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Season 2: Episode 5: UndertowSpiros Vondas posted:They used to make steel there, no? In the East Side, a white dealer named Frog is handed the money made from the latest drugs package they've been selling. It's a sizable amount, and the handover is done in a relatively open way, with Frog openly holding the cash in his hand for a few moments. He tucks it away when he spots Ziggy coming down the street, replacing it with a far smaller amount that he hands to Ziggy as he arrives, again with relatively openness - no concern at all for anybody who could be watching, all I can think of is Herc's complaints to Kima about how stupid white drug dealers are compared to the Barksdale Organization. Ziggy is pleased to get his money, but goes ahead and counts it right there on the street, and discovers there is only $290 - it seems he did manage to get a G-Pack after all and gave it to Frog to sell on his behalf. His take on the sale is supposed to be $500, but an indifferent Frog mumbles that their stash got hit, quite obviously unconcerned about the repercussions of lying/ripping off Ziggy. Ziggy's despair isn't even really about the money - all he's ever wanted is to be loved and respected, to have people consider him somebody worth their time, and his self-esteem is dangerously punctured whenever things don't go his way. Whether Frog was robbed/raided or not (and I'd say it's pretty drat clear he wasn't), his clear indifference to Ziggy's reaction is the most troublesome thing - Ziggy just wants what he considers his due, and a "just" reward for his "hard work". Getting in Frog's face, he tries to intimidate him, but when this gets no result he proves his lack of strength by impotently telling Frog that he'll be back tomorrow and the money "best be right". Frog clearly doesn't care at all, casually handing money to one of the young children who hang around, telling him to go grab him some snacks from the corner shop. Ziggy gets into his Camaro - Princess - and starts to drive away, but is cut off at the intersection. At first he's just enraged at this further obstruction to his life, until a number of large black men emerge from the vehicle and another car pulls up behind him, blocking him in. He's hauled out of the car by a hooded man named Cheese - played by rapper Method Man, who was justifiably proud of the fact that he got a part on the show by auditioning like any other actor rather than expecting a cameo/part based on name alone - and things play out VERY differently to the way they did between Ziggy and Frog. It seems that Ziggy owes Cheese a great deal of money, presumably he went to Cheese after White Mike turned him down, and now Ziggy is learning the truth behind White Mike's warning that they really were friends - because Cheese isn't going to let Ziggy stumble along through his life after losing money on a package. Cheese quickly finds the roll of cash Ziggy was given by Frog, but complains that there is barely enough there to warrant calling it money. Ziggy tries to babble his way out of the bad situation he's in and Cheese backhands him across the face, sending him crashing back onto Princess' hood. Realizing just how much trouble he's in, he pulls off his ridiculous leather jacket and offers it to Cheese, telling him that he paid 2k for it, so with the $300 that Cheese just took from him that leaves $700 he needs to get him by Friday! So he's into Cheese for at least 3k, and is stupid enough to think he can negotiate from a position of incredible weakness. Cheese looks the coat over and laughs that not even a black man could style it, tossing it back to Ziggy and telling him that if he doesn't get his money by Friday, then Ziggy is dead on Saturday. Unlike Ziggy's own threat to Frog, this one has plenty of menace behind it, and Ziggy can only sit and helplessly watch as they decide to take Princess as well, one of Cheese's men driving it away along with the other two cars. Ziggy - comparatively safe now - vents his frustration by flipping the bird impotently after the departing cars. Having only recently made thousands off of a cleverly put together deal, Ziggy has not only failed to maintain a low profile as warned by Nick, he's now lost his car and is $3000 in debt to a very dangerous man who doesn't gently caress around. Well done, Ziggy, welcome to the undertow.   Carver is standing in front of Lieutenant Daniels in the Port Building that is the Sobotka Detail, asking a justified question - why has Daniels requested him to work with the Detail? Daniels says this is something he asked himself, when he went through the list of available men in the Southeastern, Carver stood out as the guy who hosed him over big time with Burrell during the Barksdale Detail, so why bring him back? Carver has no idea, but he DOES want to be in the Detail - he doesn't say why but I imagine it's a combination of the Detail being full of old friends he has worked with before, as well as the fact that it is Valchek's baby, and he may even know that those working the Detail are likely to be well thought of by Burrell thanks to keeping Valchek happy. Daniels explains that his reasoning is straightforward - Carver hosed him over once before and got caught, so surely he's not stupid enough to try and gently caress him over again. He informs Carver that as far as he is concerned he hasn't yet earning his Sergeant's stripes, so while he'll continue to be paid more, he'll be taking his orders from Greggs. Carver smiles ruefully, saying,"Same as it ever was" and Daniels stands up, approaching and offering his hand. This is a very different experience to the "reconciliation" between Burrell and Daniels himself. Daniels has made his position clear but seems to hold no personal grudge, and even seems to like Carver as a person. Carver shakes his hand and a large smile spills out over his face before he regains control of himself. He leaves the office and puts on a sad face for a waiting Herc, Greggs and Prez, then smiles and tells them he's in. Delighted, Herc wraps him up in a bearhug and drops him onto the nearby couch, the two roughhousing as Greggs rolls her eyes happily and Carver cries out,"You're holding my dick, human being!" The A-Team are back together  At the Marine Patrol, Bubbles is carefully checking the chain holding the barbeque in place as he waits for McNulty, considering it's value as scrap. Diggins shows up and tells him he's called McNulty in, and Bubbles makes a lame effort to pretend he was just admiring the barbeque. He ends down to where McNulty is tying up the harbor boat, Bubbles expertly tying up from one end while on the other McNulty haphazardly wraps the rope around "the thing there" (Bubbles knows what it is - a cleat) and proclaims it a Baltimore Knot, which is never the same thing twice. Bubbles is intrigued at why the hell McNulty is in uniform and riding around on a boat, and McNulty explains his detecting days are behind him. Bubbles isn't pleased to hear this, why the hell did he have him chasing around Baltimore looking for Omar then? McNulty explains this is to do with the Bird case, and Bubbles reveals he has good news for him, he has a phone number where McNulty can reach Omar. He makes a play of holding the number back from McNulty before finally handing it over. Delighted, McNulty hands him over some cash "for a cab ride", and Bubbles takes it eagerly before hesitantly raising a concern - he understands he was paying "taxes" but being put on the hunt for Omar is a step above and beyond the call of duty. He sulks about getting Omar's shotgun in his face while McNulty just laughs, a step removed from the very real danger he put Bubbles in. Bubbles insists though, he deserves more than just the usual cash that he got for his Confidential Informing, and - still grinning - McNulty hands over more. He can afford to be generous, he's finally got something that may partly make amends for saddling Bunk and Freamon with the 14 dead women. Speaking of whom, Rawls wants an update on how the case is going. Freamon explains they're going to rattle cages by dropping Grand Jury summons on every Stevedore who worked the Atlantic Light. Rawls wants to know how Beadie is working out and Freamon tries to be diplomatic, saying she knows the docks well, but Bunk isn't concerned about making his unhappiness clear - she's not a Detective, there is only so much help she can give them. Rawls uses this as an excuse to segue into more bad news, saying they just need fresh eyes from a different Detective to work with them, because Freamon has to get down to the Southeastern, he's not part of the Frank Sobotka Detail. Freamon and Bunk leap to their feet in horror, and Freamon (respectfully) asks if Rawls just hosed him over before he had even half a chance to solve the case. Rawls laughs that Freamon will KNOW when he has been hosed by Rawls, and with great delight informs Bunk that now he and he alone is responsible for the 14 red names. It's a mixture of personal and professional for Rawls - if Bunk solves the case then great, but if he doesn't then they have somebody to pin the blame on AND he gets indirect revenge on McNulty by loving over his best friend. Nick is making good on his promise to Aimee, and has taken her and Ashley to look at his Aunt's old house, currently on the market. The house has indeed been done up nicely "with wood floors and everything" and a number of people are looking through it. The realtor turns out to be Elena McNulty of all people, and Nick takes exception to her sales pitch to another couple that the house is located on Federal Hill - this is Locust Point. Elena smoothly explains that Real Estate Zoning has allocated anything below Montgomery Street and above the water as Federal Hill, and - picking up on Nick's hostility - turns her attention to Aimee instead. She tells her that she can show them any number of properties in the area if they're house hunting, and starts to explain the background of this house, but Nick cuts her off, saying it was his Aunt's. Elena tries to be polite and asks if she was related to the McDonalds who are the ones selling the place currently, and Nick - as if she was stupid - replies that no, his Aunt was related to HIM. Aimee spots the listing for the house and asks tentatively if that is the price, and Elena explains it is the listing, which of course means the place could go for much more. She offers Aimee the paper but Nick pulls it from her because she can see, and we're treated to a great shot - Elena is maintaining her real estate poise despite Nick's rudeness, while Aimee has an almost desperate, resigned look on her face, knowing that Nick can't afford that price. Even Ashley seems down, picking up that Daddy is angry and Mommy is upset. Nick insists that Elena isn't going to get that much, and when she tells him that one just like it recently sold for 340k he promptly leaves the house, quickly followed by Aimee and Ashley (caught up in his undertow!). Aimee suggests maybe they could rent, then begins to walk away, Nick following along. He stops as he goes though, looking back at the BMW parked outside the house - this isn't the neighborhood he remembers, he's discovered the horrible truth about gentrification - there's nowhere for the people who have lived there for generations anymore, the place isn't even Locust Point anymore, now it's "Federal Hill". Last episode Frank was dreaming happily about "his" city, longing for a past that can never return. Now Nick is discovering the same thing, what was "his" isn't there anymore, and what has replaced it isn't something he can understand or take part in.   Daniels is already ahead of Rawls' Spectacular Six, gathering his squad together to explain why they're here and what they're going to do. They're there because Valchek wants them there, and they're after Frank Sobotka because that's what Valchek wants. So they're going to give him what he wants - Freamon (not there yet) and Prez will put DNRs on the Union Hall phones and investigate their finances (as well as Frank's personal ones), and get that to Valchek to show they're on the case and buy them some time. Meanwhile, Greggs, Carver and Herc will find out where port workers doing drugs buy them and set up some hand-to-hands and reverse buys, and then see where they can go from there. Herc quickly points out that many of the port workers and some of the dealers are whites, and with great glee declares that this means he'll be the one to do the undercover work now, while Greggs and Carver have to sit up in the on the roof and watch him work. Everybody is in a good mood, pleased to be working together again, even more so when Freamon does arrive. He jokes about how it is the same people working the same kind of case in the same kind of lovely office, and Daniels assures him he'll only be here a month or so, expecting the Detail to be wrapped up by then. Freamon notes that he's high on Rawls' shitlist anyway, but what's done is done so... who is the target? They show him the picture of the average looking balding middle-aged white guy pinned up to the noticeboard and.... he instantly identifies him as Frank Sobotka! Eyes wide, they laugh that Freamon really does know EVERYTHING, and he explains that he and Bunk were loving with Frank recently as part of their latest homicide case - he's not a suspect, but they figured he'd know about dirt going on down at the port. They explain why they're after him - because Prez's father-in-law hates him and that's good enough for probable cause in the Southeastern - and so they're pursuing the possibility that the source of his extra money is drugs. Why drugs? As Herc puts it, what other kind of crime is there in Baltimore?   Donette and Tyrell (the Little Man) are visiting D'Angelo in prison, Donette lying that Tyrell was sick and that was why she hasn't visited. D'Angelo - who never really seemed to care all that much about his son when he was free - only has eyes for Tyrell, pressing a finger against the window as Tyrell does the same. Donette won't stop talking about "their" plans for D'Angelo when he gets out though, most of which comes through as,"String says..." - he'll get a paying job out of the mix of the drug side of things, something legit like running a club, and give him back some of the time he's lost to spend with his family. But rather than talking up how good that will be for them and how she can't wait for him to be out, she complains that he's being ungrateful - "they" are doing all this for him and he is giving his uncle the cold shoulder? Finally getting his attention, he tells her that all the talk of doing nice things out of love is just that - talk. As soon as it no longer benefits them, all the talk of love and family disappears - this is all about business and nothing else. Of course for D'Angelo it was all about business till that side of things was taken away from him, and now that he's in prison it's all about family, as he returns all his attention back to the son he ignored when he was out. In the Low Rises where D'Angelo was once the King, a junkie is purposefully striding across the courtyard, harangued by a couple of the dealers who are sure he's gotten his cheque and wanting to know why he isn't using it to get high. He insists that he's got no money and tries to keep going, a strange reversal of the usual way of things as the dealers refuse to let up and stay away from a junkie who is just trying to go about his business. He tells one of the dealers he hasn't got any ends, and the dealer - obviously with a subconscious concern over the current quality of his product - yells to the others that the junkie called their product poo poo. Immediately all three pounce, smashing a bottle over the junkie's head and then putting a beating on him. Poot yells at them to stop, still operating the way D'Angelo tried to teach them - no need to beat on somebody and risk attention from the police - and they break off, but when the junkie gathers up his injured pride and snaps at them, they jump straight back into beating on him. The situation in the Low Rises at least is getting explosive - the low quality of the Barksdales current drug supply is costing them. As the junkie is thrown out of the Low Rises, Bodie gets the news from out by the Towers and heads over to get the word on what is happening. They pass the bloodied up junkie, who staggers up and continues on shuffling up the street - going where he initially wanted and still not having bought any of the Low Rises drugs, but having taken a beating for his troubles in the meantime. Bodie joins Poot who fills him in - the beating was unwarranted but it came from the "young'uns" over the quality of their drugs being called into question. Bodie knows this is true and hardly a unique situation - their enforcers/muscle are currently putting out beatings over nothing. He comes to an unpleasant conclusion - they need to talk to Stringer about the quality of their drugs. Nick and La-La arrive at Delores' and find Ziggy nursing a beer at the bar. Nick is concerned to see Ziggy's bruises and asked what happens, and Ziggy (after making sure the black La-La is out of earshot) whispers that "loving niggers got me", and tells a basic sketch of the actual story - some black guys jumped him, beat him up, took his money and stole his car. With seething, impotent rage he says something that will come into play near the end of the season - if he'd had a gun he would have shot all of them. Nick, clearly suspicious of why this happened, asks Ziggy if he called the cops and Ziggy admits he couldn't because drugs were involved. Furious, Nick snaps that an accusation that is more a statement of fact, Ziggy bought a package to sell out on the street and has crossed the wrong people - was it White Mike? Ziggy explains it was a "friend of the family called Cheese" (note how casually the deliberately offensive term is used) and when Nick asks why he didn't go through White Mike, Ziggy dismisses Mike, not wanting to admit (perhaps even to himself) that Mike was surprisingly kind to him by ONLY refusing to do business with him anymore. Nick is disgusted with Ziggy, and has little sympathy when he hears that Cheese is threatening to kill him on Saturday, telling the "drug dealer" to go sell some drugs. Seeing Ziggy's face fall, he guesses corrently that Ziggy hosed up the package that he had insisted was easy money, and takes a deep breath before saying the last thing Ziggy wanted to hear - Nick can't give him the money to bail him out. Ziggy insists that he's dead without the money, but Nick isn't saying he won't, he's saying he CAN'T. He gave the money he made from the camera heist to Aimee to put down a security deposit on an apartment - he finally made a move for his girlfriend and daughter's benefit... or at least so he says, there is some small possibility that this is a story he made up because he's just sick of dealing with Ziggy's bullshit. In his office, Valchek opens an envelope from San Diego containing another polaroid of the surveillance van. Wearing gloves and using a magnifying glass, he spots a fingerprint on the photo and takes a lift of it. Kima arrives to inform him they're about to perform some hand-to-hands on Port Workers and Daniels sent her to see about using a surveillance van, about the last thing Valchek wanted to hear. He tells her that the surveillance van is currently on loan to the Southwest, and Greggs nods and leaves, while Valchek goes back to carefully getting the print from the polaroid, grinning to himself that he's somehow gotten at the San Diego stevedores now. Stringer is attending a class at Baltimore Community College, and as it ends he is handed back his Research Essay, taking great pleasure in the A- he got for "Measuring Macroeconomic Variables", his teacher seeming pleased with him too. As the others leave, Stringer remains behind to bring up the real life economic issue he is currently facing - yes the great Stringer Bell is asking a Community College Economics Teacher for advice on how to run his drug empire. Speaking in generalized theoreticals, he asks how somebody can compete in an aggressive marketplace with an inferior product, and the teacher - Mr. Lucas - offers him solutions that don't sit well with him. The first is to buy up all the competition, which isn't something Stringer is in a position to do. The other is to lower prices to attract more customers, but even with low overheads this can lead to running at a loss. Even if that doesn't happen, inevitably the market will come to associate the lower price with an inferior product and you will lose consumer confidence (like cheap supermarket soda is how I always think about it). Mr. Lucas, enjoying the premise academically, happily tells Stringer about how the CEO of WorldCom faced a similar issue - the company was linked to a huge fraud case and consumer confidence was at an all-time low, so he came up with an elegantly simple solution - they changed the name of the company. Bunk and Beadie arrive at the port, accompanied by Cole and Mackey and preceded by the whistles that warn of their presence. Mackey and Cole are enjoying themselves, their asses aren't on the line if the dead women stay in the red, and serve the Grand Jury summons to Horseface as he sits barbequing outside the shipping can office. Horseface was solid as a rock against the cops, but looks a little perturbed at the notion of the Grand Jury - as Cole and Mackey explain, if he lies to them then it's just hurt feelings, but if he lies to the Grand Jury he's committing perjury. Inside the can, Bunk hands over the rest of the summons to Frank, who seems amused by the whole thing, going through them and handing one over to Johnny 50, since it is for him. Johnny tries to be polite, offering his hand to Bunk to shake, but Bunk just stares a hole through him and demands to know from Frank why they call him Johnny 50. It's straightforward enough, he drank 53 beers on his 25th birthday, so they rounded it down to 50 "to be poetic" and made that his nickname. Frank explains to Johnny that the Grand Jury summons are in relation to the dead girls found in the shipping can that came off of the Atlantic Light, and his good cheer changes to irritation and then outright anger as he points out the patent ridiculousness of the situation. The police are suggesting that they knew the girls were in the can, deliberately lost them in the stack and let them die in order to..... what? What possible reason could they have for doing that? What gain would there be in it for them. When Beadie (who Frank has already accused of not being "fun" anymore) points out the low likelihood of this can being the one they just so happened to lose in the stacks, Frank erupts to his feet and goes on an amazing tirade. Furious, he declares that Bunk doesn't understand that every IBS chapter has appeared before numerous Grand Juries - they've survived Bobby Kennedy, Tricky Dick Nixon and even Ronnie "Union Buster" Reagan and are still standing, and they'll survive the police too. Raving about the fact that he has a wife and three sisters with daughters, he pointedly tells Beadie that he has too much respect for women to ever allow something like this to have happened, and fires Johnny 50 up too with an example of the kind of testimony they'll be offering. Johnny will take the 5th (commandment!) when questioned, he'll say he doesn't remember anything if pressed to testify against others, and if asked what he doesn't remember he'll say nothing. Calming himself down, he sweetly offers to give the remaining summons to the four workers who aren't on today, but Bunk snatches them back from him and tells Johnny 50 they're going to the Grand Jury RIGHT NOW. They leave together, and once alone Frank's face falls - all his bluff and bravado was purely a front to cover up his guilt. But what he had to say is telling - this IS somebody with a wife, three sisters and multiple nieces and yet he did let those women die in the can. Sure, he didn't know, but he's STILL working with the people who allowed those deaths to occur, so what does that say about him and his "respect" for women? A far more accommodating witness is Omar, who is meeting with Ilene Nathan at last who is going through his testimony with him. McNulty sits between them casually reading Boating Magazine, trying to control his open amusement at Omar's explanation for the gaps Ilene is finding in his statements. Omar is enjoying himself too, especially when Ilene asks incredulously if Bird committed more than one murder, Omar having just casually mentioned the many others Bird has bragged about ("Fish gotta swim, you know" he replies to the question). She asks Omar to step out for a moment and turns a baleful look at McNulty, saying that Levy is going to have a field day when she puts that "sociopath" on the stand, but McNulty says he thought Omar did pretty good. She asks that he at least make sure Omar is well-dressed for the day, and gives him a voucher to purchase clothes for his court appearance, almost pleading that he find something that includes a tie.   Greggs and Carver creep into an empty house in the Southeastern, where Greggs is amused when she sees/overhears a couple of dealers across the street. Carver moves to the next window to get a look/take a listen, and sees a skinny white guy in oversized clothes talking "black", complaining that the other white guy is "all the time up in some drat crib, trying to play house with them bitches" while he is out getting done "what needs to get done. Feel me, nigga?" "Thieving motherfuckers take everything, don't they?" asks Carver. At the Circuit Court for Baltimore, the exasperated Grand Jury Prosecutor - Gary DiPasquale - emerges to tell a waiting Beadie and Bunk that he has almost got one of the stevedores to admit that you can find water near the docks. Beadie reminds Bunk that the port workers don't scare easily and he asks her again if she really doesn't have a confidential Informant, and sighs when she admits she doesn't. With rather brutal honesty he explains that a police is only as good as their informants, and that Beadie "isn't much" before getting up off of the seat and walking away. Not a very nice thing to say, but then again Bunk does have 14 unsolved murders to deal with. McNulty has taken Omar to a clothing store to find something that fits in with the amount they have to spend with the voucher ($150, not much). McNulty grabs a rather loud jacket off of the clearance rack (for good reason) and puts it up against Omar's chest, who just stares back at McNulty. Jimmy gives him the voucher, telling him to figure it out for himself, he has to go across the road to the Federal Building and will be back in half an hour or so. Omar - who isn't going to put up with any "wait around till Jimmy McNulty decides to grace you with his presence once more" bullshit - tells him where HE will be if he's gone when McNulty gets back, and after McNulty leaves, quietly comments on another location he might be as well. Omar goes where he wants, when he wants. Greggs is getting tired of waiting for Herc to arrive, Carver casually eating food and saying he had to go "get his props". Again we see that Carver actually has the patience (or rather the practice) to deal with long drawn-out stake-outs, but since Kima isn't happy with sitting still he puts in a request to get in touch with Herc's radio, and they discover he's actually almost there. Greggs snaps photos as Herc arrives in one hell of an outfit, but he does fit in perfectly on the street, casually chatting with the skinny white dealer and using incredibly transparent code for the drugs. As Herc walks away to score, he brags to Carver through his hidden mic that it's all in the props, and Greggs and Carver both burst out laughing.  
Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 01:59 on Apr 29, 2013 |
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Apr 27, 2013 14:23
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At the Federal Building, Department of Justice banners are being replaced by Department of Homeland Security ones, and McNulty is met by Special Agent Cleary, who laughs at the change and asks McNulty if he feels any different. McNulty explains why he is there - he's shows the dead Jane Doe he fished out of the water and that he's investigating a possible connection to the 13 dead women who were found in the shipping can, and Cleary says he was just helping Homicide with that as they tracked the can the bodies were found in. McNulty proves he's connected to the case by noting which detectives were involved, but admits he isn't really part of the case - he's the one who fished the dead woman out, and he feels an obligation to try and find her people. Cleary is clearly mystified, but agrees to give McNulty the chance to talk with some of the live women they've recently caught in or attempting to get into the country illegally. They go to his desk where he runs through recent arrests on his computer while McNulty reviews a folder of slightly older arrests. Clearly reveals that all of the women in the book will have been deported already, but freely admits that some of them will probably already be back in the country working. He finds a group up in New Jersey who were arrested in a recent raid on a club, and asks McNulty if he really plans to go up and see them on his own time? Why? McNulty's answer is in the form of a question - has Cleary ever seen what happens to Jane Does at the morgue after all efforts to be identified have failed? Cleary has not, but McNulty has, and that's all the explanation he needs to give. Nick is meeting with Vondas and Sergei at what seems to be a different cafe to usual, where Nick is informing them on the latest development with the Grand Jury. He's there at Frank's request, he wants them to know what is going on and that nobody knows anything other than Horseface, and Horseface isn't saying anything. Sergei obviously seems less convinced, but Nick is adamant on that, using the same type of language that Avon and Stringer have used in the past about Wee-Bey - Horseface is a rock, they NEVER need to worry about him. But while this Grand Jury business is happening, Frank doesn't want to risk anything, so there will be no more shipments till everything dies down. Vondas doesn't agree, pointing out that they're concerned about one ship - which has sailed - and one can, not more ships and different cans. They reveal that the person responsible for the dead women has already been "dealt with" and is now a "dead end" for the police, but Vondas agrees that the most important thing is that Frank's fears are laid to rest. Nick says that what Frank wants is a meeting with The Greek himself, and it is clear that Nick has been given very explicit instructions in this regard, because he refuses to accept any of Vondas' cool attempts to sway him - it's The Greek and nothing else will do, they can name the time and place but The Greek must be there. Nick prepares to leave but Vondas calls him back, smoothly shifting tangents, he wants to talk about the proposed business with the chemicals. Nick still wants to know why they want them, and Vondas makes a statement that is chillingly accurate and echoes D'Angelo's earlier complaints to Donette - it's just for business, everything they do is just business. Vondas says all they do is buy for a nickel and sell for a dime, but Nick isn't going to be sidelined by this pleasant nothing, and asks who the gently caress wants to buy a dime's worth of chemicals. Beadie, still smarting from Bunk's dismissal of her qualities as police, is taking a stab at getting access to a Confidential Informant. She goes to the home of Maui, the large Stevedore who ended up with Ziggy's dick in his computer. He's surprised but pleased to see her, and they clearly know each other on more than a professional level. She asks how he is doing in terms of getting days to work, and he tells her happily that he works in the tower now on the trucking lanes, then invites her in for a drink, and she suggests they take a walk and get a coffee. He obviously senses something unpleasant in the wind but agrees to come along, stepping back inside to get his coat. They head out to a cafe, where Maui quickly accuses her of doing what he suspects, she wants him to be a snitch, and he won't do that. She insists that she doesn't see it that way, and makes a brief reference to their past - they had a brief relationship that she broke off. He did everything right, but it didn't work out and she can't explain to him why. She suddenly shifts to talking about how the women died in the can, breaking their fingers scratching at the walls as the air ran out, and he snaps at her that she can't just shift to being a cop, and seems pleased at the idea that the Grand Jury achieved nothing. With genuine emotion she asks him to help her, but he appears to want to continues mocking the police efforts. That is until Beadie realizes he is actually informing her without "snitching", saying it's funny how they're running around trying to find all these things that are right there - in the old days everything was recorded on paper and destroyed once a ship had sailed and everything had been signed of, but in this day and age NOTHING is destroyed anymore. Delighted, Beadie realizes that the port computers will have a record of every movement that happened on the Atlantic Light and to its cargo, and she reaches out and takes Maui by the hand, thanking him. Stringer is at Donette's watching Tyrell playing with his toys, while Donette complains from the next room that she told D'Angelo about all the plans for him and he wasn't grateful. She joins him in the room and tells about how she talked up everything he is doing for her, and he raises an eyebrow and she says with a smile she doesn't mean she told him EVERYTHING, holding his hand. She seems most annoyed that D'Angelo didn't care when she said she'd see him next weekend, and that he told her to leave him alone. She gets up to turn the roast over, calling back to Stringer he's going to see what a great cook she is, but Stringer has other things on his mind - D'Angelo and what Stringer perceives as a weakness and a potential liability, just as he once felt about Wallace. He scoops up Tyrell, who looks back down at the toys he was playing with, and Stringer quietly comments to him that his daddy is bucking them, so what should they do about that. Tyrell replies,"Abuuahh!" and Stringer nods, saying he thinks he's right. It all sounds very cute, but Stringer is basically using the child as an echo chamber for another executive decision that will have long-lasting ramifications.   So we've seen two scenes where relationships were used to further one of the partners' goals. Stringer finds Donette attractive but does he care for her at all beyond that superficial level? She's cooking for him, confiding in him, but all he seems to be using her for (outside of sex) is an insight into a potential liability to his business. She holds his hand to share a moment with him and look to their future, while he lets her do it because it suits his purpose. It seems wrong to accuse Beadie of the same mindset, but she went to Maui because she knew she could play on their prior relationship to get information from him, and the only reason he did it was to make her happy and on the minute chance that maybe there is a possible future for them. The difference being that she holds his hand afterwards, and is slightly more open about her intentions from the get-go. Nick and La-La arrive at an East Side drug corner, La-La clearly uncomfortable and furious at Ziggy that he's going to get shot behind some of his bullshit. Nick has clearly brought La-La as "protection", it's a black neighborhood and Nick clearly does not belong. Neither does La-La, but Nick seems to be under the impression that having the same skin tone offers some kind of credibility, and the two head towards a nearby corner as EVERYBODY on the street moves in on the outsiders. The dealer on the corner lifts his jacket when Nick approaches, showing off the gun tucked into his waistband, but Nick maintains his composure and asks him to let Cheese know they're here to see him. Just at that moment Cheese comes around the corner laughing with a couple of his crew, and is delighted to see Nick, asking if he has his money - he's obviously picked out Nick as an outsider, and assumed that no white boy would be dumb enough to come down here unless they were sent by Ziggy. Nick says he doesn't have the money, but he has come down to work out a way to get Cheese what is his, and Cheese - in a very good mood - laughs that Nick has a lot of heart to show up in this part of town without Cheese's money, so he's curious, just what is Nick's suggestion. Nick wants Ziggy's car back, insisting that he can convince Ziggy to sell it, and a Camaro with a 350 in it will sell for far more than 3k. Amused, Cheese declares magnanimously that he is going to extend Ziggy's deadline by a week, but he knows that the Camaro will never sell for $3,000, and he and his crew part ways to let Nick and La-La through to see why. Around the corner, Princess is burning, set alight by Cheese just for the sheer fun of it all - Ziggy pissed him off so he destroyed something precious to Ziggy - every time I see this scene I think of the old Richard Pryor stand-up bit about getting raped in prison,"They're not gay. They'll do it just to see the look on your face."  Nick and La-La return to Nick's where Ziggy is waiting, La-La glaring at him before driving away. Nick sits down on the stoop with Ziggy and tells him he has good news and bad news - the bad news is that they're still going to kill him, but it won't be for a week. The good news is that he can cancel his car insurance. The next day, Carver and Greggs watch from the rooftop as Herc drives up and buys drugs from a dealer, photographing the whole process from money being paid to drugs being delivered. They move from location to location (Carver getting tar on his pants legs), and at first this seems a rare case of non-diegetic music being used, until it becomes apparent the music is being played loudly on the street, fading slightly when indoors, being clearer when they're out in the open on the roof. As they photograph, Carver becomes irritated by Herc's constant use of a tooth-pick as a prop, telling Greggs he is going to stab Herc in the eye with it. The Greek sends back food brought to the counter of the little diner/cafe for him, and tells Vondas the proprietor should be ashamed to call himself a Greek. Vondas is amused, but shifts to Frank's request quickly, saying that a talk would ease his mind. The Greek wants HIS mind eased first, and asks for more on the Grand Jury, but Vondas is unconcerned, he checked into the Court House and there is nothing special going on there, just the normal panels. This is simply an attempt to frighten the dockworkers, and none of them are talking.... but Frank is upset, he doesn't like the attention. The Greek is dismissive of that, if Frank is upset, more money will ease his conscience - they will double his fee, but The Greek will not meet with him. That is the end of that, and The Greek shifts one of his worry-beads, the meeting over. Avon's worries aren't so easily solved, he's talking with Stringer in prison where the problems with the quality of their "product" is being discussed. Each time they get a supply from Atlanta it is weaker than the last, and it was weak to begin with. Avon understands, he'll get on it (even in prison Avon is far from out of "the Game"), and asks who has the good poo poo at the moment - it's East Side, a dealer called Milton, Prop Joe of course, and some Jamaican dealer. Avon immediately knows who he means - Petey Dixon - showing just how keyed into the street Avon is, there is a reason he rose to the top of the West Side, though he's not pleased to hear that their product is so weak that you can actually watch West Side junkies commuting over to the East Side as the day progresses. With that out of the way, Stringer carefully raises his most recent concern - D'Angelo. He asks if he and Avon have patched things up, and brings up for the first time the notion of putting some real estate in D's name to show he has something to look forward to when he gets out. Stringer has already told Donette this is a done deal and had her let Avon know... he may even have done it already, but he's only bringing it up to Avon now. More and more we're seeing Stringer taking a firmer hand on the wheel, telling Avon things later or not at all - in season one he was Avon's man to a fault, but ever since he decided to put a buffer between Avon and the rest of the Organization for Avon's own protection, he's come to put more stock in his own decisions and autonomy and be less concerned about running things through Avon. As they talk about D'Angelo, Avon makes a bad mistake, he comments that he's done what he can and that D'Angelo has to make up his own mind on which way he wants to go, and whatever happens happens. I'd say that this is Avon's way of admitting that D'Angelo might not be willing to stay part of the family, and that this genuinely makes him sad. But Stringer takes it another way - has Avon just given him the go ahead for getting rid of the D'Angelo "problem"? Vondas joins Frank for a meeting, and when Frank realizes that The Greek isn't coming he begins storming off in a rage. Vondas calls him back, trying to make nice, telling him how bad The Greek feels about Frank's problems, so he is going to double his fees. This is the same mistake that others have and will make about Frank - his interest is purely in his Union, the money is all being poured back into it, doubling it is nice but not if it doesn't come with assurances from The Greek that the Union isn't going to be put at further risk. Right now members of his Union are being taken to the Grand Jury by police and The Greek can't be bothered to meet him face to face? Well gently caress The Greek and gently caress his money, he's going back to running his Union. He stares off over the water, brooding, and Vondas spots the closed steel factories across the water and has a moment of inspiration. "They used to make steel there, no?" he asks, and raising his eyebrows to Frank before walking away. The message is clear - there used to be a Union there too. There used to be work and money and a feeling of community just like there is at the docks. And now it's all gone.  Nick and Ziggy have gone to the public library and are looking up the chemicals on the Internet, which is beyond Nick who views the computer superstitiously and questions how it works, do you just type stuff in and ask it for an answer? They're surprised when the first link that Ziggy clicks on takes them to "streetdrugs.biz", which lists the controlled substances and chemicals used to process coca leaves into cocaine. They have the answer that Nick was looking for and Ziggy didn't care about - Vondas wants the chemicals to make a SHITLOAD of drugs. Bunk and Beadie arrive at the port and are taken up into the tower amidst many whistles warning of their presence to be shown how the computer tracking system works. The Port Chief escorting them insists that the kind of theft that used to happen in the old days is purely a thing of the past, but admits sheepishly that a "little" theft still goes on. Inside, he shows them the real-time computer system that tracks the cargo cans being shifted from ships at harbor onto the docks, irritating Ringo (who was set to quit the Union till Frank hand him go and get a beer from Delores') who slaps his hand away. Frank arrives on the scene, all chummy today, joking around with Ringo who has "misplaced" a shipping can of frozen tuna steak, and Bunk is not pleased to discover that Frank was one of the ones who helped set up the system. The Chief leaves Frank to explain it to them, and he reveals that the Chief's claim that theft was impossible was overstated, as they can often be missing 100-300 cans out of the system. Not all are stolen (Frank doesn't deny that this happens), many are simply "lost" in the stacks, the handheld devices they use operate on radio waves that can be interrupted by all the machinery/equipment constantly running, or if a Checker makes a simple mistake... or if you have fat fingers (no offense, he tells Bunk) or are using it in Winter while wearing gloves. When Beadie asks if that is what happened to the can with the dead girls in it, he insists again that he has no idea what happened, but he's stressing that a missing can is NOT an unusual thing, it happens all the time. Bunk points out that the customs seal was broken, how was THAT not noticed, but Frank once again has an answer - when you offload a ship the size of a small town, you might notice or you might not, there is no conspiracy involved. They're welcome to go over the computer system, but they're going to find what looks like widespread theft if they're not aware of all the many variables that go into it. Bunk and Beadie leave, Bunk grumpily telling the happily ignorant Port Chief that Frank gave them everything, then complains to Beadie that they're being played. In New Jersey, McNulty has arrived at the U.S Brueau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Agent there is equally surprised to learn McNulty came up on his own time, and McNulty asks if there is anything he can offer the women in custody to help him get their cooperation. Short of marrying one of them there is nothing that can be done, though, they're being deported. Stringer has summoned his "middle-management" troops to a meeting at the Funeral home, where he opens with a question on whether any of them have heard of WorldCom. None of them have, so Stringer tries to change up his pitch in a way that they understand. Say they're grabbed up by a cop and they have an outstanding warrant, what do they do? Poot uneasily offers giving up a fake name, but won't elaborate on why when asked. Bodie - eager to please Stringer who he respects immensely - says this is because the real name isn't any good. The meeting quickly resembles a school lesson, as Stringer attempts to engage his "students" and they try not to speak up. They shift from an outstanding warrant to how to deal with being told that their current product (called Death-Proof) is poo poo, and Poot again says they need to change up the name. Shamrock - another of Stringer's favorites - suggests changing the color of the caps in the vials as well, but Bodie one-ups when he excitedly suggests they give each tower a "competing" brand so that when a junkie gets burned he goes to another tower and gets the same poo poo under a different name instead of going over to East Side. Stringer is pleased, pointing at Bodie and declaring him a thinking man, and Bodie is glowing in the praise while Shamrock, upset at being overshadowed, complains that this is just what he said!  Nick meets with Vondas and Sergei again at the other diner, wanting to know how the meeting with Frank went. No problem, says Vondas, and hands over a list of the three cans they want next time... and this time they'll pay up to three times the usual fee.. for EACH can. Nick manages to keep his cool, and then shifts to the chemicals, saying he NEEDS to know what they use them for, because he isn't down for anything that could be used to make a bomb. He asks if they're using it to make drugs, and when Vondas just smiles, he says he doesn't mind that, he can get it for them from the Fairfield docks. Sergei asks when, and Nick - on a deadline thanks to Ziggy - says it will be by the end of the week. McNulty speaks with the undocumented worker who speaks the best English, giving her the folder of photos of the dead women and explaining that he just wants to get word back to their families. She takes the folder and lays out the photos of all the dead women on the floor, explaining to the other women in the cell what McNulty wants. One of them speaks up, and the spokeswoman says she is asking if she can stay in the country if she identifies one of the women. McNulty and the Agent just stand uncomfortably in an awkward silence, and the spokeswoman fumes and begins gathering up the photos, snapping,"Nyet! Nyet!" in answer to the question - there is no help for them here. Two of the women seem to be arguing with her, at least one of them would seem to know who one of the women is, but the spokeswoman shouts them down and passes the folder back to Jimmy, glaring at him. Knowing he will get no help from them and can offer them nothing, he leaves, and the Agent casually asks if he wants to get something to eat.  They're going to be in a cage of some sort for the rest of their lives  The next day, Bunk and Beadie arrive at the Major Case's Port Building where they make one hell of a request - they want to fold the 14 homicides into the Sobotka Detail. Freamon is supportive of the idea, noting that they're investigating Frank Sobotka's dirt anyway so setting up a computer that clones in real-time the goings-on at the Port Tower will get them useful information as well. Daniels doesn't want to hear that, he's been offered a chance to put together a basic case with the reward of getting out of Evidence Control AND head up his own Major Cases squad, and he's not going to gently caress that up by throwing 14 unsolvable murders into the mix. Freamon pushes for it and Bunk tries to be logical - Rawls and Landsman have no patience for anything but a quick turnover and won't allow the case to sprawl out like it needs to, if this case has any chance of being solved it needs to be folded into the Sobotka Detail. Daniels, not completely indifferent to Bunk's plight, makes a compromise. They can work out of the building, they can share information with the Detail, but the murders remain the property of Homicide.... unless they get a suspect, in which case he'll be happy to take them on and get the credit for solving them. At the docks the place is humming, EVERYBODY is working and they're still short - there are three Roll-on/Roll-off ships (Ro-Ro's) and three container ships, seniority doesn't matter today, everybody is working. Frank is delighted, but his good mood instantly drops when Nick hands him a sheet of paper with the three cans that The Greek wants unloaded from the Wilhemina, and he seethes that he told Vondas they were done working with him. Nick is confused, Vondas told him everything was okay, and they were getting triple the rate for each can? Frank's mouth drops, his conscience and moral outrage blown away by the huge fee they can make today. He stares at the paper, and then calls out to get word to Horseface that he'll be working the Wilhemina today, and tells a surprised Nick that they need this at least for now. Nick agrees, reminding Frank that while everybody is getting work today, that's only for today, and the writing is on the wall. Frank Sobotka - a supposedly moral man whose indignation and fury can be dampened down by enough money - remains obstinate and stubborn in the face of the inevitable though. The steel factories are closed, Locust Point's population is being forced out by gentrification, the police are sniffing around, the Union's membership is down.... the writing is on the wall. And what does Frank Sobotka say to that? He says,"gently caress the wall!"  He's alone and he isn't really going anywhere, but he's not going to stop. We'll see Frank make a similar determined walk again later this season, and find out what breaks first. Frank Sobotka or the wall. Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 01:58 on Apr 29, 2013 |
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Apr 27, 2013 14:24
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This part made me laugh so hard.
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Apr 27, 2013 15:25
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One of the odder character details is Nick's ignorance/aversion to technology. It works well to highlight his status as one of the extraneous people rendered unnecessary by capitalism as David Simon put it, though one would think the nephew of the union boss could get a prime job working up in the tower. What makes it weirder is assuming he's in his mid 20s when the show takes place; dude definitely should've known what a search engine was. I say this knowing shipyard workers from Newport News, far older than Nick, who knew how to use computers back then. Then again compare Nick and Ziggy's fashion choices contra the corner wiggers. People of the same age and background exhibiting wholly different cultural cues. The world of the IBS checkers is an all-encompassing temporal stasis.
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Apr 27, 2013 15:57
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvTTt_VvffQ I imagine anyone thats spent time looking up wire clips on youtube has come across this one before (note the title). I don't know if I can fully agree with 'most important', but its an interesting argument to make. In later seasons you see people talk/write about falling for Carcetti's rhetoric despite themselves, despite knowing that his talk of reform is basically bullshit. I've never really felt that about Carcetti, but everytime I watch s2 Frank gets me that way. At this point we know that his need to make the union something great again is going to kill it, that he should be listening to Nat, or actually paying attention to the lessons that can be learnt from Rotterdam. I know all this, but everytime that scene comes up I'm completely on board with Franks plan, Unions fought presidents at one point, gently caress! The last line of the write up is spot on, Franks fighting a wall, yet I still can't but hope he wins.
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Apr 27, 2013 16:17
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Great write-up, Jeru. I seriously love this season so much and I've really enjoyed your analysis. A couple typos and a confusion of Elayna/Aimee at one point, as an FYI. BUT, the biggest oversight: No mention of Herc's toothpick! The most crucial of props! EDIT: I should probably finish the second part >_< Boywhiz88 fucked around with this message at 00:01 on Apr 28, 2013 |
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Apr 27, 2013 16:52
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I love, just a few episodes later, the contrast in one of the scenes with how Frog treats Nick versus how Frog treats Ziggy.
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Apr 27, 2013 17:25
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Oh we are getting closer to the introduction of the greatest thing in the wire ever! Fuzzy Dunlop!
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Apr 27, 2013 18:26
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Ziggy is never seen with that expensive jacket he loved so much after Cheese made fun of it  Ziggy, being Ziggy, probably set it on fire or something
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Apr 27, 2013 19:52
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Edgar Death posted:Ziggy is never seen with that expensive jacket he loved so much after Cheese made fun of it My favorite part of that is Cheese rips the interior pocket getting the money out, then after Ziggy offers it to him, Cheese looks at the ripped pocket and glares at Ziggy as if it is Ziggy's fault that the interior pocket is torn, and Ziggy is actually apologetic about it. Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 20:06 on Apr 27, 2013 |
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Apr 27, 2013 20:04
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ScipioAfro posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvTTt_VvffQ What taints that speech for me is that it follows on the tail of his hypocritical declarations of having too much respect for women. He's knowingly dealing with the devil, and the money he gave Ringo was straight-up blood money.
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Apr 28, 2013 03:26
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That's the point though. He really doesn't have that much respect for women. It's dramatic irony. Frank's a tragic figure. Why do you think the drug importers are portrayed as Greeks? e: Found this interview Nick Hornby did with David Simon some time between the 4th and 5th seasons. Money quote as follows: quote:NH: There’s a little bit in an Anne Tyler novel, I seem to remember, where characters are confused about whether Baltimore is a southern or a northern city—that must help a bit too, surely, that ambiguity, if you’re trying to avoid the kind of big-city inflection you’re talking about… Tell me Frank Sobotka wouldn't have done the same thing. Alec Bald Snatch fucked around with this message at 03:58 on Apr 28, 2013 |
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Apr 28, 2013 03:42
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Spit balling a comparison here: two of the most sensitive and over-reactive characters in the show are Ziggy and Marlo Stanfield. Ziggy has Nick to back him up, a smart and well connected guy who keeps trying to stay somewhat legitimate. Marlo has Chris to back him up, a smart and well connected guy who, in addition to being himself one of the deadliest killers on the street, has a well trained crew to back him up, and who personally boasts a body count higher than anyone else in the program. Both are quite apt to take things far more seriously than they need to, and make huge mountains out of mole hills. But while Ziggy has to run it alone and gets disrespected by almost everyone he meets, Marlo can have a security guard executed for talking back to him and an innocent woman burned half to death to keep her adopted son from having any kind of truthful reputation. Both are excellent criminals from a technical perspective: if Ziggy could keep his mouth shut and his clothes quiet, he'd probably be doing pretty well. He's much smarter than Nick when it comes to "book" learning, adeptly using digital cameras and the internet without batting an eye, and hot wiring cars like it ain't no thing. He arranges deals with ease, and does the proper leg work to keep himself in the best possible position, remembering, for example, to look up the values of the cameras they boosted to argue for a better price. But because he's too caught up in his image as a guy who should be respected and beloved, and who is deserving of your attention right now, he keeps sabotaging himself at every step. Marlo is a bit better off, because no one can mess with him without being murdered. He sends a three man hit squad against a guy over something that the guy (June Bug) might have said, resulting in a triple homicide and at least one permanently traumatized child. That said, Marlo's got Chris to keep him under control and safely stashed away. Marlo's a drat good drug dealer to boot, at least on par with Avon when it comes to the day-to-day running of his empire. But he too just doesn't get it, far too caught up in his image and reputation. Prop Joe spends a good amount of time trying to "civilize the boy" (Prop Joe being a man who understands why community support is important, how fear differs from respect, and what to let go because it doesn't matter) and gets murdered for his trouble. He's too jittery to trust his money being in an offshore bank account, and far too trusting of the well-polished and professional Greek criminals he manages to "impress" with his clean money. The idea that what he's doing couldn't matter less to The Greek and Vondas never crosses his mind. In Marlo's mind they are equals, but I have no doubt that the Greek could burn suitcases full of money with impunity and could care less about the gift. Can you imagine how things might have turned out if Ziggy had found a Chris, rather than a pistol? Toph Bei Fong fucked around with this message at 05:16 on Apr 28, 2013 |
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Apr 28, 2013 05:13
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I'd disagree with that assessment, if only because Marlo is an inherently dangerous person in his own right. Ziggy is smart, there's no doubt, but nobody is intimidated or scared by him, he doesn't radiate a sense of danger and possesses too deep a concern for his own skin. Even all on his own, the likes of Frog would never have dismissed Marlo as a non-entity, and if he had (like the two corner dealers attempt in season 5) he would have taken it to him with no fear for his own well-being. Ziggy is at heart a cowardly loudmouth, while Marlo is a shark - always moving, unnervingly quiet and always hungry.
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Apr 28, 2013 05:35
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Jerusalem posted:I'd disagree with that assessment, if only because Marlo is an inherently dangerous person in his own right. Ziggy is smart, there's no doubt, but nobody is intimidated or scared by him, he doesn't radiate a sense of danger and possesses too deep a concern for his own skin. Even all on his own, the likes of Frog would never have dismissed Marlo as a non-entity, and if he had (like the two corner dealers attempt in season 5) he would have taken it to him with no fear for his own well-being. Ziggy is at heart a cowardly loudmouth, while Marlo is a shark - always moving, unnervingly quiet and always hungry. I guess what I was going for was that Zig could have become Marlo with the right set of circumstances. Marlo never could have become Ziggy, no question there. Kinda like how Marlo will never become the Greek, despite all their similarities. Though I do question the "inherently dangerous" bit. I don't think we ever see Marlo do anything physical personally until the very end, where he attacks the corner boys. Everything else is run through Chris. If Marlo only had Cheese and White Mike to back him up. he'd be a lot less threatening. Toph Bei Fong fucked around with this message at 05:52 on Apr 28, 2013 |
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Apr 28, 2013 05:47
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Spoilers Below posted:I guess what I was going for was that Zig could have become Marlo with the right set of circumstances. Marlo killed that girl that worked for Avon. There was also that snitch who ended up dead, shot in the same way. Marlo was in the same position that Avon was in at the start of Season 1. Avon had Weebay muscling for him, but there's no way either Avon or Marlo got where they were without a rep, and without putting in work.
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Apr 28, 2013 05:54
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Marlo was kind of shot diminutively from what I recall. Usually he seems like a smaller less intimidating guy, but some shots you can see he's actually a reasonably built guy (no Cutty), and after his name speech I absolutely believe he could hold his own as muscle.
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Apr 28, 2013 06:01
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I'd say it's about respect. Chris backs up Marlo because he is a wholehearted believer in Marlo as his leader, in much the same way that Wee-Bey is completely devoted to Avon. Their Kings have earned their respect through their previous (unseen) actions, we see Marlo on his way up and Avon already established. Ziggy has achieved nothing to foster a sense of respect from those he works with - his closest friends are Nick and Johnny 50 and neither of them really respect him at all. Nick is tied to him by bonds of blood, Johnny has probably been friends with them both since they were kids, but Ziggy at his best would never be respected by either or considered their leader.
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Apr 28, 2013 06:06
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I'm rewatching S2E05 right now, and for the first time I'm struck by the low-resolution picture. I've gotten used to HD lately, and this is a drag. Does HBO ever do high-res remasters?
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Apr 28, 2013 06:42
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Mescal posted:I'm rewatching S2E05 right now, and for the first time I'm struck by the low-resolution picture. I've gotten used to HD lately, and this is a drag. Does HBO ever do high-res remasters? I don't know if it is possible for them to do that with The Wire, somebody better versed in this stuff might be able to correct me but my understanding is that the DVDs are as good as it gets: quote:And perhaps the final contrast to the rest of high-end episodic television, The Wire for each of its five seasons has been produced in good old fashioned 4 x 3 standard definition. DP Dave Insley recalled, "The reason the show has stayed 4x3 is because David Simon thinks that 4x3 feels more like real life and real television and not like a movie. The show's never been HD, even 4x3 HD and that (SD) is how it is on the DVDs. There is no 16x9 version anywhere." As a viewer with an HD set I will point out that like much of SD television that makes its way to HD channels, it appears that HBO utilizes state-of-the-art line doubling technology. It may still be standard definition, but line doubled it looks considerably better on a high definition set than it would on a standard definition set. From here.
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Apr 28, 2013 06:55
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The Rooster posted:Marlo killed that girl that worked for Avon. There was also that snitch who ended up dead, shot in the same way. Marlo was in the same position that Avon was in at the start of Season 1. Avon had Weebay muscling for him, but there's no way either Avon or Marlo got where they were without a rep, and without putting in work. Simon said in one interview that by the time guys like Marlo or Avon get to the kingpin level they already have a massive rep for the people they've personally killed, etc. McNulty says it when they arrest Avon - by that point Avon hadn't touched a gun in years although this changes in season 3; I get the sense watching it that Avon wanted to personally kill Marlo. I also think that had word gotten out to Marlo about Omar's challenge he would have had a similar mentality. We also see Marlo keeping up his shooting skills with Chris and Snoop in the woods, even though he's king of the west side at that point. One gets an early impression of Marlo's nature because he's already known by Holley for killing the witness - thus he's known in the BPD, unlike Avon. We can guess that Avon was just a little more discrete when he killed people. One thing I do wonder is how Joe got to the top. It can't have ALL been just deal making and double crosses; he must have done poo poo to earn respect, yet it's difficult to imagine this enormously fat man who avoids violence at all costs personally killing people. grading essays nude fucked around with this message at 07:42 on Apr 28, 2013 |
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Apr 28, 2013 07:37
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cletepurcel posted:
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Apr 28, 2013 07:50
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Jerusalem posted:I don't know if it is possible for them to do this... But it was shot on film. I don't care about the aspect ratio, but there's a lot more resolution available.
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Apr 28, 2013 07:51
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escape artist posted:When did this happen? When Kima first investigates Marlo (not sure whether his war with Avon had started yet) she looks him up and finds that, unlike Avon, he has a record. She goes to Homicide where Holley tells her that he suspects Marlo killed a witness that was going to testify against him - despite them actually taking effort to protect the witness (had a tracking bracelet on, etc). Holley calls him the "spawn of the devil".
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Apr 28, 2013 08:01
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cletepurcel posted:When Kima first investigates Marlo (not sure whether his war with Avon had started yet) she looks him up and finds that, unlike Avon, he has a record. She goes to Homicide where Holley tells her that he suspects Marlo killed a witness that was going to testify against him - despite them actually taking effort to protect the witness (had a tracking bracelet on, etc). Holley calls him the "spawn of the devil". Went to westside to cop some dro he could have gotten on the east, IIRC.
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Apr 28, 2013 08:16
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cletepurcel posted:When Kima first investigates Marlo (not sure whether his war with Avon had started yet) she looks him up and finds that, unlike Avon, he has a record. She goes to Homicide where Holley tells her that he suspects Marlo killed a witness that was going to testify against him - despite them actually taking effort to protect the witness (had a tracking bracelet on, etc). Holley calls him the "spawn of the devil". Ah, so off-screen. Okay. Yeah I remember that scene.
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Apr 28, 2013 08:40
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U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!
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Apr 28, 2013 15:34
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cletepurcel posted:One thing I do wonder is how Joe got to the top. It can't have ALL been just deal making and double crosses; he must have done poo poo to earn respect, yet it's difficult to imagine this enormously fat man who avoids violence at all costs personally killing people. Yeah, but he's middle aged. 20 year old Joe may not have the wisdom he has now. Besides, he talked to Stringer about how "when your against a wall you go to the gun, I know, I've been there".
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Apr 28, 2013 15:42
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I think it's also a sign that things on the East Side are a lot more chilled out and relaxed. They may need to drop people if it's needed, but I get the impression that bosses are much more willing to sit down and make a deal instead of getting strapped up and going to war.
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Apr 28, 2013 17:20
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I wonder how much the east/west evolution in dealers had to do with the respective militancy of their police districts? What we know of the Eastern from the show is that there was a lot of flakiness (via Daniels in the first season) and what we saw on Carcetti's ridealong, where they treated a street bust as if they'd raised the flag on Iwo Jima. On the other hand the Western seems to have a more martial tradition about busting heads and cracking down. Dumb criminals make dumb cops and harder cops make harder criminals, no?
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Apr 28, 2013 19:05
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Aren't most of the Eastside Bosses in their forties and fifties as well? It seems that they are much more experience and know that dropping bodies only leads to more attention from the police.
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Apr 28, 2013 20:19
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It's also interesting that we see multiple East Side bosses but the only big name on the West Side is Avon. There are a few "off-brand" guys running small strips here and there but none of them are considered real players, and Avon is aware of all of them as we saw from his prison conversation with Stringer in Undertow. When Marlo steps up, the likes of Carver mistake him for just another middle management dealer, he has nothing on the scale of Avon's operation but Avon immediately wants to squash him like a bug. During the new day Co-Op meetings, the East Side dealers chide Stringer for not sharing or brag in front of Marlo about the deals they're making, because for them it's about making money, doing deals and keeping the bloodshed to a minimum. For Avon and Marlo, it's about dominating and conquering, and the money and deals are just a small side-effect of that.
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Apr 28, 2013 22:56
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Yeah, during the whole East Side is always bunch of dealers and West Side is just one big dog with no room for anyone of the note. It just seems more violent. Also, something funny that I've noticed, West Side seems to hate East Side way more then East hates West.
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Apr 28, 2013 23:11
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The east side must move a lot more weed, then.
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Apr 29, 2013 00:03
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Butchie actually explains the difference between East and West side later on this season.
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Apr 29, 2013 00:26
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The Rooster posted:Yeah, but he's middle aged. 20 year old Joe may not have the wisdom he has now. Besides, he talked to Stringer about how "when your against a wall you go to the gun, I know, I've been there". Don't you remember the mini-sode with Prop Joe as a kid? He was always a clever businessman.
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Apr 29, 2013 11:24
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watt par posted:Butchie actually explains the difference between East and West side later on this season. Which episode is this? I don't remember it and I have a near encyclopedic knowledge of the show. In my re-re-re-re-re-watch, I'm up to episode 2x08 right now.
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Apr 29, 2013 11:27
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escape artist posted:Don't you remember the mini-sode with Prop Joe as a kid? He was always a clever businessman. I never liked that video (or the Omar one either), it's one thing to show the basic forming of the values and opinions that they would grow into as adults, but they're pretty much treated as fully-formed personalities pretty much identical to their adult selves already. The McNulty/Bunk one showing McNulty's first day in Homicide is a lot better.
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Apr 29, 2013 11:31
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Jerusalem posted:I never liked that video (or the Omar one either), it's one thing to show the basic forming of the values and opinions that they would grow into as adults, but they're pretty much treated as fully-formed personalities pretty much identical to their adult selves already. The McNulty/Bunk one showing McNulty's first day in Homicide is a lot better. Yeah, I didn't even bother to watch them when I had HBO. I only saw them recently on Youtube. Agreed 100%. The young Omar and young Prop Joe were stupid. But you're right, Jimmy meeting Bunk was great.
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Apr 29, 2013 11:37
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escape artist posted:Which episode is this? I don't remember it and I have a near encyclopedic knowledge of the show. In my re-re-re-re-re-watch, I'm up to episode 2x08 right now. IIRC it's episode 10. When Omar pops in to bank some cash with Butchie, right before that he's talking to the two older guys at the bar about the connection between West Baltimore and NYC.
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Apr 29, 2013 11:46
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