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The Wire, Season 5: "More with Less" [recap]

What a return to form. For a show that has gone through so many changes in terms of a central location and theme, it's good to see that Season 5, the final season, can both establish new obstacles while retaining the underlying dread and depression that it wore on its sleeve in Season 1. From Major Crimes getting the shaft to McNulty drunk dialing his lady, lying about his behavior, to Marlo Stanfield always wanting to get his piece, and being bold and outlandish about it, to the Homicide Unit still solving murders with a Coke (or in this case, a bag of Mikey D's) and a smile, The Wire has kept its fierce, pointed commentary on a city in ruin, and is continuing on its path of giving you the raw and the real from both sides of the law (or the political desk, or the newspaper page)...

I must say, the entire intro to this episode killed me. The "TRUTH TRUTH FALSE" had me confused for a second, but once I realized how they had homey hooked to a copier, and seeing how shook he was (as well as how quick he was to incriminate both himself and his quarter-pounder loving boy) had me dying. It's also an interesting parallel to the whole media/newspaper scope this season is being seen through: you have different methods and means of obtaining the truth, most of them dealing with deception, but in the end, the truth does come to the light.

Did anyone else feel bad for Carver up there, in his Sergeant gear, getting bitched out by his co-workers? Cop morale being low is a constant throughout the series, but this is showing police at a fever pitch, ready to explode due to loads of overtime and no monetary gain. It's not the top brass' fault, though - Carcetti is the man who has shifted all police funds to the schools, due to his not picking up the $50 million the govenor offered him last season. It's kind of funny how he stood on a platform to make real change and his reign is already mirroring many cash-strapped cities who have to divert funds that aren't there, and end up hampering quality work, like with the Stanfield case.

Freamon has said time and again, if they had kept the taps going, they could have had Marlo and his boys by now. Alas, shit got switched up, they are no longer using burners, and after a YEAR following these cats, they are no better up on the 20+ bodies that got pulled from the vacant buildings. It also doesn't help that Marlo and Chris seem to be not only so aware, but so eager to flash their seemingly-untouchable status in their faces (LOL @ Chris asking Daniels where the Criminal Records office was; BTW, WTF was he looking up Sergei's picture for?)...

Marlo is also showing off to the New Day Co-Op. He openly challenged both Proposition Joe and Slim Charles as to what they were going to be doing with the new territory and leadership. Slim was smart to be cautious of Marlo's intentions, and I can only imagine who will draw first blood if Marlo truly wants to horn in on those corners. Elsewhere in the Stanfield org, we got to see Michael and Dukie again; Dukie has no pull with Michael's crew, which is no surprise - Spider says Duke is "acting like a bitch", and we all can figure that Dukie truly isn't made for that life. Was Michael's delegation of Dukie to being Bug's "nanny" a good move? Dukie doesn't seem to think so - hopefully his time during the day isn't spent getting into some bullshit (drugs/crime/etc.).

I'm gonna say it right now: the Editor of the Sun, Gus Haynes, is the truth. I like the fact that he is a no-nonsense editor who wants to not only pull quality copy, but is also willing to question authority or WHOMEVER when he sees fit. The look on Nareese Campbell's face when she saw the story about Fatface Rick's club was priceless! I assume this is the story that will make/break the rest of the season, but who knows. The characters in the newsroom already bounce out, and you can kind of see where each one is going to go, but its still early to pin anything on anyone...

I do like seeing Bubbles clean, but he seems like a guy who is just not happy. Living in his sister's basement (when she's home), delivering papers... his life has gone downhill. He needs to be involved, but that involvement usually leads to heron. Hopefully he won't be a tragic hero...

McNulty's frustration is written right on his face. You KNOW he doesn't want to be back in Homicide, but until something pops off, he has to play that role.

And what's really good with Herc? Working with that crooked lawyer? I guess he wanted that guap, but did he have to get dirty? He isn't that bright, and I can only imagine how he will get bit in the ass, quick.

Did I miss anything? What did you guys think of the first episode of the new season? 1 down, 9 to go!

PS: I agree with Miss Info; that new intro song is kind of blah.

Related links:
CNN article on The Wire, Season 5 - I didn't realize how much animosity David Simon has for the real Baltimore Sun!
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The best show of the 21st Century.