The Wire...Spoilers

[PKerr]

As I mentioned in another thread I'm fortunate enough to have a friend that is an absolute TV nut and has a ton of stuff to watch, I just finished the entire run of The Wire and I have to say, it was a pretty interesting show.

It was different to see the show take so many different directions with casting and the actual premise (breaking the team up and sending them in different directions).

There are a things I didn't understand or didn't care for such as

Why did Thomas 'Herc' Hauk (the detective that got fired) Give Marlo's cell number to the cops so Marlo could get busted, then turn around and tell the scumbag lawyer he is working for about the wire to get him turned loose?

What was up with the M.E. switching the tags in the morgue with Omar and the old white guy?

Speaking of Omar, I thought his death was very anti climatic

And I hate that Marlo got away in the end, it would have been poetic justice if he had died like Omar did, Those punks on the corner killing him and never knowing who he was.

I also didn't care for the whole newspaper storyline in season 5.



Annyhoo off to start Boston Legal as I've never seen an episode of that either.

 

[TheGodBen]

What was up with the M.E. switching the tags in the morgue with Omar and the old white guy?

Speaking of Omar, I thought his death was very anti climatic

Omar's death was supposed to be anti-climactic so as to demythologise the character. He had grown to be larger than life, but his death came not in a blaze of glory, but from a single shot to the back of the head fired by a little kid. The switched tags was another element of that process, Omar woke up that morning as a legend, but he ended the day as just another no-name corpse that nobody would miss.

Omar was my favourite character and it would have been awesome for him to go down guns blazing, which is why I think the writers did the right thing by not doing that.

And I hate that Marlo got away in the end, it would have been poetic justice if he had died like Omar did, Those punks on the corner killing him and never knowing who he was.

But that wouldn't have been The Wire. Sometimes the bad guy gets away with it and life goes on, same as it ever was. Besides, you can put away all the Marlos you want, someone else will just pop up in his place.

 

[Harvey]

I also didn't care for the whole newspaper storyline in season 5.

I'd agree that it was probably the most heavy-handed storyline in the entire series. David Simon, who cameos as a reporter in two episodes (the penultimate episode of season two and the series finale), was a crime reporter for the Baltimore Sun. I think he was just a bit too close to the material.

The ten (and a half) episode run of the fifth season didn't do the series any favors, either. 12 or 13 would have given it more room to breathe, and would have likely included material for Cutty and Bunny Colvin beyond mere cameos.

 

[PKerr]

What was up with the M.E. switching the tags in the morgue with Omar and the old white guy?

Speaking of Omar, I thought his death was very anti climatic

Omar's death was supposed to be anti-climactic so as to demythologise the character. He had grown to be larger than life, but his death came not in a blaze of glory, but from a single shot to the back of the head fired by a little kid. The switched tags was another element of that process, Omar woke up that morning as a legend, but he ended the day as just another no-name corpse that nobody would miss.

Omar was my favourite character and it would have been awesome for him to go down guns blazing, which is why I think the writers did the right thing by not doing that.

And I hate that Marlo got away in the end, it would have been poetic justice if he had died like Omar did, Those punks on the corner killing him and never knowing who he was.

But that wouldn't have been The Wire. Sometimes the bad guy gets away with it and life goes on, same as it ever was. Besides, you can put away all the Marlos you want, someone else will just pop up in his place.

Well I saw all the main bad guys get away and a I some half way decent people that tried to do the right thing end up losing their jobs.

 

[Harvey]

Stringer Bell ended up dead, Avon ended up in prison, Chris Partlow ended up in prison, Snoop ended up dead, Bird and countless others in the Barksdale organization ended up dead or in prison.

I'd hardly say all the "bad guys" ended up getting away. Even Marlo's ultimate fate was left ambiguous.

 

[PKerr]

Stringer Bell ended up dead, Avon ended up in prison, Chris Partlow ended up in prison, Snoop ended up dead, Bird and countless others in the Barksdale organization ended up dead or in prison.

I'd hardly say all the "bad guys" ended up getting away. Even Marlo's ultimate fate was left ambiguous.

The Greek walked.
Spiros 'Vondas' Vondopoulos The Greek's second walked
Maurice 'Maury' Levy the Shyster lawer walked
Marlo walked
Senator Clay Davis walked.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Marlo walked, but he lost his place. Most others in the game fell and got replaced by others. It's the power players who get away scott free and that's never going to change.

As for Herc, that's not uncommon. He has a new job now so he was just doing his job (it's also blatantly illegal and the States Attorney would have to have turned it over anyway). Sure he has friends that he helps out on occasion, but his loyalties aren't with them anymore. Plenty of former police become private investigators and switch sides.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Can't read thread, only have gotten thru S3, but DAMN, the last two episodes of the season are some of the best, most powerful TV I've ever seen.

I'll start in on S4 soon, but the way the season ended feels like a series end. The threads are all wrapped up. what can they do for an encore?

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Yeah, these are series end spoilers. I'd suggest getting through it all quickly. Season 4 is often thought of as the best (I think it best sums up The Wire in many ways). It relies mostly on the stuff they created in Season 3. Season 5 has flaws, but it's still a good conclusion.

 

[Star Wolf]

Marlo walked, but he lost his place. Most others in the game fell and got replaced by others. It's the power players who get away scott free and that's never going to change.

I don't know what to make of Marlo's ultimate fate. After all the fights with the Coop and burning money up just so the name Marlo would be on top after a few weeks or however long it took for the deal to go through he was unknown to the next generation of corner boys. You would think that in trying to rebuild just to have "name" his fate ultimatly would be the same as Omar's and Snoop's.

As for the power players, McNulty mentioned that when Stringer almost made it before the Brother and Omar caught up to him.

 

[Capt. Vulcan]

I don't think Marlo exactly gets off scott free. He's given a deal where he has to just go legit and he'll be fine. But the first thing he does is ditch the party and take a corner. His character from the get go wasn't interested in the long run, we was interested in his name and being a gangster. There's the whole conversation he has about wearing the crown and how dangerous it is. He was never going to be Stringer Bell, he was the next Avon.

Herc? He's just a simple minded opportunistic prick. My least favorite character. He gave over the number because he disliked Marlo more than he wanted to help the cops. I don't remember correctly but I thought he kind of gave up the wire on accident. It wasn't any type of strategy was it? Either way, he's really only loyal to himself.

Omar? Like others have said, it's meant to be anti-climactic. As much of a legend as he was, he was shot down by some little kid. And when he went to the morgue, he was just another forgotten body on slab. No fanfare, no 20 gun salute. I think the theme of the last couple of seasons was how things just kept going on. Marlo took over for the Barksdales. Mike became the next Omar. Dookie became the next Bubbles. Griggs was becoming the next Bunk. Sydnor was becoming the next McNulty. Carcetti had become the next Royce. Ect.

Despite all the actions of all these characters, everything just kept going on.

 

[Star Wolf]

Omar? Like others have said, it's meant to be anti-climactic. As much of a legend as he was, he was shot down by some little kid. And when he went to the morgue, he was just another forgotten body on slab. No fanfare, no 20 gun salute. I think the theme of the last couple of seasons was how things just kept going on. Marlo took over for the Barksdales. Mike became the next Omar. Dookie became the next Bubbles. Griggs was becoming the next Bunk. Sydnor was becoming the next McNulty. Carcetti had become the next Royce. Ect.

Despite all the actions of all these characters, everything just kept going on.

And Sergeant Carver was becoming the next Major Colvin, suggesting there was at least some hope for the future.

All the talk of Marlo getting away reminds me of a specific cameo in season 5. When Poot showed up selling shoes, by that time I knew as a viewer it was only a cameo since his was not the first. What popped into my mind was Dee's cry "what about Wallace". While he did survive an encounter with Snoop as far as I can tell he only spent a few months in jail for running a corner while Bodie had the Hambersterdam immunity.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I think it's unrealistic to view justice as requiring every person who killed somebody as part of the game to got locked up. Bodie was seen as sympathetic when he died, but he obviously killed Wallace too.

Anyway, I got the impression that Slim Charles took over Marlo's territory at the end of the series so, although Marlo isn't done, he's not in power.

 

[PKerr]

I guess it could be looked at that since Marlo left the party and ran the punks off of the corner he wasn't going to give up his thug life and since he wasn't going to give up the thug life the authorities would eventually haul him back in as they said they would.

The thing is, he was left with millions of dollars and he could walk free if he so chose.

I think it would have been poetic justice if those kids would have robbed an killed him because he was all dressed up and never knew who in fact they had robbed and killed.

 

[Star Wolf]

In a way Wallace was not just "a body" in The Wire terms. His murder was the one that hurt and put the show over as a keeper for me. When folks say it started so slow and gave up on the series I always tell them to stick with it until Wallace is killed. If you still don't like the show then give up. With Bodie and Stringer gone the boy who killed his friend just to advance in the game was still enjoying life

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I guess it could be looked at that since Marlo left the party and ran the punks off of the corner he wasn't going to give up his thug life and since he wasn't going to give up the thug life the authorities would eventually haul him back in as they said they would.

Yeah, but it's nonsense. They have no admissible evidence against Marlo.

In a way Wallace was not just "a body" in The Wire terms. His murder was the one that hurt and put the show over as a keeper for me. When folks say it started so slow and gave up on the series I always tell them to stick with it until Wallace is killed. If you still don't like the show then give up. With Bodie and Stringer gone the boy who killed his friend just to advance in the game was still enjoying life

Wallace's death is big for the audience, but he's one of many in the show. Part of the message is that, sometimes, there's no message. People get killed and it's part of the game. Bodie and Stringer weren't killed because of Wallace, they were just killed.

 

[PKerr]

I guess it could be looked at that since Marlo left the party and ran the punks off of the corner he wasn't going to give up his thug life and since he wasn't going to give up the thug life the authorities would eventually haul him back in as they said they would.

Yeah, but it's nonsense. They have no admissible evidence against Marlo.

In a way Wallace was not just "a body" in The Wire terms. His murder was the one that hurt and put the show over as a keeper for me. When folks say it started so slow and gave up on the series I always tell them to stick with it until Wallace is killed. If you still don't like the show then give up. With Bodie and Stringer gone the boy who killed his friend just to advance in the game was still enjoying life

Wallace's death is big for the audience, but he's one of many in the show. Part of the message is that, sometimes, there's no message. People get killed and it's part of the game. Bodie and Stringer weren't killed because of Wallace, they were just killed.

I took the whole "message" with Wallace, Stringer and Bodie as negative and odd, in each case they were all tired of the thug life and wanted out and the writers seem to tell us the only way out of that life is death.

I was glad to see that Bubs made it out and was reunited with his family but was sad to see that Dookie took his place.

 

[TheGodBen]

I think it would have been poetic justice if those kids would have robbed an killed him because he was all dressed up and never knew who in fact they had robbed and killed.

But The Wire isn't poetry. The Wire had a message, and that message is that things are messed up, and they'll continue to be messed up for a long time. Killing Marlo would provide the audience with a false sense of victory, a false hope that the world is just, and a false impression that five years of fighting those gangs was making Baltimore a better place. That's not the story that The Wire was trying to tell.

 

[Capt. Vulcan]

I guess it could be looked at that since Marlo left the party and ran the punks off of the corner he wasn't going to give up his thug life and since he wasn't going to give up the thug life the authorities would eventually haul him back in as they said they would.

Yeah, but it's nonsense. They have no admissible evidence against Marlo.

In a way Wallace was not just "a body" in The Wire terms. His murder was the one that hurt and put the show over as a keeper for me. When folks say it started so slow and gave up on the series I always tell them to stick with it until Wallace is killed. If you still don't like the show then give up. With Bodie and Stringer gone the boy who killed his friend just to advance in the game was still enjoying life

Wallace's death is big for the audience, but he's one of many in the show. Part of the message is that, sometimes, there's no message. People get killed and it's part of the game. Bodie and Stringer weren't killed because of Wallace, they were just killed.

I took the whole "message" with Wallace, Stringer and Bodie as negative and odd, in each case they were all tired of the thug life and wanted out and the writers seem to tell us the only way out of that life is death.

I was glad to see that Bubs made it out and was reunited with his family but was sad to see that Dookie took his place.

In the case of Bodie, I'm not sure he wanted out. He was killed because he refused to see the changing of the guard and follow suit. Yeah he was tired of things, but he was never anything other than a soldier.

Wallace was killed because he decided that he knew no other life and chose to come back to the game. They were willing to leave him be.

Stringer died because he thought he was clever enough to out run a bullet and was setting up his mechanizations with little regard to the consequences.

In all three cases it's about that type of life catching up with you.

 

[J.T.B.]

Yeah, but it's nonsense. They have no admissible evidence against Marlo.

On the old bodies, no. But the only way Marlo is going to stay out of trouble is to keep out of the game completely, and his last scene implied that won't be possible for him, it's all he knows. The good police of Baltimore will never forget about him, so if he gets back in it will just be a matter of time.

But The Wire isn't poetry. The Wire had a message, and that message is that things are messed up, and they'll continue to be messed up for a long time. Killing Marlo would provide the audience with a false sense of victory, a false hope that the world is just, and a false impression that five years of fighting those gangs was making Baltimore a better place. That's not the story that The Wire was trying to tell.

Right, some of the players moved up, some down, some left the game. But what nobody could change was The System. And without some kind of fundamental shifts there, the whole thing repeats itself on and on with new names and faces.

Justin