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General Battuta posted:I hate the Greek so much. Not as a character or a part of the show, just as a person. I hate his weird little face and his weird little expressions and the way he gets away with everything. I hate his twee diner and his sipping. I hate him It's all in the game
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# ? Sep 1, 2020 22:44 |
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# ? Mar 28, 2024 12:12 |
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General Battuta posted:I hate the Greek so much. Not as a character or a part of the show, just as a person. I hate his weird little face and his weird little expressions and the way he gets away with everything. I hate his twee diner and his sipping. I hate him His weird little face represents the banality of evil
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# ? Sep 2, 2020 00:07 |
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BiggerBoat posted:I think it's just a way of reviewing "who had the biggest moment/best lines/greatest impact" and using at as a jumping off point to generate more episode discussion that cover things they may have glossed over. Like a recap. I never took at as "who WON" in terms of "who best furthered their own aims, goals and ambitions" so much as maybe who was the most right/correct or made the proper decisions but, overall, I take it mainly as "which actor owned the gently caress out of their scenes". IMO it's a mistake to label Joe the smartest because he's the most like us, a bunch of soft men obsessing over a TV show. Marlo valuing his rep over all else (even death) isn't necessarily a weakness,* it's just hard to understand for people from different cultures who probably value "staying out of mortal danger" above most anything else. *I can't remember this leading to any major tactical blunders. He was willing to meet Omar in the streets to defend his name knowing he could die. This seems idiotic to us, sure, but this was a guy who didn't know how banks work and flew to the Cayman Islands to literally look at his money, then was able to easily dismantle and take control of the co-op because he followed his killer instinct.
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# ? Sep 2, 2020 00:21 |
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BiggerBoat posted:Definitely. Stringer thought money was the end all be all. He assumed if he brought everyone money, nobody would think twice. But that's not the game. (That's not even mentioning Strings half in/half out failure) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPS9YKGaKQE Poot, Brodie, and Slim Charles are right. They are telling Stringer his "Money for everyone, everyone happy" plan wont work, all it would take for someone like Marlo to show up and gently caress it up. You cant just buy your way out of every situation. The guys who just want the name, who just want corners so people know their name wont go for the "rising tide lifts all boats." Brother Mouzone mentions it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNEj2cMPTvQ&t=94s Avon asks how much to save String. Brother Mouzone tells him it's not a money thing. Your word and your reputation go further than the money. Stringer never got that. He wanted to buy the reputation and got played by Clay Davis. That 2nd clip is one of my favorite scenes in the entire show: the king sacrificing the queen. Even the small things in it are great: at 2 minutes in, he contemplates doing something, Mouzone drops his arms, ready if that's what it is going to take, and Avon thinks better.
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# ? Sep 2, 2020 00:46 |
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Yates posted:They do that at the end of The Rewatchables podcast that Simmmons hosts on The Ringer. Van has been a co-host a few times so it's probably from that. Ah yeah, that'll do it. First Ringer podcast for me so I hadn't heard of it before.
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# ? Sep 2, 2020 07:58 |
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Everybody who focused only on money ends up being proven wrong because the game has never been about money. The game is about power. Avon and Marlo both understood this. They also both lacked the power to prevent their ultimate fate. Davis and The Greek however, also understand this and wield real power, thus they are shielded from consequences. Their money is just as dirty as everyone else's but they get to enjoy their money freely. Because power. You can do the same analyses for many of the politicians and police. Those who understand power tend to do better than those who do not. Those who have power always do better than those who do not. Those who both understand and have power are truly frightening. Orange Devil fucked around with this message at 09:30 on Sep 2, 2020 |
# ? Sep 2, 2020 09:27 |
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I think about this a lot, what is 'real power' in the Wire? Is it the protection of the law to hide your crimes behind? Is it being part of the state?
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# ? Sep 2, 2020 19:05 |
Whatever it is Marlo and Stringer don't have it.
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# ? Sep 2, 2020 22:20 |
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General Battuta posted:I think about this a lot, what is 'real power' in the Wire? Is it the protection of the law to hide your crimes behind? Is it being part of the state? what's real power in the real world? it depends on the specific context. cf the last scene with marlo
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# ? Sep 2, 2020 22:28 |
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General Battuta posted:I think about this a lot, what is 'real power' in the Wire? Is it the protection of the law to hide your crimes behind? Is it being part of the state? marlo is a powerful player in the game that was a breath away from getting wiped out by avon very early in his career. he didn't through sheer chance, outside of his control. is that power? levy, a mid-tier level player in the game came very close to getting indicted on criminal conspiracy charges because of his own carelessness talking over the phone. he ultimately didn't because he has the knowledge and analytical skills to deduce on the fly that the state's case was dirty, combined with a respectable bartering game. compare that with a similar case where the subject didn't have those tools OR the money to pay for a lawyer who did, but still ended up getting away (clay davis) trying to define 'power' is like taking a picture of a river and, using that single frame, trying to extrapolate why this particular area has a more intense whirlpool or how this fish managed to eat a much bigger fish. all the while, the river has long since changed and the fish you were just studying doesn't exist anymore and neither do the circumstances that allowed it to "win"
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# ? Sep 3, 2020 00:23 |
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General Battuta posted:I think about this a lot, what is 'real power' in the Wire? On a different note, here’s a question that I can’t google an answer to: anyone know how many times in the series Bodie said “poo poo is on”?
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# ? Sep 3, 2020 03:46 |
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WithoutTheFezOn posted:The ability to put six syllables into the word “poo poo”. Off the top of my head, once when he's partying with slim and cutty. It's also one of my favorite background utterances when he gets into the shootout with Chris and Snoop. He doesn't say it though.
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# ? Sep 3, 2020 03:53 |
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God Hole posted:marlo is a powerful player in the game that was a breath away from getting wiped out by avon very early in his career. he didn't through sheer chance, outside of his control. is that power? I think it's important that the drug game is just part of the real game, which encompasses everything, really. Marlo might've been powerful within the confines of the Baltimore drug game for a short period of time, but he was never powerful in the wider game.
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# ? Sep 3, 2020 08:15 |
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Unrelated to anything, anyone else find Lester's heel turn in S5 by going along with McNulty on the fake serial thing a little jarring and out of character? Just didn't seem like something he would go along but I guess they needed a co-conspirator for the plot and had to pick somebody. Not sure who else you could really use with Herc gone and Carver having matured/moved on. Speaking of great scenes with little or no dialogue (and Lester) I LOVE that scene of him standing in that empty lot and slowly having it dawn on him where all the bodies are being stacked. It could have been ridiculously over played but as it was filmed is spot on and really effective in showing Lester's intelligence. It's a little similar to S1 where Lester has an "aha", puts together the Golden Gloves/Avon connection, comes up with a photo by ripping an old poster off the wall of the gym and then just plopping it down on the desk without comment.
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# ? Sep 3, 2020 13:56 |
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BiggerBoat posted:Unrelated to anything, anyone else find Lester's heel turn in S5 by going along with McNulty on the fake serial thing a little jarring and out of character? Just didn't seem like something he would go along but I guess they needed a co-conspirator for the plot and had to pick somebody. Not sure who else you could really use with Herc gone and Carver having matured/moved on. I go back and forth on it. Lester's had a good few years reactivated from the pawn shop unit, he's got Shardene at home, he's probably good to retire anytime with the best pension he's likely to get. Why not go out with a bang, one last gently caress you to the bosses? Besides, it was all McNutty's idea. But it does feel like bending the rules a bit too far. I can see Lester finding out and not snitching, and I can see Lester not quite following the letter of the law if he thinks the case requires it. Actively goading and helping McNutty is too much though, I agree. But maybe there's a place for a somewhat less involved Lester without it feeling out if character?
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# ? Sep 3, 2020 15:03 |
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pokeyman posted:
That's sort of where I came down it. Had Herc still been in the unit I can totally see him going for it and even actively rooting it on. I know Lester had some "gently caress you" poo poo going on with being busted down to pawn shop detail but I never saw him break (or even really bend) the rules EVER. Maybe I'm forgetting something but all they had to do was have a bit where Lester got hosed with somehow - maybe had his pension cut or got disciplined/reassigned for some bullshit but nothing he ever did suggest to me "liar" or "crooked cop". Or, for that matter, any particular fondness for or allegiance to McNulty. That whole Red Ribbon Killer arc fell a little flat to me, tbh, and seemed a little hamfisted/hokey even though I don't count myself among the fans who hated the newspaper stuff it bled over into. Going through the podcasts and recaps and stuff, I think S5 is my least favorite even though I still dig it a lot. S2 gets way too much hate.
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# ? Sep 3, 2020 16:34 |
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I think I would argue that in the narrow tactical sense of The Wire's game, 'true power' is the ability to move elements of your strength outside the Baltimore game and into larger structures. The Greek is truly powerful because he's hooked up as a federal informant, for example. Marlo and Avon and Stringer lack 'true power' because their centers of gravity are still vulnerable to the game. Major Crimes certainly isn't truly powerful. Brother Mouzone is truly powerful because he doesn't have any vulnerabilities inside the game aside from the corporal risk of being shot—his power base is up in New York. Omar is 100% in the game, unfortunately; imagine how much more 'powerful' he'd be if his boyfriends were out of reach. Stringer tries to move his power out of the game but fails. D'angelo is completely powerless. In a sense Namond is powerful because his dad is watching over him from out of the game, and it's Weebey who ultimately saves him from the life. I dunno, just a toy model. Zoom it out and everything's just embedded in a bigger game.
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# ? Sep 3, 2020 16:48 |
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Ehhh Brother has no real power, other than being kind of a superhero. He was good but ultimately he was just a solider
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# ? Sep 3, 2020 19:34 |
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Yes, but he’s powerful as a soldier, and able to pursue his own objectives, because the people who give him authority and money and so forth are out of reach. If he worked directly for the Barksdales he’d be dead meat the moment Stringer wanted him gone.
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# ? Sep 3, 2020 19:46 |
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Brother Mouzone's power is knowing his exact place in the game. He knows how it works, and he knows his spot.
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# ? Sep 3, 2020 19:50 |
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General Battuta posted:Yes, but he’s powerful as a soldier, and able to pursue his own objectives, because the people who give him authority and money and so forth are out of reach. If he worked directly for the Barksdales he’d be dead meat the moment Stringer wanted him gone. I mean if BM was in the series more he would have bit it quickly. He’s lucky he’s in and out
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# ? Sep 3, 2020 20:16 |
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Brother Mouzone's power was time travel. Seriously he might as well have been those typewriters in season 1.
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# ? Sep 3, 2020 20:47 |
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He had enough clout that he got Avon to kill Stringer, by threatening to sever his business connections with New York. *ahem*
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# ? Sep 3, 2020 21:32 |
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BiggerBoat posted:Had Herc still been in the unit I can totally see him going for it and even actively rooting it on. I know Lester had some "gently caress you" poo poo going on with being busted down to pawn shop detail but I never saw him break (or even really bend) the rules EVER. Maybe I'm forgetting something but all they had to do was have a bit where Lester got hosed with somehow - maybe had his pension cut or got disciplined/reassigned for some bullshit but nothing he ever did suggest to me "liar" or "crooked cop". Or, for that matter, any particular fondness for or allegiance to McNulty. I could see Herc going for it and quickly gently caress it up, resulting in he and McNulty going to prison. He's far too dumb to get as close to pulling it off as Lester did.
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# ? Sep 3, 2020 22:40 |
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escape artist posted:He had enough clout that he got Avon to kill Stringer, by threatening to sever his business connections with New York. Avatar/post combo TBH, Brother Mouzone was another character/part of the show that often brushed up against the realm of suspending disbelief, and sometimes Omar too. I think I've posted similar sentiments before. Some of the poo poo those characters pulled off (as much as I love them both) and the way they went about it danced dangerously close to "this is a TV show" in ways that strained my ability to take the story seriously on occasion, and every once in a while felt out of place with their mutual over the top bad assery, fun as they were. Neither of their portrayals went entirely over the edge enough to take me out of the show completely but I think the way they were written sometimes came the closest to doing so, so i'll say that anyway. People love that standoff between Omar and BM in the alley but, to me, some of the exchanges like that pushed real close to the edge of some some Clint Eastwood poo poo, even as well as the show somehow still pulled it off. BiggerBoat fucked around with this message at 00:44 on Sep 4, 2020 |
# ? Sep 4, 2020 00:40 |
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BiggerBoat posted:That's sort of where I came down it. ehhh i think they actually did kinda lay the groundwork for lester's arc. rhonda catches him trying to manipulate her into pursuing a case at what she thinks is an inoppurtune time based on when the city elections are and he all but admits it. that establishes that 1) he gets tunnel vision like mcnulty and isn't afraid to crack a few eggs for that omelet and 2) he's willing to break the "rules" to get his case. yeah it's still a huge leap from that to fabricating a serial killer, but at the same time he reallllllly wanted marlo. same. I've watched the series 3 times and i still can't remember whether there was actually a copycate killer or not?? that plotline was closed up really sloppily (excepting that badass showdown between rhonda and levy)
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# ? Sep 4, 2020 05:02 |
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BiggerBoat posted:Avatar/post combo I get this complaint but on the other hand real life is loving weird. They had to tone down some of Omar's feats from the irl guy he was based on. Brother Mouzone is a weird and possibly anachronistic guy but I like the way the show gives him a plausible reason to be such an effective street enforcer. He's from the guys in New York, anyone looking to get him is going to learn that and understand that loving with Mouzone is borrowing trouble. Omar is, uh, tactically capable, in that he's intimidating and has enough friends to avoid being pinned down and killed, but because his only power is in his physical personage he's doomed in the long run. Anybody who can be destroyed simply by being shot isn't going to last long in the game.
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# ? Sep 4, 2020 18:51 |
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God Hole posted:ehhh i think they actually did kinda lay the groundwork for lester's arc. rhonda catches him trying to manipulate her into pursuing a case at what she thinks is an inoppurtune time based on when the city elections are and he all but admits it. that establishes that 1) he gets tunnel vision like mcnulty and isn't afraid to crack a few eggs for that omelet and 2) he's willing to break the "rules" to get his case. yeah it's still a huge leap from that to fabricating a serial killer, but at the same time he reallllllly wanted marlo. There was a copycat killer yeah, it was one of the homeless guys, the one that collected trading cards.
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# ? Sep 4, 2020 18:56 |
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I mean Brother nearly dies from a gunshot. Had Omar not believed him he would be in the ground. Which I guess shows how little power he had as the only protection he had was the New York connection and not everyone cared about that
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# ? Sep 4, 2020 18:57 |
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General Battuta posted:I get this complaint but on the other hand real life is loving weird. They had to tone down some of Omar's feats from the irl guy he was based on. Truth and I dug both those characters a lot. But the standoff in the alley reminded me a little of this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfWc47SEPA0 Dirty Larry time stamped at 3:20:
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# ? Sep 4, 2020 19:49 |
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I can't sleep so I thought I'd bump this thread. Been watching Heartworn Highways with a young Steve Earle who played Walon. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sUML2yWVn8c
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# ? Sep 9, 2020 07:49 |
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Steve Earle's son died of an overdose recently, at the age of 38.
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# ? Sep 10, 2020 06:17 |
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General Battuta posted:Omar is, uh, tactically capable, in that he's intimidating and has enough friends to avoid being pinned down and killed, but because his only power is in his physical personage he's doomed in the long run. Anybody who can be destroyed simply by being shot isn't going to last long in the game. Yeah, Omar dies if you kill him. Which characters does this not apply to?
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# ? Sep 10, 2020 14:50 |
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Gargamel Gibson posted:Yeah, Omar dies if you kill him. Which characters does this not apply to? Any character embedded in a power structure which will retaliate for their death. For example, you can't just go kill Clay Davis without massive blowback. Even the dealers are backed up by their organizations; if you get got, someone will take revenge.
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# ? Sep 10, 2020 17:09 |
General Battuta posted:Any character embedded in a power structure which will retaliate for their death. For example, you can't just go kill Clay Davis without massive blowback. Even the dealers are backed up by their organizations; if you get got, someone will take revenge. But that's not completely true. A lot of powerful people are killed with no blowback because people are pragmatic enough to realize that revenge is bad for business. If Clay Davis was killed people would talk a lot about how bad it was while being secretively relieved or starting to plot how they would take his place.
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# ? Sep 10, 2020 18:50 |
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We see in the show that killing Davis is considered out of bounds for the dealers, so he has some kind of institutional protection.
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# ? Sep 10, 2020 19:09 |
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General Battuta posted:We see in the show that killing Davis is considered out of bounds for the dealers, so he has some kind of institutional protection. He does but that’s because they need him for business, even Omar at times was let go when he had protection. Only when Marlo didn’t give a gently caress was Omar hosed. If you think Marlo wouldn’t go at Clay Davis you miss the point of his character
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# ? Sep 10, 2020 19:53 |
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Yeah but when Omar dies nothing really happens- he slips into legend but no one wants revenge, the kid appears to be arrested for it but the police almost gently caress up the name of the victim. if Marlo had killed Clay Davis, even assuming he'd found someone stupid enough to do it, I'd think the cops would come down on him like a ton of bricks
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# ? Sep 10, 2020 19:57 |
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CharlestheHammer posted:He does but that’s because they need him for business, even Omar at times was let go when he had protection. Only when Marlo didn’t give a gently caress was Omar hosed. If you think Marlo wouldn’t go at Clay Davis you miss the point of his character I’m pretty sure Stringer wants to kill Davis but he’s told it would be absolutely insane to draw the kind of heat that comes with murdering a state senator. Marlo might do it but he’d still face institutional retaliation. Clay isn’t gonna disappear into some vacants with a shrug.
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# ? Sep 10, 2020 20:15 |
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# ? Mar 28, 2024 12:12 |
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General Battuta posted:I’m pretty sure Stringer wants to kill Davis but he’s told it would be absolutely insane to draw the kind of heat that comes with murdering a state senator. Marlo might do it but he’d still face institutional retaliation. Stringer didn’t do it because it would be bad for business which is exactly what Marlo is suppose to be a contrast to. Also Kim’s or whatever got retribution but no one thinks she has any real power
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# ? Sep 10, 2020 21:18 |