Episodes 3 and 4: “The Buys” and “Old Cases”

Let me know if there’s any other info that would be helpful to include in these episode threads beyond the quick summary and new characters…

Episode #3: “The Target”

“The King stay the King.” – D’Angelo

The detectives’ brutal actions lead to a minor riot, bad publicity for the detail, injury to Herc, and Prez being placed on administrative leave. D’Angelo gives young dealers Wallace and Bodie Broadus a lesson about their place in the Barksdale hierarchy. The detail finally starts to see results as Lester Freamon obtains an old picture of Avon Barksdale. Stick-up man Omar Little takes advantage of D’Angelo’s crew’s lapses and steals their stash of narcotics. The pit is later raided by the police and Bodie receives a beating for striking an officer, but nothing turns up due to Omar’s robbery.

Characters Introduced:

Omar Little
Brandon Wright (Omar’s boyfriend)
John Bailey (Omar’s crew)
Major Stan Valchek
Major Bobby Reed

Dangling Threads: (plotlines introduced for long-term issues, not immediate payoff)

Cedric Daniels’s potential past corruption

Episode #4: “Old Cases”

“It’s a thin line ‘tween heaven and here.” – Bubbles
Bodie wakes up from his injuries in a Washington, D.C. juvenile detention center and manages to escape just before Herc and Carver arrive to interrogate him. Avon discusses the loss of the pit’s stash with his enforcers and marks Omar and his crew for death. McNulty and his partner from homicide Bunk Moreland investigate an old murder that may be related to D’Angelo.
New Characters:
Elena McNulty, Jimmy’s ex-wife
Michael McNulty, Jimmy’s younger son

10 thoughts on “Episodes 3 and 4: “The Buys” and “Old Cases”

  1. Chris Anderson

    Obviously, a focal point of the show is the lack of progress through bureaucracy. Omar’s crew is more agile than police serving warrants and getting approval through “Title III’s” and other legalese. Daniels’ task force is hindered by his conflicting allegiances–to the Deputy Chief, the key to advancing his career; and to being good police–and the whole process, minus any political factors, is still a legal one. So it’s nice to see Judge Phelan exerting pressure on the Deputy Chief to let Daniels’ crew do their job right. Political grandstanding seems to be able to serve a noble purpose.

    Omar is another complex character in a stable of them. He’s an alpha male on the streets of Baltimore, and gay. In an occupation that seems intolerant of his sexual orientation–putting it mildly (re: Avon’s speech to Stringer)–he’s pretty open about it. Bubbles, too, has emerged as a complex character. Though we haven’t seen much plot development (yet) related to his character, McNulty’s question to him still makes us think: with all the wisdom Bubbles seems to have, why is his life so hard?

    Possibly less interesting is the drunk cop who contemplates falling down the stairs. Still, it’s interesting to me that he gets that kind of screen time on this show. D’Angelo, McNulty and co. are central characters. And for a show that seems so driven to illustrate its thesis about corruption and bureaucratic failure, those are the characters it makes sense to highlight. So it seems that another theme of the show is about police life in general. I suppose that holds true to David Simon’s vision: presenting a real look into police work, a part of which is police life.

    One last note: The “fuck” scene in “Old Cases” is so perfect, it’s hard to believe the creators of the show didn’t come from screenwriting/fiction backgrounds.

  2. Andrew Ostroff

    After watching “The Buys,” we discussed in some detail the obvious parallel between Baltimore’s drug scene and the chess match. This is, without question, a deliberate decision made by the writers that underscores the roles of strategy, wisdom, and forethought, all of which are necessary in order to succeed in the Barksdale organization. That said, there is another takeaway from this scene that deserves recognition–namely, D’Angelo’s humanizing demeanor. D teaches the boys how to play chess, and I can’t help but think that the respect he receives is a product not only of his position within the organization and familial relationship with Avon, but also of the way he treats the boys that work under him. D is most ruthless when provoked by his superiors, but his day to day actions suggest a different sort of character. Remember, he even wonders whether or not this operation can take place without violence.

    In the episodes to come, I am curious to see how D’Angelo grows. As a middleman, he is in a compromising position. Will he desire to move up in the organization? If so, will that involve sacrificing some of his morals in order to impress those above him in the Barksdale hierarchy?

  3. Tom Ladeau

    The introduction of Omar in episode three provides an interesting break from the typical rival drug dealer / gang narrative. If done differently, his homosexuality might have come off as a gimmick used to create a character that the opposite of what you expect in a drug dealer character. The writers of a show like this might be able to get away with not making his character much deeper than a stereotypical drug dealer who happens to be homosexual and therefore unexpected. But Omar’s character is much deeper than that which is what makes him (to me) such an interesting character. he is up front with his sexuality but it is not overdone or ridiculous. It also does not take away from his ability to be tough or violent, as Stringer Bell and Avon Barksdale seem to assume it would. Michael K. Williams does a great job which adds to the strength of the character.

  4. Andrew Banadda

    So far we have seen Bubbs to be very helpful to the detail in identifying members and important patterns of the Barksdale organization. These episodes depict the contrasts between the crime world vs. police world. Bubbs when driving with McNulty notes that there is a “thin line” between heaven and here after he had witnessed Jimmy’s son soccer game. This show is mostly about how people fall on the other side of that line. It may be that certain cops are placed in crappy details with a bunch of humps or that they may be one of the casualties of the Barksdale organization. We see that “heaven” for D’Angelo and his crew is running the pit and selling drugs. The barrier is also what separates ordinary citizens Elena from hustlers and drug addicts. In the police world we units like the Homicide unit(heaven) and the pawn shop unit which is absolutely meaningless. We learn that Lester was tossed over that line for being prideful and not doing what would be common sense to ensure that he would not receive any punishment for the case he broke. McNulty could be on his way over the line he if continues with his antics that cause more trouble for his detail and department.

  5. Ben Meader

    I think what you’re talking about in regards to the “middle-man” is interesting in terms of the chess game metphor. D talks about how the pawns seem to get thrown about left and right and sacrificed in terms of the larger objectives, but often the middle-men do too (bishops, knights, and rooks). Depending on how the pieces are positioned, a pawn can be (at a particular moment) the most important piece on the board. Wallace comes to mind as a pawn whose unique position made him extremely valuable in Brandon’s murder. What if D hadn’t transmitted the message to his superiors? The knight can be sacrificed just as easily as the pawn. Even though Avon is his uncle, D flinches at his joking punches and seems really nervous around him. I think he recognizes how frail the positions of hierarchy are. I don’t know if an extended chess metaphor was actually intended by the filmmakers, but it provides an interesting context for discussion.

    Avon being the kingpin who “doesn’t have to do shit” lines up very well with the king of a chessboard. The difference between chess and drug-dealing (I’d never thought I’d say that) is that the king can be replaced. One slip, one break of trust and the kingpin can be replaced by another in a position of power.

  6. Benjamin Meader

    I wasn’t logged in the first time I said this, so:

    I think what you’re talking about in regards to the “middle-man” is interesting in terms of the chess game metphor. D talks about how the pawns seem to get thrown about left and right and sacrificed in terms of the larger objectives, but often the middle-men do too (bishops, knights, and rooks). Depending on how the pieces are positioned, a pawn can be (at a particular moment) the most important piece on the board. Wallace comes to mind as a pawn whose unique position made him extremely valuable in Brandon’s murder. What if D hadn’t transmitted the message to his superiors? The knight can be sacrificed just as easily as the pawn. Even though Avon is his uncle, D flinches at his joking punches and seems really nervous around him. I think he recognizes how frail the positions of hierarchy are. I don’t know if an extended chess metaphor was actually intended by the filmmakers, but it provides an interesting context for discussion.

    Avon being the kingpin who “doesn’t have to do shit” lines up very well with the king of a chessboard. The difference between chess and drug-dealing (I’d never thought I’d say that) is that the king can be replaced. One slip, one break of trust and the kingpin can be replaced by another in a position of power.

  7. Ethi

    In the scene with Preston (Bodie), D’Angelo and Wallace, we discussed the function of the explicit metaphor within the frame of the story, and within the craft of motion picture story telling within the series. As we discussed, the scene is of particular relevance because of its thematic qualities throughout the series. In an interview with Bill Moyers at the end of the series, Moyers highlighted this particular scene, to which creator David Simon responded:
    “he’s describing a capitalist pyramid. Where nobody moves. Where there is no improvement in anyone’s station. And we were basically setting out a preamble for what the next five seasons would show, with regard to the city.” (full transcript and video in above link…SPOILER ALERT!)
    The relationship that we see with bodie and Wallace are particularly interesting. As I am writing this post late…=P…we can see a little how their roles as pawns develop, and how even d’angelo’s role as a pawn has manifested over the course of his life. Bodie, in his , and Wallace, in his corroboration with Omars’s boys murder. The difference between Bodie and Walace and D’angelo is his relation with Avon, whom without, we can assume his power, or illusion of power, would not exist. Bodie’s response to D’Angelo in regards to a pawn being able to make it to the end of the board and become king seems indicative to his character. Bodie is ambitious yet foolish. His existence within the “game” is not entirely his fault as we learn. His mother’s abuse with drugs and alcohol, his fathers disappearance, his grandmothers inability to serve both roles, all set him up within this trap of sorts. In episode two, we see a conversation between Marla Daniels and Lieutenant Daniels in which Marla is suggesting that the “game” that he is playing is rigged. The scene illustrates another explicit metaphor that seems fairly thematic and tragically consistent. With Bodie, Wallace, and most of the participants/victims of the drug world, there is a sense that the game that they are playing is rigged, and that the “game” is both systemic and cyclical, and a part of a greater American system.
    The function of the metaphor within the narrative, while deliberate, is not patronizing. While there is a certain level of explanation to this scene, it is connected to circumstance and character. Bodie and Wallace are both youth, trying to learn the rules of the “game,” and not only do they not know the rules, they are playing the wrong game. And its interesting the way the tutorial works so applicably to their lives and to the circumstances around them, by design and construction. Stringer as the queen, with all the moves and designs gives him power, strength and agency in a way that can only be really rivaled by Omar, who seems to be able to act as ever piece on the board.
    The metaphor can also easily apply to the world of the police. Whose demands on rank and order seem even more strictly adhered to the codes of a chess game. McNulty, who almost seem like his own renegade, an omar of the police world, who marches to his own beat, parallels many of the same values of self righteousness and justice. While there is an obvious difference in their goals and methods, their motives seem similarly fueled. The chess metaphor within the world of the police and city politics seemingly falls apart with the access to mobility, however, even that appears rigged and unwinnable.

  8. Michael Suen

    In “The Buys”, D seems to aspire to some degree of moral righteousness–tightly linked to his desire to run a tighter, more humane operation which neither harms others nor attracts police–that is then juxtaposed to the sprawling bureaucracy and moral ineptitude of the police force. In retrospect though, D’Angelo’s conviction in that “the game doesn’t need to be played” in its cruel way doesn’t prevail, as it fails to fall in line with the success of their drug trade.

    I think the role of violence–the restraint of it and overt expressions of it–is an interesting one to consider in the context of the streets. Though limiting the pettier, showier forms of aggression initially keeps away police, brutal violence inevitably appears to be the only way in which Avon’s crew can preserve their business. Yet even this leads to a heavy setback following the investigation’s success and Avon’s arrest. I think its reason for failure is related to the inherent paradox in their operation strategy: on one hand, they attempt humility (Avon keeping a low profile, D scolding Bodie and Poo for their excessive harassment of junkies) and on the other, they undoubtedly have a certain image, a certain ostentation they have to sustain in order to develop respect on the streets. This problem certainly manifests itself once Omar becomes involved in the equation and Avon must reveal his force. Such a decision dooms him, as we see later on.

  9. Michael Suen

    An unrelated point. I thought it was a wonderful, little touch how they constructed the spaces in which the respective sides of police and criminals reside. Where as Daniels’ team is relegated to a dank, abandoned basement underground, Avon’s office is upstairs – elevated and office-like. Just another way in which Simon upsets the generic delineations between law and crime; the Baltimore police are understaffed and without resources, whereas the drug dealers essentially run a full-fledged business, complete with operational procedures and facilities.

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