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escape artist
Sep 24, 2005

Slow train coming
No, it wasn't intentional. There's a conversation in an important scene where Marlo suggests Michael do it, and Chris counsels otherwise-- "boy worked for Bodie-- first time best be someone he ain't know-- and Marlo agrees. It's O-Dog who kills him.

Michael's first kill is the last scene of the fourth season which leads into the montage and the only dream sequence in the entire run of the show.



edit: One thing I gotta wonder... if Bodie was going to flip, why didn't McNulty deliver him to Major Crimes right then and there. Why wasn't he put under some sort of protective custody? They made the same mistakes with Wallace and Frank Sobotka. You'd think they'd learn.

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feedmegin
Jul 30, 2008

Combo posted:

So...I'm on my first watch through of The Wire, and I just finished up season 2. People had been telling me for years that the show was fantastic but I'd just never gotten around to watching it. Holy hell are the first two seasons great.

I'm avoiding the discussion in this thread for the most part but the episode breakdowns are really fantastic to read through after I watch an episode.

Have you tried Alan Sepwinwall's breakdowns on hitfix.com? I like them, and they come in both first-timer and rewatch versions.

Ainsley McTree
Feb 19, 2004


escape artist posted:

No, it wasn't intentional. There's a conversation in an important scene where Marlo suggests Michael do it, and Chris counsels otherwise-- "boy worked for Bodie-- first time best be someone he ain't know-- and Marlo agrees. It's O-Dog who kills him.

Michael's first kill is the last scene of the fourth season which leads into the montage and the only dream sequence in the entire run of the show.



I've somehow never noticed the dream sequence before. I went back and re-watched the montage and now I've gone and made myself sad again :(

Slo-Tek
Jun 8, 2001

WINDOWS 98 BEAT HIS FRIEND WITH A SHOVEL

escape artist posted:

One thing I gotta wonder... if Bodie was going to flip, why didn't McNulty deliver him to Major Crimes right then and there. Why wasn't he put under some sort of protective custody? They made the same mistakes with Wallace and Frank Sobotka. You'd think they'd learn.

Institutions don't learn, and individual tragedies don't matter, only stats and headlines. Bodie isn't a headline. That is kind of the point. Also, there is no money for it.

Further still, even if there were a protective custody arrangement, would Bodie go for it? Would McNulty manage not to be a dickhole about asking/filling out the paperwork? Dem little bald bitches on the chessboard can only go one way.

Sarkozymandias
May 25, 2010

THAT'S SYOUS D'RAVEN

Slo-Tek posted:

Dem little bald bitches on the chessboard can only go one way.

And it ain't the other way.

Boywhiz88
Sep 11, 2005

floating 26" off da ground. BURR!

Sarkozymandias posted:

And it ain't the other way.

World going one way. People another, yo

Jerusalem
May 20, 2004

Would you be my new best friends?

Skeesix posted:

I still chuckle about the conversations between Poot and Bodie about Poot's various venereal diseases. Burn them bitches back!

I love when he gets out, they ask him if he's gotten laid yet and he says he thinks he already got burnt :laugh:

twerking on the railroad
Jun 23, 2007

Get on my level

escape artist posted:

No, it wasn't intentional. There's a conversation in an important scene where Marlo suggests Michael do it, and Chris counsels otherwise-- "boy worked for Bodie-- first time best be someone he ain't know-- and Marlo agrees. It's O-Dog who kills him.

Sure sure, but was it intentional to cast O-Dog to make O-Dog look like Michael?

The Midniter
Jul 9, 2001

Bodie's death was the most impactful death of the entire series to me. After it happened I kinda got this lump in my stomach and felt numb - about the murder of a fictional gangbanging murderous drug dealer. I texted my brother in disbelief (he had already seen The Wire before).

Me: Bodie got got :(
Him: :(

I guess I figured that since he was there from the beginning, he'd be around for the whole series. Welp.

Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

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

Fun Shoe

the black husserl posted:

I never forgave him for wallace though :colbert:

This is how I feel about Bodie too. Wallace's murder is the most affecting and memorable of the series to me, it never left my mind even by Season 4. By then I had sympathy for Bodie's lot in life, as I do with most of the characters on the show, but when it came down to it my first thought when he died was "Hey, you get what you give, he finally got what was coming to him." Just not with that satisfied feeling you usually get when some rear end in a top hat finally gets their comeuppance, this was more a depressed sigh.

twerking on the railroad
Jun 23, 2007

Get on my level

Basebf555 posted:

This is how I feel about Bodie too. Wallace's murder is the most affecting and memorable of the series to me, it never left my mind even by Season 4. By then I had sympathy for Bodie's lot in life, as I do with most of the characters on the show, but when it came down to it my first thought when he died was "Hey, you get what you give, he finally got what was coming to him." Just not with that satisfied feeling you usually get when some rear end in a top hat finally gets their comeuppance, this was more a depressed sigh.

I never faulted Bodie for Wallace's murder. If there's any one person to fault it is Stringer. But even that's not exactly right. Stringer wanted to build a drug empire. A drug empire doesn't treat each person as a special case - if a drug empire catches a whiff of snitching, it demands the snitch be killed. Bodie and Poot certainly didn't want to kill their friend, but since they were specifically asked by the head dude, they did it. And yes, they could have said no. But the best case scenario there would be that their boss gets to think of them as having no heart. Stringer gets some actual muscle to kill Wallace and Bodie/Poot stop advancing in the Barksdale organization. Their apparently hopeless lives get a little more hopeless. Worst case, Stringer thinks they might be snitches, and has them offed as well.

Now certainly the human thing to do here would be to say no and to make Stringer go get actual muscle. Just as in season 5, the human thing for Carcetti to do would be to take the money from Annapolis. Each of these people made terrible decisions, but their decisions are at least understandable.

Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

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

Fun Shoe

Skeesix posted:

I never faulted Bodie for Wallace's murder. If there's any one person to fault it is Stringer. But even that's not exactly right. Stringer wanted to build a drug empire. A drug empire doesn't treat each person as a special case - if a drug empire catches a whiff of snitching, it demands the snitch be killed. Bodie and Poot certainly didn't want to kill their friend, but since they were specifically asked by the head dude, they did it. And yes, they could have said no. But the best case scenario there would be that their boss gets to think of them as having no heart. Stringer gets some actual muscle to kill Wallace and Bodie/Poot stop advancing in the Barksdale organization. Their apparently hopeless lives get a little more hopeless. Worst case, Stringer thinks they might be snitches, and has them offed as well.

Now certainly the human thing to do here would be to say no and to make Stringer go get actual muscle. Just as in season 5, the human thing for Carcetti to do would be to take the money from Annapolis. Each of these people made terrible decisions, but their decisions are at least understandable.

I guess it depends on what you mean by "faulted". If you're saying you understand what drove them to do it, then yea I can agree, which is why I gradually developed sympathy for Bodie and Poot over time. But some things, even if you aren't 100% to blame, even if you didn't want to do it, even if there was no decent alternative, are so heinous that they are unforgivable. No rationale or logic can justify murdering a friend in cold blood.

Edit: Bodie and Carcetti are human and flawed absolutely, and its important to keep that in mind. But that doesn't preclude judging their actions on the basis of (my own personal) morality. There does come a point when personal choice should come into play, like when you're being asked to murder your friend. If you make the wrong choice, which may also be the most human choice, you still gotta pay the piper for your own actions. Like I said, just because the system is against you doesn't mean you have no moral responsibilities whatsoever.

Basebf555 fucked around with this message at 21:27 on Aug 27, 2013

Hammy
May 26, 2006
umop apisdn
I feel like the point is that you can't really make a moral judgement about either case, the "human" thing to do is exactly what both Bodie and Carcetti did - they gave into pressure from the system. Going with the system is beneficial to them personally, the system would have triumphed in the end regardless, and bucking the system would likely result in their own downfall. The Wire is all about how the system perpetuates itself through people who are, regardless of their place on the chessboard, still bound by the rules of the game.

edit: to think of it from another perspective, what if Bodie goes state's evidence immediately in response to Stringer asking him to kill Wallace? It's possible he'd take the whole Barksdale empire down right there. But does that help Bodie? Not really. It probably would have helped Wallace, assuming the police got to him in time, but in the end that just means Marlo sweeps in sooner and who knows how many other kids get killed by his organization. Further, by going to the Police, Bodie is perpetuating the enforcement strategy of pressuring lower level organization members with plea deals in order to catch higher level members, an enforcement stategy that is shown repeatedly to be incredibly destructive to the community. In the end, no one wins either way.

Hammy fucked around with this message at 21:39 on Aug 27, 2013

Frostwerks
Sep 24, 2007

by Lowtax
And going along with that theme, while it was a terrible death of a troubled and wayward youth by his own friend's hand, Stringer Bell ultimately was correct. Wallace was going to snitch after all. So in a sense, even Stringer's hand was forced. Once you're involved in the game, there very rarely is any peaceful way out available to indigent people, since they don't have the means or money to relocate themselves across the country.

the black husserl
Feb 25, 2005

Bodie did a little bit more than "give into pressure" (he murdered his childhood friend) but I still didn't exactly cheer when he died. It just seemed appropriate in a tragic way, like bodie wanted to die young because he knew he had lost so much so early.

I don't think he ever had any intention to snitch, he wanted to die on the corner. There was a cloud of doom hanging over him all season.

Toph Bei Fong
Feb 29, 2008
Probation
Can't post for 21 hours!

Sprecherscrow posted:

It's in season 5 very close to the end. I always took it as a shot at Dexter as an immature show (in that it's appeal is mainly to teenagers) posing as something meaningful.

It also works as a bit of meta-commentary on the season itself. "A serial killer who's works for the police? What kinda silly fantasy world are we living in here?"

Boywhiz88
Sep 11, 2005

floating 26" off da ground. BURR!
Also, can we talk about Herc? This is the season where he goes from lovable oaf to a person you're screaming at each episode due to his brutishness and inability to do things correctly. Then he gets to loving up Randy's life through his lovely interrogation techniques. When he asks Carver next season about "I bet you think they needed to do me too?" Like, YES HERC. YOU'RE A gently caress UP. Ugh. gently caress your stripes.

Jerusalem
May 20, 2004

Would you be my new best friends?

Season 4, Episode 5: Alliances

Chris Partlow posted:

If you with us, you with us.

Some kids sit around at night telling ghost stories, trying to spook each other. It's common as dirt everywhere in the world, a shared experience I'm positive we've all had at some point in our youth, and Baltimore is no exception. The only difference here is that the kids live in a world where death is common, and the stories they tell aren't about fictional people or some kid who died of leukemia or something, but about real people they knew who they know were murdered. Michael, Namond, Randy, Dukie, Donut and Kenard sit around in their alley-way hangout talking about the open secret of how Chris Partlow disposes of "problems" for Marlo, and Namond is attempting to freak out Randy by explaining that Chris doesn't just kill them, he turns them into zombies. Randy complains that he knows this is bullshit and Namond isn't scaring him, but his eyes are wide and he's taking it all in as Namond insists he saw Lex creeping in an alleyway one night. Everybody but Dukie joins in either to be part of the joke or because they half-believe it themselves. They may be kids exposed to the horrible realities of their life in the ghetto, but they're still kids, and even Michael seems to put some stock in the story. Why? Because none of them can understand how Chris has the power to make people walk up into the vacants when they know they're going to die. They suggest that he is performing some sort of voodoo, pointing out that Chris' country clothes make him stand out as different - even these young kids understand the concept of fear of "the other". Michael suggests that the zombies are spying for Marlo, which would explain how he seems to know everything, and they all agree with the ridiculous statement. As they talk, familiar sounds interrupt the story, but only briefly. The sound of gunfire snaps their heads to attention, but only for a moment to ascertain it isn't close by, and then these boys - who have been talking about voodoo zombies and "special dead" - casually discuss what type of gun it was that was being fired. A police siren sounds and gives them momentary pause again, but it's a familiar sound and nowhere near them, so they go back to their story. This is the sad reality of their lives, gunfire and sirens are commonplace. But these are still kids, and when they hear glass shatter and see a shuffling figure moving through the shadows of the alley they're all up and running in terror (though I think I hear laughter too, so it's the kind of ecstatic terror you probably all experienced as kids yourselves, knowing that you're silly for running but doing it anyway). The shuffling figure emerges into the light of the now deserted alley, nothing but a drunk with a limp making his quiet way through a city full of gunfire, police sirens, crime and death... but no zombies.

At Carcetti's campaign headquarters, a gleeful Valchek has just delivered HUGE news to Carcetti, D'Agostino and Norman. Norris has been taken off of the eyewitness case and replaced by a rookie... a broad no less! D'Agostino rolls her eyes at Valchek's casual misogyny, but he doesn't notice, all eyes on Carcetti who he sees as his best opportunity for advancement. He assures Carcetti the story is true, reminds him that he's always happy to do anything for him, and leaves, obviously dreaming of the opportunities that he is sure will open up once a white Mayor is in power. Norman comments on Valchek being a piece of work and Carcetti explains that to make it in his district, you have to make nice with whatever Polish or Greek idiot gets dumped in the South-Eastern. No Italians? Nope, there aren't enough left to be a viable political demographic. But the question is, what to do with the information? Carcetti suspects this is a Burrell move and not a Royce one, but that doesn't matter, as it will still hit the Mayor hard. Carcetti knows this could still possibly blow up in his face though, so Norman comes up with a rather devious alternative - they'll give it to Tony Gray's campaign and give him a potential bump at the expense of Royce's base. Win-win for Carcetti, because if it blows up in anybody's face, it'll be Gray's, and if it works, it'll hurt Royce.

Lieutenant Marimow meets with Pearlman and Major Daniels at the Western to discuss what he is doing with the Major Crimes Squad, and it makes for pretty pathetic news. He's got warrants to hit locations and arrest a (large) number of street level nobodies and he wants to know what assistance Daniels can give. Daniels can't be happy that his Squad has turned into this, but he doesn't make waves, telling Marimow that he'll make his DEU and Flex Squads available to make up the numbers. Marimow is pleased, Daniels seems indifferent, but Pearlman is pissed, complaining that Marimow is wasting the wiretap on nobodies and these street rips aren't going to get them Marlo Stanfield. Marimow disagrees, declaring that he has busted in on bigger fish that Marlo on raids before, and that there is every chance he'll discover Marlo in a room with drugs and just be able to make an arrest without going through any actual investigatory work. Here Daniels does speak up, amused at the idea of Marlo just hanging out in a room with drugs. Pearlman warns she won't litigate a wiretap on a handful of street rips, which of course doesn't bother Marimow at all as he doesn't care about having a wiretap, and he tells her that will be on her. "No," she replies,"It won't." Marimow leaves and Pearlman sighs in frustration, while Daniels just laughs - hell why not, he's a Major after all!



Freamon and Bunk are at the morgue, where Freamon is following up on his hunch about Marlo and trying to figure out where the bodies he MUST be dropping are going. The numbers of floaters and john does available at the morgue are just too low though, and the coroner can't help but smile as he points out that they're actually looking for MORE bodies to add to their caseloads... don't they have enough work already?

At Edward Tilghman, Prez is the only person enthusiastic about a new punishment/reward scheme he has set up - stickers for students who do well in work, and prizes for the top four performing students. Those paying attention look bored, while Namond takes every chance to push and needle Prez, saying he's changing things up and confusing them all. Prez explains that disrupting class earns an hour of detention and puts Namond's name on his chart, who complains that Prez was straight-up when he started but is now punishing him for breaking a rule he didn't even know existed. Prez actually takes this onboard, removing Namond's name (and thus showing his authority can be questioned) and admitting he is right. A girl called Zenobia speaks up to declare she wants some stickers, and he explains as calmly as he can once again that she needs to do her work to get stickers. She complains she can't do work without a pencil, so he kindly hands over one he had tucked behind his ear... and she slams her work to the ground and roars that she doesn't want no "welfare pencil". The class laughs, and then oooooohs appreciatively as Prez puts her name up on the detention chart.

Colvin - having had a chance to walk the halls of the school in the previous episode - offers his take on the two types of students in the school. There are Stoop Kids and Corner Kids, and Mrs Sampson nods in immediate agreement while Parenti is left confused. Stoop Kids are those who sit on the stoop of their homes, listening to their parent/s who tell them to stay away from the corners and the drug dealers and the troublemakers. Corner Kids are those who either ignore their parent/s (or have none) and do as they please. They're terms that - if I remember right - were coined by Ed Burns when he became a teacher, and have made their way into the show through his influence. Sampson identifies them as the kids who can't sit still in class, who cause trouble and disrupt the other students who are willing to learn. The trouble is, while Colvin wants to separate these Corner Kids into their own class, Parenti and Sampson know this would be considered "Tracking", an education term for taking disruptive and poor students and essentially locking them away from the other kids. It suggests that they are students who have been deemed failures, that there are lower expectations for, and it does not fit in at all with the well-meaning but ultimately useless "No Child Left Behind" policy. Colvin is incredulous, they pretend to teach these disruptive students so they won't be singled out as "lesser", and in the process everybody's education suffers? Perversely Colvin's line of thinking is only a hop, skip and jump away from a hardcore right-wing "leave the poors to sink or swim, dammit!" mentality, but so are many so-called "common sense" approaches to education. Sampson warns that if they want to remove the students, they have to create a program that will address and work with their learning difficulties, because there can be no suggestion that tracking is happening. Parenti wants to study and work with these kids, that is what his grant money is all about, so he happily agrees.

In Prez's class, Michael is staring blankly at his skill sheet, making no move to do anything but add his name to the list. The skill sheet only requires the students to move a decimal point two (2) places to the left, but Prez still has to ask if he understands what he is being asked to do. Michael just turns his head away and Prez tells him he knows he can do it, but when Michael still makes no move to do any of the work, he's informed he has detention. A shout gets Namond's attention, Donnelly has two students shaking bushes outside, and he and other students rush to the window to watch as assorted paraphanelia is shaken out and confiscated, including a knife. Prez demands they return to their seats, and stares daggers at Namond, tired of being ignored. Namond does make his way back, followed by Prez who demands to see his work. Namond insists he has done it and turns it over to hide it, but Prez checks and sees the (simple) task has not been done, and this time there will be no taking back the detention he has been given. Furious, Namond angrily curses him out, much to the delight of the class (and Michael, who seems to have forgotten his bad mood as he enjoys his friend's defiance) and an equally angry Prez demands he get out of the class, actually seeming to surprise Namond. He writes up a note for Namond to take to the main office, but Namond crumples it up and tosses it aside, then storms out shouting that he knows Prez wants to get out his police stick and beat him with it. Namond is all about defiance and anger in the safety of the school, knowing that the teachers can't hit him, and out in the hall he spots Parenti and demands to know what the "bitch" is looking at... before discovering Mrs Sampson is not far behind. All his bluster immediately disappears as she tells him that if he wasn't on his way to the main office, he's going now, and meek as a lamb he does as he is told. They watch him go, Parenti asking if that is a corner kid, and Colvin smiles, saying they always show up when needed.



Marlo and Chris Partlow discuss one of those many problems that success brings, but this isn't "one of those good problems" like they've previously joked about. It's Omar. Marlo admits to Chris what he could only ever admit to Chris, he was wrong not to have protection at the poker game. Chris doesn't gloat or push the issue, dismissing the admission and making the point that what is done is done, and now they have to figure out what to do about Omar. Marlo's first instinct is the same as Avon's, he wants to put out a big price for information and then send Chris after him when info turns up. Chris, a practical man (just look at his clothes), demurs however, reminding Marlo that once Omar hears they're after him, he'll come after them. Marlo's eyes get that dangerous glint and he asks if Chris is suggesting he just drop it after the insult/humiliation he suffered. But the ever-practical Chris isn't alarmed, he just notes that Avon Barksdale turned Baltimore upside down going after Omar and he just ended up looking weak. Marlo, still in a dangerous mood, reminds him that he isn't Barksdale, and he's right. Because unlike Avon, he listens to Chris' advice, which is much the same as Stringer's was all that time ago. They're not going to say a word, they're going to let things lie, no bounties or bullshit, they'll just let Omar get confident and cocky while they consider a smarter way to get at him. Marlo smiles, he likes the idea, and does what Avon never could. He swallows his pride for the time being, with the promise of satisfaction to come down the line.

Bubbles is moving his "Depo" through the streets when he spots an unpleasant sight, Sherrod is sitting on a stoop working a corner for a local drug crew instead of going to school. A tall, young and still healthy addict is trying to convince him to sell him $10 worth of drugs for $6, promising to bring the other $4 later when Bubbles shouts out and gets his attention, demanding to know why he isn't in school. Sherrod leaps up and heads over, spinning some bullshit about a half-day for a teacher's meeting, but as Bubbles chastises him the addict storms over yelling that HE was talking to the boy, and demands to know if Bubbles has $4 for him. Bubbles tries to be diplomatic, putting his hands up and insisting he wants no trouble, but the addict quickly turns to violence, punching him in the face, kicking him while he's down and searching his clothes, demanding to know where his money is. Sherrod can only watch as Bubbles takes a beating and finally gives up that his cash stash is in his shoe. The addict takes his shoe off, takes his money, jokes to Sherrod he doesn't need the four now and heads off to cop elsewhere. Bubbles struggles to his feet and makes his way to his cart, bystanders who watched his beating laughing at him as Sherrod stands mutely holding his shoe.

Royce stands in his bathroom looking in the mirror, then lathers up and begins to shave his beard, complaining that his opponents are making him put on his game face. Soon he emerges clean-shaven, looking years young and impressing Parker who declares he looks like he did in 98 when he surprised everybody - presumably when he became Mayor of Baltimore. He grins and puts his fists up, ready to fight. Meanwhile, Carcetti hands out fliers and asks people to vote for him, moving through different districts, charming those he meets. Tony Gray's people agree to meet with Norman for 20 minutes, and their first question is why Carcetti isn't using this information himself. Gray is astute enough to know the answer to that, Carcetti doing it will just be more of the same, but Gray bringing it out will make it seem fresh and act as a combo hit on Royce... and that helps Carcetti. He complains that with his "friend" Tommy he has to always be one step ahead, but Norman garrulously lays his cards on the table - Tony simply can't win. Tony's face falls at hearing this - you can be drat sure his people never say it even if they think it - but Norman continues, he can lose with 24% of 28%, and if he gets his numbers up high enough he's going to draw the attention of the legislature.... maybe get a Congressional run down the line. Tony is young, black, handsome, articulate and well-groomed - he would make a fantastic congressman.



Prez' detention is a disaster, as he finds himself completely overwhelmed by the packed class (at least they showed up!), all of them insisting they need to go home, they haven't eaten, they're sorry, their mother told them to come straight home from school etc. He notes that Michael isn't there at all, and the loud cries of the students finally get to him and he tells them that this ONE time they can go, but next time will be difthey're already gone. He sighs, and is surprised to see Namond show up with Dukie and Randy, whom he was expecting. He's even more surprised when Namond offers an apology, saying he didn't mean to get in his face. Pleased by the unexpected apology, he asks why Michael can't behave in his class when he has seen him do so in Mrs Sampson, and he shrugs and lamely offers that he wants to but the "evil" gets in him. Amused in spite of himself, he tells Namond they'll just try harder tomorrow, and is disappointed to learn that Donnelly has suspended him for the day - when he sent Namond to the main office, he probably expected him to get a telling off and a warning, not an immediate suspension. Namond leaves and Prez asks Randy to wait outside, but Dukie says it is fine for Randy to see this. Prez hands over a bag of spare uniforms for the impoverished boy, who offers a pathetic thanks as Randy lowers his head, embarrassed for his friend. Spotting Michael's name, he explains that Michael would have shown up but he has to leave with the bell to go and pick up his little brother Bug. Prez says he'll just have to find somebody else to do it, but Dukie explains that isn't an option for Michael, whose mother is "on that stuff".

They leave the building together, where Donut is waiting reading an auto magazine, telling them he'll have to wait around till 5 as his ride has detention (this teacher NEVER lets anyone out of detention early). The boys head away with Prez, who asks if they want to be in the NFL or NBA, and Randy laughs that this is just something everybody says but nobody expects. So what DOES Randy want to be when he grows up? Beaming, he explains he means to own his own store, and Prez tells him this is smart... but he'll need to know a lot of maths! Going through his pockets, he can't find his keys, and Randy offers some help by calling over Donut, who proudly breaks into Prez's car in a matter of seconds.



Sherrod returns to Bubbles' shack at night, and finds his mentor lying in pain in his bed. Bubbles asks why he's back on the corner, reminding him that he's been trying to show him another way of life. Sherrod explains he didn't know the customer, and Bubbles points out that once the addict started beating on him, Sherrod made no move to help. He admits that if the addict had started beating on Sherrod, he wouldn't have stepped in either, and explains that this is the way the corner works. It will use Sherrod up, and Bubbles has been trying to save him from that. He tells Sherrod that he can stay the night, but if he isn't in school tomorrow, their partnership is over. Sherrod removes his shoes and goes to bed, and Bubbles spots the two vials of dope he left on the bedside "table", and with an inward groan hides his face under the blankets. It's intended as a peace offering, surely, but the last thing Bubbles wants to do at the moment is get high, even if he is in pain - he has to set a better example for Sherrod.

At City Hall, the Mayor is having a strategy meeting to determine the sectors that he needs to concentrate on most to hamstring Carcetti and prevent him from getting the overall numbers he needs. Royce is no longer coasting, but he still thinks he is in the dominant position, something that is about to be proven wrong. Parker storms into the meeting and turns on the television, and Royce watches in horror as all three channels are devoted to the story of Tony Gray revealing the Braddock eyewitness case has been taken away from a decorated veteran and given to a rookie who has never had a homicide case before. Parker turns off the television and motions to everybody else to get out, telling Royce that not only are all three channels covering it, but both papers are calling demanding comment. In Homicide, Greggs is called over to watch Tony's comments with Norris and Holley, and when she hears herself mentioned as a rookie, she angrily demands to know what the gently caress she ever did to Gray, cracking the other detectives up.

In the alley where the boys so recently discussed supernatural horror stories, something utterly loving terrifying happens. As Michael bounces a ball against a wall and Namond offers commentary on Randy and Dukie's project (involving political banners), a sudden presence makes itself felt. They all look up and stare in horror as Chris Partlow - the Zombie Master - makes his quiet, unassuming way down the alley directly towards Michael. They turn and look up the other way and there is Snoop making her way down from the other side, leaving the boys utterly trapped between them. Chris tells Michael he wants to talk private, and the utterly terrified Michael holds his cool and does what so many of Chris' victims could not - says no, he's fine where he is. Chris doesn't push it, just turns and tells the other three to leave, and Namond tries to put on a casual air, calling Chris by name and saying they'll bounce, drawing the stunned and near hypnotized Randy and Dukie with him. As they pass Snoop, Namond offers that her sister is in his class, and Snoop replies with a grumpy,"Nigga, is you high?" before turning her attention back to Michael - what the gently caress does Namond think he is doing talking to her when she's on business?



All alone, Michael watches his friends disappear up the alley, while Chris tells him that he's heard good things about him, and makes him an offer. He recruits those he spots with talent, and Michael strikes him as very talented indeed. If they come onboard with "us", then he will be treated well, paid well, and become part of their family. "If you with us, you with us" he explains, Snoop demanding that he show some respect and answer Chris who is paying him a massive compliment. Chris silences her and tells Michael she gets heated up sometimes, but pushes the point again, and Michael struggles to maintain his composure as he explains he already has a family, his mother and his little brother, Bug. Chris knows all about that though, the implication is that Chris - supernatural, spooky, country-clothes wearing zombie master Chris - knows everything, and tells him again to keep what he said in mind. He presses money into Michael's hand, not giving him a chance to turn THIS gift down, and then he and Snoop are on their way.

Look words can't express the terror here, you know. I mean, put yourself in Michael's shoes. You're still a kid, you still half-believe in things like zombies and voodoo even if you KNOW they're not really real. You know that Chris has a "power" to make people go with him and do what he wants. And then one day this thing emerges out of the shadows, you're flanked by his psychotic, androgynous companion, and all alone in this alley you're made an offer to join "us", to join the "family"... and then an unwanted gift is pressed into your hand and just like that the duo are gone into the shadows again. I'm amazed Michael had the strength to speak, let alone to decline Chris' invitation to go and talk privately with him. Personally speaking? I'd probably just loving die right there and then in the alleyway.

Michael heads up the alley, and around the corner Namond, Randy and Dukie are waiting, having not abandoned their friend at all. Michael is relieved to see them, thanking Namond for "looking out" (would Namond have done anything? I doubt it) while a frantic Randy is convinced that Chris came looking for him and was asking Michael questions about what he knows re: Lex. Michael tries to calm him, but when he sees how frantic Randy is getting, he can't resist a secret smile at Namond before agreeing that Chris was all up in Randy's business. It's a nice stress release for Michael, and funnily enough the fact that Michael is now agreeing with Randy's paranoia makes Randy realize that nothing was said. Michael bursts out laughing and insists again that Chris didn't even mention him, and he and Namond head on up the street laughing at the look on Randy's face. Randy is still miserable though, something that Dukie notices, and soon it will be his turn to help out his friend the way Randy has looked out for him in the past.

The next day, Royce has summoned Burrell and Rawls to his office for an almighty chewing out. He's furious that yet again the police department has made him look bad, and lists off Hamsterdam, the subpeonas and now this case as just some of the problems Burrell has caused them. Burrell is at a loss, reminding Royce he did exactly what was asked of him, and Royce's face looks like it is about to explode in 1000 directions as he tries to maintain his composure. This isn't an exchange of ideas and a fair accounting of who did what, this is a situation where Royce tears him a new one and Burrell is to accept it all in stride and agree that he is to blame. He growls that he asked for the case to be slowed down, by which he meant sitting on a couple of reports and waiting for the election to pass, not reassigning detectives! He dismisses Burrell, who wants to continue to defend himself but realizes nothing he can say will make a difference. He prepares to go, but stops when he hears Royce ask Rawls to remain behind. His face falls slightly and then he allows a smile, reading the writing that is clearly on the wall and knowing what is coming next. He leaves, and Rawls remains behind to commiserate with the Mayor that he knew Burrell's plan wouldn't work and tried to warn him (utter bullshit) it would leak. Parker asks why he didn't come to them, and Rawls is very careful to address his response to the Mayor, stressing that Burrell is a fine man under enormous pressure, and that Rawls is a very loyal subordinate, Mayor Royce. What he is saying is as clear as day, he wants Burrell's spot and if he had it, the Mayor could rely on HIS loyalty. Royce nods and tells him he wants this eyewitness story to go away, and if "Bill" can manage that, then he won't forget it. They stand and Rawls shakes his hand, knowing the opportunity he's just been afforded.

In the open concrete courtyard that now serves as Marlo's "office", Chris informs Marlo that Slim has been in contact to say that Proposition Joe wants another meeting. Marlo looks annoyed, saying he already did that, but his interest is piqued when Chris explains that Joe is claiming he knew the poker game was going to be hit by Omar. Marlo agrees to the meeting, and a whistle warns them that somebody is coming - Old Face Andre. He arrives complaining about them being all out in the open in the weather like this, and Marlo comments that he doesn't like meeting in rooms, here he knows there are no bugs and he can see people coming. Andre starts to sit but Chris snaps at him he won't be staying long, so Andre stands back up and says he almost has the money he owes for the drugs he never had a chance to sell, he just needs a couple of days. Marlo dismisses that, saying Andre can keep "Marlo's" money for now, there is something else he needs him to do first. He explains that "Omar" is going to rob Andre's store, and Andre is going to report it to the police. Andre sees the plan immediately, send the police hunting Omar instead of putting out a bounty or tearing up the city themselves, but reminds Marlo that Omar will come right for Andre when he gets out, it's not that he's scared, but.............. Marlo simply replies that Omar won't be getting out, and Andre is smart enough not to question any further, waddling away. Alone again, Chris points out that Omar will quickly make bail on a robbery charge, and smiles broadly when Marlo simply replies to make sure he can't get bail.

In class at lunchtime, Prez tells Michael that he understands now that he couldn't make detention because of Bug, but that just means he has to tell Prez about these things and they can figure out a solution, give him detention at a different time etc, that's his responsibility. This is something that Michael can understand and he nods his agreement, and Prez gives him leave to return to the cafeteria for eat his lunch in class like a few of the students are doing. Prez spots that Dukie is doing work at his desk and has no lunch, and calls him over, asking if he can do him a favor by finishing off the rest of his lunch, as he's had too much. Dukie silently takes a bite from the sandwich, and Prez writes him a hall pass note to go and get a drink from the cafeteria as well. Dukie thanks him and walks slowly away, looking back over his shoulder, confused and slightly suspicious of the kindness, not for the same reasons as Michael but because this poor kid has never really experienced kindness from anybody who wasn't a close friend before. Prez, who seems to work better as a teacher in one-on-one situations, calls over a girl called Crystal and asks if she knows why Dukie isn't wearing the new clothes he was given. She explains what everybody "knows", Dukie's "people" take his clothes and sell them on the corner to get drugs.

Colvin and Parenti meet with Withers and Donnelly to explain what they're hoping to do with the "Corner Kids", and ask Withers who they need to see to get the go-ahead/official clearance. To their surprise and pleasure, Withers tells them that he is okay with what they're doing, and this is is house so what he says goes. He has to excuse himself to deal with a situation between fights that have broken out between the children of a couple of feuding mothers, but before he goes he stops to tell them,"Thank you," and warns that this will be the only time they ever hear this from anybody in the system. Once he is gone, Donnelly warns them they need to protect Withers, and Colvin explains to Parenti that Withers will feel the brunt of any complaints that come out of this program. Donnelly gives them the stats, they have 250+ 8th graders, of which roughly 240 regularly attend and roughly 40 fit the bill of "Corner Kids". Both Parenti AND Colvin think this is a workable number, and this time it is Donnelly who has to laugh at their naivety, telling them that she thinks they'd best start with 10. Mrs Sampson has names for them, and Colvin asks if Namond is included - he is, the pick of the litter according to Donnelly, though they'll have to wait to get him, as he is on a 3 day suspension. This just serves to delight Colvin and Parenti, who are more and more getting on the same page.

Freamon and Bunk have gone to Leakin Park, a notorious dumping ground for dead bodies, and Freamon recalls his cadet days when he went on a cadaver search and was warned to only identify and move the body they had come looking for, as they would find plenty more. There are none in evidence near the roadside now though, and Freamon says that if this is where Marlo is dumping his bodies, then he's doing it much deeper in the trees.

Marimow lays out the plan of attack for the assembled men of the Major Crimes Unit, the Western's DEU and Flex squads. Daniels and Pearlman listen in, the latter disgusted as Marimow refers to week-old information on street level corner boys as up-to-date information on high ranking dealers. Herc is there, as is Sydnor and Carver, the latter two seeming less than impressed with Marimow's insistence they are going to find plenty of drugs, cash and guns. Marimow asks for questions, ignores a raised hand and tells everybody to wait in the rec room for their kick-off time. Pearlman and Daniels head into his office where they commiserate over the cannibalization of the wiretap. Pearlman isn't seeing much in the way of big narcotics cases anymore either, and tells Daniels that if Demper survives the election and forgives her for the subpoenas, then she might try and make a shift to a different section of the DA's office. In the meantime, Carver has been complaining to Herc about Marimow's tactics, only for Herc to insist that Carver gives the dealers too much credit and he's going to be surprised. Carver ignores that and asks what Herc is doing for the Mayor, and is surprised to learn that Herc has done nothing since making Sergeant. Incredulous, Carver once again steps up for his old buddy, explaining that Royce is going to guarantee him a successful path up the ranks... but only IF he is still Mayor - so Herc needs to get out there and push for Royce votes.

Greggs goes to see Landsman in his office, where he happily informs her that Rawls has asked for Norris to be put back on the case. In fact, the story now is that he was never off the case, that Greggs was added to it so they could work as a 2-man taskforce. Greggs is infuriated, she was humiliated by having the case dumped on her, and now shamed again by having Norris put back on before she had a chance to do anything. Landsman quietly gets up and closes the door, and settles down on the desk uncomfortably close to her to lay out a few depressing home-truths. Homicide is a high profile unit, one where the Bosses know the names of the detectives and take an active interest in what they are doing. He didn't like making her the primary but he did it because he was told to. He doesn't like taking the blame now that they're pretending they never asked him, but he will. And when every other Detective in Homicide has crossed a line, burned a bridge and buried and beshitted themselves, he'll still be there because he just does what he is told - so she's going to tow the line and if anyone asks, Norris was never off the case. She leaves pissed off, and it just gets worse when he informs her as she goes that there will be a press conference in half an hour. She slams the door, and he goes back to happily eating his burger.

Dukie and Randy sit on Randy's stoop and talk about Zombie Lex, and Dukie tells Randy he is sorry about the others laughing at him. Randy is still upset, and explains that he is scared about what Chris and Snoop will do to him since he is the one who sent Lex up to see them. He does believe that they're doing something to their victims, and it makes sense to him that they'd use the vacants as a quiet place to "change" them. Dukie is shocked at Randy's beliefs, and tells him straight up that it's a darkly simple thing that is happening - they take them into vacants to kill him, and nothing else. How does Dukie know? Looking around in concern, he tells Randy to never tell anyone, but he saw it happen. Yes, Dukie is a witness, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and observed Chris and Snoop take a victim into a vacant on Calhoun and come out without him. If anybody has anything to fear from Chris and Snoop, it's him, not Randy.

At the press conference, Rawls insists that Norris was never taken off of the case, and Greggs was put on the case to augment it thanks to her narcotics experience. One reporter reminds him that sources within the department told them Greggs was working the case alone, but Rawls shuts that down by saying HE is in the department and he's saying it isn't true. They don't play politics with homicide cases, he insists, and Landsman beams over at a scowling Greggs. So why did Gray make these claims then? Rawls suggests that they ask Gray that, insinuating it was all a cynical political play for votes.



Colicchio is first out on the raid, bursting through a door followed by a number of uniformed officers. The raids happen simultaneously at various locations, though in one block the police comically realize they're in the wrong place. Marimow is horrified and frustrated as he comes up empty everywhere, and his mood isn't helped when even dumb old Herc knows enough that week old information on stash houses is useless, as they move the stash houses frequently. Carver arrives to inform that every warrant was a bust, though a small handful of arrests of nobodies have happened on a few corners. Furious, Marimow insists the dealers were tipped somehow and insists that Marlo is not smarter than them (reminding me of Carver's big dumb speech on the roof of the car) and demands Herc tell him where Marlo can be found. Herc hasn't got a loving clue, but Carver is quick with the information - Marlo floats through locations but in good weather he will sit on lawn chairs in the middle of the concrete park near Fulton, probably to avoid being micced. Marimow demands Herc do something with this information, leaving a bemused Herc with no idea what the hell to do next.

That night, Royce suffers another massive blow to his campaign. Joined by Odell Watkins in his office, he complains bitterly about Burrell and lays all the blame for Greggs being assigned to the case on him, and after previously defending him now declares that Burrell will be gone as Commissioner as soon as the primary is over. But Watkins isn't having it, he was there when Royce gave the order to slow the case down, and he won't accept any of Royce's attempts to evade that. He complains that nobody knows what Royce is saying any more, that he's become too beholden to the developers, and with pure contempt points out that he's even involved with Clay Davis. It's clear that Davis' corruption is an open secret to those in power. Now that he's letting it out, Watkins can't stop himself, and shows him the fliers with Eunetta Perkins on Royce's ticket, accusing him of dropping those in those places where Eunetta is polling strong and dropping ones with Marla Daniels in areas where she is polling well. Royce tries to blame Eunetta, saying she is faking the fliers, but Watkins points out they come with Royce's approval byline and he's not buying that bullshit. Growing increasingly frustrated as he fails to reach Royce, he finally just snaps and declares,"gently caress YOU!" and wheels himself out, declaring he's done and he's going to sit the rest of the primary out. Royce has been dismissive, but now he is horrified, leaping up and warning Watkins not to turn his back on him, as once he is reelected he will be the only game in town. Parker is even more horrified, demanding that Royce go after him, reminding him they need his organization and people to work for them on voting day. Royce refuses to humble himself and so, in his panic, Parker does, rushing after the departing Watkins begging him not to go. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Hoskins quietly moves out into the corridor, takes out his phone, and asks to be put through to Bill Rawls.

Herc, Sydnor and Dozerman are putting Herc's brilliant (stupid) plan into effect under the cover of night. Having requisitioned a surveillance camera, they hide it in an old rusty can, smear dogshit over it and place it in a hole in the wall bordering the concrete park that Marlo uses. Dozerman stands in place where Marlo normally sits while Sydnor sits in the back of the van and gives Herc direction on how to place the camera. Finally satisfied, they pile into the van and drive away, leaving the hidden (and illegal) camera in place. Once they're gone, a Stanfield soldier whose job is apparently to keep an eye on the place ALWAYS steps out of the shadows and approaches the camera, observes what it is and makes a call.

Namond and De'Londa visit Wee-Bey in prison where they discuss his suspension, Namond blaming it on Prez who he reminds him is ex-police, as if that explains it all. De'Londa grumpily tells Wee-Bey to talk to his son while she visits the bathroom. Once alone, Namond tells a bemused Wee-Bey not to give him grief since he left school in 6th grade to work the corner with Avon and Stringer to earn money for the family, and that he always claimed it made him a man. Wee-Bey nods, agreeing that he can't throw rocks (those in glass houses should not throw stones) but reminds him that De'Londa is upset with Namond and so he has to say something to mollify her, so why not slow it down a little? Namond nods but quickly changes the subject, wanting to share the gossip about how Marlo made Bodie look like a bitch by just taking his corner and putting him to work. Wee-Bey laughs, asking if Namond would have gone to war with Marlo in Bodie's place, and Namond eagerly agrees, saying he would have stood tall just like Wee-Bey did. Wee-Bey, who has a blind spot where his son is concerned, tells him that he respects the fact he has heart more than anything else (Namond does not have "heart"), but he couldn't have gone up against half the West Side all by himself. Repeating a common theme both in The Wire and life in general, Wee-Bey explains that things aren't like they used to be, back in the day a punk and rulebreaker like Marlo would have been killed and put in Leakin Park - they did things right and looked after each other like they were family.

Take special note of that, because what Wee-Bey is saying things USED to be like is exactly the same thing that Chris offered to Michael.

The next day, a delivery is made to Old Face Andre's store. As the woman moves the trolley backwards up the steps it slips, and is grabbed and rebalanced by an approaching customer - Chris. She thanks him as he helps her get the trolley up the stairs. She heads inside and he follows, knocking on the glass to get Old Face Andre to come out. He does and the woman notices Chris again as she restocks the shelves, and she smiles broadly at him. He smiles warmly back, Snoop guarding the door, and then without a word pulls out a gun and shoots her in the chest. He pistol whips Old Face Andre, grabbing him and telling him to say,"Omar," and after Andre does, he leaves without a backwards look, utterly indifferent to the heinous act he has just committed. Wee-Bey was right in one way, Avon would never have countenanced the murder of an innocent just to get at Omar. It's horrifying how casually Chris did this, even moreso when you realize that, like Landsman, he just "follows orders".



One final added note, the diegetic music for this scene is A Woman's Worth, and the lyrics we hear as we get a close-up of the dead woman's body are,"A real man can't deny, a woman's worth."

Freamon, still obsessed, has had the sewers searched for any signs of body, but they've found nothing that doesn't belong in a sewer. Bunk seems amused by Freamon's impossible quest, and singing along to some music, asks where they'll search next.

Herc and Sydnor sit in the surveillance van watching the camera feed of Marlo talking with a Lieutenant. Controlling the camera and zooming right in, he tells Sydnor that they just need to get a lipreader now and they'll have Marlo dead to rights. Sydnor raises the sketchy ethics of what they're doing, is it legal? Herc dismisses his concerns, telling him not to go all Freamon on him, then excuses himself, leaving Sydnor without relief despite spending all morning in the van. To be fair, normally Herc was the one stuck in one place for hours, that's the privilege of rank!

Marlo joins Chris and points out somebody are making movies of him, but says he hasn't thought of how he wants to handle it yet. He asks Chris how the "other thing" went and Chris in typical fashion jus says it went all right, and they head off for their meet with Proposition Joe.

In school, Randy is preparing his bag of candy for sale when he is approached by another 8th grader - Monell - who offers his five bucks to stand watch while he and his friend Paul "mess around" with a girl named Tiff in the toilets. Randy looks over to where Paul and Tiff are casually waiting together, warns that he has some 6th graders waiting for him, and is told that they're not going to be that long anyway so let the 6th graders wait. Randy has no sense that anything is wrong, Tiff appears to be a willing participant, so he agrees, and seals his fate.

At a Royce phone bank, Herc is working the phones trying to drum up support for the Mayor. He talks with a woman and insists that the Mayor did institute a clean-up in her area, and when she complains it was 6 months late he offers back that nobody is perfect. He turns on the charm, though he can't offer any reasonable explanation for her complaints he plays the race card surprisingly well, saying he can tell she is black and she can tell he is white, and asking when the last time was that a white man voted for a black candidate when a white one was available. She has to admit this intrigues her, and he insists that Royce is simply the best candidate, and asks her to vote for him. She promises to think about it and he hangs up satisfied.

Randy hears somebody coming and starts to move, passing Colvin and telling him that he has a hall pass. "Yeah? Good for you," says Colvin, not interested, and once he is gone Randy returns to his post. The door opens and Monell, Paul and Tiff exit, heading off down the hall together without a word to Randy. As far as he is concerned, that is the end of it.

Old Face Andre is given a photo array by Crutchfield and Holley, and quickly points out Omar. Freamon and Bunk return to Homicide where Bunk points out all the many murders that they actually know about that still need to be solved. He tells Freamon to give up the hypothetical and shine his mighty intellect on the known, and with a puff Freamon decides that Bunk is right.

Carcetti is knocking on doors in the neighborhood pushing his case for Mayor with Norman when they have a surprise visitor. Bill Rawls pulls up in his car and greets them, and after a brief exchange of pleasantries he gets right down the heart of the matter - Odell Watkins is breaking with Royce.



Yep.

How does he know? Rawls looks almost offended to be asked, insisting that he knows. So why tell them? He says he's carried the Mayor's water long enough, and looks forward to a chance to do something real with the police department. That's bullshit, of course, but it's the right kind of thing to say, and with his message delivered he gets into his car and drives away. Carcetti and Norman watch him go, Norman whispering not to move till Rawls is around the corner... and then they break for their own car, Norman crying out to the driver to get to Watkins immediately and gently caress the red lights!

In what looks like a library reading room, Prop Joe meets with Marlo. Joe explains that word came to him that the security at the poker game weren't pleased with their wages, it was only a matter of time before they got their compensation elsewhere. Marlo wants to know why Joe didn't say anything at their last meeting, and Joe makes the excellent point that he had no reason to look out for Marlo. Still, it's easy to make this claim now, and Joe admits it, but gives a real world demonstration of his reach and influence by passing Marlo an envelope. Inside are court summons for Charlie Berman's drug organization (Pearlman mentioned it earlier to Daniels), though they will not be served till Friday, to make an impact ahead of the primary. It's a stunning reveal, how the hell did Prop Joe get his hand on these (this won't be revealed till near the end of season 5), but all Joe will say is that he keeps his ear to the ground. He might tell Charlie, he might not, he might charge a fee to let him know, but Charlie isn't a member of the Co-Op so he gets nothing for nothing. Intrigued, Marlo asks if he has heard anything about people taking pictures of him, and Joe - who hasn't got a loving clue - says he has had no inclination to listen. Marlo makes his decision right there, and tells Joe that now he does. The two men stand and shake hands - Marlo Stanfield has joined the New Day Co-Op.... it's the end of days.



Carcetti meets Watkins to discuss his support, which Watkins is reluctant to give. He likes and is impressed by Carcetti, but it is one thing to sit out a primary and another to actively work AGAINST Royce. Carcetti's response is another one of those magical political speech moments, as he successfully sells Watkins on one particular thing - both he and Royce need Watkins before the primary, but only Carcetti needs him AFTER it. As a white Mayor, he'll need consensus support, and he's willing to do whatever it takes to get it from Watkins. Clearly on the cusp, Watkins says a Royce poll showed him 7 points up on Carcetti, who declares bullshit, his polls show him within 4 points.

Dukie takes Michael (armed with a baseball bat :3:) and Randy to the vacant on Calhoun and leads them inside. Heading up the stairs with a candle like boys daring themselves to enter a haunted house, Dukie leads them to plastic wrapped corpse of a Chris and Snoop victim. Pulling the sheet aside he shows them the dead body, and they all agree it hasn't moved since it was left there. This poor bastard is dead and so is Lex, there are no zombies. "There's no special dead," says Dukie, covering the body back up and explaining a lesson that we all eventually learn as we move out of childhood into maturity,"There's just dead."

Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 14:00 on Aug 29, 2013

Jerusalem
May 20, 2004

Would you be my new best friends?

Link for the OP:

Episode 5 - Alliances

Ainsley McTree
Feb 19, 2004


Boywhiz88 posted:

Also, can we talk about Herc? This is the season where he goes from lovable oaf to a person you're screaming at each episode due to his brutishness and inability to do things correctly. Then he gets to loving up Randy's life through his lovely interrogation techniques. When he asks Carver next season about "I bet you think they needed to do me too?" Like, YES HERC. YOU'RE A gently caress UP. Ugh. gently caress your stripes.

I think someone pointed this out in a youtube comment, or maybe it was on these forums, I forget, but the worst thing is that he doesn't even get what a lovely thing he did. If you ask him, the worst thing he'll say he did is that he lost a camera. Which, as it happens, is the only thing that gets the department to get around to firing him.

ally_1986
Apr 3, 2011

Wait...I had something for this...

Ainsley McTree posted:

I think someone pointed this out in a youtube comment, or maybe it was on these forums, I forget, but the worst thing is that he doesn't even get what a lovely thing he did. If you ask him, the worst thing he'll say he did is that he lost a camera. Which, as it happens, is the only thing that gets the department to get around to firing him.

Marlo "You ever find that camera?
Herc "Cost me the job"

Its kind of funny that of all the stuff Herc did that is how Burrell was able to deal with him.

Though Herc ends up the real winner he gets brisket and an cosy job with eh evil lawyer...whats his name Levy?

Dwarf
Oct 21, 2010
Levy and Clay Davis were by far my favourite characters on this show. They were just so delightfully slimy that they grew on me :3:.

Pump it up! Do it!
Oct 3, 2012
I can't myself to hate Clay Davis, he's just so drat smooth.

Boywhiz88
Sep 11, 2005

floating 26" off da ground. BURR!

Lord Tywin posted:

I can't myself to hate Clay Davis, he's just so drat smooth.

Him on the stand is just amazing. Watching Bond and Pearlman's faces fall when he's ranting about "I'm sorry I didn't get a receipt from the poor old woman with arthritis" and everything else, just classic. Honestly, the worst parts of Season 5 are the serial killer, but otherwise everything else is great.

twerking on the railroad
Jun 23, 2007

Get on my level

Boywhiz88 posted:

Honestly, the worst parts of Season 5 are the serial killernewsroom bosses, but otherwise everything else is great.

Well, OK not everything. But McNulty doing some dumb poo poo like that made sense. As did the press going along with it. Everything else though...

Boywhiz88
Sep 11, 2005

floating 26" off da ground. BURR!

Skeesix posted:

Well, OK not everything. But McNulty doing some dumb poo poo like that made sense. As did the press going along with it. Everything else though...

You know, I'm actually OK with the newsroom stuff. Yes Gus is a Mary Sue, but he doesn't win. Scott comes out on top and Gus is pushed back to the copy desk, Alma is transferred. I think it's a great parallel of the police department in the show, but without Gus having a terrible flaw like drinking or cheating.

Or are you speaking specifically to the bosses? Because I find them to just be more well-spoken and academic versions of Rawls and Burrell. I mean at one point Gus gets called out for his language and how they're trying to maintain a collegiate atmosphere, and I don't find that much different than the bullshit spewed at police. The whole "do more with less" is a clear parallel between the paper and the police.


Also, I think we're a few episodes away from one of the most heartbreaking moments where Donnelly asks Prez if he plans on adopting Dukie, because he's just one of many that he's going to see through the years. Poor Dukie, if only Prez had made that exception, but it's such a sad reality. These children exist in the tens of thousands, and they'll never have anyone that cares about them :(

grading essays nude
Oct 24, 2009

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

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

Ainsley McTree posted:

I think someone pointed this out in a youtube comment, or maybe it was on these forums, I forget, but the worst thing is that he doesn't even get what a lovely thing he did. If you ask him, the worst thing he'll say he did is that he lost a camera. Which, as it happens, is the only thing that gets the department to get around to firing him.

I love when Herc tries to get Bunk and Kima to tell him he'll make it out of the camera thing with his career intact and they just exchange looks and Bunk goes "Boy, they gonna beat your rear end like a rented mule." In season 5, we see that the story he tells other cops is that he got fired because he roughed up the minister; I wonder if he'd be near as successful a PI if they knew the real story.

The odd thing is that Herc's idea isn't THAT bad in principle - I mean, how the hell are you supposed to get stuff on Marlo who always meets in an area that can't be bugged and who is savvy enough to make the cops' surveillance? When you think about it this way, the serial killer plot makes more sense from a production perspective, since they'd written themselves in a corner by making Marlo invincible against conventional police tactics.

Speaking of season 5 stuff, an amazing one that I always forget here (pointed out by Sepinwall's reviews) - Monell, who seals Randy's fate in this episode with the bathroom sex, is later seen arrested at Homicide in the first scene in season 5, where Bunk and Crutchfield use him to pull off the McDonald's interrogation trick to get a murder confession from another guy.

grading essays nude fucked around with this message at 02:50 on Aug 30, 2013

Jerusalem
May 20, 2004

Would you be my new best friends?

cletepurcel posted:

Speaking of season 5 stuff, an amazing one that I always forget here (pointed out by Sepinwall's reviews) - Monell, who seals Randy's fate in this episode with the bathroom sex, is later seen arrested at Homicide in the first scene in season 5, where Bunk and Crutchfield use him to pull off the McDonald's interrogation trick to get a murder confession from another guy.

Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiit!

the black husserl
Feb 25, 2005

Boywhiz88 posted:

Also, I think we're a few episodes away from one of the most heartbreaking moments where Donnelly asks Prez if he plans on adopting Dukie, because he's just one of many that he's going to see through the years. Poor Dukie, if only Prez had made that exception, but it's such a sad reality. These children exist in the tens of thousands, and they'll never have anyone that cares about them :(

I think an even sadder moment is when Carver heroically steps up to the plate and says he will loving adopt Randy. In any other show, that's the crowning moment of nobility for the hero, that's when a crazy sacrifice makes everything right

But of course that can't happen hahahah

Boywhiz88
Sep 11, 2005

floating 26" off da ground. BURR!

the black husserl posted:

I think an even sadder moment is when Carver heroically steps up to the plate and says he will loving adopt Randy. In any other show, that's the crowning moment of nobility for the hero, that's when a crazy sacrifice makes everything right

But of course that can't happen hahahah

Randy yelling at him in the hospital. :(

Dice Dingus
May 4, 2010

Jerusalem posted:

Rant really isn't the right word really, I'm guilty of the bad journalism I mentioned!

Basically, he was doing an interview about a new Richard Price crime-drama, talk turned to The Wire as it always will for everything he does for the rest of his life, and the interview ended up discussing his thoughts on the way people came late to the show. His comments were essentially read as blaming people for not being there when it was on the air, and he had to do a follow-up clarification and then another interview to further explain his comments, both of which are linked as updates in that link I provided. A few choice comments:

"That’s right. I do have a certain amused contempt for the number of people who walk sideways into the thing and act like they were there all along. It’s selling more DVDs now than when it was on the air. But I’m indifferent to who thinks Omar is really cool now, or that this is the best scene or this is the best season. It was conceived of as a whole, and we did it as a whole. For people to be picking it apart now like it’s a deck of cards or like they were there the whole time or they understood it the whole time — it’s wearying. Because no one was there in the beginning, or the middle, or even at the end. Our numbers continued to decline from Season 2 on."

"Not the least of which are people who arrived to “The Wire” late, planted their feet, and want to explain to everybody why it’s so cool. Glad to hear it. But you weren’t paying attention. You got led there at the end and generally speaking, you’re asserting for the wrong things."

Though I understand the intended message in this, and I really have enormous respect for the man and his body of work, this is the haughtiest poo poo that he's ever said. No poo poo I wasn't there when it was on HBO, I was in elementary school! Would you like me to time travel back to 2004 and hand you the cost of a DVD set then? Cry me a river, dude.

the black husserl
Feb 25, 2005

Dice Dingus posted:

Though I understand the intended message in this, and I really have enormous respect for the man and his body of work, this is the haughtiest poo poo that he's ever said. No poo poo I wasn't there when it was on HBO, I was in elementary school! Would you like me to time travel back to 2004 and hand you the cost of a DVD set then? Cry me a river, dude.

You have to understand the context of these comments: Simon was angry at people who talked on and on about how badass Omar was without paying any attention at all to the social message he was actually trying to get across. I heard him give a live talk and you could tell that he was depressed and defeated about the failure of the Wire. Thats right, he considers it a failure in certain ways because he wanted to get people talking about social issues in America, to write a big story that exposes the rot at the heart of its institutions - and instead he created "the best TV show of all time". Can you imagine how nightmarish it must be for the goddamn President to say he loved your show - right before becoming the face of all that it was designed to attack? I think he realizes how impotent he really is, and that has informed a lot of his post-Wire attitude.

Even still, he also said he regrets making those comments. He wasn't talking about you, he was bitter and frustrated at people who treated the entire thing like a fun fiction to binge through in a week.

THE LUMMOX
Nov 29, 2004
I'm sure this is a repost but this is my 4th time through and I just realized in S3E10 that Rawls is in the background during the gay bar scene. Why would they bring that up and then never reference it again (did they)?

Jerusalem
May 20, 2004

Would you be my new best friends?

THE LUMMOX posted:

I'm sure this is a repost but this is my 4th time through and I just realized in S3E10 that Rawls is in the background during the gay bar scene. Why would they bring that up and then never reference it again (did they)?

In my opinion, it both serves to show us that Rawls is a deeper, more complex individual that we might credit him with being, as well as making a very, very relevant point - that it doesn't matter. While I'm sure his sexuality had a great bearing on his life, it doesn't change who the character we see in the show is - a politicking rear end in a top hat who plays stat games and perpetuates a rotten system... who also just so happens to be gay.

Dice Dingus
May 4, 2010
Now that I'm going back through these fantastic writeups, I'm really staggered. I didn't pick up on the subtext that Micheal was sexually abused at all. It's completely obvious now that I'm looking back on it.

And I always get a tiny little warm feeling when Bodie comes up in the conversation again, particularly on the matter that was just discussed a page back. Bodie's arc and characterization speaks to something that is very important to me, that we are all more than the worst thing we've ever done. It isn't something that's about forgiveness, or forgetting, just what it says. There's more to Bodie than "the guy who killed Wallace". He is more than that, and he's worth so much more than that, and in a world that wasn't so supremely hosed would have been so much more than that.

Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

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

Fun Shoe

the black husserl posted:

Even still, he also said he regrets making those comments. He wasn't talking about you, he was bitter and frustrated at people who treated the entire thing like a fun fiction to binge through in a week.

Yea I think at the time he made those comments The Wire was in a much different place in terms of pop culture. When the 5th season aired, and even shortly after, a lot of people were very focused on the wrong stuff(how "badass" Omar is being the most common example). It had Sopranos syndrome where there was a large part of the audience that seemed to be watching just to see who got got every episode. But its now been several years and I really think the fanbase of the show has grown up a lot, many of us have rewatched the show several times and are now seeing it the way it was meant to be seen by Simon. I hope he'd be able to acknowledge that, I haven't seen any recent interviews.

Edit: Did Obama really say that? I thought he just said Omar was his favorite character, I don't remember him specifying a reason.

Basebf555 fucked around with this message at 14:39 on Aug 30, 2013

Orange Devil
Oct 1, 2010

Wullie's reign cannae smother the flames o' equality!

the black husserl posted:

You have to understand the context of these comments: Simon was angry at people who talked on and on about how badass Omar was without paying any attention at all to the social message he was actually trying to get across. I heard him give a live talk and you could tell that he was depressed and defeated about the failure of the Wire. Thats right, he considers it a failure in certain ways because he wanted to get people talking about social issues in America, to write a big story that exposes the rot at the heart of its institutions - and instead he created "the best TV show of all time". Can you imagine how nightmarish it must be for the goddamn President to say he loved your show - right before becoming the face of all that it was designed to attack? I think he realizes how impotent he really is, and that has informed a lot of his post-Wire attitude.

Even still, he also said he regrets making those comments. He wasn't talking about you, he was bitter and frustrated at people who treated the entire thing like a fun fiction to binge through in a week.

Obama said Omar was his favorite character because he was the biggest badass...

Boywhiz88
Sep 11, 2005

floating 26" off da ground. BURR!

Dice Dingus posted:

Now that I'm going back through these fantastic writeups, I'm really staggered. I didn't pick up on the subtext that Micheal was sexually abused at all. It's completely obvious now that I'm looking back on it.

And I always get a tiny little warm feeling when Bodie comes up in the conversation again, particularly on the matter that was just discussed a page back. Bodie's arc and characterization speaks to something that is very important to me, that we are all more than the worst thing we've ever done. It isn't something that's about forgiveness, or forgetting, just what it says. There's more to Bodie than "the guy who killed Wallace". He is more than that, and he's worth so much more than that, and in a world that wasn't so supremely hosed would have been so much more than that.

In the 5th season, Bunk is reviewing the cases and when he comes across Bug's dad he even states "you baby bumpin motherfucker." I think he goes to prison specifically for his sexual abuse.

Bodie's arc is great for showing how the system traps these people, and the difficulty of getting out. It takes Poot losing him and Wallace to finally make the change. I think Bodie states that it's like he can't even breathe when he kicks out the window in the cop car. Which I find to be indicative of the feeling that a lot of these guys hold.

Ainsley McTree
Feb 19, 2004


On the subject of Bug's dad, it's interesting how Chris' most sympathetic moment in the show is the scene where he beats him to death. You get the strong implication that he was molested too, and a glimpse into the rage that led him into the life he's living.

Still a bad guy, but in that moment you're sort of like "go Chris"

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Eifert Posting
Apr 1, 2007

Most of the time he catches it every time.
Grimey Drawer
I wish I had caught this thread when it started.


Basebf555 posted:

This is how I feel about Bodie too. Wallace's murder is the most affecting and memorable of the series to me, it never left my mind even by Season 4. By then I had sympathy for Bodie's lot in life, as I do with most of the characters on the show, but when it came down to it my first thought when he died was "Hey, you get what you give, he finally got what was coming to him." Just not with that satisfied feeling you usually get when some rear end in a top hat finally gets their comeuppance, this was more a depressed sigh.

Yup. When they killed Wallace it put a pit in my stomach that took a day or two to work out.

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