of the suppliers.

I was also interested in seeing a closer look at the transformation of the drug game vis a vis cellphones and the decline of open air markets. I feel like it is important both because it lessens the visibility of the drug trade to citizens and the violence over territory between drug crews. That said, I still think they did a great job and I mostly just miss the Wire and would watch anything even tangentially related to the show.

Frostwerks
Sep 24, 2007

by Lowtax

cheese and crackers posted:

I was also interested in seeing a closer look at the transformation of the drug game vis a vis cellphones and the decline of open air markets. I feel like it is important both because it lessens the visibility of the drug trade to citizens and the violence over territory between drug crews. That said, I still think they did a great job and I mostly just miss the Wire and would watch anything even tangentially related to the show.

This is a super good point. I've never bought illegal drugs without using a cell phone and have a hard time even imagining how that poo poo actually worked back in the slow old days.

Jerusalem
May 20, 2004

Would you be my new best friends?

Season 2, Episode 3: Hot Shots

Beadie Russell posted:

What they need is a union.

Omar is back in Baltimore, having apparently decided that enough time has passed (plus Avon's incarceration) to come back from New York. With a new partner in crime and love named Dante, the two are carefully watching a stash house as Omar lays out how they are going to take it. In season one we learned that Omar saw the street the way the police could only dream of, and Dante is impressed too as Omar works out how drugs/money come out of the stash house hidden by dirty laundry. Rather than storming the place like a fortress, they only need to wait till night and another load of "washing" to come out. Omar doesn't see EVERYTHING though, to his surprise and delight two women who were casually hanging out on the street directly in his field of vision suddenly pull guns and rob the man coming down the stoop with a basket of dirty laundry. Grabbing the package, they mock him for "slipping" and depart in their car, one of them riding seated on the door and covering the dealers as they go. Dante is pissed, they've just lost their caper, but Omar is pleased, declaring that you don't see something like that every day.

At the Philadelphia Coast Guard building, even Freamon's legendary patience is at breaking point. Landsman worked things out so his best men were working on the 14 dead girls... but you can't get blood from a stone. Freamon and Bunk sit and interview one by one various members of the Atlantic Light crew, all of whom babble in their own languages to the pissed off detectives. The only thing that comes across over the gulf in languages is the familiar refrain of "no English", and they don't believe it any more than Sergei or The Greek believed Sam at the end of the last episode. The scene is played (very well) for laughs, plenty of intercut scenes of crewmembers of different Ethnicities acting irritated, paranoid, apologetic, or confused while a clearly tired Bunk and Freamon sit through it all. One crewmember tries to kiss Bunk's hand, upsetting both the Detectives who eventually start spouting racially loaded jokes at the foreigners who supposedly don't understand a word they say (but absolutely do). "Yabba Dadda Dabba Dabba Do?" asks Bunk, and Freamon adds in,"Mishy gishy gooshie gooshie mishy-mushy mooshie mother fucker!". Freamon demands that the man must know some English, he can't travel all the way around the world and not speak anything. The crewmember continues to keep up the pretense though, and to be honest Freamon and Bunk should have known better and come prepared with a translator or translators, just to avoid falling into this trap. Rejoining Beadie and the officer they met last episode - who again admits that they'll all be speaking English once the detectives leave - we learn that two of the crew are missing. The officer gives them the gear of one of the missing men, but says the other took all his gear with him. This isn't unusual though, they often get people disappearing once they pull into a port, especially if they've just been paid. One of the missing men actually showed up for an advance a couple of days before they got in, and reveals a key piece of information - more members of the crew were showing up for advances on this voyage, some of them every day. He assumed they were gambling down in the hold, but Bunk, Freamon and Beadie all have another idea in mind - they were paying the smuggled women for sex. The officer warns them that holding them another day isn't going to help at all, even if they return with an interpreter the men will refuse to talk - the unwritten rule is that what happens below decks stays below decks. It's a familiar refrain to the police, dealers don't "snitch", and they themselves have their own "code of silence". We'll see it come up again and again throughout the seasons - people look after their own and don't trust outsiders, including (or especially) those in positions of authority.

Nick Sobotka is getting a free haircut at the hairdressers, who is complaining that she has to hurry so she can get to paying customers. Why is the cut free? We soon learn that the little girl playing on the seat behind them is their child, this is Nick's long-term girlfriend - Aimee - who is upset that the fact they aren't married or at least living together is now starting to come up at their daughter's pre-school. Nick dismisses her concerns, assuring her that by the time their daughter - Ashley - is in Elementary School they'll be living under the same roof, and seems angry that she questions what has obviously been a long-standing assertion of his. When she warns him she has to figure out what is best for her and Ashley, his wounded pride causes him to complain that he'll be moving into his own place the very moment he has more hours to work, and if she wants to join him then great, but if not at least he did his best. Nick clearly is the kind of man who believes very strongly in the idea of the man as the breadwinner, the guy who handles everything and can be relied on, and like so many before him when he can't live up to his own idea of what a man is he lashes out. It's not his fault because he INTENDS to do all the right things when things just go right for him for once, so where is some goddamn gratitude for all the hard work and effort he's GOING to do for all the things he is GOING to provide. She pauses in front of the mirror to compose herself, obviously used to having to deal with this kind of thing, then tries to lighten the mood and playfully asks if he wants her to put a little streak in his hair. With contempt he says that once she does that he'll go stick his tongue up a guy's rear end, and she storms away with Ashley, leaving him to glower into the mirror, angry at himself but also at her.



McNulty pops down to Evidence Control and is surprised to see Lieutenant Daniels, noting that they got him good. They share a laugh and McNulty actually apologizes, but Daniels - who has already decided to quit - says gently caress it, they brought the case in and that's what is important. He tells McNulty how Kima is doing and McNulty notes that being a "housecat" is not for her, then hands over the evidence he has brought back. This is the Gant case evidence, which Daniels spent most of a night tracking down for Bunk, but according to the ADA it's weak poo poo and useless without Omar's testimony, and like Bunk she has tasked McNulty with tracking him down. Daniels seems amused at the time wasted collecting the evidence, and moreso that the last McNulty saw of Omar was putting him on a bus to New York. He wishes McNulty well and prepares to put the evidence away, but when McNulty assures him he'll be out of Evidence Control in a couple of years, Daniels decides to let him know he's put in his papers. He has 22 years in the service - hell, technically he could retire and live off a (small) pension - and there is no point being in Evidence Control when he has a law degree. This is basically the end result of McNulty's current plan to finish up his 20 years, and he wishes Daniels the best, who does the same to him. They've come a long way from their early antagonistic relationship, and have the shared experience of being screwed over by higher-ups to bring them closer.

The two women who robbed the stash house - Tosha and Kimmy - are celebrating as they count their take, just over $5,000. Unfortunately for them, they find themselves the victims of a robbery of their own - their location of an abandoned building might have been under the wire of dealers out for revenge, but not Omar. Dante gets the drop on them, namedropping Omar just as Brandon did in season one, though this time it's deliberately done. As Tosha and Kimmy argue over whether Omar was killed by "project niggers" or just run out of town by them, Omar creeps up behind them and catches them equally unaware, allowing Dante to collect up the carefully counted money. Omar tells the women to put out the word that he is back, he knows the importance of his name "ringing out", just as Avon does and Marlo will. At the moment, the legend of Omar is of a crazy stick-up man who was either killed or run out of town by the Barksdale crew, and he wants to change that.

Bunk and Freamon return to Homicide with Beadie, where Landsman is laughing over a crime report which mistook the word prostrate for prostate. His humor disappears when he learns the results of their trip to Philadelphia - the hold where the girls were being "stored" has been restocked with new cargo, ruining it as a crime scene location, and the 40 crewmembers refused to admit to speaking English so they let the ship sail. Landsman is not pleased at all, what they DO have is weak poo poo - teletypes out on the two missing crew members and a few personal effects to look through. They admit it is weak but it's all they had to go on, and he makes it clear that this isn't good enough, if they couldn't hold the ship then they need an alternative course of action. Noticing Beadie and her uniform, he tells her they work plainclothes and suggests she wears pantsuits to offset Bunk's "lawyerly affectations" and the "tweedy impertinence" of Freamon, then warns them all that Rawls is watching them on this case so they need to at least look like they know what they're doing. This is Beadie's introduction to how this squad of the Homicide Division is run, and it can hardly be inspiring confidence.

In the Southeastern, Major Valchek has only just found out that the surveillance van is missing, demanding to know from a Sergeant where it is. The paperwork shows it was returned by the Flex Squad and the keys returned to the Officer-in-Charge, and they DO have the keys.... but the van is gone. Valchek is unfuriated, how can a fully-equipped storage van worth over $100,000 just disappear? The answer, of course, is that it's currently at the start of a round the world tour, stopping first at Wilmington where the local Checkers Union takes great pleasure in posing for a photograph with it.



Prez has gotten his wish and been assigned to a Detail investigating corruption - unfortunately for him it's the Frank Sobotka Detail. Rawls' Spectacular Six are proving exactly as effective as you might think, so far the most they have managed to put together is a computer print-out of a picture of Frank Sobotka's IBS Union Card pinned to a noticeboard. Daniels warned Carver at the end of season one that the people under him would take their cues from him, and we're seeing this in effect now. Valchek is enthusiastic about this Detail but the person who picked the men to work it knew it was just a politically expedient move on Burrell's behalf, and not an actual case worth pursuing. So Rawls picked a bunch of useless, lazy or drunk liabilities to get them out of the hair of their commanders (and thus get their gratitude), and the men know they're just there to kill six weeks. Prez asks Lieutenant Grayson what the plan is and learns that there is a half-formed idea of maybe finding an informant to tell them something, or try and work some hand-to-hand drug arrests and see if they can flip them and discover a magical connection to the Treasurer of a small Local Union. Prez suggests looking into the possibility of wiretaps so they can find out who Frank talks to, but that sounds like entirely too much work to the Lieutenant (who is trying to watch television while Prez bothers him), and tells him they'll just stick with hand-to-hands for now.

Far more competent and results-focused is Tosha and Kimmy, who stop to flirt with a dealer on a corner stoop, getting information in the process. They're watched from across the street by a low-key Omar and Dante, hiding in plain sight by just hanging out on a stoop themselves. Omar is enjoying watching the girls work, while Dante is clearly jealous of the attention they're getting. Eventually they return up the other side of the street, stopping by Dante and Omar to make an act of being flirty with them too, while they actually give them information on the security of the stash house. There is a steel door, only the one man on the door and one person inside sitting in his drawers right by the window watching television. They quickly move on, for the most part Omar's new crew is competent and professional, completely unlike Rawls' Spectacular Six.

Somewhere in the middle ground is Stringer and the two men currently keeping him company. Stringer is talking with his stockbroker in the back of a car, while Country and Shamrock joke about the surprisingly nice block that Corrections Officer Tilghman works on, as well as Stringer "acting the businessman". It's interesting to see that following the incident with Roberto's missing dope in episode one, Shamrock is now riding with Country and accompanying Stringer. I felt at the time that Bodie being given the job of driving the car with the dope in it while Shamrock followed in the van showed Stringer felt Shamrock was more valuable/less readily sacrificed than Bodie, and that this backs me up somewhat. Bodie has been given a position of responsibility running the Towers, and has a high regard for Stringer, but I feel like Shamrock is being groomed for an important Enforcer/Lieutenant role. Country asks Stringer why he is dropping cellphone company stock and he reveals that when he was in the Low Rises last he noticed that Poot was using the cellphone they gave him for business but had a separate phone "for when the pussy calls". Stringer takes smug pleasure in telling the two enforcers that this proves market saturation to him, no company is going to be able to sell Poot another phone because he has one for business and one for personal calls already - eyes darting back and forth between them to see if they understand what he means, enjoying the superiority of his education and intellect. I don't know how the timeline of all this works out, but in hindsight it is a neat little indicator that Stringer isn't quite the talented businessman he thinks he is - can you imagine how bad anybody who dropped OUT of cellphone stocks during 2000-2010 would feel? Tilghman arrives at home driving a Lexus, a pretty good car for a guy on the salary of a Corrections Officer.



At night, Tilghman joins a near blind old man named Butchie and two others outside an alleyway, watching as a rat makes it way carefully up along the wall. A small. fascinated terrier is following the rat, and the men are taking bets on whether the dog will get the rat or not. Tilghman thinks the rat will get away and seems to be right as the rat reaches a pile of garbage and disappeared, but Butchie offers another $100 on the bet, saying it isn't over yet. Tilghman takes him up on the offer and then watches in disbelief as the rat pokes its head out of the garbage and is instantly jumped on by the terrier, which breaks its back and tosses it about as Butchie roars with laughter, leaving Tilghman disgusted - how did the dog know what the rat was going to do? They head into Butchie's bar, watched from another alley in a car by Shamrock and Country. Inside, Tilghman pays out money for more drugs from Butchie, who notes that he can supply the extra weight he needs but he's surprised at how quickly he's coming back for more. Tilghman points out that it isn't like the convicts have anything better to do with their time, and after Butchie "hears" the count of the money and confirms with his muscle that it is correct, he gives the signal to another of his crew to meet Tilghman outside and give him the product. Outside, Shamrock and Country watch the trade being made, the two of them having an apparent teacher/student relationship - Shamrock comes to the conclusion that Butchie is supplying Tilghman with his drugs and looks to Country for confirmation/approval, and when he gets it he nods in comprehension/appreciation.

Dante is sulking on the bed as Omar applies cologne to himself, and Omar tells him not for the first time that Tosha and Kimmy don't do anything for him. Dante doesn't like having them involved though, he prefers having Omar to himself, and says they should just do things themselves, just like they planned with the earlier job. Omar points out that this particular dealer (Stump) never leaves his house though, so Dante suggests they burst in guns blazing. Omar reminds him that the door is steel, and stresses again to Dante that he doesn't have to be jealous of the girls, they don't appeal to Omar at all. Dante gets flirty, telling Omar to prove it, and after briefly kissing he teases that it'll take more than that and a happy Omar flips him off of the bed.

McNulty returns his kids to their mother's home, the boys arguing about the difference between Santa's Elves and Lord of the Rings' Elves - apparently the former aren't real but the latter are :3 He asks Elena if he can tuck the boys in after she sends them upstairs to brush their teeth, but she warns him he'll be receiving paperwork from her lawyer soon. He's horrified but she quickly assures him it isn't divorce papers, it's a separation agreement, meant to protect both of them. Clearly wanting to argue, he shows unusual restraint and agrees to read it over, but his reward is her saying goodbye and closing the door in his face, leaving him standing impotent looking through the window of what used to be his home.

The next day, Nick and Ziggy have shown up at the docks only to be told there is no work for them, they're once again too low on the seniority listings to get a spot. Nick is feeling particularly upset about this in light of his "discussion" with Aimee, and feels free to reveal his fury and even some of his feelings of impotence to Ziggy in a way that his pride would never let him do with Aimee. He can't deal with MAYBE getting one day's worth of work a week, he can't deal with waking up each morning not knowing if he will get paid or not. Aimee wants to get married and he can't even plan as far ahead as a day. Ziggy doesn't understand why he'd want to get married anyway and Nick admits that he doesn't necessarily want to (despite his protests about having a kid and needing to man up) but the problem is that he couldn't even if he wanted to, he doesn't have a pot to piss in. After Ziggy tactfully tries to find out if Aimee's sister is still single, he gets as serious as he can and once again suggests to Nick that they pool their cash (of which Ziggy has none) and go in on a package of dope together, and they can make more money in an afternoon than they'll see at the docks in a week. Nick is still disgusted by the idea though, his pride won't let him stand out on a corner to be arrested by the police for pocket change "like a project friend of the family". Nick has plenty of black friends on the docks so his vehement racism in this regard always surprises me, and to me it comes down again to his sense of pride - he sees himself as the latest in a long line of hard workers with integrity and dignity, the kind who believes that hard work builds character and will be rewarded, and rankles at the suggestion that he join those he has always been told are lazy, stupid and responsible for their horrible life situation. When you grow up like that and find yourself unable to get work, the reaction is almost always going to be anger because you did everything "right" and yet somehow everything is going wrong, but who does that anger get directed at? Blaming society is what "those people" always did, and you can't blame yourself because you're a worthy, hardworking person... so the anger and impotence just ends up eating you up inside.

Bunk drives Beadie to the location listed on the shipping manifest as the destination of the can that held the dead girls. They're not surprised to discover the place doesn't exist, and Beadie guesses the point of origin in France is equally fictitious. Bunk sums up the problem with their case - they have a can of dead girls that came from nowhere and were going nowhere.

McNulty sits at the docks staring at a photo of the first deal girl located in her luggage. He's thinking about her family, her identity, her story... but I think what's really at the heart of his melancholy is Elena telling him she was sending him a separation agreement. He's Irish, not Polish, but I think he comes from a similar working class white immigrant background that sees him unable to come to grips with his feelings of guilt, anger and grief and has to externalize them in some way.



Stringer meets with Butchie, who is not pleased to hear what Stringer is proposing/requesting. Tilghman is good business for him, he picks up 2 to 4 quarters a week, always pays on time, and Stringer is asking him to lose that regular custom/money. Stringer agrees but assures him they'll find a way to make up the money to him, and then makes the big selling point - this isn't Stringer making the request, this is Avon's call. Butchie may be mostly/legally blind but he can see clear as day what that means, blinking he ponders for a moment the benefit of Tilghman's regular custom against Avon's displeasure and finally declares,"Avon is Avon," to which Stringer replies,"Always." With a heavy heart Butchie tells Stringer that Tilghman will be popping by tomorrow, and Stringer - having got what he wanted - thanks him and turns away, Butchie giving him a hard look behind his back as Stringer gives the nod to Shamrock at the bar.

McNulty has gone to see the coroner - Dr. Frazier - again, he's gotten a bee in his bonnet about the first Jane Doe that he fished out of the water, he wants to know what, if any, connection she had to the other girls. Are they sure she was with them? If so then why did she end up in the water? Are they sure she wasn't local? Frazier is bemused that McNulty worked so hard to stick Rawls with the bodies and now he's the one obsessed, but he can answer some of McNulty's questions. She was definitely not local, the mercury in her teeth-work tells him she was from Eastern Europe. He can even narrow down the search to Budapest, since three of the dead girls had breast jobs there. He was even able to figure out the place they were done from the identifying marks on the implants, but their spotty records means he couldn't get identities, just the time of the surgery which happened in the fall. McNulty is greedy for more and Frazier points out he's already given him a HUGE amount of information, and McNulty jokingly pays homage to his skills before pushing for more. Frazier was able to ascertain that a number of the girls had vaginal, anal or oral sex at some point in the day before their murders. McNulty asks if he gave all that information to Cole, and learns for the first time that Bunk and Freamon have been saddled with the case - his reaction to the news is pretty amusing.



Stump is watching cartoons in his drawers while his car is watching the street, and outside Tosha is hiding in plain sight as she kindly brings a drink to a little girl and brings her along with her down the street, telling her about how to not let bullies get her down. They head up the stoop past the man on the stoop and knock on the door, calling out to "Mr. Stump" that those boys were teasing Shantelle again. Tosha's kindly act is even more disturbing than when it seemed she was using a random little girl as cover, because it seems that this is Stump's own daughter, which is why the man on the stoop let her past. Stump takes the bar off of the door and opens it only to be greeted by Tosha, Kimmy, Dante and Omar with weapons drawn, the guard on the stoop and Shantelle both being held hostage. Stump tries to slam the door shut but Omar is in after him before it can close, and everybody rushes inside, the door closing behind them.

Tilghman has rather dangeorusly decided to sort out his drugs in the parking lot of the prison before heading inside (why not prepare it at home beforehand?). Using a small package of what looks to be throat lozenges, he removes the lozenges from their wrappers and refills them with dope. Heading into the prison, he goes through the scanners after dropping his keys, wallet and the lozens from his pocket into the tray that is passed back to him without being scanned. It's a simple system he's obviously been using for awhile now, to great profit.

McNulty shows up at Homicide where Bunk greets him with a traditional,"You happy now, bitch!?!" McNulty is properly chastened for a moment at least, noting that Beadie has been caught up in this as well and insisting he wasn't to know they'd end up being saddled with the case. Bunk reminds him of his "collateral damage" phrase re: Cole, and Freamon notes that he is feeling pretty collateral right now. But McNulty has come to make things right, with great glee he tells them that when his friends suffer he bleeds too, and like Moses from up on the mountain he reveals what he has learned from Dr. Frazier. Freamon and Bunk are amazed, gasping that this "deductive motherfucker" has a theory before puncturing his ego by revealing that they've already figured out everything that he had - the girls were coming over as prostitutes, their way paid for by somebody with the cash to get them breast-jobs, the men on the ship were buying sex with them, one of the women decided she didn't want to have sex and fought off the man trying to screw her. He killed her, panicked and threw her body over the side, and the other girls were locked in the can and the breathing pipe was crushed so they'd all suffocate. McNulty is disappointed but amused, and learns from them that the crew were taking advances on their salary but all of them are now pretending not to speak English and the crime scene has been irrevocably contaminated. McNulty notes they have a hell of a case, earning a,"gently caress you very much," from Bunk, and points out that if they don't identify the Jane Does, they'll end up as medical cadavers for the anatomy board, then they'll be cremated and buried in a mass grave. Beadie asks if that bothers McNulty and he says it does, a little, and Beadie agrees, it bothers her too. Whether McNulty's concern is genuine or misplaced grief over his own bad family situation, he is the first person that Beadie has seen treat the dead women as people in their own right, as opposed to an inconvenience or a joke.



Father Lewandowski is hosting a political meet and greet on behalf of the port unions, organized by Bruce DiBiago, the high-priced lobbyist that Andy Krawczyk mentioned to Valchek last episode. Frank Sobotka is buttering up a District 7 Councilman about dredging the canal when he is taken aside by DiBiago who warns him that they can already count on this vote, and he needs to work on the politicians who are not firm supporters. Two of them are likely votes who they can be fairly sure of, but the third is a problem - it's Clay Davis. Frank is horrified to learn that not only have they already donated $40,000 in contributions to Davis, but that he is quite stridently asking for more. DiBiago stresses how important having Clay Davis on side is however, so Frank makes nice and introduces himself, and Clay immediately makes it clear his support is fully reliant on continued steady "contributions" from the Port Unions who are doing good work in "making friends". They share a laugh and Clay turns back to chat with another politician, while Frank turns a,"Can you believe this loving guy?" look in DiBiago's direction.

Bunk, Freamon and Beadie have gone to see a representative of the Department of Justice, following up on their belief that the French point of origin for the shipping can is fictitious. He tells them of the value of the prostitutes for whoever is running them in America, a figure we already know from The Greek last episode. The money provides another point of interest for the Detectives, if the girls were worth that much money to somebody, then whoever killed them REALLY hosed up. The French address comes back as non-existent, and the driver who signed for the can doesn't exist either on any record. The trio are horrified to discover that there are thought to be 40-50 THOUSAND undocumented sex workers in America, many of whom have no idea when they come over that they're expected to be prostitutes, many of them thinking they're to be dancers or secretaries. Beadie provides us with the episode's epigraph when she notes that what they need is a union.

Valchek and his wife are celebrating their anniversary, joined by another couple and Prez and his wife (Valchek's daughter). A happy Valchek asks Prez how the Detail is going, and at first Prez tries to spare him aggravation on this happy day and just says it is going slow. Valchek is confused, Burrell told him Lieutenant Grayson came highly recommended out of Property Crimes, and asks Prez for more details, exactly WHAT are they currently doing? Prez hesitates, then admits that they're not doing much at all - no DNRs, no assets investigation, no tag numbers or searching for patterns. He tells him once more how Daniels and Freamon operated the Barksdale Detail, and this time Valchek actually pays attention.... at least to one aspect. While Prez lays out how the case was handled and what the proper approach should be on a Detail like this, Valchek's focus is on a recurring theme - Burrell shut that case down prematurely, Burrell ruined that Detail, Burrell Burrell Burrell.



Donnette is visted at home by Stringer, who gives her a friendly kiss on the cheek and is right in the door, looking around the tastefully decorated home. D'Angelo's son ("the little man") has been put down for the night so it's just the two of them, and Stringer is there to remind her of her obligations to D'Angelo. But he can't help but look her over as she walks around the house, asking out loud if D'Angelo knows what he's missing. She returns with one of D'Angelo's last clothing purchases before his arrest, measuring it up against him to see if it will fit. Leaning over him, Stringer's eyes all over her, she says quite deliberately,"It's a shame to let things go to waste."

He brushes the top aside, saying she can give away the man's clothes but that doesn't make him gone, and she insists she hasn't forgotten him. He reminds her that she hasn't been around to see him and says that while she might find it hard, D'Angelo finds it harder. They need to keep him happy, because if he's not happy he might start rethinking his 20 year sentence, and causes problems of ALL of them. To hammer home this point, he asks her if she likes her apartment, her car, the money etc that they are providing her. None of this comes free, she has a job to do just like all of them, and that job is to keep D'Angelo happy. He puts the top aside, telling her he's an XL, and with a grin she tells him,"No doubt." Looming over her, he slowly lowers the zipper on her top, then cups her chin and kisses her - he is a hugely dominating presence (remember his finger tapping D'Angelo's chest from season one?), but the distaste she apparently felt for him in season 1 seems to be all gone now. They begin making out on the couch, the camera panning to a shot of D'Angelo, Donnette and "the little man" in happier times.



McNulty and Bunk are out drinking at the bar, joined by Beadie. Being far more sensible than either of them, she tells them she's throwing herself out before she ends up owing her babysitter half her salary. McNulty is instantly testing the waters, she has kids... is the father working? "Not a day in his goddamn life," she replies, and gives Bunk a smile when he doesn't let her put money towards the bill, saying she barely made a dent. She says her goodbyes and heads away, and Bunk asks what that was all about. Is he referring to her comment regarding the father? Or the fact she left early rather than drinking herself into a stupor? McNulty says he doesn't know in any case, and exclaims to Bunk that he has decided he is going to provide a name to go with the face of his Jane Doe - he isn't going to let her end up at the anatomy board as another nameless Jane Doe. He'll find out who she is, find out where her people are, and then he can put his mind at rest. Echoing what we've seen from McNulty already this episode, as well as Nick Sobotka, Bunk declares this is just Jimmy's Catholic guilt speaking up. Jimmy, seeming genuinely confused, asks what he could possibly have to be feel guilty about, and laughs when Bunk offers to count the ways.

Valchek arrives at his Office in the morning and settles down to go through his mail, finding an odd envelope. Opening it, he discovers the photo of his surveillance van with Wilmington IBS workers posing in front of it - he's just found another reason to hate Frank Sobotka.

Frank himself is working in his little converted shipping can office when he's visited by a Checker - Ringo. Ringo says he's not doing so well, he's late on his Union dues, he owes money on his lousy Buick, and he's only worked five days in the last month. He can't stick with the Checkers Union anymore with so many people above him in seniority, he's going to have to leave and join the Local 47. Frank smiles and cheerfully pulls money from his wallet, and tells Ringo to go see Delores tonight at the bar, give her that and ask for a beer and a shot. Have those, come see him tomorrow and if he STILL wants to change Unions, then Frank will let him go without a problem, but he wants him to have that drink first.

With help from Johnny 50, Ziggy has worked out a theft from the docks, and has managed to rope in Nick's help as well since it's "only" theft as opposed to selling drugs. Johnny gives Ziggy the number of a shipping can and lets Nick - driving a truck - know where to go. Ziggy - pretending to be working - tells Horseface that a can has been put in the wrong place and needs to be prepared to be loaded onto a truck to be moved. With the can put in place for them, Nick and Ziggy lock the can into place and Nick drives it out of the docks, telling the guard at the security booth it's a misdelivery, though not before Horseface has spotted that Nick is the driver.

At Butchie's, Tilghman has already showed up to pick up more drugs, joking with Butchie that there is no need to count the money, he's always right. Butchie laughs that caring is important, and Tilghman finishes up his ribs and admonishes the little terrier that it can't have the leftovers - clearly he feels the dog has already cost him enough. He heads out the door, not noting that there is somebody new in the bar today - Shamrock. Once Tilghman is gone, Butchie comments that to Shamrock that Avon has no flex - I've always misunderstood this line to mean that Butchie mistakenly thought Avon had failed to live up to his threat to deal with Tilghman. It's only recently that I've come to realize that the line doesn't refer to flexing muscle but flexibility - as you'll soon see, Avon's solution to the Tilghman problem is incredibly harsh - the price of disrespecting him is high indeed.

In prison, D'Angelo is working in the library, where another inmate cheerfully asks him if he prefers regular or Ultimate Spider-Man and tells a confused D'Angelo he'll have to school him on that. Avon arrives and the other inmate makes himself scarce, everybody but Tilghman knows not to cross Avon. D'Angelo isn't pleased to see him, especially when Avon points out what a cushy job the library position is, and how strange it is that D'Angelo got it when so many others wanted it. D'Angelo isn't dumb, that's never been his problem (or maybe that's always been EXACTLY his problem) and he sullenly asks if Avon wants a thank you, but Avon stresses that he's just trying to point out how easy he can make like for him in prison. He tells D'Angelo that if he opens his ears and gets his head in the right place, he'll only do a small part of the 20 years he has to serve, just like Avon plans to only do 1-2 years of his 7. D'Angelo isn't having any of that though, the very best he can hope for is serving half of his sentence, which is still 10 years. Avon switches tack, telling D'Angelo he's concerned over how "dusty" he looks, and D'Angelo throws it back in his face, asking him so what if he is getting high? What else is he supposed to do for at least 10 more years in prison? Is Avon his mother now? Avon's response - and remember he IS a massive drug dealer - is that doing drugs is the weak man's road, and that he has never seen D'Angelo as weak (I believe that, it was Stringer who always saw D'Angelo as weak). D'Angelo does respond to this, despite his anger/resentment of Avon, he has also always craved his approval, and he plays the old junkie bargaining game - okay so yeah he does get high, but only every now and then, it's nothing he can't handle. Avon plays along, okay if he can stop at any time, that means he can stop now, right? Even if only for a few days? D'Angelo looks pissed at the suggestion, but Avon plays on his pride - it was D'Angelo who said he could go without, not him. D'Angelo agrees finally, yeah he'll give it up for a few days at least, just to show Avon he can. Avon is pleased, giving D'Angelo a fist-bump, and tells him something that will always haunt me - that he's doing this from love. Considering what follows later in this episode, the fact that he gave D'Angelo the choice but no warning has always struck me as rather horrific - if D'Angelo hadn't taken the bait.... well, you'll see.



I love this shot, it says so much. To Avon this is a paternalistic gesture of love - tousling his nephew's head, holding his shoulder, giving his support. To D'Angelo it's a death grip on his shoulder and a hand forcing his head down/holding him down/restraining him.

Nick and Ziggy arrive at a small store run by Glekas - the fourth man at the initial meeting Nick had with Vondas in episode one. In the cafe he was dressed casually in poor clothes, here he is in a (cheapish) suit and is very much the smooth salesman. He snaps at an indifferent young man who is supposed to be minding the store but has been neglecting the (mostly foreign) customers and then heads out into the warehouse, where Nick and Ziggy are waiting. The can they stole was full of digital cameras, stolen not on order but on the off-chance they could sell them to Glekas, who is interested but wants to know what they're looking for. Nick suggests the cameras will sell at $400 each and Glekas responds with an offer of $350 that Nick immediately accepts, but Ziggy speaks up with a counter of $500 - and for once he's not being an idiot. He did his research and discovered that this brand sells for $550 at big brand stores, so Glekas can sell them at $500 - as there are 400 cameras that means a total sales figure of $200,000, and they want 20% of that to split three ways - Ziggy, Nick and the third man in their crew (Johnny 50). Glekas laughs that he wants a woman with thin ankles but he's going to go home to his wife, and offers than 8%, and Nick counters with 10% paid up front. Glekas smiles and says he'll accept because he likes Nick, and they shake hands.... and Ziggy once again can't resist taking things just a little too far and does about the stupidest thing you could ever do - he takes a photo of Glekas shaking Nick's hand.



Glekas reacts immediately, tearing the camera from Ziggy's hands and shattering it on the floor. His good humor is gone, and he snaps that he'll have to okay the deal with his people before it can go ahead. He leaves and Nick turns to glare at Ziggy, then laughs along with him, both of them amused by Glekas' (completely justified) anger. Nick is delighted to have made the deal and far more money than he could have hoped for, not even Ziggy's stupidity can get him down today.

Four of Rawls' Spectacular Six are playing poker and sharing good natured insults while Prez sits at his desk with nothing to do. Valchek arrives at the office and they all leap to attention as he scowls at them, then demands to know where Lieutenant Grayson is. Polk quickly checks he's not around (perhaps watching the television) and then declares he's "on the street", and Valchek strides over to the noticeboard where he glares at the single piece of work the Detail has done so far - the copy of Frank Sobotka's IBS Union card pinned up. Glaring back at the men, he storms right back out. If there is one thing we have learned Valchek cannot stand, it is being ignored or dismissed as unimportant.

At City Hall, Burrell looks set to be "crowned" as the new Police Commissioner, the vote will soon be going through and everybody in attendance is convinced he is a shoe-in, while he pretends to be a political novice. To his horror he spots a determined looking Valchek storming down the corridor and moves to meet him, and finds himself caught in a trap. A pissed off Valchek accuses him of providing "humps" for his Detail, all while the Hall fills up in preparation for the vote. He tries to calm Valchek down, saying they'll talk about it tomorrow (when he is in a position of power) but Valchek is too canny for that - a lousy cop he might be but he knows politicking - and says they'll talk about it NOW or he'll go into the Hall and talk with his connections and convince them to vote against Burrell. It won't be enough to prevent Burrell becoming Commissioner, but it will make for a messy, disastrous start for him - so if he wants everything to go smoothly, he'll give Valchek what he wants now - and that's a REAL Detail run by REAL police.... give him that black Lieutenant from the Barksdale case, Daniels! Burrell insists that Daniels has put in his papers and is quitting, but Valchek isn't letting that stop him, if he hasn't met the Pension Board yet he can be convinced, and Burrell better be convincing. He threatens to reveal that Burrell shut down the Barksdale Detail before it was ready and turn what was on paper a hugely successful piece of policework into a debacle of interference and potential corruption. He storms back out, leaving a sweating Burrell to enter the Hall and be voted in as Police Commissioner.... and already with a potential disaster in the making.



In the prison, Tilghman drops off the dope in a cell and warns the inmate that lockdown is in 20 minutes. The inmate quickly breaks down the package and puts together small twists of dope and then does his rounds, handing them out to eagerly waiting prisoners. D'Angelo sits on his bunk reading a book, not waiting to get high like the others, so the dealer moves on to the next cell, handing over the dope and asking to borrow the Green Lantern comic the inmate (one of D's friends) is reading. He says he can borrow it but must return it, and is surprised to learn that D "wasn't up".

Glekas meets with Vondas to explain the digital camera deal and that Nick was behind it... as well as the idiot cousin, Ziggy. They casually insult Ziggy, Vondas saying that he thinks he uses drugs as well, and Vondas asks what Glekas thinks of Nick (whom they call Niko). Glekas thinks he's smart, and he's eager to make the deal, they look set to clear $180,000, and Vondas gives him the go-ahead.

At Delores' bar, the lady herself is eying up Ziggly suspiciously, why is he acting... normal? The unusually restrained Ziggy tells Delores he made money today, and with a smirk she asks him what ship was in. Ringo arrives with the money Frank gave him and asks her for a beer and a shot, telling Ziggy that Frank said he needed it. He knocks back the shot and then Delores hands over the change from his drink.... a large wad of cash. Ringo is confused, but Delores insists that is his change... or so says Frank Sobotka. He's understandingly hesitant but she says it isn't hers and if he doesn't take it, somebody else will, so he quickly grabs up the money and heads away, watched the entire time by Ziggy. Delores turns a beaming smile on Ziggy and tells him his father is a good man, and Ziggy sits there with a sullen look on his face, taking completely the wrong message from what he has just seen. He knows that his father works with The Greek from time to time for money, he knows that people love and respect his father, and now he's seen his father (indirectly) handing over a wad of cash to one of his Checkers, and heard Delores talk about what a great man he is. To Ziggy, all this screams that money buys love and respect, that being extravagant and generous with your cash is laudable, and that Frank does what he does to get people's approval. It's absolutely the opposite of what Frank is doing, but Ziggy doesn't understand that and it will cause all manner of problems to come.

McNulty returns home and finds Elena's separation papers waiting in an envelope shoved under the door. He takes a cursory look and then tosses it to the floor in disgust.

Late at night in the prison, a sudden scream breaks the silence. D'Angelo is startled awake as the lights come on and an alarm sounds, prisoners roaring either for help or just to add to the cacophony, demanding to know what is happening. D'Angelo rushes to the narrow window of his cell door and calls out to a nearby inmate to let him know what is going on, and watches as prisoners are wheeled out on stretchers foaming at the mouth and others have CPR applied as they lie on the floors of their cells. "BAD PACKAGE, YO!" calls out one of the other inmates to D'Angelo,"HOT SHOTS!"

D'Angelo's face fills the frame as he watches in horror, knowing how close he came to death himself and also knowing exactly who is responsible for this "bad package". Meanwhile, with his own light in an otherwise darkened wing of the prison, Avon Barksdale listens to music on his headphones and reads a book, completely indifferent to the chaos he has just caused, the lives he has just ended. It's "all in the Game".

Boywhiz88
Sep 11, 2005

floating 26" off da ground. BURR!

cheese and crackers posted:

I was also interested in seeing a closer look at the transformation of the drug game vis a vis cellphones and the decline of open air markets. I feel like it is important both because it lessens the visibility of the drug trade to citizens and the violence over territory between drug crews. That said, I still think they did a great job and I mostly just miss the Wire and would watch anything even tangentially related to the show.

I think this is interesting as throughout the 5 seasons all you see is open market dealing. The idea of open market dealing is crazy to me. And well, I think the way that they play the corners after the towers fall is well done. Carver or McNulty riding up on a corner, clearing it or talking poo poo but not getting gung-ho at that point. I think that's a point of McNulty's and Carver's character, they learn to understand the dealer at some level. I think they can see that the higher ups are the real problem and if you're on a corner, then you're just a poor mope.

Mooktastical
Jan 8, 2008

Jerusalem posted:

Nick has plenty of black friends on the docks so his vehement racism in this regard always surprises me, and to me it comes down again to his sense of pride - he sees himself as the latest in a long line of hard workers with integrity and dignity, the kind who believes that hard work builds character and will be rewarded, and rankles at the suggestion that he join those he has always been told are lazy, stupid and responsible for their horrible life situation. When you grow up like that and find yourself unable to get work, the reaction is almost always going to be anger because you did everything "right" and yet somehow everything is going wrong, but who does that anger get directed at? Blaming society is what "those people" always did, and you can't blame yourself because you're a worthy, hardworking person... so the anger and impotence just ends up eating you up inside.
This has always seemed more like a class/culture thing to me. When Nick lists all the things that make him different from the white dealer Frog, it's just a list of things that make him proud to be a union, and therefore a member of that subculture, of which he counts guys like Ott.

Jerusalem posted:

Once Tilghman is gone, Butchie comments that to Shamrock that Avon has no flex - I've always misunderstood this line to mean that Butchie mistakenly thought Avon had failed to live up to his threat to deal with Tilghman. It's only recently that I've come to realize that the line doesn't refer to flexing muscle but flexibility - as you'll soon see, Avon's solution to the Tilghman problem is incredibly harsh - the price of disrespecting him is high indeed.
It's neither. He's referring to Tilghman.

GreenCard78
Apr 25, 2005

It's all in the game, yo.
Well, since the other thread has kinda dropped off, I'll say it here. I met Maria Broom, the actress that plays Marla Daniels. She's a 180 from her character, total hippie, and was at a community center lighting incense with kids, dancing, and singing songs about doing positive things. :3:

SpookyLizard
Feb 17, 2009
Was Omar back in Baltimore? I had always thought McNulty took a trip up to NYC.

escape artist
Sep 24, 2005

Slow train coming

SpookyLizard posted:

Was Omar back in Baltimore? I had always thought McNulty took a trip up to NYC.

After he tried to kill Avon, and then realized Avon's plan by asking for $5,000-- to which Avon agreed-- tipping Avon's hand... He left for NYC. Now that Avon is in jail and is weak on the streets, Omar finds it okay to return.

MrBling
Aug 21, 2003

Oozing machismo
I don't remember the episode but at one point Butchie remarks that Avon is pure evil, like his father. So clearly he doesn't really like Avon or see him as one to do business with.

the black husserl
Feb 25, 2005

Boywhiz88 posted:

The idea of open market dealing is crazy to me.

Clearly you have never been round the way.

Alec Bald Snatch
Sep 12, 2012

by exmarx

Frostwerks posted:

This is a super good point. I've never bought illegal drugs without using a cell phone and have a hard time even imagining how that poo poo actually worked back in the slow old days.

Phones still existed. Assuming your guy didn't get hold of you first, you either called him, went to his place if you knew him, or went to where you know he'd probably be or asked around to get word to him. It might've taken a little bit longer, but it wasn't excessively difficult. Cell phones did make the whole thing easier though.

The same problems were still there; sometimes it'd be dry, or people holding on to what they have because they're being bitches, or quality's not good.

Alec Bald Snatch fucked around with this message at 20:17 on Apr 17, 2013

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Oct 24, 2009

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I'm not sure if Stringer dropping cellphone stock was intentionally written to show him to be not as good at business as he thinks - the episode aired in 2003 and the season takes place the same year. Whether it was intentional or not, that's the way it clearly functions which I find pretty clever.

Also re: Nick's hypocrisy about dealing drugs vs "just" stealing - I think part of it has to do with the classic idea of "working". Stealing the cameras appears to be a more difficult caper than dealing drugs (Nick has particular disdain for the fact that dealers just sit in one spot all day). Nick has to drive the truck, have a guy on the inside helping him, then make the deal with Glekas. To him, all drug dealers do is just stand or sit there and hand out drugs. Definitely an element of racism there via the "lazy" perception I think? I always find it amusing and sad how when Nick succumbs to being a dealer, he seems to be fairly confident it will work as easily as boosting poo poo, to the point where he does dumb stuff like buying a brand new truck in his own name and making it so even Herc and Carver can figure out what's going on. There's clearly far more to dealing than Nick knows.

To this end, there's another scene I always note, when Nick sells the drug chemicals to Vondas, he gives them some advice about how to move the chemicals without appearing suspicious (something to the effect of different cars or something). As if guys in an operation like Vondas' don't know that already! Nick is clearly street smart but not as much as he thinks he is, much like Stringer has some business smarts but not nearly as much as he thinks.

grading essays nude fucked around with this message at 22:14 on Apr 17, 2013

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Oct 24, 2009

so why dont we
put him into a canan
and shoot him into the trolls base where
ever it is and let him kill all of them. its
so perfect that it can't go wrong.

i think its the best plan i
have ever heard in my life

Mooktastical posted:

This has always seemed more like a class/culture thing to me. When Nick lists all the things that make him different from the white dealer Frog, it's just a list of things that make him proud to be a union, and therefore a member of that subculture, of which he counts guys like Ott.

It's neither. He's referring to Tilghman.

It should be noted that Frog is clearly laughable for pretending to be black, but Nick also interacts with White Mike who doesn't really, and he treats him a bit more respectfully. Though I think I need to rewatch those episodes.

SpookyLizard
Feb 17, 2009
He also knows White Mike a bit more, since they went to high school together.

Also, Whie Mike's full name, McArdle (how ever it's spelled) was originally going to be McNulty's name.

Mooktastical
Jan 8, 2008

cletepurcel posted:

To this end, there's another scene I always note, when Nick sells the drug chemicals to Vondas, he gives them some advice about how to move the chemicals without appearing suspicious (something to the effect of different cars or something). As if guys in an operation like Vondas' don't know that already! Nick is clearly street smart but not as much as he thinks he is, much like Stringer has some business smarts but not nearly as much as he thinks.
When frank finds out that Ziggy and him had started stealing from the docks, Frank actually says something like, "you know not to flash cash around, right?" the weird part is, Nick agrees! It's like he thinks the rules don't apply to him, or something.

ShaneMacGowansTeeth
May 22, 2007



I think this is it... I think this is how it ends
In other news, Hamsterdam may be coming to England, or at least a more controlled variant of the idea anyway

Jerusalem
May 20, 2004

Would you be my new best friends?

I'm really interested in the (or my percieved) parallels between McNulty and Nick, especially since McNulty paralleled so well with D'Angelo in season one. Interesting notes about Nick's union upbringing having a big influence on his attitudes/perception of others, in particular "project niggers", but I still feel the heart of the matter for both is their anger/guilt/resentment/self-loathing. I imagine there is a fair bit of that "Catholic Guilt" that Bunk mentions, but there are also elements of both being the product of a working class immigrant culture - the Polish and the Irish - whose ancestors came to America and worked hard with their hands making things/being productive members of society, and held a great deal of stock in the importance of their roles. For McNulty and Nick, the institutions that provided stability and security for their families have long since died or are in the final stages of dying. McNulty's father worked at Bethlehem Steel but was laid off in the 70s, Nick's father was a Shipwright but Baltimore doesn't produce ships anymore, and even his Uncle's previously vital role as a Checker/Union Treasurer is being whittled away to nothing. Both have failed families - McNulty's marriage is breaking up, Nick's hasn't even really gotten started as he lives separately from his girlfriend and child - both have to deal with the notion that they have failed in their perceived masculine duty to look after/provide for/hold together their families. A lot of McNulty's actions can be explained away as lashing out against his own self-loathing, and Nick is clearly on the same road. McNulty found an outlet for his bad habits and anger in the police force, but he's been warned that the job won't save him. Nick is clutching on to what is left of the once mighty Union as a place to find meaning and purpose. Both are frequently upset that the job isn't going to save them, but McNulty at least still has a job with the stability where he can just kill time till he can collect his pension - Nick doesn't even have that.

Darko
Dec 23, 2004

cheese and crackers posted:

I also think it would have been great to have a few more episodes in season 5. it would have allowed for less of the newsroom per episode (I liked the storyline as a whole and feel it is important, but it definitely felt boring to me at times)

The odd thing about Season 5 is that I have given the newsroom storyline a little more credit after getting to know a newspaper reporter. She basically stated that, while many felt it was exaggerated and black and white, that's pretty much exactly how newsrooms -are- to the point that she could draw direct parallels with people she knew.

She worked for the Detroit News, which is highly similar to the Baltimore Sun in many ways, and has since gone on to the Post, so I'm not sure if her experiences still mirror or not - but it might just be a case of that particular work environment being unique.

the black husserl
Feb 25, 2005

There's a huge gulf between McNulty and Nick in my opinion. Nick is part of a real community, it's just falling apart.

The only community McNulty has is "cops who rule at their jobs". That's the only group he counts himself a member of, otherwise he stands alone and doesn't mind doing so.

Darko posted:

The odd thing about Season 5 is that I have given the newsroom storyline a little more credit after getting to know a newspaper reporter. She basically stated that, while many felt it was exaggerated and black and white, that's pretty much exactly how newsrooms -are- to the point that she could draw direct parallels with people she knew.

She worked for the Detroit News, which is highly similar to the Baltimore Sun in many ways, and has since gone on to the Post, so I'm not sure if her experiences still mirror or not - but it might just be a case of that particular work environment being unique.

I don't understand why people think Gus is a caraciture of a "know it all editor". Sometimes people are really just that smart/no bullshit. David Simon certainly was.

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Alec Bald Snatch
Sep 12, 2012

by exmarx

the black husserl posted:

There's a huge gulf between McNulty and Nick in my opinion. Nick is part of a real community, it's just falling apart.

The only community McNulty has is "cops who rule at their jobs". That's the only group he counts himself a member of, otherwise he stands alone and doesn't mind doing so.


Definitely, but it's worth noting that the Baltimore police are part of both the Irish and Polish immigrant community experience as well, so it's not as if McNulty's completely disassociated from his background. McNulty's also a much higher-functioning person than Nick.

Also Nick wasn't looking to subvert the existing establishment as much as find a way to survive within it, even if it meant stooping to selling drugs. He's got much more in common with the kids from West Baltimore than McNulty in that regard, though obviously their situation is the result of multiple generations of the same economic and social factors.

There was a piece in the Atlantic a couple years back on long-term joblessness which mentioned a study of largely white communities in south Philly after the recession had been in full swing for a while, and they found that the same problems which had plagued the black communities elsewhere in the city were starting to appear after only a couple years.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/03/how-a-new-jobless-era-will-transform-america/307919/?single_page=true

quote:

Communities with large numbers of unmarried, jobless men take on an unsavory character over time. Edin’s research team spent part of last summer in Northeast and South Philadelphia, conducting in-depth interviews with residents. She says she was struck by what she saw: “These white working-class communities—once strong, vibrant, proud communities, often organized around big industries—they’re just in terrible straits. The social fabric of these places is just shredding. There’s little engagement in religious life, and the old civic organizations that people used to belong to are fading. Drugs have ravaged these communities, along with divorce, alcoholism, violence. I hang around these neighborhoods in South Philadelphia, and I think, ‘This is beginning to look like the black inner-city neighborhoods we’ve been studying for the past 20 years.’ When young men can’t transition into formal-sector jobs, they sell drugs and drink and do drugs. And it wreaks havoc on family life. They think, ‘Hey, if I’m 23 and I don’t have a baby, there’s something wrong with me.’ They’re following the pattern of their fathers in terms of the timing of childbearing, but they don’t have the jobs to support it. So their families are falling apart—and often spectacularly.”

Alec Bald Snatch fucked around with this message at 19:44 on Apr 18, 2013

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