Episodes 5 and 6: “The Pager” and “The Wire”

And finally, the name of the series is justified…

Episode #5: “The Pager”

“…a little slow, a little late.” – Avon Barksdale
Stringer warns D’Angelo that there may be a snitch in his camp. The detail gets its affidavit approved for a cloned pager but are puzzled at the results. Prez begins to redeem himself in the eyes of his colleagues by taking a fresh approach to the pager information. Wallace spots Brandon, one of Omar’s crew, in an arcade and passes the information on to the Barksdale enforcers.

New Characters:

Bird, a Barksdale enforcer

Deaths:

John Bailey (Omar’s crew)
Episode #6: “The Wire”

“…and all the pieces matter.” – Freamon
Brandon’s bloodied body is discovered in the pit. Wallace gets even more unsettled about the situation after Avon rewards him for his part in Brandon’s murder. The detail gets a wiretap running. Daniels clashes with homicide Major William Rawls over their approach to the evidence they have gathered thus far.

New Characters:

Sean McNulty (Jimmy’s oldest son)
Detective Ed Norris
Detective Vernon Holley

Deaths:

Brandon Wright

8 thoughts on “Episodes 5 and 6: “The Pager” and “The Wire”

  1. Andrew Ostroff

    Wallace intrigues me, and it isn’t until episode six, “The Wire,” that we enjoy a substantial glimpse into his personal character. Previous episodes allude to Wallace’s discomfort when it comes to participating in the Barksdale organization. He doesn’t comprehend the violence associated with selling drugs, but he is, in essence, stuck in the vicious cycle of the industry. I was particularly struck by the opening of episode six, in which the audience sees Wallace as the head of a household. He is the first to wake up, and is responsible for the wellbeing of many other children. I assume these are his siblings; however, if this is, in fact, the case, what happened to his parents? This scene sheds light on the economic hardships that strike those below the poverty line; a juice box and a bag of chips is not a nutritious lunch by any means. If anything, this scene strikes a chord with viewers of The Wire, who must be saddened by this humbling reality.

    This interaction between Wallace and his siblings (?) is a striking contrast to the episode’s opening image of Brandon Wright, brutally murdered atop a car. Ironically, Wallace’s actions prompted this result because he spotted Brandon inside the arcade. Wallace is visibly distraught once he realizes the consequences of his actions, and we share with him the feelings of sadness and anger, especially after seeing the heavy burden he deals with on a daily basis – namely, being responsible for so many other children. Wallace admits to D’Angelo that the actions of the Barksdale clan really trouble him. “It fucks me up,” he says to D, but whether or not he will be able to “let that shit go” is yet to be confirmed.

  2. Jake Moritz

    In response to Andrew:
    The ‘domestic’ scene starring Wallace is particularly interesting given the way it was filmed. The opening shot focuses on Brandon’s bruised and bloody body lying on the car hood. The camera slowly pans from the body, following an orange extension cable up over barbed wire, up a brick facade to a broken window on to Wallace who wakes up startled to the sound of rap music on his radio.
    As you point out, “[Wallace] is stuck in the vicious cycle of the industry…” If you scale up from this idea with the opening scene in mind, you will see how death, violence, and the drug industry is juxtaposed with domestic scenes like Wallace caring for his siblings, as well as glimpses of families on stoops and kids running in the allies. This opening in particular captures the interconnectedness (using the extension cable (WIRE!!!) as the metaphor) of poverty, missing parents, drug and drug-related violence, as well as the overall need to survive and get through the day.

  3. Jake Moritz

    Episodes 5 and 6 emphasized the intersection of what we consider might call “judicial justice” and “street justice”. The shots of Bodie escaping the juvenile court system and Rawls trying to push through premature arrests to up his stats call into question the validity of the judicial system. (Bodie is explicit in calling the system that let him free “a joke”.) Simultaneously, we see the “eye for an eye” proceedings between the Barksdales and Omar, which recalls the murder of Gant as two examples of ‘street justice.” A wonderful intersection between both forms of justice comes in Episode 6: McNulty and Keema vocalize their inability to prevent Omar from starting a bloodbath over Brandon’s death, but ask for his help is pursuing official justice as well. Omar, kingpin of street justice and violence, recognizes that he also stands to gain by pursing the Barksdales in court. This weaving and wending of different forms of justice is wonderful, and one of many twists to be studied in future episodes.

  4. Addison DiSesa

    I think that Jake brings up a really good point regarding “justice.” In a strange way, I feel that the first six episodes have made us think a lot about which characters we believe are acting justly in comparison with those who we perceive are acting unjustly. Without getting bogged down in too many ill-defined terms, I would like to consider justice within the context of altruism. For me, the characters who act altruistically–or whose tribulations result in an outcome that is good for society–are the ones who provide justice in Baltimore’s war on drugs. McNulty, Kima, and Freamon are the first characters who come to mind within my interpretation of justice. The three of them, to different degrees and extents, have challenged the authority figures around them to the point of admonishment in order to advance a case. McNulty often pushes the envelope of acceptable police codes to advance the Barksdale case, often at the peril of his own unit within the BPD, Homicide. Kima has placed her education on hold in order to work overtime on the Barksdale case. Freamon, 13 years (and four months) prior to the beginning of the Barksdale case, jeoparidzed his career in order to do “police work.” In sum, these three characters seem to be the most altruistic through the first six episodes of “The Wire.”

  5. Jason Mittell Post author

    I don’t think the kids Wallace tends to are necessarily his siblings; rather it seems to be a group of kids with nobody else. Wallace & Poot are squatting in an apartment in the projects, stealing power with the extension cord, and taking care of “strays.” It’s a brief image of bare survival – with a recognition that the $500 Wallace gets is more money than he knows how to deal with.

  6. Benjamin Meader

    “The Wire” has finally hit us over the head. I think this use of the extension cord linking cause and effect, blood and livelihood, or death and life, has never been so clear. The bloodied body, and then the kids running off to school is a powerful sequence.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z87iVV9iwTE&feature=related

    It reminds me of the image we saw in the very first shot of the first episode. A trail of blood is flickering (almost “electrically”) in the blue police lights:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYgKmOJT_gM

    These are both wires. I think it might be premature to assume that the entire message of the metaphor of a “wire” could be the link between cause and effect, or the ends and the means; but perhaps it is part of it.

  7. Benjamin Meader

    In response to Addison:

    Characters acting “justly” and “unjustly” … I would not completely disagree, but might add to the definition of these terms.

    While most of the first six episodes seem centered around what I would say is the deconstruction of justice—meaning the decomposition of what is wrong and right into several layers—would it no be best to discuss each character in his/her own context? Avon and Rawls seem like good examples of two men with complex senses of “what is just.”

    Avon acts ruthlessly to uphold his reputation. In anyone’s good conscience, we would say this is deplorable and unjust. He maims and mutilates Brandon for information and to send a message. It would have been more ethical to sit Brandon down and talk about how it really upset him (Avon) that they would steal from him, and maybe he could work something out with Omar. But realistically, in the context of drug-dealing, perhaps the “just” thing to do WAS to murder him. Of course this doesn’t mean that Omar wasn’t justified in stealing from such a sloppy operation. Without Avon reacting that way, wouldn’t his subordinates question his strength? Is it worth it, in Avon’s case, to do something horrible if not to hold up the structure that is in place. Avon does, after all, reward hard work and trust. This is something that Rawls DOESN’T do.

    Rawls is also concerned about the status quo and preserving it at all costs—even to the point of using any scrap of dirt he can find to undermine the insubordinate McNulty. While most antagonistic characters have been given multiple dimensions (scenes with Avon being paranoid and with his nephew D, with Daniels and his wife at home, and with Prez breaking the code) Rawls remains a fairly one-dimensional bad guy. I hope his character is given a bit more dynamism as we see more of his motivation, besides preserving his position of power.

    Obviously, if we zoom out, the macro-struggles that are going on are more clearly “just” and/or “unjust”. It is good that McNulty is pushing so hard to do quality police work. It is bad that his superiors are mired in bureaucracy, and that they would rather live comfortably (and have power) than justly. It is bad to sell drugs to dope-fiends.

    But, the point I’m getting at is that I think the show does well to deconstruct protagonist and antagonist. Through showing us how each character can be “just” in his/her decision at any one time, as well as “unjust”, we can begin to better understand the complexity of the larger issues. The only character I would say is completely unjust from what we’ve seen is Rawls. More perspective on him might reveal why that is.

  8. Edwin Mitchell

    I found that “D’s vulnerability” was a reoccurring theme in “The Pager” episode.
    -In the pit, Wallace is playing with a toy. D sees this and sort of smiles in admiration of Wallace’s innocence. But Bodie sees what’s going on and flips out- throwing a bottle at Wallace and calling both D and Wallace out, saying “This is why niggas be taking our shit!” Although D know’s Bodie is right, he still get mad at him for reacting the way he did.
    -Then in the restaurant, D asked the waiter if they could have a better table but the waiter tells him that they are reserved for customers with reservations. D accepts this answer and sits down, only for his girlfriend to look at him in disappointment saying, “You shouldda pushed em D.” She felt like D handled the situation like a wuss.
    -Again in the Pit, Stringer comes down to talk with D and straighten some things out. Then he sees Poot on the phone talking to some girl. Stringer tells D, “You, you need to take care of that.” Once again, D isn’t really “on his shit” so to say.
    -Then towards the end, D puts in the call to stringer that Omar’s boy Brandon is at the Greeks. He knows that this call means that Brandon will be “taken care of” and it’s apparent on D’s face that he’s uneasy about it.

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