Sorry for the delay…
Episode #56: “The Dickensian Aspect”
“If you have a problem with this, I understand completely.” – Freamon
Omar hides and tends to his injured leg overnight and then resumes robbing the Stanfield organization. Stanfield assumes control of the New Day Co-Op, telling the members that Omar was responsible for Stewart’s death. Stanfield promotes Cheese, raises the price of narcotics, and suspends further meetings. The police find sealed courthouse documents in Stewart’s house and realize there is a leak somewhere. Freamon enlists Leander Sydnor to man the wiretap and realizes that Stanfield is communicating with picture messages and McNulty abducts and photographs a homeless man in order to provide probable cause for picture intercepts. Templeton writes a follow-up story about a homeless Iraq veteran and draws the praise of his superiors, for once including Haynes. Bunk remains frustrated with McNulty’s scheme and begins to make progress working his old cases the traditional way. Carcetti delivers a rousing speech about the serial killer and decides to spin homelessness into a core campaign issue.
Episode #57: “Took”
“They don’t teach it in law school.” – Pearlman
Freamon and McNulty stage a call from the killer to Templeton and send him the photographs to get the picture intercept equipment they need. Carcetti authorizes resources for the investigation and McNulty finally has the funds he hoped for. Bunk interviews Michael about the vacant murders but learns nothing. Omar attacks more of Stanfield’s people and damages his reputation on the street at every opportunity. After a spectacular courtroom performance Davis is acquitted of the corruption charges. Kima Greggs reconnects with her ex-girlfriend’s son. Haynes investigates his suspicions about Templeton and learns that Templeton has lied about his reporting.
Deceased:
Savino
Honestly, the best part of Season 5 has been its small conclusive moments with the ghosts of seasons past. Today’s cameo appearances by Nick Sobotka and Randy were nice touches. I especially appreciated seeing how Randy’s been forced to adapt, to harden and become more aggressive in order to protect himself. Even from his mere two or three lines, I got the sense he’s been irreparably damaged by Season 4’s police ineptitude. We no longer have the smiling entrepreneur shopping candy between classes, rather simply another casualty of “the system.” Such cameos/fan shout-outs have been trickling in nearly every episode now – Vondas, the Greek, Johnny Fifty, Avon, Sergei – and as the series winds down it seems like one by one our favorite characters have come out to take a final bow.
I think my joy at seeing such characters again is largely due to the sensation of receiving a fandom shoutout. It’s like Simon and Burns are recognizing that I’ve been with them for 50+ hours and they’re saying “this one’s for you.” But I think I also enjoy seeing these old characters so much because, as we talked about in class last Thursday, they’re simply better (more multi-dimensional, nuanced, etc.) characters than many of the new ones we’re stuck with for season 5. So for the last few episodes I hope Simon and Burns feed me a few more farewell cameos to sustain me while I suffer through the rest of McNulty’s screentime,
Also, Dukie can dance!
I also loved these cameos by old characters- not to mention the brief appearance of law and order: svu/homicide veteran Munch at the cop bar sitting next to his homicide character’s inspiration Jay Landsman. Seeing Randy in the group home just about broke my heart, I guess he isn’t going to get to own the store he dreamed about. I also found the shows look at homelessness in these two episodes very effective/touching. From the Marine suffering from PTSD, to the poor “captured” man on antipsychotics, to Carcetti’s rant the show focused on what being homeless is and why it is ignored.
After the debate about the depiction of positive social services in last weeks readings a few examples popped out at me. The woman at the homeless shelter seemed very kind and competent and I loved the vibrancy of the kitchen where Bubs is serving. I was glad to check in with Bubbles and hope that he is forgiving himself and facing his demons by creating a narrative of his experience.
on what last note- how badass is omar- a broken leg, a broom crutch and he is still going.
I dont know, I had a a lot of problems with these last two episodes…and not just in the moral sense of what McNulty sunk to. I thought the PTSD soldier was really contrived and out of place, even poorly acted. Although in the show’s credit i guess it made me dislike Scott even more. Maybe it’s because we’re not 5 seasons in, but I’m even starting to get sick of the slow camera pushes that accompany almost every scene of one-on-one dialogue. The scene that paralleled the police and press briefings was atypical of the way in which The Wire is usually cut and it felt a bit too much like the climax of a movie or Investigative Police drama. And maybe I’m also just simply frustrated with all the general crookedness that’s going on. It’s just setting people up for a huge break down. And lastly I felt that the ending of the second episode, however adorable and fun, was out of place within the context of the rest of the episode, which was primarily dark and depressing.
On the more positive side, Bunk’s ability to stand up for himself is enjoyable to watch. McNulty is so far off the deep end that Bunk’s ability to remain stable is necessary, despite all the other detectives going the other way. Randy’s reappearance felt appropriate and his actions spoke to his past in a way that I found convincing and not over the top.
I also enjoy watching Omar run around and play his games with every gangster in town, but I don’t understand how he can find just about every mope in town and know all their business and he can’t find Marlo, Chris or Snoop? They make the city seem so small with all the cameos like Nick’s and Omar has this much trouble finding the drug king? okay.
Agreed, and I was especially touched by Nick’s appearance. When last we saw Nick, he was going into the Witness Protection program. What has happened to him since then? Why is he back on the docks? I loved the moment when Carcetti asked who Nick is, and his fellow power player said “That’s nobody.” It’s a delightful return to the themes of season two – the politicians and the executives ignored the blue collar guys at the docks.
Also, I’m not seeing Omar as a badass right now. I’m seeing him as desperate. He’s clearly a man at the end of his rope right now, struggling just to get around and shooting people in cold blood. Omar’s a killer, but he’s not yet been a cold blooded killer. The code is falling by the wayside, and I have a bad feeling about where he is headed.
Lastly, I’m officially applying for president of the Scott Templeton Fan Club. I know he’s a massive tool, but he’s the only person in the newsroom that’s showing any kind of spark, and I find him an interesting character. He’s underwritten (like everyone at the paper), but I think that the actor is really bringing some real character to him. Sure he’s an asshole and I’d hate him in real life, but he makes for damn good television – far more than I can say for Bland Alma and St. Gus. Templeton for Editor!
I actually have a problem with the cameos we’ve had throughout Season 5. I think Nick’s was the most troublesome. I guess I appreciate the show’s recognition of these pivotal players of the past, but the Nick one seemed so contrived and forced. I mean, the guy is in Witness Protection and he’s creating negative attention for himself at the docks, in front of citizens, workers, police, and politicians. Vondas and The Greek are obviously still around, frequenting the diner like the days of old, and Nick, who essentially snitched on their entire operation is still roaming around his old stomping grounds. I find this pretty unbelievable, when comparing it to WP in reality. A lot of elements of Season 5 have diverged from the show I grew to love and this is just another example that doesn’t sit well with me. It seems as though Simon and Burns are trying too hard to bring closure by employing the cameos.
I’m surprised to see, from the blog and from our discussion in class, that so many were so bothered by the direction this season has taken. I for one have reeeeeally enjoyed the whole McNulty mess, the unexpected focus on homelessness, and even the portrayal of the newsroom. The main storyline of this season has managed to capture me from very early on – unlike that of previous seasons – and i found that the episodes were extremely enjoyable and were great at keeping me on edge. My heart was bumping so hard both yesterday and today!
I noticed that the director of the second episode we saw at the Monday night screening (“Took”) was none other than Dominic West, who plays McNulty. I thought he did a great job! I mean, I didn’t notice a drastic change in the look and structure of the shots, and I thought his directing was very consistent with that of previous episodes. And that’s the greatest compliment I can think of, because the directing in this show is absolutely brilliant, and so many of the guest directors are huge names in the industry… I know that the ending can appear as very cheesy – because it is – but somehow I thought it fit well within the context of the episode, as it provided a stark moment of calmness amidst the surrounding chaos.