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Not sure, but it might be
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Jun 27, 2013 07:30
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That's crazy if it slipped by us, but also pretty cool. I will have to try and spot it in the montage.
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Jun 27, 2013 08:07
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I know I mentioned her a couple of times in my write-ups, but I only noticed her watching Nick and later her dismay as drugs continue to be dealt on her stoop and she's forced to sell the house (good luck getting a good price, poor lady), but I certainly never noticed her appearing in other episodes making a futile effort to keep her place "clean". I love stuff like that. Is anybody else looking to do episode 5? I'm keen but don't want to get in anybody else's way.
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Jun 27, 2013 08:30
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Jerusalem posted:I know I mentioned her a couple of times in my write-ups, but I only noticed her watching Nick and later her dismay as drugs continue to be dealt on her stoop and she's forced to sell the house (good luck getting a good price, poor lady), but I certainly never noticed her appearing in other episodes making a futile effort to keep her place "clean". I love stuff like that. You're the best. Do it. DO IT NOW. I'm deeply entrenched in a book series, otherwise I'd get back on the wagon. I'll definitely be back for some Season 4 episodes. Season 4 is far and away my favorite season of TV ever. It was the first one I watched week to week, and I watched every episode like 5 times per week in anticipation of the next. I bought the DVDs for $55 the day it was released. I think you can get the whole series for under $80 now. escape artist fucked around with this message at 09:21 on Jun 27, 2013 |
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Jun 27, 2013 09:19
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For some reason, where I lived (Alberta), before season 4 was released on DVD, it was near impossible to get the DVDs at a fair price, like I looked everywhere because Best Buy was selling season 3 for over $100. It was bizarre. Now they're a dime a dozen and Amazon periodically puts the box set on sale for like $80.
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Jun 27, 2013 19:21
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I'll do Episode 5 tomorrow, but in the meantime I love being reminded how funny this show can sometimes be: Oh McNulty, you loveable barely-functional alcoholic negligent piece of poo poo you 
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Jun 28, 2013 09:51
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Jerusalem posted:I know I mentioned her a couple of times in my write-ups, but I only noticed her watching Nick and later her dismay as drugs continue to be dealt on her stoop and she's forced to sell the house (good luck getting a good price, poor lady), but I certainly never noticed her appearing in other episodes making a futile effort to keep her place "clean". I love stuff like that. It is the old lady Nick catches looking at him, and I did notice her cleaning her steps in several episodes. That's why I liked the scene where Nick sees her - no one else had even glanced at her for the entire season.
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Jun 28, 2013 21:48
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chesh posted:It is the old lady Nick catches looking at him, and I did notice her cleaning her steps in several episodes. That's why I liked the scene where Nick sees her - no one else had even glanced at her for the entire season. I definitely remember her in the ending montage too, but I never noticed the "For sale" sign until now. Whoa.
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Jun 28, 2013 21:59
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Season 3, Episode 5 - Straight and TrueMcNulty posted:I had such fuckin' hopes for us. Johnny and Bubbles are having a strangely philosophical discussion as they make their way through the streets of Baltimore. Johnny is opposed to the idea of snitching to the police for no reason other than to get paid. Normally eager to get his hands on cash for drugs any way he can, Johnny is taking a "moral" stand on this issue - you snitch if you get caught up by the police and need to get yourself clear, but you don't snitch for no reason at all just to get paid. Bubbles puts it another way, reminding Johnny that it's regular money from Kima to provide information they come across on a daily basis anyway, and means they don't have to run all around town trying dangerous schemes, surviving hand to mouth day to day. Johnny again bravely proclaims himself to be a soldier, this is the life he chose and he takes an odd pride in it. Bubbles - an older if not necessarily wiser head - tells him this is all well and good when you're a pup, but once you get to his age you start to look for an easier, less stressful and physically demanding way to get high. Now he shows some misplaced pride - you're only a snitch if you do it to get out of trouble, if you're doing it regularly for money then that makes you a professional. Unconvinced, Johnny spots an opportunity with his "soldier's eyes", a man is working on a second floor window, unharnessed on a ladder, and Johnny wants to play an old two-man con-job where he rushes out to threaten the man and Bubbles comes to the rescue and is handed over money by the grateful civilian. Bubbles reluctantly agrees, and then makes a point that is both hilarious and depressing - he'll have to play the bad guy, or else the white civilian will get confused. He rushes out and plays his part, threatening to knock the man from his ladder if he doesn't hand over his wallet, and Johnny then rushes out and chases him off. Grateful and obviously smart enough to realize that Johnny is down on his luck, he offers him some cash and Johnny gleefully heads up the same alleyway that Bubbles retreated into, enjoying the cash even if it is less than he would have earned from Kima. But when he turns the corner to share his good fortune with Bubbles, the junkie is nowhere to be seen. Cutty's Grandmother wakes him up, asking if he means to go out and work today or not. He quickly and smoothly offers up a lie (old habits coming back fast) that he is working nights now on the door at a bar, at least until something better comes along. No fool, she clearly doesn't believe him, but does tell him that his "lady friend" called up to remind him of the appointment she set up for him, and that there could be a job in it for him. Stringer and a fellow student joke together as they leave Community College together, parting ways at the bottom of the steps. McNulty watches, fascinated as if he is watching an alien or a peculiar kind of insect - this isn't the Stringer he thinks he knows. This is Stringer the friendly mature student, and things are even more confusing when he follows him to where construction is taking place on one of the downtown properties he purchased on the cheap sometime before or during season one. Similarly revealing deeper facets of himself is Bubbles. Meeting with Kima in the back of her car, he is offering up whatever tidbits of information he has been able to pick up on while walking the streets, and frequently bugging Kima for what that information is worth. It seems at first that he is just jonesing for a fix and trying to get paid, but after revealing that Marlo's main muscle is a man called Chris Partlow (an incredibly, incredibly dangerous man), handing over one of Fruit's discarded burner's and revealing he knows the location of Marlo's stashed Benz... he promptly hands half the $40 she gives him back, asking her to bank it for him. Confused, Kima asks why and he explains he wants a little banked away for a rainy day, while he takes what she's given him and invests it in cheap white t-shirts. Why? Because that's why dealers on the corners are wearing nowadays to keep a low profile, and since Bubbles is going to be walking those streets getting info for Kima, why not sell shirts to them as he does it and "get my nut" both ways. Kima is impressed and amused, and a now visibly relaxed Bubbles settles back, pleased with how his new "professional" life is going. Colvin should be so lucky, surrounded by his men at the Western District he listens as they commiserate with the failure of the "drug zone" plan, and agree happily that it would have made a really positive impact on the community. Colvin smiles and says they're all lying sacks of poo poo, and then tells Carver he guesses he has a new plan? Carver does, disappointing Colvin with the idea for a "modified zebra" plan. With words that sound good that basically mean nothing, he talks about energetically reshuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic - work different hours, form a flex squad, bust some heads and clear some corners. "More of the same?" notes Colvin, and Mello interjects with,"But better!" Colvin clearly disagrees, shaking his head and walking away. McNulty is still   Carcetti and Tony Gray are reading the paper in their small office when Carcetti notes something disturbing - the eyewitness in a drug-related homicide has been found shot to death. He's less than pleased by Gray's reaction - "So?" - as it sums up the troubling mindset of Baltimore as a whole. The death of an eyewitness should be major news, but it doesn't make the front page and people don't seem to care anyway. Gray perks up slightly when he thinks Carcetti may have found an "issue" to exploit for political gain, but to his surprise Carcetti decides for once to hell with the politics, this is a genuine problem and it needs to be resolved. I don't doubt he is genuine in this regard, and it is rather depressing that, politics being what it is, he is actually actively mocked by Gray for wanting to go and find an actual solution instead of just using the issue to make political hay - idealism is dangerous in Carcetti's line of work. What is interesting is that this initially genuine desire by Carcetti to help DOES end up becoming a defining political issue for him - and his initial attempts to forgo politics ends up looking like a genius bit of political maneuvering (also nothing ever actually gets done about the whole "we must protect our witnesses!" thing either). Cutty, Gerard and Sapper watch the dealer that Slim Charles suspects is stealing money, and Cutty's theory that there was a woman involved somewhere proves true. Greeting his high school girlfriend as she leaves school for the day, a pleased Cutty tells the squabbling Gerard and Sapper ("He started it!" is the response when Cutty snaps at them to stop horsing around, like they were kids and he was their Dad) to keep an eye on the girl, she'll lead them to what the money is being spent on. He leaves the car and they complain that he's supposed to stay with them, but he insists that he gave his word and made a date that must be kept. After he leaves, Gerard and Sapper mock his deliberate way of speaking and laugh that he's probably as pussy-whipped as the dealer they're following. At the COMSTAT meeting (also known as Hell on Earth), Burrell and Rawls are hammering a Lieutenant in the Auto Theft Unit. The Lieutenant is trying nervously to talk up their effective crime prevention techniques during their shift hours, but first Burrell and then Rawls hammer home the unspoken point that if more auto theft is happening outside of those hours, then they need to change those hours. As the Lieutenant hangs in the wind, Colonel Foerster finds himself unexpectedly in the crosshairs too despite sitting on the "Judgement Desk" with the Commissioner and Deputy Ops - what progress has been made on Dozerman's missing weapon? Foerster is clearly unprepared but quickly improvises, making some nice sounding words about the progress they're making - he probably doesn't even know who Landsman has on the case. They return their attention to the Lieutenant, while Colvin quips to Mello that it's Fecal Gravity. Mello agrees - come down hard enough on the "right people" and poo poo will quickly roll downhill. Even though Colvin was the first to note it, Mello's elaboration sparks a unexpected connection in his head - he's been coming at the dealers on the corner level instead of the people they answer to. Cutty goes to the meeting agreed to with his old flame Grace, and meets the Deacon who also provides spiritual comfort to Colvin. Clearly uncomfortable in the Church, he looks around for Grace, hoping that she was going to be there as well. The Deacon picks up his disappointment and understands that a beautiful woman like Grace might cause a man to say things he didn't really mean, and asks if Cutty is really looking for work. Cutty nods, but isn't pleased to hear the Deacon start talking about GED programs, and all he can offer in terms of a work history is that he worked in a warehouse for a couple of months back in 86. The Deacon tells him this isn't a matter of putting his name on a list and waiting for a job to come, they'll help him but it will be Cutty's sweat and hard work, and the first thing he needs to do is get enrolled in that GED program. Cutty cuts the Deacon off, this isn't what he was expecting, and he's sorry to waste his time but this clearly isn't for him. He gets up and leaves the Church, and with the prominence of the altar in the background as he leaves, I can't help but see it as Cutty turning his back on a rehabilitated civilian life.   Bunk is attempting to investigate Tosha's killing, talking with an elderly eyewitness he is pleased to hear that while the man didn't get a good look at the others or know if Tosha was involved or not, he did recognize Omar. Pleased to be making some progress at least, Bunk prepares to take the man down to get his statement when, to his horror, Landsman arrives on the scene in his car, calling out enthusiastically to Bunk, haunting him from outside of the confines of the Homicide office itself now - Bunk cannot escape Landsman, and Landsman is not going to let him get away from it. I imagine Foerster came out of COMSTAT with a bug up his rear end about getting Dozerman's gun back and, as Mello and Colvin noted, poo poo is rolling downhill fast. Landsman has brought Bunk messages from arrested dealers who he has passed his card out to, saying they have information on the gun, and he won't even let Bunk take his witness in to get his statement locked down - the gun trumps all, that is his priority, and this missed opportunity will come back to bite Bunk on the rear end. Gerard and Sapper are snorting drugs as they wait outside Uniqua's home, and are caught by surprise by Cutty showing up. They laugh at being scared by his arrival, neither of them really seeing the danger of being so easily "snuck up" on, and offer Cutty a snort. He turns them down purely because he has to "drop urine" for his parole tomorrow, but they laugh at the idea and tell him that he's not the only one on parole and they have ways to get around that. Cutty - upset about Grace's absence and the Deacon's talk about GED programs etc - decides gently caress it and takes the baggie, snorting a couple of scoops before asking how Uniqua's day went. Here Gerard and Sapper show at least some competence, they followed her to a mall, and she went shopping at jewellery stores and emerges with bags. When she met with her boyfriend, she was wearing one necklace and gave the other to him - matching pairs. McNulty returns to the Major Cases Detail where Freamon reminds him it has been a week - does he have anything on Stringer or not? Despondent, McNulty tells him that Stringer tried to sell him a condo, and hands over his business card. Freamon is amused, and Prez mistakes this to mean that Stringer has gone completely legitimate, but McNulty and Freamon correct him. Stringer has become "The Bank", he is now the legitimate face of the Barksdale Organization - a larger, more active (and far more respected) version of Orlando from season one. Money from the Corners is now filtered through Sringer's legitimate businesses, laundered so that when the money comes out there is no tracing its source. Stringer is untouchable, no working police will ever be able to make a case against him because he will never come down to street level, he'll never give an order over a phone or be seen to handle any drug money that hasn't already been processed and laundered. McNulty finally accepts that he has long since missed his shot, and accepts that it is time to take part in the Kintel Williamson case. Dante is just as despondent about his current "assignment" as McNulty is with his. As Omar and Kimmy go through their weapons and ammunition in preparation, Dante is sulking in his chair, saying there is no point in helping them prepare if all he'll be doing is standing in the alleyway. Kimmy snaps that this is where he belongs, that way she doesn't have to be concerned about getting shot in the head when he gets scared - she's clearly rethought the shootout and come to the conclusion that Dante shot Tosha (she's right). Dante leaps up angrily and the two face off, only broken up by Omar shouting at them that this is enough, and they both need to learn to "live with it" or they're both out of the team.   At the Western, Colvin is excited about the notion of "poo poo rolling downhill" and pops in to see Carver, and asks him for a list of all the mid-level dealers running "his" corners. Carver's reaction is... well....   Colvin is surprised, Carver is his Drug Enforcement Unit Sergeant, surely he knows the names of the mid-level dealers in the Western District? Carver stares and then shrugs and suggests that maybe Narcotics might have a list somewhere, he doesn't know. Seeing the disbelief on Colvin's face, he explains that there job is to bust heads and clear corners, he didn't know he was supposed to be conducting a census. Colvin is dismayed but not surprised, this is the end result of the BPD chasing stats at the expense of all else. At the State of Maryland Division of Parole and Probation, Cutty joins Gerard and Sapper and discovers that clean urine is not only being sold only a few feet away, but that it's such an open secret that simply asking a woman leaving the building where to find it gets them pointed in the right direction. An old man is selling bottles of clean piss for $5 a bottle, having upped the price from $2 recently because "you try getting clean piss in Baltimore!". Cutty pays but asks how he knows it is clean, and the old man tells him that he gets it from a pre-school. Cutty heads inside the crowded office where the receptionist is more concerned with yelling at her children over the phone than dealing with him, and distractedly tells him to scan his thumbprint and confirm his name, then instructs him to take a cup from the counter and fill it in the toilet around the corner. Cutty heads in and looks around, perhaps expecting to find security cameras watching him or at least some kind of independent confirmation that the urine is his, but there is nothing. The office is too overworked, the people underpaid and the politicians disinterested to actually do anything beyond going through the motions. So Cutty pulls the bottle out, stopping to look at himself in the mirror - here he is, no longer a young man and now sitting in a toilet in a parole office preparing to drop a pre-schooler's piss into a bottle - this is the life he has re-embraced. Colvin is continuing his hopeless quest to find somebody in the BPD who knows what they're doing. At the CID Narcotics Unit, Major Smith gives him a small pile of folders on mid-level dealers that amounts to nothing more than a few sketchy rap sheets. Disgusted, Colvin demands to know why nobody knows who is actually selling drugs in Baltimore, and an agitated Smith complains that Burrell and Rawls have his people doing nothing but street rips for the quick stats turnover, and there is no time or people left to pursue high end drug cases. He suggests the Intelligence Division, but they're the ones who sent Colvin to Smith, and an infuriated Colvin is left no closer to getting at those middle management dealers. Carcetti is engaged in another similar waste of time, as he meets with Mayor Royce and his Chief of Staff Coleman Parker. Taking the high road, he explains the dangerous state of Witness Protection in the city, and Royce and Parker commiserate with the disgraceful fact of the eyewitness' death - this is no way to treat a cooperator. Carcetti admits that he could have used this as political capital but this would have only put Royce on the defensive and nothing would have been done, so he's come to him in the hopes of achieving something real and meaningful. Royce plays Carcetti perfectly, agreeing with Carcetti and asking Parker what action they're currently taking. When Parker tells him he has a meeting penciled in with the State's Attorney next week, Royce shakes his head and says that Tommy is in the right on this one and they need to take immediate action. Having stroked Carcetti's ego, he stands up to indicate the meeting is over and promises Carcetti he'll light a fire under everybody's asses and get meaningful action taken, and escorts Tommy out, agreeing that he'll keep Tommy in the loop. The moment Carcetti - manipulated instead of manipulating for a change - is gone, Parker smirks and Royce raises an eyebrow, almost as if he was saying,"Can you believe this loving guy?" So far this season we've seen Cutty floating in-between returning to "The Game" and trying to live a normal life. Bodie and Slim Charles laughed that he was back when he went to the house party and screwed the two women they set up for him, but for me this next scene is when we get our first look at the dangerous man Cutty was. Sitting in wait, he watches as Uniqua heads up the street with more shopping paid for by her boyfriend's stolen money. Gerard and Sapper get in her way and tell her they need to talk, and she cuts them down with a razor-sharp tongue and ignores their attempts to take control of the situation, continuing on up the road refusing to listen to them... and walks directly into a harsh slap from Cutty that shocked everybody on the street INCLUDING Gerard and Sapper. The two dim-witted muscle gape and even look uneasy, while Uniqua holds her hand to her face and stares with a mixture of shock and terror at Cutty. "Now," he says in his slow, deliberate way,"We're gonna talk."   Colvin has finally found what he is looking for - at Major Cases' out of the way office he has a huge pile of folders on not only mid-level dealers but their bosses and their bosses' bosses too. It's a motherlode of information, and he can't believe that this runt of a unit has information beyond what entire other divisions do. McNulty arrives and Colvin's good mood soars through the roof, the two greeting each other as old friends in front of the surprised Daniels, Freamon and Greggs. Colvin explains that he "broke in" McNulty, he walked a foot post under Colvin's command, and while there were plenty of complaints levied against the stubborn McNulty, Colvin recognized he was drat good police - you just have to keep him close. He collects up the files (Marlo is included) and tells Daniels that he's going to gather up the mid-level dealers and give them a taste of COMSTAT, and then heads on out of the office with a final goodbye to "Bushy-Top". That night at an Executive Inn, a surprising and terrifying collection of Baltimore's worst (or best) drug dealers gather together in one place, something unthinkable only a year or so earlier. Stringer is chairing the meeting of the so-called "New Day Co-Op", and has laid out a proposal near and dear to his and Prop Joe's hearts - he wants them all to come to an official peace, stop competing, divide up their territory and all go in together on a single New York package so they can get the best possible discount. The other dealers are tired of talking and ask for a vote to be called, and as they go around the table each puts their hands up... including Kintel Williamson - it seems he isn't quite the small-fry that McNulty thinks he is, at least not anymore. The motion is carried, the New Day Co-Op is born, and a beaming Prop Joe congratulates everybody on carrying this "like Republicans and poo poo", getting a good laugh from everybody. Stringer explains that from now on the best way to deal with any problems they have is as a group in one of these meetings, rather than through violence on the streets. The meeting breaks up, an innocuous beginning to something that will have huge repercussions on Baltimore - the various big time drug dealing operations in the city are now all working as one. As they break up, a pleased Stringer has his mood darkened somewhat when he spots that Shamrock - who has risen high since Bodie joined him on that mule operation in season 2 - has been writing on a legal pad. When he asks what Shamrock is doing, his underling happily notes that according to Robert's Rules of Order he is supposed to take minutes on a meeting, so that's what he has been doing. Stringer can't believe it,"Nigga, is you taking notes on a criminal loving conspiracy?" he demands, tearing the pad from Shamrock and crumpling up the page of notes. Shamrock has taken his lessons too much to heart.  McNulty watches his boys playing video games and tries with typical McNulty-subtleness to find out some more about Elena's "new friend", but the boys grumble that he's not new and then say they've been told not to talk about family stuff with him. They ask if he'll be coming to their prospective school's open day and he says he'll try but he is busy at work with a new case, and gets hit with the flipside of the "no family stuff", their mom has said that he HAS to come, all the other fathers are. McNulty kicks back on the lower bunk bed, faced with conflicting notions of wanting to be part of the family that doesn't need him anymore and not wanting to take part in familial obligations because he'd rather be doing his police work. Stringer's caution against violence notwithstanding, Cutty watches as Gerard and Sapper beat the living poo poo out of Uniqua's boyfriend for stealing. To call the beating savage is an understatement, I don't think I'll see a worse beating till the previously mentioned Chris Partlow gets his hands on Michael's stepfather in season 4 (and that is a  of a scene). Tearing the necklace from him, they try to get the ring from his finger too and when it won't come off they stomp on his hand to break his fingers to make it easier for them to get off. That marks enough for Cutty, who reminds them that if they beat him TOO bad he won't be able to work off the debt he now owes. That, perversely, is an old-school mentality, and Gerard shows this by standing over the dealer's (we are never given a name for him, interestingly, while his girlfriend does) beaten body as he tries to crawl away, pulling out a baseball bat and smashing him over the head with it. "Bitch has to pay," says Gerard, and then he and Sapper begin rifling through his pockets, arguing over who gets to keep what while Cutty walks away in, not quite disgust, but clearly disapproving.But such an act of violence is meant to be a thing of the past now, as a "new day" is rising. Stringer has secured the cooperation of every major drug dealing group in the city and found a new way to deal with misunderstands and territorial disputes - one that does not involve attention grabbing violence. He probably feels quite content with the progress he has made since taking over day to day operations from Avon... which is why the "new day's" next day turns out to be sadly ironic - because it's also the second day of Avon's prison sentence. Firmly believing that you only serve two days in prison - the day you get in and the day you get out - Avon's body language is not that of a bowed and thoughtful Cutty as he struts to the front gate of the correctional facility he has served his "two days" in. Smiling, waving hands to Stringer and Shamrock waiting outside the fence, he looks more like a guy enjoying a stroll on a summer's day than a prisoner of the state. Leaving the prison after serving only 2 years and 2 months of an already ridiculously short 7 year sentence, he doesn't even look back, immediately launching into breaking balls with Shamrock, pretending to be pissed off at the car they chose to pick him up before laughing that he's just loving with him, then embracing Stringer. Shamrock - a nobody when Avon went in, now Stringer's right-hand man - brings him a change of clothes, much to Avon's delight. Avon has always worn the trappings of the correctional facility with disdain, wearing the shoes he wanted, shirt unbuttoned, his appearance showing his complete disdain for the institution and his so-called punishment. But it WAS something that was forced on him, and he is delighted to throw it aside, telling Stringer that the ONLY thing he will take away from his time in prison was the sign on the exit that said,"Never again." They pile into the car and Avon tosses his prison-issue clothes out of the window as they drive away. Avon Barksdale is back. Colvin hands out sheets on all the identified mid-level dealers in identified sections of the Western District and hands out his orders to his men - the dealers are to be approached and talked with calmly, and transported in the backs of cars instead of in wagons. Why will these guys listen when the low-level dealers didn't? Colvin jokes that as middle-management these "Lieutenants" have enough responsibility to listen when spoken to but not enough to be able to tell anybody to gently caress off. They set off using the information provided by the Major Cases Squad, which is mostly spot on apart from one MAJOR mistake - Marlo Stanfield is marked down as a Barksdale Lieutenant, as opposed to his own boss. So while other lieutenants are troubled but agree to go along when the police "ask" (including Bodie), when Herc and Carver head in to see Marlo they find themselves facing an unshakeable no. Marlo, who has committed no (provable) crime, refuses to go along with them, and Herc compounds the error by getting in Marlo's face, which immediately lifts the tension of his intensely loyal men. Carver notes with some alarm that they are completely surrounded by the hostile group, while an oblivious Herc continues to lay down unsubtle threats to Marlo. Marlo notes his men's tension too and slightly shakes his head, but I don't think he's calling the men off so much as shaking his head at Herc's stupidity for putting them all in this position. Watched from a window overlooking the scene, Kima can't believe what she is seeing and puts in a call to Prez in case Herc and Carver find themselves taking a beating, but Carver defuses the situation by calling Herc off, knowing how much danger they're in. He grabs a baseball bat from behind a fence that one of Marlo's men was clearly inching towards, unable to resist showing he was aware of the situation, while Herc makes the prophetic statement to Marlo to remember his face, because they will meet again.   He's right, but not in the way he thinks. Carcetti and Tony Gray are playing squash and Carcetti shows what is both a positive and a negative facet of his personality - he HATES losing. Defeated by Tony, he demands another game, not caring that Tony points out it is "just" a game. Talk turns to Burrell, who has apparently been ducking Carcetti ever since the Academy Class leak didn't quite go the way that Burrell had hoped it would. Carcetti reveals how petty and vindictive he can be, saying that if Burrell continues to duck him, he has plans in place to gently caress him over good. Meanwhile Colvin is trying to change the rules of "The Game", standing in the deserted section of town identified as a potential drug zone, he lays out how things will work to the drug lieutenants - he's offering a carrot and a stick. The carrot is if they work within this defined area then they will be left free to deal without any police interference - they can sell drugs, re-up their supplies, and make money hand over fist without fear of any legal repercussions. It's not a trick, they're free to investigate the area for cameras, and the only police they see will be far down the road on the perimeter, only to get involved if any violence breaks out. The "stick" is that if they continue to work their usual corners, then Colvin has 200 sworn officers who will be dedicated to nothing BUT swarming corners, arresting dealers on serious charges (no "loitering"), and all but flat out admits that every single dealer arrested will have the living poo poo kicked out of them on the way back to the station.... and meanwhile the "smart" dealers will be here in the Drug Zone making all that money. What does he get out of this? With brutal honesty he admits that he wants to salvage what can still be salvaged in his district, and that doesn't include the dealers or the junkies - he's abandoning them to their fates. He wants his world and their world to be two separate things from now on. His pitch made, he leaves the lieutenants to consider things, but his good mood fades when he spots an old woman wheeling her groceries up the steps to her home. Furious, he turns on Mello who told him the block was completely deserted, and Mello admits that he must have missed her somehow. "Just one more thing I have to take care of," sighs Colvin. Bunk is following up on the leads that Landsman has been hounding him over, and they're all as useless as he predicted. Each of the prisoners is looking for some kind of deal, one of them wants him and two other prisoners to be freed so they can convince a girl with a vague connection to Dozerman's shooter (already arrested) to give up the gun. Another is convinced that "Dink" has the gun, but admits he isn't sure if it is Dink-Dink, Inky-Dink, Fat-Dink or maybe even Flatnose Dink (nah, that Dink is dead, he ponders). Another says he'll help out if Bunk makes the FOUR murders he has been charged with go away, and finally a slightly desperate prisoner tells Bunk that he can't get him Dozerman's gun, but if it is guns he wants then he can get him plenty of guns! The whole thing works from a comedic standpoint of course, but also goes to show the poo poo that a Detective has to filter through when pursuing information (as Kima says, a police is only as good as their informant), and how much of their work is just dealing with massive wastes of time from people trying to get some kind of benefit or play some kind of angle. Bodie meets Stringer outside the Museum of Industry (you could all of Baltimore has become little more than a museum of industry), commenting that he came here for a school trip back when he was still going to school. Stringer isn't in the mood for nostalgia though, he wants to know why Bodie has called for this meeting instead of going through proper channels. It actually goes to show that Stringer does hold Bodie in some esteem, because there is no way "The Bank" would agree to a meeting from a corner lieutenant normally, can you imagine Poot being able to call a similar meeting? Bodie explains that if he'd told anybody else what he had to tell Stringer, he'd think he was "riding the rock", and sheepishly admits that Stringer has no way of knowing if he is or isn't. He explains how he and a couple of their other lieutenants were picked up by the police today, and Stringer instantly shuts down, casting a look at Bodie's baggy clothing and declaring,"You shouldn't deal drugs." Realizing what Stringer means, Bodie quickly pulls up his shirt to show he is wearing no wire, and when Stringer seems unmoved he begins unbuckling his belt, willing to strip down to show he isn't part of some optimistic police sting. He lays out his own adorably filtered take on the events of the day (in his mind, Colvin is "the Police Chief"), Stringer pondering the odd turn of events/proposal over in his mind. Bodie brings up Marlo as well, and Stringer says he is on that too, dismissing Bodie to think on what exactly the police are up to now.   Kima is getting value for the money she has paid out to Bubbles, as she watches Marlo arrive to pick up the keys for his Mercedes from a young boy. Carver, Herc and Colicchio stand on perimeter outside the Drug Zone, watching a small handful of dealers milling about in the empty block. Three more dealers show up, carefully asking if this is the spot? Is this Hamsterdam? Herc and Colicchio are confused but Carver understands and sends them on in, but another dealer is already preparing to leave, pointing out what Colvin still hasn't considered despite all his planning - there are no customers because none of the junkies know about "Hamsterdam". To Herc's horror, he realizes that Carver - who for all his faults is absolutely loyal to Colvin - intends for him to go and pick up junkies and bring them down to Hamsterdam to cop. Carver reminds him of his Sergeant's stripes and Herc leaves in disgust, joined by Colicchio who salutes sarcastically on his way out. The first corner they reach has Johnny as a paying customer, and he's outraged that Herc "screwed up" by arresting him before he copped, that's a rookie mistake! Santangelo arrives with a wagon and Herc shoves the money back in Johnny's pocket, telling the dealer to get down to Vincent Street, and Johnny is shoved into the back of the wagon. Kima has followed Marlo's Mercedes, and it seems that the young dealer is looking to impress as the next car to pull up contains "The Bank" himself - Stringer Bell. Delighted to see Stringer coming down to a meeting with a known drug dealer, she puts through a cryptic call to McNulty, telling him to join her at her location. Burrell and Rawls meets before the City Council to discuss the delayed Academy Class, with Burrell happy to report that there will now be a class after all. Before they can wrap up though, Carcetti is alarmed when Tony decides to speak up and hits an alarmed Burrell with the eyewitness murder. Feeling like his COMSTAT victims must, Burrell quickly turns to Rawls who throws out the same kind of helpful sounding gibberish that Foerster did earlier. Gray isn't to put off the scent though, he's loving how rattled he clearly has the unprepared Commissioner and Deputy Ops and wants to push further, but gets a hurried note from Carcetti telling him to lay off. Despite himself, Gray apologizes and tells Burrell it has been brought to his attention that he has a pressing engagement, and they'll discuss this at a later date. The Police get the hell out of there as fast as possible, while Gray gloats and tells a shocked Carcetti that it was his lead that convinced Tony to go for it... and now, of course, Carcetti knows that it looks like he went to Royce talking about cooperation and avoiding politics only to sic Tony on Burrell to avoid getting his own hands dirty. Santangelo's wagon arrives at Vincent Street and he lets the confused junkies out onto the street, where they are IMMEDIATELY surrounded by dealers calling out the names of their products. "What the gently caress?" is all one junkie can say, while Johnny is left staring in a daze around him as dealers openly tout to junkies to cop right there in front of the police. Grinning, Santangelo tells Johnny that he hears,"WMD is the bomb", and like he was in some strange dream Johnny stumbles over and buys a couple of vials, then has to rush past insistent dealers trying to sell him more, finding himself on the other side of the usual junkie/dealer divide - supply and demand for today at least are completely backwards. McNulty arrives and hops into Kima's car, grabbing binoculars and checking out the building she is watching - the only sign of anybody is a non-descript looking man in what looks by comparison to the normal urban apparel to be almost rural clothing. This is Chris Partlow, and his innocuous appearance belies his terrifying competence. Inside, Marlo is meeting with a man he considers himself to be the equal to - a leader talking to another leader - Stringer Bell. Stringer is impressed by the choice of location for the meeting, a rundown old place where the only bugs will have legs on them, but he's also spotted Marlo's only mistake - his Mercedes. He tells Marlo to forget his dealings with Bodie so far, and even the beating delivered to Bodie's crew, because he's here to make an entirely different kind of offer. He makes a casual but accurate prediction of Marlo's net-worth, he figures Marlo has about a million dollars to his name, but that money is so tied up in drugs that he can never use it for any legitimate purchase. Similarly, that Mercedes Benz is probably in somebody else's name but that won't protect him when the police come looking for him. Stringer talks up the New Day Co-Op ("yeah, I heard about that,") notes Marlo carefully, and points out that the Government doesn't want drug dealers organized, he wants them fighting amongst themselves and making visible trouble so they're easier to crack down on. Stringer is laying out a proposal to Marlo, join him and make all kinds of money (and launder it for legitimate use) or stand alone and face inevitable arrest and the dissolution of his small empire. But Stringer's entirely reasonable proposal makes a HUGE mistake, and if he'd been paying attention he would have seen it. Watch Marlo during Stringer's proposal, look at what he reacts to and what leaves him cold. That slight nod when Stringer brings up the names of past "kings" in Baltimore. The dismissive,"I'm doing all right" when Stringer talks about money. The complete lack of interest when Stringer notes that his money can't buy him a legitimate home etc. Marlo doesn't care about accumulating wealth or possessions beyond being symbols of the power he wields and the respect he demands. Stringer offering to bring him into the New Day Co-Op may be reasonable and in everybody's best interests, but Marlo isn't interested in maximizing his profits and buying businesses, homes and possessions - and Stringer's offer appears to him as a sign of weakness, a sign that he isn't willing or able to fight. Even that Mercedes is there because he wanted to impress an impressive man - the legendary Stringer Bell - with a car known to be the possession of men of influence. Now that he has met Stringer, he has found him wanting, and that's a mentality that Stringer does not understand - it's as alien a concept to him as the reality of Hamsterdam was to Johnny.   McNulty is getting tired of watching the house, but that changes quickly when Kima points out that Stringer has just left the building... followed by Marlo Stanfield. Stringer drives away, and Marlo announces to Chris that they need to get "tooled up". Chris doesn't question the order, he just nods and says he's on it. At Hamsterdam, word is getting around and now drivers are pulling up to Vincent Street to cop before driving away. Colvin and Mello have come down to see how things are progressing, and Carver, Herc and Collichio explain how easily everybody has taken to the bizarre idea - in fact they're even calling it "Hamsterdam" now. Colvin is delighted, he's seeing his insane idea come true - the drugs markets are moving away from the populated streets of the Western District. McNulty attends the school's open day after all, arriving late as Elena is discussing maths with one of the teachers. He apologizes for being late (Elena rolls her eyes, she's used to it) and quickly grows bored as Elena goes on doing boring things like taking an active interest in the education of their children. He excuses himself to get something to drink, and heads over to a table of vegetable finger foods, and bumps into Theresa D'Agostino who - perhaps because she's bored - decides to flirt a little with the good looking dad. She remarks on the crudités, and McNulty - unsure what the word means but knowing a good pun when he sees it - quips that there's no need to call him crude just because he didn't have time to change before coming from work. He jokes that he's on the board at Leggs Mason then admits that maybe he's a city cop instead, and D'Agostino introduces herself, she's an alumni of the school and one of the fundraisers, and McNulty tells her he and his ex (note he doesn't refer to her as his wife when he's trying to score with a pretty lady!) are thinking of sending their boys here. As they flirt, Elena finds herself distracted from the math teacher's explanation of the maths integration as her estranged husband ignores his duties to try and get into a stranger's pants. He succeeds, by the way. They hook up for the evening, but D'Agostino's happy flirting and laughter turns to disinterest the moment she has gotten what she wanted. When McNulty wakes up a little later he finds her working away busily on her laptop and completely indifferent to his charm, ignoring his question about what she does and telling him he should get dressed and leave. McNulty finds himself rejected by yet another woman, and also on the opposite side of one of those many one-night stands he and Bunk have made a game out of having when they go out drinking at the bar. In an upmarket area of town, Avon Barksdale arrives at a party put on to welcome him home. Far more upscale than Orlandos' ever was, he's greeted by Slim Charles and others, and his sister Brianna as well. They hug and he tells her he wishes he wasn't the only one coming home, and she tells him that she knows... but enjoy himself tonight, they can talk about that later. He even happily greets old rival Prop Joe, who jokes that maybe he should go to jail himself and lose a little weight since Avon is looking so good. But as the party proceeds, Avon finds himself in two minds - Stringer is holding court with his inner circle, some of whom have never had any personal dealings with Avon, in the position that Avon thinks of himself as being - the Boss. His attempts to flirt with a willing woman are bypassed when Stringer redirects him to a meeting with Clay Davis and Andy Krawczyk (with Levy as the important, sometimes eye-rolling intermediary), the two stressing how much money he stands to make and how he needs to keep away from the streets and find another way. Like Marlo, Avon is left completely cold by the idea of getting away from the streets and making more money, distracted when he spots Gerard and Sapper entering the party clearly high as kites. He dismisses the men that many would lose a nut to have a meeting with a vague, slightly mocking,"It's all good. Just put it up on the calendar. We should meet." He heads away, leaving behind Andy Krawcyzk and Clay Davis who are clearly disappointed that they haven't found another rich sheep to fleece. Avon heads straight to Slim and tells him in no uncertain terms that Gerard and Sapper are to be kicked out of the party for a lack of discipline, and seems to take some pleasure in seeing his orders followed without question. The pretty girl he saw earlier comes by again and this time he gets to speak with her, but before things can proceed further Stringer arrives again and tells him they need to talk. He takes him up the lift to an incredibly apartment, and then reveals that it isn't just Avon's place, it's legitimately Avon's place - everything is in his name. He tosses him a set of keys to a Navigator downstairs in the garage, a rental till he finds something he likes, and explains that they're now making so much legitimate money that they can own things out in the open now. Avon is impressed, while money means little to him, his best friend and the man he left in charge doing so well is a point of pride for him, and he tells Stringer as much, saying he's done good. Stringer settles in on the couch and talks fondly of when they were children, sitting on the roof of the Tower they lived in and dreaming of the future. Avon laughs that Stringer was big into Black Pride and was going to own TWO grocery stores and make niggas proud. Stringer laughs and remembers that Avon wanted to get his hands on an AK-47. Serious now, and utterly genuine, Stringer tells Avon that they're brothers, and Avon agrees, the two hugging, the strength of their bonds as strong now as they ever have been. Avon jokes that he feels churlish bringing this up after everything Stringer has done for him, but he HAS been "locked down" for a couple of years now (there are some things even a man as powerful as Avon can't smuggle into prison), but Stringer pretends to be occupied with a meeting he has to get to and heads out the door checking his watch, leaving a disappointed Avon behind. A knock at the door gets his attention and Stringer cries out from the other side that he forgot something, and when Avon opens the door.... the girl from the party is standing there, along with another. They both enter, Stringer nowhere to be seen, and a delighted Avon Barksdale realizes that he really is home now.    Enjoy their happiness, it won't last.
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Jun 29, 2013 09:23
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Great write-up, as always. Of all the numerous ways Stringer shuts down people trying to talk drugs with him "You shouldn't deal drugs" is my favourite. The 'are you taking notes' scene, as well as being one of the funniest in the series, is another great example of the 'they get beat, we get pensions' dichotomy between the police and the dealers. Do you think there is any chance in hell that Colvin could get Herc to read something like the rules of order, and not only read it, but then get him to (without being told, on his own initiative) begin applying it in his work? Although, thinking about it now, Lester could have probably got Prez to do something like that. So maybe you can take it as another point about how similar some of the relationships that form in the different organizations are. You know Prez works as a pretty good mirror image of Shamrock, there both loyal to a person more then an organization, and I could totally see prez taking notes on a criminal loving conspiracy.
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Jun 29, 2013 19:42
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Jerusalem posted:Bodie meets Stringer outside the Museum of Industry (you could all of Baltimore has become little more than a museum of industry), commenting that he came here for a school trip back when he was still going to school. David Simon has a minor rant about this in this season's commentary. They picked that shot because it's basically America in a nutshell- industry is something long since put in the past. Of course, that's not really true, it's more we've added to the global labor surplus- the extraneous people spit out by capital. Also, and this is really out of left field, but the old lady on the stoop in Hamsterdam they forgot was there reminds me of how Colonial Williamsburg was built. Basically John Rockefeller Jr. and a lawyer bought up a whole bunch of downtown properties on the sly for a couple years, displacing businesses and homes, then they were finally caught and were confronted by an understandably angry town of Williamsburg who were like "hey you just destroyed our town to build a theme park." And like Hamsterdam they got all the properties except one, and to this day there's a single private home surrounded by all the actors, horse poo poo, and tourists.
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Jun 30, 2013 02:16
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comes along bort posted:David Simon has a minor rant about this in this season's commentary. They picked that shot because it's basically America in a nutshell- industry is something long since put in the past. Of course, that's not really true, it's more we've added to the global labor surplus- the extraneous people spit out by capital. Huh, interesting. My folks are in Edenton, NC, and the story they get told is that Rockefeller wanted to buy the town lock stock and barrel, as it is colonial as can be, but the city fathers told him to pound sand, so he had to build fresh up in Williamsburg. Wonder if the two stories mesh, or if it is a common urban legend in small colonial era towns that times have passed by.
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Jun 30, 2013 06:10
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Slo-Tek posted:Huh, interesting. My folks are in Edenton, NC, and the story they get told is that Rockefeller wanted to buy the town lock stock and barrel, as it is colonial as can be, but the city fathers told him to pound sand, so he had to build fresh up in Williamsburg. Wonder if the two stories mesh, or if it is a common urban legend in small colonial era towns that times have passed by. Maybe. Williamsburg was less colonial than it was civil war-ish when they bought it up. Duke of Gloucester St. had light poles, gas stations, all that poo poo in the 20s. There were like maybe 10 intact buildings and a handful more foundations from the period. The rest of it looked like Elizabeth City used to, and it was all torn down. A lot of it also had to do with W.A.R Goodwin pestering Rockefeller to give him money to fix up some houses (and Bruton Parish Church) so he could flip them. The lady who used to run Historic Edenton is a friend of my folks. It's a neat place.
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Jun 30, 2013 06:26
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The Herc/Marlo confrontation is so beautiful. It's like the drunken visit to the high rises in S1 when they all three realize that they're cut off in hostile territory, but this time Herc's too caught in trying to be all alpha on Marlo and doesn't realize at all what he's dealing with. That's what just what gives Marlo such an edge- Herc, Stringer, Prop Joe, all of them come at him from the angle of the ruleset they understand, and Marlo doesn't give a poo poo about anybody's rules but his own. That attitude is soaked into his crew, and that's why they're ready to go to town on Herc and Carver if he calls it that way. Avon and Omar were the only ones to really 'get' Marlo. Maybe Lester did too, but we didn't see him engage with Marlo's existence the way that McNulty tried and failed to do with Stringer. ETA: That really makes me wonder what exactly McNulty saw in Stringer when he was pursuing him. Machiavellian drug lord? Cold-blooded master of assassins? As viewers of course we get the fuller picture of both sides, but these guys actually 'met' all of four times that I recall in the series- D's trial, Avon's arrest, Bird's trial, and at the copy shop. From Stringer's point of view, McNulty was just a cop doing cop stuff. Randomly Specific fucked around with this message at 17:26 on Jul 1, 2013 |
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Jul 1, 2013 17:11
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I kinda think McNulty thought of Stringer as a clever cocksucker he could use to show everyone how smart he was.
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Jul 1, 2013 17:44
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I think part of it is that Stringer was the one who got away in Season 1. He got his big victory with Barksdale and everybody else, but he had to leave Stringer on the street, and he couldn't abide that.
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Jul 1, 2013 17:51
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Randomly Specific posted:ETA: That really makes me wonder what exactly McNulty saw in Stringer when he was pursuing him. Machiavellian drug lord? Cold-blooded master of assassins? As viewers of course we get the fuller picture of both sides, but these guys actually 'met' all of four times that I recall in the series- D's trial, Avon's arrest, Bird's trial, and at the copy shop. From Stringer's point of view, McNulty was just a cop doing cop stuff. I thought it was because he "beat" McNulty in season 1
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Jul 1, 2013 20:32
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Rudager posted:I thought it was because he "beat" McNulty in season 1 Yeah, it's all about McNulty's ego. Remember when they find Stringer dead, what McNulty says to Bunk: "I caught him Bunk. On the wire. And he doesn't even know." Tells you a lot about McNulty right there.
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Jul 1, 2013 23:05
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Yeah, McNulty wasn't actually chasing Stringer Bell - he was chasing the idea of "some criminal out there laughing at me, Jimmy McNulty, having defeated ME!" When he goes to Stringer's apartment and looks around, he's realizes that he had no idea who Stringer was, he'd built him up in his mind as one thing and the reality simply didn't mesh with it. "Who the gently caress was I chasing?" he asks, because at that moment he genuinely doesn't know. It's not too much of a surprise that not long after this unsatisfying conclusion to his hunt for the white whale, he "drops out" and starts focusing on a happier personal life.
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Jul 1, 2013 23:26
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It is funny how personal it gets from the police side of things- they're in these guys lives, monitoring their movements, communications, and connections. But from the street side, they might know the name of a particular detective who's hounding them, but Prop Joe is the only one we seeing getting actual intel on who's making moves. When McNulty drops the warrant in Avon's lap, Avon's seen McNulty when they arrested him the first time, and maybe in court during the trial, but not much else. It's a moment for McNulty, but it doesn't have nearly the same meaning to Avon, as much of a sac punch as it is. When McNulty calls D a nice kid, he's blowing smoke. But nobody he's dealing with realizes just how much time he's actually spent following D through his life. I've heard that discussed vis a vis real life wiretaps and surveillance before, but I'd never considered it from the standpoint of this series. (And how it wraps back into real life.)
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Jul 2, 2013 03:17
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I'd disagree to some extent, though McNulty does allow things to get personal on his end it only goes so far. It's covered a bit in Simon's book Homicide - how a case can completely dominate a Detective's life.... while it is an ongoing active investigation. The moment it is solved or they move on to something else, it basically ceases to exist in their heads. There's a bit about one of the detectives going to prison to question somebody there, and the typical movie scene occurs where a prisoner is yelling the,"YO DETECTIVE <X> YOU LOCKED ME UP IMMA gently caress YOU UP I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!" type of thing, only the Detective has no idea who the guy is and has to wrack his brain to try and figure it out, eventually remembering it was a long finished case that he hasn't thought about since. Think about how McNulty only finds out about D'Angelo's suicide purely by accident when he just so happens to look him up while in a bad mood about the Stringer case going nowhere. He (and everybody else) has no idea that Avon is out on parole despite Avon being the entire reason for the creation of the Major Cases Detail in the first place, and when they find out they're absolutely furious... but did any of them give Avon a second thought once he was arrested and behind bars?
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Jul 2, 2013 03:42
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I've seen the wire at least 5 times straight through, but I never thought about this until now because of the McNulty/Stringer chat. As we all know, during the courtroom scene in the first episode, String holds up a drawing proclaiming "gently caress you detective" for McNulty to see. Later in the episode we learn that McNulty already had knowledge about the Barksdale gang, even though no other police officer had a clue who even Avon was at that time. So, the question I have is how does Stringer, at that time, know that McNulty is a detective? Did they have a run-in during the events before the show began? I may be mistaken, but I don't recall this ever being brought up in the show. McNulty just seems to have put the connection together on his own, yet how does Stringer know he's a cop?
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Jul 2, 2013 04:36
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I'd say that Stringer just picked up from his body language/attitude etc that he was a cop - you have to be pretty good at spotting police if you want to survive in the drug game very long. Stringer might not have quite the street smarts of the likes of Avon, Wee-Bey etc, but he's no fool and he did grow up on the streets where he'd have at least observed plenty of police interactions. Some guys just scream "cop". Unless you're that dumb kid who tried to sell Colvin drugs
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Jul 2, 2013 04:42
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McNulty has investigated bodies that Avon's crew has dropped before. Stringer presumably saw McNulty investigating a case before. There's also probably something about McNulty being a white guy in a suit stepping in to watch the trial of some random drug murder in the projects.
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Jul 2, 2013 05:00
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I could have sworn the Barksdales beat McNulty on a case before the events of season 1, so presumably Stringer would have recognized him from court, unless I'm misremembering. Also, I feel compelled to point out what a great bit of foreshadowing the liar's poker scene is- it establishes that Carcetti is much, much better at the game than Tony is. Chaos Triangle fucked around with this message at 07:16 on Jul 2, 2013 |
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Jul 2, 2013 07:11
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I finally got to S4 watching with my newbie friend.  So many good scenes in the first and second episodes, great parallels and callbacks to earlier seasons. I might have to try a write-up myself in a few weeks.
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Jul 2, 2013 08:56
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Chaos Triangle posted:I could have sworn the Barksdales beat McNulty on a case before the events of season 1, so presumably Stringer would have recognized him from court, unless I'm misremembering. Yeah, when Stringer reports back to Avon, he says something about "that bushy haired white detective was in the courtroom." Then Avon says "who?" and Stringer says "who beat up <someone> on the <something> thing." I think McNulty mentions to the Judge afterwards that their gang has beaten them (the police) up 7-8 times in court recently, including to one of his cases. It's pretty clear they have some history.
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Jul 2, 2013 13:16
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Season 3, Episode 6: HomecomingAvon Barksdale posted:Just a gangster, I suppose. Colvin and his men stand at the perimeter of Hamsterdam and watch the dealing taking place. Things are running smoothly now that the dealers have settled in and the junkies have gotten the word that this is where to score. Colvin admits it isn't pretty, but says it doesn't have to be - this isn't a drug enforcement strategy after all, his only interest is in clearing the dealers out of everywhere else and then essentially just pretending Hamsterdam exists (and by virtue of him being the one handling the statistics, it will be effectively invisible). So now he's given his police carte blanche to do everything they can to convince the holdouts to join the rest in Hamsterdam - he will back everything they do short of putting somebody into an emergency room that they can't walk out of under their own power. Beatings and abuse are tacitly approved, he's even gone so far as to detail the IID (Internal Investigations) rep for the next week, so any civilian complaints will go through to Lieutenant Mello, who smirks to show that they'll be ignored or dismissed. So off go the men of the Western District, gleefully taking the opportunity to ignore the rules they're supposed to be enforce - physically dominating young dealers, tossing sneakers into the sewers, macing the eyes of dealers packed into the back of a wagon, threatening to tow the car of another dealer etc. At one point one even complains that they have rights, this is America, and Santangelo happily replies,"Baltimore, Maryland!" Santangelo and a partner take a group of dealers out to the countryside and abandon them there in the middle of the night, repeating the refrain that has happened all over the Western District that day - "This doesn't happen in Hamsterdam." Mocking the confused young men, they give them rough directions back to Baltimore and tell them that next time they'll dump them in Virginia. They drive away, leaving behind the dealers in the dark, still plastic-cuffed with hands behind them (there is a slight continuity glitch here, as earlier they appeared to be uncuffed), literally lost in a rural wilderness now instead of figuratively in an urban one. On former drug corners, the litter has been swept away, children play, a lemonade stand has been set up, people hang out clothes, people sit on stoops chatting and others work on trimming the trees outside their homes. By contrast, in Hamsterdam the dealers are everywhere, touts crying out their various product names ("GOT THAT WMD!") while junkies openly buy and rush into the vacant homes to shoot up. Colvin watches it all with, if not happiness, at least satisfaction, until he notices that the old woman he saw the other day is still there, horrified by the influx of drug-dealers into her neighborhood. Colvin should have known - there is always a victim.  Avon joins Stringer at one of the building sites where "they" are developing luxury condominiums. Andy Krawczyk and a contractor are explaining that cost overruns due to the rising price of steel and Stringer's requested design changes need to be covered, which means an input of more money. Avon heads outside and the contractor takes Stringer aside to remind him that Avon is supposed to be wearing a hard hat on-site, and then they all head outside to join him. Stringer wants to know more about the cost overruns, but Avon speaks up to make a suggestion that leaves Krawczyk and the contractor gaping - they're the experts, they didn't adequately warn Stringer, so it's their responsibility to cover the extra costs. Grumpy, Krawczyk replies that cost overruns are just the nature of the business they're in, then suggests they discuss this over lunch (which I'm sure he'll write off as a tax deduction) and is left further disgruntled when Avon turns him down immediately, then heads off up the street. Avon isn't a "real" businessman, he expects things done on time and doesn't have time to kick back and work out deals over lunch - he's the boss, you do what he says, now what's the next item on the agenda? Kima and McNulty - to McNulty's credit - have gone to Daniels with the evidence of a meeting between Stringer Bell and Marlo Stanfeld. Still believing that Marlo is one of Stringer's lieutenants, McNulty tells Daniels that they had thought Stringer was clear of any contact with illegal activity but now they have proof he's still involved in the street level, day-to-day running of the Barksdale Organization. McNulty's old obsession is kicking in again, he knows that if they come back to Stringer in a few months he probably will be completely insulated, so they have to strike now while he's still having face-to-face meetings. Daniels looks over the photos and you can tell that he is sorely tempted, but finally he leans back and makes his own feelings on the matter clear - this Detail was put together to deal with bodies, and he doesn't care if a year from now Stringer Bell is on the Greater Baltimore Committee, so long as he isn't leaving dead bodies on the street. Just like Proposition Joe told Stringer, the police don't like boring, they focus on the people making noise. McNulty walks out (to his credit, he doesn't storm out) followed by Kima, leaving Daniels alone in his office with the photos. Bunk heads into Landsman's office where the Sergeant is happily reading a pornographic magazine and hands over a 10 page report. What is it? Quiet and controlled, Bunk tells him it is a report on the heroic efforts undertaken to (unsuccessfully) retrieve Dozerman's service weapon. He tells Landsman to take it upstairs, it'll keep the top brass happy for awhile, and when Landsman asks if the contents of the report are true, Bunk quite truthfully points out that it doesn't matter if it is or isn't. After all, this is all a PR exercise and the report is something that will point towards "progress" appearing to be made, and appearances are everything. Bunk reminds Landsman that he is "murder police" and that he wants to work his double-murder, and Landsman - after all that cajoling and pushing and demanding that he did - nods his head in agreement. He has the report, his rear end is covered. Avon and Stringer's next "meeting" is with Slim Charles, as Avon takes a tour of his territory to see the lay of the land. He's upset to see what should be one of HIS corners currently occupied by another crew, and gets irritated when all his questions to Slim Charles are answered by Stringer, who is trying to blow smoke up his rear end to prevent the kind of reaction that would excite the police. Avon shuts him down angrily, reminding Stringer that they hired Slim Charles to head up their muscle so he wants answers from him, and Stringer is forced to sit in the back of the car quietly while Slim Charles offers Avon open and ungilded answers instead of the carefully innocuous ones Stringer has prepared. So Avon learns that not only did they not take the corner by force from this other crew, but that the rival market they setup up the block was broken up and his crew run off by a young player called Marlo who isn't connected to any kind of organization. Avon is furious, and in the back Stringer is forced to look at his friend in a new light - could Avon (technically speaking his boss) ruin everything he has been setting up FOR him?  Bunk meets with Tosha's family, where he diplomatically lays out what he has picked up from his investigation so far - Tosha was a player, and not an innocent bystander who happened to be shot. He's looking for some kind of information from them, and offers up that he knows that she was running with a crew headed by Omar, promising that regardless of what Tosha's part was, if he can find the people responsible for her death he'll make sure they go to prison for a long time. He leaves his card and goes, and Tosha's mother (I assume) flicks the card away with contempt - no snitching, even if it is to get those responsible for Tosha's death. McNulty and Greggs take the photos of D'Angelo's corpse to the Anne Arundel County Deputy State's Attorney, looking to make some headway into getting an investigation into the Barksdale Organization going again, even if they're not the ones investigating it. She's no fool though, McNulty's assurance that the Medical Examiner will change the cause of death if an investigation uncovers a credible scenario holds no water with her, and he doesn't even have a suspect to attach to the death. Her County doesn't need another murder, and she isn't going to take one on when the current cause of death is suicide. Daniels attends an AIDS fundraiser in uniform to support Marla's political ambitions, the two of them putting on a good front as a happily married couple. As they schmooze, they've observed from afar by a very interested Odell Watkins, a State Delegate who wields considerable political power. He's with Senator Clay Davis and Councillor Tony Gray, and they share some jokes about the absence of Eunetta Perkins, whom Marla is hoping to replace but has the benefit of being on Mayor Royce's ticket. Clay is impressed with Royce, he's the very definition of an incumbent, and when he inevitably wins re-election he's likely to haul his entire ticket along with him. Royce mentioned earlier that he valued loyalty, and people like Eunetta Perkins are able to get away with frequent absences thanks to being pulled along in his wake. Watkins notes that a new internal poll by Royce shows his negatives are up though, a fact that catches Tony's attention, especially when Watkins praises him for his recent attack on Burrell and Rawls over the death of the eyewitness. Gray borrows a line from Carcetti and says he did it because it was the right thing to do, and Watkins tells him to keep it up. Gray beams, an "attaboy" from Odell Watkins is a hell of a thing in Baltimore politics, though Watkins still seems mostly focused on Marla Daniels - new blood may be just what the Council needs.   McNulty drowns his sorrows at the bar with Kima, and casts a hopeful look at a very pretty blond down the bar. Kima follows his gaze and bursts out laughing, telling him not to embarrass himself, and they commisserate on the hardest part of being police - trying to make the job matter. D'Angelo's murder is never going to be a murder in the eyes of anyone else (even McNulty is just playing a hunch there) and Daniels is focused on Kintel Williamson. McNulty is still taking things in stride, surprisingly, though he's upset about the Stringer case he's also somewhat distracted by his own personal problems, or perhaps lack of them. Telling Kima that his ex-wife has "her hooks" in another guy who he dismisses as "a money guy", he seems surprised himself when he agrees with Kima that he's moving on from Elena, and tells her all about the beautiful and intelligent woman he recently met. He talks her up as maybe being just what he needs, somebody who will rip him a new one when he needs it, and then creates a hilarious mental image by saying,"She's like Freamon with tits." Of course the woman in question has no say in McNulty's sudden decision, she made it pretty clear she thought this was a one night stand and he doesn't have her telephone number or know where she lives. But he laughs that he wouldn't be any kind of detective if he couldn't track down a white woman in Baltimore, and Kima too laughs at the idea of McNulty essentially stalking this woman. Daniels and Marla stop to get a coffee on their way home from the fundraiser, where an impressed Marla tells him how well he did schmoozing tonight. He admits he feels like he is getting better at it, and apparently he is since Marla reaches out to take his hand, and timidly suggests that maybe they could....? He shuts that down fairly quickly though, she may have been the one that threw him out but he has clearly wrapped his head around the failure of their marriage. He tells her that for now he'll happily show up whenever she needs him to help along her political career, but any more than that? He doesn't know. McNulty has rather sulkily decided he didn't even want his stupid dumb ugly-as-a-butt shrew of an ex-wife who dumped him and moved on with her life anyway  , while Daniels is taking a more mature and thoughtful approach.... well, as mature as any relationship can get when both parties pretend to still be happily married to assist her political career.Another "marriage" is straining too. Stringer and Avon settle in at the bar in the funeral parlor office where Avon at last asks Stringer for an explanation - why is prime territory being left to an unconnected nobody like Marlo? Stringer's strategy is a clever one, before he begins he lays it out in the open - Avon IS still the Boss and if Avon wants them to go to war, then they'll go to war, and Stringer will be there at his side like he has always been. With that said, he makes the same case he made to the members of the New Day Co-Op and that he made to Marlo - he explains the problems caused by violence and danger, points out that the days of needing to "own" territory are over, and that with the new arrangements they've made they can basically own the entire city regardless of who is running what corner. They've reached a point now that they can be above it all, leaving young'uns to worry about retail and wholesale while they just take their piece off the top of EVERYTHING. They could be like Little Willie, true powers in the city, making so much money with so many legitimate sources that the Government could come looking and be powerless to do anything to them. He makes eloquent points, and for quite some time I felt that Avon was being pigheaded in his refusal to accept that the times had changed. The problem is, Stringer's reasoning was based on logic and the notion that everybody was - like himself - interested in legitimacy and acceptance in the "real" world. But people don't act in their own enlightened self-interest, and Stringer didn't understand the power that came from having somebody's name "ring out on the street". The foundation of the Barksdale Organization's power is Avon's reputation, and like Marlo, Avon doesn't care about legitimacy or acceptance or even the money, he cares about the "right" people knowing who he is and respecting/fearing him. Avon wants to be a presence on the streets of Baltimore, the man who everybody knows is in charge even if the legitimate side of Baltimore don't know he exists. He lays that out to Stringer who simply doesn't understand - he's not a suit-wearing businessman, he's just a gangster, and while everything that Stringer says makes perfect sense, he still wants HIS corners. He takes a drink, and Stringer follows suit a moment later. But the divide between the formerly inseparable friends is growing - Stringer has had a taste of being the top dog and has his own way he wants to run things, and has succeeded so far because the inertia of the Barksdale Organization's size and reputation has been backing up his decisions. But now the likes of Marlo are seeing the weakness of an Organization too concerned with avoiding trouble to fight, and mistaking Stringer's disdain for the old corner system as ceding territory. Avon has that much right at least - reputation is everything in their world, and Stringer isn't out of their world yet.   Omar is watching Oz with Dante when Kimmy arrives with news that a homicide detective went to see Tosha's people, and that Omar's name came up as well as a claim that he has witnesses to the scene. Omar is surprised to see Bunk's name on the card, and Kimmy notes with angry sarcasm as she looks at Dante that they should go talk to him and tell him who killed Tosha. Omar shuts this down before it can blow up again, and reinforces again that he has this under control. It seems Bunk's visit did do something though, as Tosha's family not only told Kimmy about it but have started to question exactly what did happen when Tosha was killed. Omar snaps at her to tell them that she caught one trying to take their attackers down and insists again that he has this, but she pffts at that and storms away. In Hamsterdam, Colvin sits in the meticulously maintained home of the old woman still living in the block and has a cup of tea as she happily tells him her memories of the place - her husband and her saved up to buy the place, it was their pride and joy. Her story leaves unspoken the notion of a different time in Baltimore, when communities were still strong and people took pride in their work and their homes. A time before not only drugs but economic upheaval, "union-busting" and the desertion of the working man in favor of automation wreaked havoc. Colvin shows her a picture of a city-owned home, all taxes paid, and she likes the look of it but laughs that she could never afford a place like that. He explains that she needn't pay anything, the home is hers to have - a good neighborhood, on the #19 bus line and walking distance from her Church - it's all part of a program for people like her living in bad situations like the one right outside her door. That's all bullshit, of course, but Colvin has moved all the drug traffickers there and put her into the middle of this terrible situation, so he's doing what he can to get her out. Here he runs up against as implacable an opinion as Stringer did with Avon though - THIS is her home, the only one she has ever known, and she doesn't want to leave it. Colvin tries to explain, but she cuts him off to make a very good point - he has a so-called program for her, but why doesn't he have a program to deal with all the drug-dealing going on right out in the open outside her door? Colvin leaves, troubled, while only a little further down the road an equally troubled Stringer is watching the insanity that is Hamsterdam. Bodie is outside the car, and tells him he's gone all around and checked the houses as asked and found no sign of police or surveillance, and he knows dealers who have been dealing in Hamsterdam for days and not been bothered. Stringer knows it is too good to be true, but he also can't pass up the open market on offer, so he tells Bodie to send in a small crew of young'uns with a tiny package and work it for a few days to see what happens. Bodie is to be Stringer's direct contact on this issue, an opportunity that Bodie is eager to take up. At the funeral parlor, Stringer's other favorite - Shamrock - reports to Avon that Stringer will be late to the meeting, and Avon waves that off dismissively, he doesn't need Stringer around to make decisions. Shamrock, clearly unsure how to act around Avon and not used to not being the number 2 guy, slowly leaves the room, leaving behind Avon and Slim Charles (and Avon's MASSIVE bouncer). Slim is used to dealing with Stringer and tries to couch his replies to Avon's inquiries diplomatically, but Avon quickly puts a stop to that and tells Slim to just talk straight and answer him. The news isn't good - Avon wanted him to reach out and hire better enforcers so he could take the fight to Marlo with authority, but everybody that Avon was hoping for is either unwilling or unable to answer the call, or already contracted elsewhere. Most troubling is the news that some of them have turned down the request because word has gone around that Brother Mouzone has put a "hex" on them - that cuts them off from the bulk of the best enforcers that New York has to offer. Slim offers a poor review of the status of their own muscle - the best they have is Cutty, who Avon sent to them in the first place, but most of the rest aren't cut out for things. Avon was hoping for better news, but he isn't daunted - the implied "threat" of Marlo is just what he has been looking for since his homecoming - he doesn't understand or care about the direction Stringer has taken the Organization, but he understands fighting for a Corner and proving he is a force to be reckoned with. So he tells Slim to get Cutty, pick up the best of what they have available and go out and put a hurting on Marlo's people. Stringer arrives at his condo development to find nobody is working, and Krawczyk and the contractor have bad news for him, infuriating Stringer. Either some of what Avon said sunk in or he's too used to dealing with people who say,"How high?" when he says,"Jump", because he snaps that every time he thinks they're good to get working he gets another call and another hand in his pocket. Construction is being held up by a lack of permits though, and Krawczyk carefully takes him aside and tells him that he needs to make a call to Clay Davis, his political consultant, to get him to grease the wheels and speed up the permits. Stringer's lack of real life "legit" business experience and lifetime of breaking the law are working against him here - he wants to be legitimate but believes that - much like the drug world - "legitimate" can be sped up by the lubrication that is money. Krawcyzk and Davis are scamming him as surely as if he was playing 3 Card Monte, and Stringer's arrogance and paranoia have been turned against the intelligent man - if he'd involved Levy as a middle-man in all of this he could have cut through all the bullshit (or at least ended up paying out less overall as Levy got his cut and then prevented Davis and Krawczyk from bleeding Stringer dry). Cutty lays out his plan of attack with Slim, Gerard, Country and Chipper - and it's a sad state of affairs when Gerard is one of the top muscle that Slim could put together (Sapper is at least nowhere to be seen). Gerard tries to get involved, asking why Cutty is being so convoluted when they could just cut through on another road, and Slim angrily points out this would create a crossfire, and Cutty notes that it would also require them to shoot past the driver through his window. Cutty's plan is methodical, he and Slim will be providing a large distraction at which point Chipper will drive Gerard and Country through and they'll carefully pick their targets and drop them. They're to dump the guns and make sure any shell casings aren't left in the car, though Slim tells Country not to discard the gloves as "they'll have that DNA poo poo all over them". Chipper loudly and bravely tells Cutty not to kill too many before they arrive, he wants to be more than a decoy, and Gerard agrees while Cutty and Slim quietly fume. Colvin goes to Colonel Foerster with a bullshit report on the old woman on Vincent Street that identifies her as a cooperating witness in a drugs case that won't go to trial without her. He insists that it's a cheap deal, they've already located the house which has been foreclosed on and she doesn't require surveillance, it's just a relocation request and it's the least they can do. Foerster is uncertain - top brass don't want to spend money if they can avoid it - so Colvin reminds him of the eyewitness that was recently killed. Foerster notes that she's 73 years old and declares she must be a brave old bird, and signs off on the relocation order before telling Colvin that if Rawls finds out he'll claim Colvin forged his signature. He has no idea just how far beyond something like that Colvin has already gone, and when he asks if Vincent Street is bad, Colvin tells him he wouldn't believe it. Cutty and Slim are getting into position in the back alleys, but Chipper is getting anxious waiting in the car. Country - an older, wiser head - reminds him they're to wait for Cutty's call before heading in but he complains that they'll miss all the action, and more to the point how will it look to Avon if they sit back and wait rather than going in to fight? As they argue, a young man passes on his bike and, showing a remarkable poker face, heads down to the corner where Marlo's crew are dealing and greets them all casually while simultaneously letting them know three strapped guys in a car are up the road. Marlo's lieutenant Nay-Nay pulls up to talk with the guy running the corner and when Chipper spots him he decides they have to go now before Nay-Nay can escape. Gerard cocks his shotgun and they drive forward right into the waiting crew, who have all grabbed guns in preparation and use Nay-Nay's car as an initial shield, forcing Chipper to turn the corner and leave Country unable to get a shot off just as Cutty warned. Shots hit Chipper and he slumps over the wheel, crashing into a parked car, while in the alley Cutty hears the shooting and exchanges a startled look with Slim. They head up the alleyway in time to see Gerard scramble out of the car to the ground and somehow avoid being shot before hoofing it down the road at top speed. Country staggers out of the car as well, but two of Marlo's crew step forward and execute him, shooting him after he hits the ground as well to make sure. Cutty, disgusted, snaps that he told them to wait for his call and tosses his burner away, and he and Slim toss their guns over a fence into some bushes and take off down the alley, their attack a complete disaster because Chipper just couldn't wait.   Carcetti and Tony play squash and discuss the invitations they often have to decline because they get so many, and Tony mentions he had considered avoiding the AIDS fundraiser but is glad he didn't as he bumped into Odell Watkins. Carcetti is interested, Watkins is a "rainmaker" and that always interests a politician, but he is stunned when Tony reveals that Watkins openly spoke about being dissatisfied with the Mayor. Tony carefully puts out there that maybe somebody could take a run against the seemingly indestructible Royce, unaware that Carcetti is already several steps ahead of him and playing an entirely different game - they discard several possibilities (including the as yet unnamed Council President, who will play a large part later) and then Carcetti notes that whoever it is will need to be black, this being Baltimore. Tony is thrilled as they go back to playing squash, but Carcetti is playing chess - another viable black candidate to split the black vote could leave things open for him to swoop in and grab the mayoralty. Somebody else is ready to make a play for power too. Meeting with his mentor/bank Vinson, Marlo is intrigued by how poorly the attack on his corner crew went, noting that it speaks to the quality of Barksdales' men. Vinson warns that Avon will have to come at Marlo harder now that his pre-emptive strike has failed so badly, but Marlo welcomes the problem, saying that he is confident in the quality of what he has while Barksdale is clearly now weak. Vinson agrees that Marlo has a "full clip" but raises another issue - once he's at the head of the table, what then? It isn't enough to take control, you have to keep control, but Marlo notes that this is a good problem to have. When Vinson reminds him that the graveyards are full of young boys who wore the crown, Marlo shows the mindset that Avon would understand but Stringer never could - "At least they wore it." He turns to the other two there, his top two enforcers, Chris Partlow and, surprisingly, a young woman named Snoop. Chris was mentioned/seen last episode and this is Snoop's first appearance, and she is one of the most fascinating characters you'll ever seen in any television program. Played by a real life murderer/gangster Felicia Pearson (the same name as her character), discovered by Michael Williams who plays Omar in the show - she's an androgynous monster with no morals and truly bizarre accent/way of speaking. The fact that both these dangerous people are so clearly devoted to Marlo goes to show how dangerous the shark-like man is. When Marlo asks if Chris is ready to go to war, he enthusiastically accepts, hugging Marlo - he respects and trusts and is devoted enough to Marlo that he'll happily go to war against the most powerful drug organization in Baltimore.   Kima meets with Bubbles who has a shopping cart filled with white t-shirts, telling her he is earning a dollar here and a dollar there. He called in to her to see if she wanted more information on Marlo, but she laughs that if he wants to get paid he needs to get up to Park Heights and see what he can find out about Kintel Williamson. That's a shame he tells her, since poo poo is about to jump off, and that does get her attention. He tells her that Marlo dropped two Barksdale soldiers earlier in the day, which confuses Kima who thought Marlo worked for Stringer Bell, why else did they meet? Bubbles shrugs, he doesn't know what she saw, but Marlo flies his own colors, and now the West Side is about to get like Baghdad. Kima rushes back to her car and Bubbles happily tosses in a bag of white shirts for her and the others in the detail, then heads on down the road with his shopping cart cheerfully calling out that he's selling whiteys, oblivious to the shitstorm he has just set in motion. Colvin has had the news too - two dead bodies in the Western - and Rawls is on the line hammering home to him the point that Burrell has had to promise a hard limit on murders for the year. Colvin lets him know what he's done and asks what news Homicide has, but Rawls snaps at him that he isn't asking Homicide, he's asking HIM and all he can offer is that there were "rival gangs" involved. He hangs up on Colvin who turns to Carver (Sergeant of his Drug Enforcement Unit after all) and asks him what he DOES have, and all the deer-in-the-headlights Carver can offer is that it's like Colvin said, it was rival gangs. Which ones? demands Colvin, and all Carver can offer is a lame joke that they're assholes who don't like each other before his face falls and he apologizes, he just doesn't have any more information. Deeply disappointed (but what does he expect given the nature of the BPD), Colvin walks away. Bruiser - the old man who identified Omar to Bunk - is playing cards with some buddies in an open garage when who should show up but Omar himself. Omar doesn't have to say anything, Bruiser slowly dropping to his chair, knowing that he's hosed up by speaking to the police. Carcetti returns home and is barely through the door before he's asking his wife for dinner and wanting to watch a video tape of a recent Council meeting where he knocked down an attempt by another Councillor to block him on an issue. It says a lot about Tommy's narcissism that his first reaction upon getting home isn't to ask his wife how her day was but ask what food she has prepared for him, and then jump straight to watching himself on television. His young kids happily offer that they have "shared" with him and he finds a toasted cheese sandwich in the VCR (the technology really has aged on this show ), and this at least seems to puncture some of his ego as he laughs and asks his wife if he can have some chips and pickle with that too.There's an odd scene that follows between Donette and Brianna that just fascinates me. They're in what I assume is Donette's bedroom, and Brianna is straightening Donette's hair as they chat about D'Angelo being gone and Donette's own needs. How did this come about? What is their relationship like? I never really had a sense that they were close, and while I can imagine Brianna wanting to latch on to her grandson I can't imagine Donette wanting to spend much time with Brianna. Yet here they are, Brianna doing Donette's hair and the two of them openly talking about relationships. Donette tries to subtly let out that she is interested in Stringer (without giving away that she's already in one), and Brianna tells her that there is no denying Stringer is fine, and if she wants to pursue him then she has no problem with that. Donette is surprised, she thought Brianna would be angry, but Brianna admits that D'Angelo has been dead for some time now. Donette, grateful, lets spill a little too much when she tells Brianna about the cop that came around to see her about D'Angelo's death, trying to suggest it wasn't a suicide, and Brianna immediately freezes, asking for more information, learning it was the same detective who tried to get D'Angelo to turn evidence against Avon. Not only that, Donette tells her that all she did in regards to this visit was to tell Stringer, and now Brianna is faced with the information that somebody thinks her son didn't commit suicide, but that Stringer was told as much. Pearlman is getting unwelcome news too. Judging by their dress (or lack of it), Daniels has only told her about Marla's decision to run for City Council after they had sex. What does this mean? It means that until the election is over the next year, Daniels is going to continue to pretend to be happily married to her. Why? Pearlman points out that divorce is common nowadays but he says that this is something he owes her, she stood by him for years as he let her believe that his career was going places while he was only truly happy when he was doing real police work. She stood by him during his dark Eastern District days when he did "some poo poo", always thinking he was going to be a big deal, and now that she has her chance to be a big deal in her own right he feels he owes her whatever assistance he can offer. It all sounds very reasonable, but how many other men have told how many other women that,"I'm totally going to leave my wife ONE DAY, I swear!" Hell, didn't Pearlman already go through this with McNulty? She asks him what HE wants, and he says he just doesn't want to disappoint her - he'll do what he can to see she gets what she wants this time, and nothing more than that.  Cutty and Slim are facing the music for their part in the disastrous attack on Marlo's crew. Slim says the last he saw of Gerard was racing bullets up the street, and Cutty says until he surfaces they won't know what the hell happened to cause everything to turn to poo poo before they were set to go. Stringer is in attendance and points out that the police are going to be all over this so they should pull back, bide their time, rebuild their muscle and THEN deal to Marlo. Avon cuts that off immediately, shouting that he doesn't have any more time to waste, if he doesn't immediately come back on Marlo then he's going to look like a punk, and that is something he cannot tolerate. In fact, Avon goes so far as to declare he's going to head out and handle things himself but now it is Stringer's turn to puts a stop to that, Avon is just out of prison and if his name comes up in connection to a murder he'll be straight back in. Slim and Cutty say they'll handle things themselves so they can guarantee no gently caress-ups, and Avon tells them to make sure they don't. They head out together and Avon turns to Stringer, declaring that this is the way things are, the game IS the game! Stringer, less enthusiastic about a situation that is pretty much entirely of Avon's making, gives the standard,"Same as it ever was," reply, but his heart clearly isn't in it. The two men, who in the past were always on the same page, sit in the room alone with their own thoughts. Stringer speaks first, talking about his visit to Vincent Street and the bizarre scenes he saw down there - people dealing drugs in the open like it was candy, police ignoring everything, the whole thing just running like it was a... well... a business. He stops talking and the silence cues the thoughtful Avon in that Stringer has stopped speaking, but he hasn't been listening, his entire attention on the gun in his hand. Stringer has been infatuated by business, Avon infatuated by violence, and neither of them are hearing what the other is saying. Avon asks him what he was saying and Stringer says it was nothing, nothing at all. McNulty and Kima bring the new evidence on the deaths of Chipper and Country to Daniels. Kima approaches things diplomatically, saying that she and McNulty got it wrong because they thought Marlo worked for Stringer but it seems they're rivals, and now that is becoming bloody. McNulty can't resist throwing it in Daniels face though, telling him that he claimed to be about the bodies and now Stringer/Marlo is causing bodies to drop. Daniels is livid, instead of investigating the Kintel Williamson case they've continued to pursue the case he told them not to, and he informs them this is no longer about Stringer Bell or Kintel Williamson. He demands Kima say what his rank is, then McNulty, who refuses to play along - respect for the chain of command has never flown with Jimmy. Daniels tells Kima if she can't remember that then she can return to Narcotics, and McNulty can go to whatever unit will still have him. They leave his office, McNulty furious, leaving Daniels behind with the photos of Chipper and Country. This next scene is amazing, please watch it. If you've watched it before, watch it again. If you've never watched it before, watch it now. Bunk meets with Omar after getting a message to meet him, and the two trade jibes, Omar playing it cool and aloof and revealing how he has dismantled what Bunk has put together on the murders so far. Bunk gets angrier and angrier, till he lets rip and tears Omar a new one - he reminds Omar about the way things used to be before the destruction of the communities, the way even the "hard men" looked out for others. Now all there is are bodies and "predatory motherfuckers" like Omar, with children rushing around playing "Omar" like he was a superhero. "Makes me sick motherfucker, how far we done fell," he seethes, and walks away from Omar whose only reply is a massive loogie. But his pretense is clear, Omar has been wounded by Bunk's words, forced to face up to the truth behind his own legend - he's a blight on society. Stringer meets with Clay Davis who openly milks Stringer for 25k, telling him that 20k will buy him the permits he needs, and 5k is the cost of Clay going to see the people who can make that happen (that's on top of the consultancy fee he's already getting). Clay knows he has Stringer hooked and goes back to his paperwork as Stringer considers the cost of the solution against the cost of waiting on the permits while construction stands still. He asks when the permits will arrive and Clay tells him Monday by the end of the day at the latest, and foolish Stringer takes a politician at his word. Slim and Cutty drive up the street when to their great surprise they see Marlo's lieutenant Fruit hanging out openly on a corner chatting on the phone. Cutty points out that Fruit owes him money and they decide to make their strikeback now, and set up a quickly improvised move to have Slim open fire and then Cutty move into position to shoot down any survivor who tries to escape down the alley. As an oblivious Fruit chats on the phone, a young hopper named Boo pops by and nods hello to Fruit, then grabs his asthma inhaler from his pocket. Whether because he thinks he's going for a gun or just because he's there, Slim opens fire and Boo goes down, as a horrified Fruit immediately rushes for the alley only to see Cutty appear from nowhere, gun drawn and ready to fire. Fruit drops to his rear end, staring into his death, utterly terrified... and Cutty can't shoot. Turning to look at Boo's bleeding corpse, he turns back to the still terrified Fruit who finally gets his legs under him and makes it to his feet, turning and running down the alley and disappearing behind a corner. Slim arrives and looks around the corner, seeing an empty alleyway and immediately deciding that he must have attacked too early before Cutty could get into position, and that this allowed Fruit to escape. Cutty doesn't correct him, and the two men make a run for it, leaving Boo's dead body behind, inhaler lying alongside him.   Bodie brings some young'uns down to Hamsterdam, telling them to ignore the police hanging around and shouting at some small kids to get the gently caress off the stoop he's decided will be their spot now. He jokes with the dealers he has brought that they should have brought their toothbrushes in case they get locked up and taken to Boy's Village, but that if they DON'T get locked up they'll get an extra 20 for their efforts. Leaving them to deal, they glance about nervously as they take money from junkies while everybody else around them openly sells with impunity. Carcetti visits Theresa D'Agostino to once again ask her to run his Mayoral Campaign. She wants nothing to do with a can't-win situation and asks him to lay out why she or anyone else would vote for him, and he lays out a pitch based on crime that immediately sets alarm bells ringing for her - a white guy standing up to tell a predominantly black city he's hear to save them from themselves? But he has more - he knows that there are people in Royce's camp that aren't happy with him; he has the Police Commissioner giving him inside info on Royce's mismanagement of law and order.... and more importantly of all he has Tony Gray strongly hinting he'll run for Mayor next year. Two black candidates means a split in the black vote, and that gives Tommy a chance. D'Agostino is intrigued by this, but Tommy is still white so they'd need a "safe" middle-class black person to make it clear to black voters that it would be alright to vote for the white guy. I always feel it's unspoken here that it would also give permission to white voters to feel good about voting for a white guy since "that one black guy likes him!". Tommy carefully makes a suggestion he knows she'll turn down and she counters with Odell Watkins, which is exactly what he was hoping to hear since he knows that Odell isn't happy with the Mayor. Her final objection is that he would need to raise a lot of money, but the moment she says this he leans back in satisfaction, because now he knows he has her hooked. If she's talking about raising money, then she's accepted his viability as a candidate. McNulty sits in the Detail kitchen lamenting that Daniels KNOWS that by his own conditions he should be pushing to re-open the Stringer Bell case. Kima agrees, but points out what McNulty can't see - that some people can be as bullheaded and stubborn as he is. It isn't about being right at the moment, it isn't about Stringer, it's about respect. "gently caress respect!" snaps McNulty, but Kima correctly notes that pride is at stake, and at the moment Daniels would rather be wrong than right if it means capitulating to a subordinate - particularly McNulty. McNulty of course wants to keep bashing heads, but Kima is smarter (many people are smarter than "the smartest guy in the room") and points out Daniels respect for the chain of command. If word came down from on high that he was needed to pursue Stringer Bell and Marlo Stanfeld, then he would accept that even if he didn't like it. McNulty is intrigued, and a slow smile crosses his face as Kima notes that of course she knows that McNulty would never go behind somebody's back. What neither knows is that there is very real pressure at the very top about the recent murders. Burrell has been summoned to see Mayor Royce and Chief of Staff Coleman Parker, and they're upset that after "promising" them no higher a number of murders than 275 for the year, they're already at 260 and it's not even October. Worst of all, one of the recent dead is a 14 year old (Boo), and Royce lays it out for Burrell - if the number hits 300 before year's end then he can no longer guarantee that Burrell will serve out a full term as Police Commissioner. Royce values loyalty, but not when his loyal subordinates are proving a liability to HIM personally. McNulty meets with Colvin in the parking lot of the Western District Headquarters and lays out the deal with Stringer Bell and Marlo Stanfeld. Colvin knows that Daniels' Detail is supposed to be investigating Kintel Williamson and quickly guesses that McNulty has backdoored his Lieutenant by coming to him, and that he hasn't changed at all - it's still always about HIS case. McNulty can't even pretend to be embarrassed, he throws his empty can up onto the roof (nobody pays attention to that rule) and repeats a line he once gave to Judge Phelan - keep his name out of it. Slim and Cutty arrive to see Avon, who at first affects disdain that they're strolling in walking tall after letting one of their targets get away. Slim tries to give a good account, talking about how they went in blazing but Avon quickly shuts him up, telling him that he's already heard the full story and he's not upset - there's one less of theirs breathing now then there was yesterday, and that's a good start. Obviously pleased that his Organization is showing some teeth again, he jokingly he tells Cutty he's surprised, back in the day he'd have never let anybody get away from him, and Slim quickly speaks up in his defense, saying it was his fault for opening fire too soon. Cutty shuts that down though, coming to a decision at last and letting it all out - he had Fruit dead to rights and he couldn't pull the trigger. Why not? He says that whatever is in Avon that lets him flow like he flows and "do that thing" is no longer in himself, and a disappointed Avon (Cutty was the last enforcer he had real confidence in) accepts this but says while he might be done as muscle, he's not done. They can use what he knows, put him on a corner or inside somewhere... but Cutty stops him again, he's saying that there is none of "the game" in him anymore. He's done, he simply can't be a part of this anymore. Then what will he do? Avon notes that he's never done anything else, and all Cutty can offer in reply is that whatever it is, it can't be this. To his great relief, Avon listens to this and then... accepts it. Respecting Cutty's honesty and recognizing the lack of killer instinct in him, he tells Cutty that they're still good and hugs him goodbye. Surprised, relieved, and maybe in a bit of disbelief, Cutty says his goodbyes to Slim as well and leaves the office, turning his back on the only thing he has ever known and walking away with his life - one of a very small minority who will ever manage to do so. Slim watches him go and says it's a shame, he was a man back in his time. Avon - a man who respects somebody who knows themselves - tells Slim that Cutty is a man today.  Daniels is waiting rather impatiently for a meeting with the Commissioner, having no idea why he has been summoned to see him. Burrell's secretary lets him know he can enter now and he walks into the office to a rather surprising scene. The Commissioner, Deputy Ops Rawls and Major Colvin of the Western District are all there, and Burrell happily declares about the man he once wanted out of the BPD that here he is - Cedric Daniels, the man of the hour. Colvin, acting the part of the desperate supplicant, bows his head almost in shame while Rawls and Burrell grin toothily - here is the answer to their prayers: Burrell needs the murders to stop; Rawls wants effective policework from the Lieutenants and Majors under his command; and Colvin needs information that his poorly informed DEU Sergeant can't give him. Cedric Daniels is the man who can do all those things for them, for once everybody is in agreement with Jimmy McNulty.... all except for Cedric Daniels himself. 
Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 00:46 on Jul 3, 2013 |
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Jul 2, 2013 14:03
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Great write-up, but you [img]'ed a screencap when you should have done [timg] Table breaker!! God I love that last scene so much. "Here he is Bunny." "Cedric Daniels to the rescue." "The man of the hour." Oh and Avon's "he's a man today" scene... tremendous. Shows the dichotomy of Marlo and Avon. And this exchange is great: Vinson: "Prison and graveyards, full of boys who wore the crown." Marlo: "Point is they wore it; it's my turn to wear it now." That is an incredible shot! escape artist fucked around with this message at 14:54 on Jul 2, 2013 |
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Jul 2, 2013 14:50
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that's gotta be the longest post that actually makes sense on the whole forum.
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Jul 2, 2013 16:53
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Rocksicles posted:that's gotta be the longest post that actually makes sense on the whole forum. At least since Jerus' last post. Cutty's farewell is what hits me the most in this ep. He goes in knowing full well that he's quite possibly in a 'leave feet first' situation, but he looks Avon in the eye and is completely straight about it, and Avon being Avon lets him walk. Avon knows he's going to finish out the game dead or in prison, but Cutty doesn't have to end up that way. It's kind of got its parallel in the scene where Weebay agrees to let Colvin take Namond.
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Jul 2, 2013 19:32
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I love Slim Charles in Cutty's exit scene. Guy is so straight forward, ready to cop to blame and take his punishment, and happy to make an excuse to keep the only guy he can actually work with out of trouble. I've always seen a lot of parallels between him and Snoop. Not just in the wheeze of the voice, but in their "good soldier" approach to the game and their organizations. I could see Charles' position being what Snoop would have reached had, well, you know, she not been having such a good hair day...
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Jul 2, 2013 20:42
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I think Snoop was a bit more of a psychopath than Slim. Early in season 5, when Marlo is forced to be quiet because the cops are watching, she complains about not being able to kill people. And Slim would never have done stuff like torturing Butchie (he says so himself) or the conversation in the hardware store. Mind you that was on Marlo's orders but still.
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Jul 2, 2013 21:45
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Spoilers Below posted:I love Slim Charles in Cutty's exit scene. Guy is so straight forward, ready to cop to blame and take his punishment, and happy to make an excuse to keep the only guy he can actually work with out of trouble. Well, think of what happened from Slim Charles perspective. He actually thought he stepped on Cutty's shot. He didn't know Fruit tripped because he didn't have the vantage point that Cutty did. He wasn't making an excuse for Cutty. He just wasn't fully cognizant of what happened.
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Jul 3, 2013 00:49
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cletepurcel posted:I think Snoop was a bit more of a psychopath than Slim. Early in season 5, when Marlo is forced to be quiet because the cops are watching, she complains about not being able to kill people. And Slim would never have done stuff like torturing Butchie (he says so himself) or the conversation in the hardware store. Mind you that was on Marlo's orders but still. I think you're right about the orders part. Slim Charles was a very loyal soldier. If Avon ordered him to make sure Butchie felt the pain, I don't see him saying no. I think you're also right about Snoop though. She could torture someone like that without being asked.
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Jul 3, 2013 01:00
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escape artist posted:Well, think of what happened from Slim Charles perspective. He actually thought he stepped on Cutty's shot. He didn't know Fruit tripped because he didn't have the vantage point that Cutty did. He wasn't making an excuse for Cutty. He just wasn't fully cognizant of what happened. The point is though that unlike so many others, Slim was willing to step up and admit his mistake. No excuses or justifications, he hosed up (or thinks he did) so he admits it.
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Jul 3, 2013 01:04
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cletepurcel posted:I think Snoop was a bit more of a psychopath than Slim. Early in season 5, when Marlo is forced to be quiet because the cops are watching, she complains about not being able to kill people. And Slim would never have done stuff like torturing Butchie (he says so himself) or the conversation in the hardware store. Mind you that was on Marlo's orders but still. Slim is visibly upset when he sees that Marlo's soldiers have collected Kevin for himself. Slim is a tough guy and a killer, no doubt, but he's not without emotions.
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Jul 3, 2013 01:06
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pokeyman posted:I think you're right about the orders part. Slim Charles was a very loyal soldier. If Avon ordered him to make sure Butchie felt the pain, I don't see him saying no. I dunno, he has that line in season 5, where Omar's holding him up at gunpoint in the hallway, asking if he had anything to do with Butchie getting tortured (or maybe it was Joe getting killed, I forget), and he says "if I knew who did it, I'd tell you, I'd help you even." It seems like there are lines that he won't cross. That's not to say he's a Good Guy by any means--he does murder people because drug lords pay him to. Just, you know, with a code I guess
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Jul 3, 2013 01:11
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Ainsley McTree posted:I dunno, he has that line in season 5, where Omar's holding him up at gunpoint in the hallway, asking if he had anything to do with Butchie getting tortured (or maybe it was Joe getting killed, I forget), and he says "if I knew who did it, I'd tell you, I'd help you even." It seems like there are lines that he won't cross. It was Butchie getting tortured. He said that if Joe betrayed Butchie, he would help Omar, because Butchie is a pretty respected dude and well, torturing a blind man who doesn't harm anyone is pretty drat cruel.
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Jul 3, 2013 01:27
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escape artist posted:Slim is a tough guy and a killer, no doubt, but he's not without emotions. This sentimental motherfucker just cost us money!
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Jul 3, 2013 01:49
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