|
Hey Jerusalem, I know i'm just some random internet person to you but i want to sincerely thank you for taking the time to write these synopses. They're top quality for internet posts. In fact I'd like to thank practically everyone who posts in this thread for contributing insightful and useful commentary on an amazing show. Every once in a while SA manages to transcend the typical tedium of forum discussion. Thanks, peeps. 
|
#
¿
Jul 23, 2013 05:30
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 12:33 |
|
|
omg chael crash posted:Personally, I couldn't stand a single thing about Brother Mouzone. He just seemed so silly and overacted, and he felt like nothing more than a caricature of a Nation of Islam member. Though, I suppose I'm not much of an expert on that particular subject. Aside from him, I was mostly bored senseless of the News plot until the last 2.5 episodes or so. It ended up tying together rather neatly but the journey there, for me, was a bit of a slog. I agree with you about Mouzone, but the point of him is that he is one of those larger than life professionals who doesn't screw around with the street game. I'll be real nerdy and propose a heiarchy of competence among the criminals in this show, from the top down: The Greek, too slick and powerful to be caught. Omar and Chris, terrifying forces of nature who are made vulnerable only because of their continued participation in the game. Prop Joe, Marlo, Avon, Stringer, who are all kingpins but expose themselves because of unbreakable ties to the game (Stringer) Slim Charles, Wee-Bey, Snoop, competent lieutenants but not cut out for executive level management. D'Angelo, Bodie, Cheese, and a host of other bodies who were only waiting until the game caught up with their shortcomings. Orlando, because gently caress that guy. Mouzone would be on the same level as Omar and Chris, except since he is not part of this game he's not really vulnerable. He has no ties to Baltimore, he just shows up to be a consultant. It would be more jarring if Mouzone was killed during the show, I think. What is artificial about his character is that the writers had to characterize him very quickly, and used the juxtaposition of his passive and nerdy appearance (Cheese: "You selling bean pies?") with his ability to be an Omar-level badass when required. Except Omar was a regular character, so the unrealistic aspects of his character are often softened or even made humorous (Omar gets breakfast) in order to contextualize him within the setting. With Chris, we never get many hints about his personality except that he is some kind of demonic human shark, but it makes sense that a killer of his caliber would be Marlo's right hand man. Mouzone just sort of pops up out of nowhere, almost as if from a different show, and asserts his badassedness without any of the 'realistic' mitigating factors that bring him back down to the streets. The whole NOI angle is to show that he, like Omar, is largely in control of his image. Omar is a ghost who strikes from the shadows, who lives 'in the wind' and could always be around the next corner. Mouzone is a higher tier of professional, not bothering with street game - he could be that Day of the Jackal motherfucker needed to hit Clay Davis - and this severe professionalism is reflected in his subtly intimidating but ostensibly harmless self portrayal. Mouzone doesn't need to dress and swagger like a soldier, he's above all that. He only had to shoot Cheese once, with a bullet of his own creation no less, before everyone got the message that loving with him is a fatal mistake. And who knows, he might actually be NOI. Wasn't he praying to Allah when he was ambushed and gut shot? EDIT: I think that Omar is more competent than the Kingpins because Omar is obviously larger than life, almost an action hero. Plus he was able to assert his will when and where he chose, without the benefit of a large organization to protect him and act as a force multiplier. Chris, while being a Stanfield man, would have been fine wherever he was. I also think that Chris was the only character in the show who had a reasonable shot at taking down Omar in a 'fair' fight. That's kind of where they were leading in Season 5 as I recall. boner confessor fucked around with this message at 21:50 on Oct 28, 2013 |
|
#
¿
Oct 28, 2013 21:40
|
|
|
Spoilers Below posted:We do get a little bits of this, though: Mouzone arguing with Lamar about messing up his magazines. Chris' love of music and that dorky little dance he does when his favorite song comes on. We even get a small glimpse of his wife and kids in season 5, who Snoop seems to like a lot. Mouzone was only in 7 episodes and we didn't spend much time with him. Chris was in 26 episodes and we saw him get up to a lot more than just chasing off soldiers and gunning for Stringer. I don't disagree with you, I just don't think we ever really saw more than a sliver of Mouzone's human side as opposed to his scary gangster side. This makes him much more of a 'character' than the other characters on the show, which when combined with his intense levels of scary gangsterism makes him seem (to me) somewhat dissonant to the otherwise grounded and realistic perspective of the show. quote:I found Mouzone properly demythologized and made human when Omar caught him dead to rights, and then chose to let him live. All it takes is one guy who doesn't buy into the myth to end it, as Omar himself finds out from Kenard later. For Chris, it was the implication that something like what happened to Michael had happened to him in prison, fueling his anger when he kills Devar. It's subtle, and it's not something any of the characters in the show would ever see, but it's there for us viewing from above. We the viewer see behind the mask so to speak. The only character who does is Lamar while other characters still only ever see the badass. Mouzone's badassery was enough to impress Omar into sparing his life, creating a bond between the two based on mutual hyperprofessionalism. It indicated incredible mental fortitude on Mouzone's part, but all Omar needed to pick up was that Mouzone was too pro to go out like this. Mouzone was able to make Stringer piss himself using very few words. But both Omar and Stringer were looking at the mask. Maybe that's all Mouzone is? Maybe he's so no-nonsense that his highly competent killer persona is his true self? Even Omar took off the mask a couple times - when Bunk dressed him down, when he was burning himself in penitence over Tosha's death, when he pleaded with McNulty and Bunk for help beating the mail lady murder charge, when he lost his mind with vengeance over Butchie's murder. Behind that mask, where we can see Omar's honor and Chris's anger, there's really nothing there for Mouzone that is exposed to the audience. I guess it's that hollowness that makes him stand out to me.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 28, 2013 22:48
|
|
|
hhhmmm posted:So there is this ultra competent killer guy. Who walks around in highly recognizable outfits and shot people in public places at broad daylight. He employs no stealth whatsoever and even revisits the same place regularly after shooting revengehappy gangbangers. He has never been apprehended or killed in a driveby because both police and the gangbangers are just too impressed with his professional demeanour. Mouzone's rep protects him. He doesn't need to be stealthy - are the cops going to come because of a gunshot, no fatailities or victim, in the Towers? The street criminals aren't going to call the police for help either. He revisits the same place regularly because it was his job to chase rival soldiers away, which you'll notice he did because everyone was terrified of him once they learned his rep. Prop Joe's so scared of Mouzone that he manipulates Stringer into sending Omar after Mouzone - the only other person on the show who gets this treatment is Marlo, another scary man. You'll also note that Mouzone spends all of his off time holed up and sending Lamar out to do his business, minimizing the chance some crew will take a run at him. For a show about criminals you're getting real picky here.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 29, 2013 15:28
|
|
|
Meltathon posted:Mouzone's rep is so big that even though he primarily works out of New York, the Baltimore people still know and fear him. And even those who don't know (Cheese) learn pretty drat quick. The bowtie looks dorky and is good cover, but from a different perspective (after being shot) it indicates a man who doesn't need to project or brag how dangerous he is. A man who is clearly an outsider who just walks right into the lions den and starts telling locals how it's going to be is either a total fool or someone you absolutely should not gently caress with. For the edification of the audience, Cheese made this painful mistake. This is also where the "highly recognizable" outfit comes in because, although in the context of the show a gangster in a suit and tie is very unusual (thus signaling special status) a dude in a suit and tie on the street isn't out of place, even in the projects. If anything, he doesn't look like a typical gangster and so wouldn't attract extra attention. Especially if he looks like an educated, respectable, political black man (which he does, to me) it would cause seasoned beat cops to be wary when talking to him. The police wouldn't throw him around like a corner boy because Mouzone looks like the kind of guy who could file a suit and get someone fired. I can't even see Officer Walker putting Mouzone against a wall without some second thoughts. So shooting a guy in broad daylight in a crowded area was a relatively risky move but the payoff in showing the world just how scary you are. Extra points for wearing the All Business suit. boner confessor fucked around with this message at 21:01 on Oct 29, 2013 |
|
#
¿
Oct 29, 2013 20:57
|
|
|
GreenCard78 posted:I'm pretty sure that is not what 3Romeo meant. I read it as Greeks being sort of the stereotypical old school old money shipping and/or organized crime stuff.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 3, 2013 06:00
|
|
|
Ainsley McTree posted:I hadn't really thought of that, but I dunno, I don't think the show really has anything good to say about the prison system. Every other character's reaction to it (except Ziggy) is basically "I don't mind, you only do two days anyway" and then they're back to the game. Prison's just a square on the board for them. Yeah, if anything Cutty's arc criticizes the prison system for failing to prepare convicts for release. Cutty immediately goes back to his old ways because what the hell else is he going to do, but quickly finds out that the game just doesn't fit him anymore. He'd rather do honest but lovely labor like yard work rather than be a gangster, not because he's afraid of prison but because he's changed as a person and gangster stuff disgusts him. It's the revival of D's arc brought to a nice conclusion. If Cutty were broken I would expect to see more of a tragic arc than the redemptive arc which turns him into a productive citizen.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 28, 2014 19:28
|
|
|
PostNouveau posted:It's not the obvious Nation of Islam stuff that makes his character unbelievable for me. The NOI is openly racist and anti-semetic and has a history of violence, but contract killing does not seem like their style at all. Mouzone may or may not be NOI, it is a somewhat terrifying persona for a hitman though. Omar pulled out some dumb Scooby-Doo disguises at times, so I don't think he or Mouzone are supposed to be entirely realistic so much as outlandish heroic figures.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 28, 2014 22:26
|
|
|
Kevyn posted:At the end of season 3, after they get up on Stringer's cell, they catch this conversation... "not on the phone" indicates that Stringer knows what he's doing is illegal and is trying to hide it. there aren't many other ways to interpret that statement. It would be weaker evidence if he said what are you talking about, what hitters? bucketybuck posted:So if Stringer was a little bit smarter, instead of saying "not on the phone" he should just always end a call like that by saying "I have to go"? it could give levy more ammo to claim that the police are misinterpreting things. that's why they use coded language in the first place
|
|
#
¿
Jan 27, 2015 20:54
|
|
|
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoyq88niVEU
|
|
#
¿
May 28, 2015 17:47
|
|
|
Basebf555 posted:He's not really much smarter than any other random Barksdale crew member but he's convinced himself hes a mastermind. stringer is smarter, that's why he's at the top of the organization. the problem is that he's prone to believing he's smarter than he really is (many smart people do this) and he's so hooked into the idea of being a business mogul that he spends more time presenting as a mogul than actually being one
|
|
#
¿
Aug 14, 2015 18:43
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 12:33 |
|
|
deoju posted:I thought this might be the same actor too, but I'm not sure. But in both scenes there's two guys sitting on a bench talking about the crime game they are playing and the nature of America. These are both in the opening few minutes. yeah that's method man, wu-tang clan member who has built an acting career https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEnwXYJcSZc
|
|
#
¿
Oct 18, 2017 19:09
|
|