THE WIRE Odyssey: Season 1, Episode 6: THE WIRE

The titular named episode of season 1 begins with probably the most affecting opening sequence to date. From the beginning of the series, I've taken Wallace to be simply one of D'Angelo's crew, a young kid way in over his head, but doing what he can to get on in The Game. That being said, all of this changes when we see that in fact, he is far beyond his years. Living along with Poot in an abandoned apartment house, Wallace takes care of a group of even younger, parent-less children. He makes sure they get up in time to not be late for school and he makes sure they don't leave without a snack for later. Protecting these kids from social services is a huge responsibility that Wallace, who should be being taken care of and going to school himself, with little to no complaint or need of praise.

Yet despite all that, when he walks out into the murder scene of Brandon, we see just how young he truly is. Sure, as D'Angelo remarks, Wallace knows the rules of The Game; he knows how it works. That being said, he still holds enough child-like innocence (hinted at by his playing with transformers toys instead of chasing girls like Poot) that he never could have imagined that by making that phone call he would be responsible for Brandon death and that the result of that murder would be displayed so closely to him. It's a brilliant opening, one that shows both the would-be adult and the still-a-kid sides to one complicated kid.

But Wallace isn't the only one responsible for Brandon's death. No, that responsibility falls on the head of Omar as well. And just as we got to witness Wallace's reaction to the death he helped set into motion, we see Omar's just as vividly (a scene played AMAZINGLY well by Michael K. Williams). Sure, Wallace set Brandon up to be killed, but Omar gave Avon's crew a reason to do it in the first place. Seeing Omar's eyes as he looked at his destroyed lover, the kiss he places on Brandon's head and the primal wail he lets loose after (along with the haunting black and white security camera shot of the soccer ball rolling down the hall) was as amazing as it was brutal. Seeing this immensely powerful moment coupled with the later, more calm version of Omar (even joking a little with Kima), really shows how many layers this character really has. He's unlike any other character I've seen yet and the way he is operating outside the system makes him such a dangerous wild card, that he really is larger than life.

Now, what I've been talking about thus far is cost. The image of Brandon opens and closes the episode and acts as a reminder as to what living on the streets, what living the lives that these people live costs. Near the end of the episode after Daniels lets McNulty know that they have more time with the case, Lester asks before leaving, "Did it cost you?" Now, it's clear that what Lester means pertains to the police station politics and what Daniels probably had to do to get Rawls and Burrell to agree to this extension. However, after seeing Daniels walk back into his office and look at the photos of Brandon one more time, it's clear to me that it cost him something much, much deeper. Maybe he couldn't have saved him if he'd pressed for wire taps sooner. But then again, maybe he could. The not knowing is really something that I'm sure Daniels will be struggling with more a long time to come. Wallace set up Brandon for the slaughter, Omar gave them a reason to do, but is Daniels equally responsible for not doing all he could? And even if he isn't, does he still feel that way? Though it's not clear yet, I think he does.

One last thing I wanted to cover, and something I try to make sure I don't miss, is the opening quote. This week's quote by Lester to Prez that, "All the piece matter," feels not only true of their investigation, but also feels like a metaphor for the show itself. It's becoming more and more clear that this show really is like a chess game. All the characters have a part to play, and before it's all said and done they're going to play it. I am really beginning to see just how important even the more minor characters are and just how fleshed out they're going to end up being.

That being said, and I hate to end the post like this, but I really fucking hate Rawls and Santangelo so far. I get that Rawls is just doing what he needs to do to keep his department running smoothly, but damn. He is the most sensitive hard-ass bastard I've ever seen. Everything is taken so personally. McNulty isn't trying to sabotage his department or him in general. But he seems to not want to stop until McNulty's head is brought to him on a silver platter (and I know it wasn't intentional, but Daniels completely boned McNulty by bringing his name up as the one wanting Rawls to basically fuck off with his case). I also hate that Santangelo does nothing but spy for the piece of shit and when he actually gets a chance to do some good (take picture of Avon, Stringer and Stinkum talking to D'Angelo in the Pit) he completely balks, taking the longest fucking piss imaginable. Would have been nice to get those photos, huh Santangelo? Oh, well. As McNulty and Bunk would say, FUCK.

WHAT COREY MISSED:

Alan Sepinwall brough up how McNulty kind of fucked over his ex-wife again by taking the kids to the morgue on a school night when Omar could have probably waited until morning. I didn't really think about that aspect, but that's very interesting. I also think the black and white security footage shot of the ball rolling down an empty hallway seemed significant to the episode's minor theme of loss of innocence. Wallace's innocence is forever scarred by seeing Brandon's corpse as a reminder of his actions, the young and beautiful Brandon is forever stripped of innocence, cut down for being associated with Omar (the pinball stuff was really representative of his innocence for me) and now McNulty's kids' innocence is being tested not only by their father's actions in the episode but having to go through their parents getting a divorce as well.

Finally, he reminded me of two things I just wanted to briefly say: One, I thought D'Angelo was a total dick at first in this episode and completely switched personalities with Wallace from earlier episodes. However, after seeing him explain why he did what he did to Cass instead of turning her and Sterling over to Stringer to likely get the same treatment as Brandon really made me come back around to his side. He still doesn't like the way The Game is played and this is just a small act to subvert it. Two, I thought the Bubbles/Johnny plot to steal copper for drug money was hilarious (even the colostomy bag stuff) up until the point where "Kid ain't go no luck" Johnny gets jacked by the police again. That's it for now.

THE WIRE Odyssey: Season 1, Episode 5: THE PAGER

Before I start this episode recap, just a few things. One, what my process has been for the past four episodes is to watch the episode (shocker, but necessary), read Alan Sepinwall's "Newbies" recap, and then write up my thoughts on the episode. I realize after four episodes now, that this is a problem. What I find myself doing is just restating his ideas with my spin on them and not really developing my own thoughts on the episode. And as is probably obvious, that's not really helpful to anyone or all that fun. So, from this episode onward, I will be changing things up a bit. After the episode, I will use this blog as a way of parsing out what I think and feel is going on. Then before I post it, I will read Alan Sepinwall's recap and add any additional thoughts on his ideas that I may have missed in a segment at the bottom called "What I Missed." I think this will be more fun, more helpful, and allow me to feel better about myself in the long run. So here we go! 

As episode 5 began, my first real thought was, "Hey! Prez is finally useful for something!" What I meant by this was his use as the audience surrogate to help us better understand how the duplicate pager worked, both with the field duplicate that McNulty and Kima have, but also why they are using computer monitoring equipment with it as well. Now, my policy on audience surrogates (which really isn't a policy, but I'm making it one now) is that I'm okay with them as long as the reasons behind their asking make sense in context and make sense with who the character is. That being said, I did not find it hard to believe it all in this case because thus far in the show we've seen Prez be nothing more than a righteous fuck-up (hence my earlier exclamation of joy from seeing him be useful for a change). That being said, before this episode is all said and done, we see just how useful he can actually be.

Near the end of the episode, we figure out (from Prez) that the way the Barksdale is able to code their phone numbers and still allow for, well... not the sharpest cracked vials in the alley to be able to interpret and use efficiently. As Prez explains (an excellent payoff to the amazingly strange phone photocopying scene as well as his constant crossword puzzle handiwork), all they do is take the number they see on the pager number, and skip over the 5 to find the actual number (replacing 5 with 0 and vice versa). It's a genius way of doing it that doesn't take any skill at all other than sight, and while slightly demystifying the Barksdale Crew a little, it is still extremely clever and inventive, as was the up until now useless Prez for figuring it out. 

It seems like one thing this episode did really well was letting me (and the audience as a whole) know that the show doesn't simply let side characters vanish. Besides bringing Prez back into the fold a bit, it also brought back both of D's ladies (who have both only been seen very briefly) and used them in an interesting love triangle forming plot line, where one relationship seems to be brewing (D'Angelo and the stripper whose name escapes me) and one that seems a little strained (D'Angelo and his baby mama). 

On that note, the whole scene with D'Angelo and his baby mama in the nice restaurant was one I really enjoyed and brought back not only the idea of Heaven vs. Here and just how hard it is to adjust to a place like that for D'Angelo (stuck, perhaps less and less voluntarily) in the land of Here, but it also touches on the idea of how who you are really doesn't matter as long as you have money. People don't care about you, they only care about what you can do for them and about that green paper in your wallet. 

The more I think about it, this episode was very relationship heavy. Besides D'Angelo's soon-to-be love triangle, we see many different relationships that are strained. For one we see Bubbs visiting the young drug addict that got beat up and put in the hospital by D's crew. There's a lot of tension between them (though really only under the surface) and you can tell that there's more of disconnect now than what we say earlier. Bubbs is caught completely off guard when he learns that his friend has been told he has "The Bug" (which is alluded to earlier in the episode and what I can only assume is HIV/AIDS, and it'll be interesting to see if that  becomes a major plot point anywhere throughout the series), his friend doesn't approve of Bubbs' involvement with the police, and Bubbs is happy about his friend's sobriety though his friend seems to be antsy for a quick fix. All of these issues are skirted though as both men quickly change the subject many times. They only really seem to be able to earnestly talk about one thing: where the good stuff is. 

On another count we see McNulty and Elena's relationship continue to sour with their phone conversation about McNulty having a place for the kids to sleep when they come over (a brilliant lie and catch of a lie that I mistakenly mentioned for the last episode as a result of watching part of this one before writing that review) and it leads to some hilarious yet dark scenes of McNulty trying to put a bunk bed together and lonely drinking himself to sleep. Apart from that we get the scene with who I assume is Avon's brother in the hospital. Though it isn't clear what happened to him, whatever it was spooked Avon pretty bad, The idea he talks to D about, having to do with family and how being even a little slow or a little late can cost you everything shows what being a drug kingpin must really be like (which also plays into the really paranoid opening shots of Avon at one of his lovers' apartments). 

And while speaking of lovers, Omar and Brandon's relationship is actually the only one that seems to really be in good shape (first male-male kiss, and second with McNulty and Prez). However, at the end of the episode we see the Barksdale crew having found Brandon playing pinball at a local eatery and it is yet to be seen how they are going to handle his involvement with Omar and just how Omar may respond to this. 

Omar is also an interesting topic that I don't know really what to do with yet (though he's quickly becoming one of my favorites to watch). He constantly wears a bulletproof vest, holds up rival dealers on a regular basis while humming children's rhymes, disdains foul languages, seems to be the only one who knows what Bubbs really is, openly talks to police and just happens to be gay. While we haven't seen a ton with him, I'm really interested in seeing what happens with him (especially now that the Barksdale crew have two of his men). 

Just on a final note, I think the whole thing about kids being involved in the drug trade was really brought up this episode. Not only are kids shown running around the various dealing sights, they also alert the higher ups when the police are around (both with the Barksdale crew and with Omar). Not only this, but the scenes with Bodie made me realize that most of D'Angelo's crew have to be under 20 (with D himself not being much over that). Hearing Bodie say he was 16 was pretty shocking to me, even though I knew he was fairly young and the intricate part Wallace and Poot play in helping Stringer get to Brandon shows just how important these young kids are to the operation. 

It also makes me question, how hard is it to keep these kids from snitching? D'Angelo and Stringer talk about a snitch early on and apart from showing just how in touch Stringer is with his people, how they work, and how to deal with them, it also plants paranoia in the Pit as well as in the viewers. Though Bodie seems to be warming up (even if it's only ever so slightly) to Herc and Carver, he doesn't seem like the type at all (and was furthest from my mind). Wallace and Poot also play into what Stringer says and ask for advances because they're broke (seemingly eliminating them too). Now, I don't know if it just turns out that it's Bubbs they're referring to (his involvement with the cops gets brought up a lot in this episode) or if one of the other guys we know actually is ratting them out, but I'll be interested in seeing how it plays out. Just as interested in seeing which characters show up next. I can imagine Ruben Terry or other CI's will be cropping up before too long. It's like they say, "There's nothing like a good CI." 

WHAT COREY MISSED:

Alan Sepinwall brought up some interesting points that I just briefly want to mention. Firstly, something I failed to bring up was that this is the first time we ever really see Avon in action. He is extremely paranoid as I said, stemming quite a bit from not wanting to end up a vegetable like his brother, but Sepinwall also brings up a point I forgot, and that is just how right he is to be paranoid. With the cops onto his pager code, they could have a murder charge on Stringer and Wee-bey in no time (apparently I missed the fact that Omar's other associate was the John Bailey that got popped early in the episode, as well as the fact that Brandon is also done for). 

Other than that, the only real thing else he mentioned that I wanted to make sure to get at was the idea of just how different Omar is (other than the fact he knows who killed Gant, which I missed, is someone named "Bird"). Apparently the no-cursing thing is part of a code that only he himself lives up to. It allows him to separate himself from other folks, in that he isn't beholden to anyone else's set of rules or moral guidelines. McNulty still operates under the police's guidelines, as does D'Angelo with his uncle's guidelines. I definitely think it's interesting to see just how rare these characters who don't want to operate under the understood set of rules are. Sepinwall also mentions D'Angelo's stripper friend Shardene as someone to look out for (as she obviously doesn't like the way things work with her job and position in life). Has he found a kindred spirit perhaps? We'll have to wait and see. 

THE WIRE Odyssey: Season 1, Episode 4: OLD CASES

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck. The fuck? Fuck!

That one basically sums up my thoughts on OLD CASES. The major scene from season 1, episode 4 is really a cursing masterpiece. While watching it I was not only cracking up at simply the absurd amount of times McNulty and Bunk use the word (AND ONLY THAT WORD) to communicate with one another. But as the scene progressed, I realized that it was not only hilarious, but brilliant as well. The fact is, through all the swearing (I love the idea of this being a play on what you'd expect when you hear HBO cop drama) these two fuckers are actually figuring out this case, and quickly to boot.

I thought the way it was able to show just how smart the pair really are (I had an idea at this point, but we've not really been given a true glimpse into their detective abilities up to this point) and just how well they work together. The fact that they can figure out so much about Deidre Kresson's murder and communicate it with one another is absolutely amazing.

Of course, this scene was set up brilliantly earlier on in the episode, when D'Angelo explains that he was in fact the "D" that Deidre was reported to have spoken to/been seen with prior to her murder (a scene which continues to further the tension between the varying points of view of D'Angelo and Bodie). Not only did this prior scene supply us with a very visual (I'm thinking the VERTIGO shot) and intense stand alone scene, it also provided us with all the information we needed to stay right along with McNulty and Bunk's investigation without needing any verbal explanation, other than the cavalcade of fuck variations that was unleashed. It was a truly magnificent thing to behold and really had be encapsulated the whole time. Not only had I never seen an investigation play out that fully in a cop drama, before. I had never seen it done with such style, precision, wit and hilarity. But what I think the main point is, as I mentioned, is to show just how good of a cop McNulty really is.

This becomes important because throughout the rest of the episode, we are shown how even though McNulty is this very intelligent police officer, he is constantly letting his addictions, both to himself (as Sgt. Landsman puts it) and the drink, completely get in the way of people noticing just how remarkable he is at his job. He can spout off the address of No-Heart Anthony with no prior notice and he and Bunk have some magical detective powers when they work together, but his affair with Rhonda Pearlman has ended his marriage and prevented him from seeing his kids as much as he wants (smooth ass lie on his part about the beds and pillows and even smoother move on her part to ask what color to call out his lie). He has a constant desire to be the smartest man in the room, and although he isn't always, he is self-aware enough to notice it. it seems like he's really regretting his close ties to Judge Phelan as the good Judge continues to dig McNulty into a whole with Burrell and the whole Barksdale detail. Not only that, but he is also shown up in the detail itself by Lester Freamon.

I personally loved the whole story about how Lester ended up on the Pawn Unit (for 13 years AND four months) and it's really nice portrayal of Freamon as an older, maybe smarter McNulty and the former's warning to the latter about not letting the higher ups privy to where you don't want to be assigned is a fantastic call back to McNulty saying he'd never want to ride a boat in the Marine Unit in THE TARGET (something I almost completely forgot about).

On the subject of characters who continue to surprise, we again get maybe the most interesting quote (and the opening one, something I am beginning to really like a lot) from Bubbles who says to McNulty after being dropped back off at the projects after witnessing the clean, LEAVE IT TO BEAVER neighbor of Elena, "Fine line 'tween Heave and Here. I'm not exactly sure how to process this information yet. But from what I've seen so far, it seems like there are multiple levels on how it works. 

The main way seems to be that Heaven refers to people and places that are outside of the central world of the cops and dealers. This is the clean and pristine world of Elena and even the world of Deidre Kresson (until her untimely capping). On top of this is the added layer of Heaven and Here in the police force and drug crew. With the police, the Heaven is the higher up units like Homicide while Here refers to places like the Pawn Unit. On this note, Lester shows just how hard it is to get to Heave once you end up in Here. It took Lester 13 years (AND four months) to get to a Heaven (in his eyes) of the detail and the only way he got there was to do his job and keep quiet until everyone forgot why he was moved to Here in the first place. 

This brings up an interesting idea of a further Here vs. Heaven layer that occurs for each individual character. one particular instance happens with Bodie in this episode. We learn from his grandmother about just how hard a life he has had, being dragged around the projects by his mother for her fixes until her death when he was only four years old. It's an interesting scene and the parallel between the story and the baby that Omar plays with briefly before hooking it's mother up with (free) dope that stole from D'Angelo's crew and it leads me to believe just how little Carver and Herc really know about Avon's crew (Bodie in particular). Even if Bodie hadn't escaped for the boy's center (in a very convenient yet clever way), his own personal Here, he would have either remained completely silent or laughed in their faces until he made his way back to his own personal Heaven in the Pit. 

This idea is also really just another example of how much the 5-0 are underestimating Avon's crew. Not only do they use pagers (complete with very intelligent and believable explanation as to why, answering any questions I and the cops had about their seeming obsolescence) with coded numbers, they have members that are willing to take the mandatory five years for fear of Avon's wrath. No one seems to know how to get to Avon or even how to make a real dent. Which leaves me wondering: If Rawls only gave McNulty two weeks to close the case, and it's going to take an act of God to even make headway... Where does that leave McNulty? 

To quote Bunk, "Fuck me." 

On a final note, I think the treatment of the two major gay characters in this episode is very interesting. Firstly, in the episode where it is revealed that Omar is an open and really defiantly gay man, we also see the first real major development in Kima's relationship. The contrast on how this is handled is what I find most intriguing. While most of the cops that work with Kima seem perfectly fine with her sexuality (opposed to the occasional joke), when Avon hears of Omar's homosexuality he is appalled, immediately offering double the bounty on Omar's head. Even Omar's own man makes an excuse to quickly get away when Omar and his young lover Brandon begin to get affectionate. The show's portrayal of these two multifaceted characters who are not defined by their sexuality is just another reason I really enjoy it and what sets it apart from countless other shows I've seen in the past. 

THE WIRE Odyssey: Season 1, Episode 3: THE BUYS

Throughout the first two episodes of the series, I could tell that there was a lot of shit going down, but I really didn't see how this constantly heralded show was anything special compared to the plethora of other cop dramas out there. That is until I the chess scene in episode 3, THE BUYS. 

For me, this is when I started to realize that there was something different about this series. On one level, D'Angelo's explanation of the game of chess fits so perfectly with the greater, overarching game that is the drug trade. And from this, we can see that not only does Barksdale understand the fundamentals of chess, he also has a deep understanding of how this whole drug business works. As I talked about in the first episode, things don't change. To quote the man himself and the beginning quote of the episode, "The king stay the king." While Bodie is in the mindset that he can change things, rise up, make it to the other side and win, D'Angelo sees the truth. Pawns stays pawns, soldiers for the King and Queen. And pawns? Pawns get capped quick. Unless they some smart fuckin' pawns, that is. 

And that's what it appears what's going on in the show. Everyone has their parts to play. At this point I don't have any fucking clue what the moves THE WIRE is making mean. At the moment I can't see the strategy. But I have a feeling that they're all going to make sense. No pawn, rook, or bishop is going to be wasted and each piece affecting the others in ways yet to be seen or understood by me.

That being said, one thing is for damn sure: The drug trade isn't checkers, a lighter game that can be played with relative ease. It's chess. It takes thinking, it takes sacrifices. You have to make moves that don't truly show their significance until much, much later. This, along with Bodie's statement at the end leaves me to wonder about the show itself. From what I've heard about it, it appears to me that D'Angelo's chess explanation may also be a metaphor for the show itself. With moves being made in this episode whose significance may not show itself for seasons to come. But if this scene in particular is any clue (and I believe it is), THE WIRE isn't checkers like so many cop shows before it. THE WIRE is chess. And I for one am ready to play. 

On that note, we get a much clearer picture on Stringer, Avon's second in command. For one, Stringer has a deep (even deeper than D'Angelo) grasp on how the game is played, explaining to a shocked D how the whole "new package" scam works (call the same stuff new, make it less potent so the drug heads, who'll do anything for a fix, pay more for less) in an explanation that is as chilling as it is realistic. "We do worse and we get paid more. The government do better, and it don't mean no nevermind. This shit here, D, it's forever." It's going to be really interesting to see how Stringer really comes into play and how the queen gets shit done when she's sent out.

With that point out of the way, I also think it's interesting how the characters of the show have paralleling dialogues. For starters, D'Angelo echoes McNulty's sentiments from episode two about why the drug trade has to be so violent. "You think the 5-0 cares about people gettin' high in the projects? They come about the bodies, man. The bodies." And while McNulty did put the exact notion into D'Angelo's head, it's clear that Barksdale has been questioning things ever since he off from his murder charge. Besides Barksdale and McNulty, we see more parallel between Bodie and Burrell. Though at completely different ends of the political and economic spectrum, as well as the food chain in their respective professions, they both are equally clueless as to what the hell is going on. As I said before, Bodie seems blissfully ignorant to the fact that he's a pawn and will likely always be a pawn, not moving to the end of the board, not rising to power and certainly not winning. Burrell on the other hand is so removed from the streets with his cushy office job, that he thinks that Daniels's detail can take down Barksdale with a few speedy arrests. He has no idea that the detail can't even find a picture of him. He has no idea just how far Avon Barksdale is removed from all of this (So much so that we don't even see Avon's ass at all in this episode).

Speaking of Daniels's detail, it was really cool seeing some of the other cops being involved, though some more than others. While Mahoney and Polk prove to be about as useful as a used condom (that image seemed appropriate), the "housecat" miniature furniture maker Lester Freamon turns out to be more of an asset than anyone, including myself thought he would be, using his connections to secure the much needed photo of Avon that Polk and Mahoney failed so miserably at attaining. 

On the subject of surprises, Bubbs also continues to surprise me as a character. What I originally took as a simple drug fiend, has turned out to be one of the most observant, charismatic characters in these first three episodes. I find everything he does and the way he does it to be fascinating. And his whole druggie-fashion analysis of Syndor was incredibly entertaining and darkly hilarious (apparently sneakers accented with broken heroin needles are totally in). I also found it surprising that Kima acted the way she did after Bodie cold cocks Mahoney during the raid at the end of the episode. Until that point, Kima had really been the best cop I'd seen. Even better than the often sleazy, drunk, and narcissistic McNulty. So to see her getting her money's worth out of Bodie's ass for "hitting a cop" was really shocking and definitely, as the show has already done a lot in the first three episodes, subverted what I have come to expect from a normal cop show with consummate "good cops," although seeing Polk light Mahoney up a cigarette while his partner lay prone on the ground was another really funny moment in an episode full of them. 

Though to stick on the whole good cop/bad cop thing, there was the whole relationship with Daniels and McNulty. First off, we see that Daniels believe the raid is a good idea about as much as McNulty (we see this when we finally get a look at the "necessary evil" Valchek), but he goes through with it because he's a company man (or, at least, protecting his guys). However, McNulty will have nothing to do with and even though he is given many chances to be a conscientious objector without making a big to-do about it, he chooses to show his protest in the most public ways possible, continuing to show that McNulty is a pretty big egomaniac (or so it would appear). Not only this, but it actually made me fall on Daniels side about all this. That was until McNulty's DEA friend's revelation about the fact that Daniels might be a dirty cop. Though I kind of wrote off that he lived in a nice ass Victorian looking  house, I can completely believe that Daniels is taking in a lot more money than he should be. Now, whether that means he's a dirty cop or not remains to be seen. I'll reserve judgment on that one for now, though I consider myself back on Team Narcissist for the time being. 

And on that note, one final thought (other than I really like the music in this show and will be interested in hearing more of McNulty's favorites) about the McNulty and state attorney Rhonda Pearlman. Though the scene is one that's played out countless times, the constant back and forth between them, from her not really wanting him to come in (clearly not the first time) to him actually wanting to ask a question about beepers which makes he angrier than if he'd just asked for sex, to him actually asking for sex, to her telling him to leave, to them finally having sex, really makes for a much funnier and effective scene than if it would have played out like the usual version would. 

Just to wrap things up, I think I'm definitely beginning to see how things are setting out and how the show is going to operate. Unlike most of shows of it's ilk, I'm not playing checkers. I'm in it for the long haul and I'm excited to make it to the other side. If the rest of the show delivers on what this episode sets up, I think I'm going to win. But one final note about this chess game: If Avon's the king, Stringer the Queen, Wee-bey/Stinkum/Little Man the rooks and bishops, and the others the pawns... Then who is Omar? Check. 

THE WIRE Odyssey: Season 1, Episode 2: THE DETAIL

As the title would suggest, the second episode on my journey through THE WIRE was mostly about the formation of a task force tasked (no pun intended) with putting a charge on the kingpin of the drug crew that is front and center in the story, Avon Barksdale. That being said, just as the first episode was centered around who I assume is the lead of the series, James McNulty, this episode focuses more on the head of the detail, Lt. Daniels.

But these are not Baltimore's finest that he's been giving. No, these are a band of not-so-merry misfits if I've ever seen one. Besides McNulty and Kima, who were shown in the first episode to be smart and dedicated cops and the yet to be really seen Syndor (hope that's right) who Daniels suckered out of the commander of the auto theft squad, the rest of them seem to be too old, too drunk, too stupid, or a combination of the three.

The worst of the bunch appears to the the terrible trio of Herc, Carver, and the newly introduced "Prez" who worries me the most. From the first real glimpses of him in the episode where he discharges his gun when trying to show how light his pull trigger is. Not only did I take this as him having little self-awareness, it also seems he feels so safe with his current position that he feels the rules don't apply to him (which we find out later is true). It all seems foreshadowing to the eventual incident where he ends up blinding a 14 year old for "pissing him off."

There are three things I found most interesting about the episode. The first of these happens with the conversation between D'Angelo and his two underlings Wallace and Poot about the visionary behind Chicken McNuggets. As Wallace and Poot opine that the person who created them must be one rich motha', D'Angelo explains to the two how big companies (and by extrapolation the police and the drug crews) work, that is the underling's job is only to come up with ideas to make the companies richer. That's their job. They don't make money off it. They're grunts that the larger organizations piggyback off of and grow fat on as a result. D'Angelo continues to be one of the most fascinating characters in the first two episodes and it will be interesting to see where his relationships with the cops and his uncle's organization will go in the future.

Speaking of which, just a brief note on Avon. The scene where he seemingly organized a dinner for his extended family or community or something along those lines was an interesting one. It kind of reminds me of Gus Fring from BREAKING BAD, but I can't tell if he is doing it to keep up appearances and to gain the community's respect, or if he generally cares for his people. I'm going to assume by seeing who he is thus far that he is doing it only for his benefit, but he seems to have a real sense of family. Definitely more than you think to Avon Barksdale.

The second thing I wanted to briefly mention, mainly to keep in mind, is an idea that McNulty brings up. The idea he presents to D'Angelo while in the midst of an interrogation is basically, why can't you guys sell your drugs without killing people? Every other major trade good changes hands without bodies dropping. I feel like this, along with the idea of people doing what you gotta do because it's just what you do, will play a major role in the rest of the season and probably the series as a whole. It's an interesting question, one I've posed to myself many times in the past. What would the world be like if the drug trade had zero violence? Cops arguably already spend too much money on cleaning up minor dealers that don't really do major harm anyway. This money could surely be spent in a ton of other more important areas. Would the world be a better place with continued drug trade but less violence? Will they tackle this idea during the series? Even if they do, I have a feeling that the America of THE WIRE is far too broken and set in its ways to change.

The final thing is a two-fer. For one, I am beginning to think that maybe Daniels isn't as much of a company man as I (and McNulty) first believed. This episode certainly shows him doing things to protect his men (helping Prez come up with an excuse for hitting the 14 year old that makes sense). But it's not exactly like he had a choice, there. With Prez's connection to such a high official as well as the threat of a lawsuit/losing half of his detail (though granted it's part of the lesser half), he was really between a rock and a hard place. That being said, the fact that he seemed to take no joy in doing this (evidenced by his reaction at the end of the episode) as well as the fact that he was the only one to want to check into the possibility of the Gant murder being involved with the D'Angelo case leads me to believe that he might be more open minded than we think. Certainly more than McNulty thinks (who seems to be pretty narcissistic, a drunk, and God knows what else). Apart from that, I wanted to say I loved the way the show introduced us to three members of Avon's muscle (Wee-bey, Stinkum and Little Man) through the red hat technique and Bubble's explanation in the police station. Not only did it feel like an organic part of the narrative, it also showed a different side to Bubbles (one of great charisma and compassion for his friend) other than the drug addled version we've seen so far.

All in all, another interesting episode of a truly mysterious show. I can't help but think it's going to be harder and harder to this these one at a time, simply because I want to know more constantly. We'll see how long I last before tackling more than one episode for post. Until next time, though, here's to whoever created Chicken McNuggets. Be sure to have that new, tastier fry recipe on my plate by Friday.

THE WIRE Odyssey: Season 1, Episode 1: THE TARGET

One of my biggest regrets as a lover of film and television is that I have never seen a single episode of what is widely considered the greatest television genre of all time, THE WIRE. About a week ago I decided to change this. While taking my nearly weekly trip to Best Buy to scour for deals that match (or, on the rare occasion beat) the prices on Amazon, I came across the complete series of THE WIRE on sale for around 100 dollars. Seeing as the newer version (2011) has an MSRP price of about 200 dollars, this roughly 50% deal when taken with the added instant gratification was impossible to pass up. So hear I am, sharing my episode by episode thoughts with you, as I slowly discover the wonders of THE WIRE.

Since I heard about the show many years ago I have been avoiding basically any kind of major details about it as a way to prevent unnecessary spoilers. That being said, I knew little about what to expect when I popped in the first disk of the show. The first thing that struck me was the overall grittiness/realism to the show. These was little glitz and glamour to what I was watching yet there was a definite magnetism. That being said, there's not a ton I can actually say about that show. Not because it was poorly done or confusing, however. There is just simply so much to take in. It is clear even one episode in that this is not your average, run-of-the-mill television series. The narrative already seems to flow much deeper than a lot of shows that have been on TV for years.

From what I can gather, of all the character introduced, the two main focuses thus far (that is the main person on both sides of the law) appear to be McNulty, the homicide detective and D'Angelo Barksdale, who we see getting off from a murder charge due to his connections with a local drug crew. That being said there are tons of other characters to keep track of, who I am still trying to keep straight and remember their names. Perhaps this confusion as to who is working with who and where this person and that person's loyalties lie is the point. Nothing seems to be black and white in the America of THE WIRE. It is a world in the wake of the attacks of September 11th (a jarring reminder a decade removed from the tragedy) and it seems that something has been irreparably damaged. And that seems to be the theme that at least this first episode is trying to get at. The theme of there being an order to things, a way of going about criminal organizations and the police force that, when questioned, seem like they will rear up against those who are questioning. And the two that seem to be questioning the most? That's right, McNulty and D'Angelo. 

It is clear that when McNulty goes to the courtroom to watch D'Angelo's case and subsequently talks to the judge about all the related homicides, he has stirred something up that no one wanted stirred. To use a line from the episode, he gave a fuck when it wasn't his turn. And I think that's what's going to power the show forward. Just as McNulty is beginning to question how the police do business (e.g. Rawls getting incredibly upset when a case from a year ago is brought up, because it has no bearings on the stats for this year), Barksdale is beginning to question how the drug crew he is running with does business (seen most poignantly in the final scene when the man that identifies him in court is murdered simply for testifying against him in court). These two individuals do not fit into the machine. They are two malformed cogs and it's going to be very interesting to see what these cogs do to the machine as a whole.

That being said, just a couple of other things to briefly mention is that I love pretty much every character I've seen so far (and by love I mean either actually love or love the acting). I really enjoy the comic relief of the two cops that work with Kima Greggs (Ellis and Herc) as well as Kima herself. I also love the mysteriousness and shadow that is cast by Stringer Bell and it will be interesting to see how he fits into everything. I also find it interesting that the number two men are shown as doing all the dirty work for their bosses (Bell for Barksdale's uncle and Rawls for Burrell). It'll also be interesting to see how much they play into that.

But that being said, I am off to watch the second episode and maybe 3 and 4, so I can have more to talk about. Will report back soon, but hopefully I won't be heard on....THE WIRE.