Keeping it Real

Up Through Episode 55: "React Quotes"
I was sorry to watch this episode solo (I mean I watched it with two people, but one was buying shirts online and the other just started watching a few months ago, so you know what I mean) I agree that it was quite jam-packed, and also that it was pretty freakin awesome. The Clay Davis media campaign and support rally was SO Marion Barry, it really rang true, and Dookie's dilemma is my new favorite narrative metaphor for the entire show. (also maybe a good band name...) How do you get to the rest of the world from here? Sheeeit, I don't know....

The moment that really got me, maybe the best moment ever in the best show ever, was Bubs' face when Waylon told him he was negative. Everyone loves to compare The Wire to Homicide, but for me the deeper connection is to The Corner. The way that show dealt with addiction was real in a way that almost overcame the cruddy production values and lackluster acting. I guess the flaws just made it more real in way - honest in a way that was hard to look at.

Anyway, when Bubs went looking for Waylon in what looked like the same crab joint that featured prominently in the rehab attempts of the main character of The Corner, I knew that shit was about to get REAL. When they had an entire conversation about what Bugs needed to do without saying "AIDS test" I knew that the between-the-lines writing that is one of my favorite parts of The Wire was back in a way that it hasn't been so far this season. The real kicker was that Waylon's reaction to Bubs' inability to deal with the good news was to keep it real and yell at him a little bit. It made me cry it was so real, which is what the whole show is about for me.

So yeah, the exploits of the two bushy-topped prevaricators and Herc's plan to get revenge for the Fuzzy Dunlop debacle (band name #2?) were intriguing for sure, and when Omar jumped out the window I stopped breathing for a minute, and I definitely lost a little sleep wondering if I caught a glimpse of Dookie with a gun during the shoot out, but it's Bubs thats keeping me going right now, and I kind of feel like whatever happens to him will be the real resolution of the show for me. After all, he's the Greek chorus, right? Doesn't that mean he's up there standing in for all of us and doing all that catharsis stuff (isn't there another -arthis too?)In keeping with the Shakespearean theme, he's the Falstaff of this little world - addict, schemer, wise old man. To paraphrase the Bard himself.. "banish Bubs and banish all the world..."

Shame Ain’t Worth As Much As You Think

Up Through: Episode 55 “React Quotes”

To begin - wow wow wow. I may be wrong, but that felt like the most densely packed episode of any show in the history of television. Woe be unto the casual viewer who checks in for the first time on Sunday to see what all the hype is about.

Each of the following plots could have been the central thread of the episode:

-Nerese making moves to become the Prop Joe of the political sphere

-Dukie’s frustration with being out of place and having no outlet (my top prediction for the season - Dukie becomes a blogger!)

-The domestic situation of one James McNulty

-Clay Davis circling the wagons, in style of course (I wager that ep 55 featured the longest “Sheeeeeeet” by at least 3/4ths of a second)

-Ingenious Freamon setting up the old bait and switch because nobody understands how wiretaps work

-Daniels eating crap from the mayor and then rolling it on down the hill

-Herc doing right by Carver

But no, the heart of ep 55 was McNulty and Templeton, squared off in The Sun’s newsroom, each feeding off the other's bullshit and then realizing they're being fed bullshit but can't call it out without showing their cards, destabilizing both of them. Jimmy, there's more than one of your kind out there. There’s a touch of the Cold War in that situation, and no small amount of Infernal Affairs (sorry, The Departed).

I thought of Templeton as a less charming McNulty (they even look alike), but hell if I saw this one coming. What I wouldn’t give to see the live MRI of Templeton’s brain at the moment Jimmy says the killer also mentioned the number 12. What an amazing set of calculations he has to be making. Scott’s invented killer was so obviously cobbled from 1990s movies (especially Seven), that there’s no way he can believe the call to McNulty was genuine - it’s too much of a coincidence. When both sides wield their institutional golden fleeces - confidential sources for the journos and ongoing investigations for Bushytop - McNulty and Templeton know the truth will not out for some time, so the paranoia will start to ratchet. To Wong Foo Thanks For Everything Judith Miller!

Hm, let me think, what else did we learn this episode?

Michael is becoming Chris.

Chris’ loyalty to Marlo has a breaking point.

Snoop aims for the head.

Royce is working his way through the facial hair varietals - goatee, clean shaven, mustachioed.

McNulty likes the Ramones and one of his sons has their haircut without knowing it.

Bond will become a bigger character.

For some reason, Chris thinks it’s a better plan to bait and wait for Omar’s assault than to creep up and shoot him as he reconnoiters.

The only time Michael and Dukie get to experience nature is when they train for killing.

Bubs wants physical suffering to cleanse his soul - very medieval if you ask me.

The old imitate-a-racial-stereotype-to-confirm-a-target’s-phone-number-trick isn’t solely licensed to Carver.

When Freamon says “thh-ree” he sounds like the owl from the old Tootsie Pop ads.

The Wire was originally a show about a wiretap investigation to stop crime. It’s now about an unauthorized and extralegal wiretap run with the cover of a fake and useless wiretap ordered by the court to investigate a fake criminal. It’s like the Iran-Contra deal, but the hostages are leprechauns.

I figure that weird signal at the end was some sort of data package, like an image of Zorba, sent by Marlo’s phone. Stanfield’s reaction when Vondas shows him the communication method points to this or something like it. Maybe it was encrypted.

Did we learn anything else?

Oh right, OMAR CAN FLY.

Your thoughts on this episode?

Stupid Moves Thus Far

Up Through: Episode 54

With Prop Joe's end justly taking the air out of the room as far as commentary goes, (Slate discussion here, another good post here) I wanted to note a few mistakes that seem to set up a few more major falls.

Levy

What is he thinking, letting Herc stay in the room as Marlo and Joe pop by? Even if he hadn't vetted Herc's prior police investigations, it's a dumb move to have your freshly exed-cop acting as a pseudo-receptionist for such a specialized clientele. Levy knows that Herc still keeps up with his old friends - this one blows my mind for stupidity.
Prediction: Herc steals files and breaks Levy after Marlo baits him once more.

Marlo

Too much too fast. I think that the po-po detail coming off let Marlo's id and ambition explode outward, heedless of timing and strategy. Marlo's big mistake is combining his takeover of the co-op package with baiting Omar to come a-callin'. Those are two wars that didn't have to coincide. He could have sat on the Butchie tip for a while, or waited until the takeover was done before trying to smoke out Ay-yo. Marlo sees the throne and has no patience for putting anything on the back burner. He can't find peace as the king without eliminating anyone who's ever crossed him. That said, I love this storyline, and the line "I wasn't meant to play the son" should've been Shakespeare's.

Prediction: Omar wreaks substantially more havoc (bye-bye Snoop in ep 55 or 56) on Marlo's crew with information passed along by Marlo's former co-op partners, especially Mr. "Got mo' fierce" himself, Slim Charles.

McNulty

You might view this whole season as one big mistake by 'ol Bushytop, but if we take his dubious mission as gospel, he's going about it in a highly-traceable way. For a man that's about to launch a sadistic serial killer into the minds of the city and its public servants, McNulty is being needlessly careless, acting in ways that one might remember as "hey, wasn't that kinda funny?" once McNulty is on the front page scaring the crap out of Bawlmore. No smoking guns of course, and Bunk, Lester and Lester's old partner are each positioned to bring the axe down were they to decide to do so, so McNulty might not be brought low by such sloppiness. Still, he's in full rapscallion mode, where perhaps a stealthy and tight-lipped approach might serve him better in his new serial-killer-inventing and corpse-defiling hobby.
Prediction: I think McNulty gets put-in by a busted Templeton (who will presumably jump on the serial killer story - the irony of a fabricating reporter writing sensational real news about a fabricated killer is delicious), but prior to getting locked up, he drunkenly sidles up to Marlo late at night and talks trash. Night, Jimmy.

Am I wrong in thinking there were a higher number of ill-advised moves by savvy characters this episode?

Boxed In By One's Insides

I think a fair bit of ink has been spilled on the subject of the possibility of escape and happiness for the characters of The Wire. Will McNulty make peace with the establishment and settle down at a homicide desk? Will Bubs get clean and forgive himself? Will Michael survive?
This post is about the internal bonds that hold many of the characters in place. I've identified five character perspectives that occur in almost all The Wire's worlds. One of the hallmarks of the show is that you can't choose which perspective to have, no matter your surroundings or which perspective would objectively lead to the best outcome. These perspectives tend to be hard-wired rather than chosen and the interaction among these viewpoints drives the perpetual churning in each institution.

The Visionaries
Characters who see the failings of their institution and want to change things
(McNulty, Stringer, Judge Phelan, Cutty, Carcetti, Sobotka, Prez (Season 4), D'Angelo, Bunny Colvin)



"There you go. Giving a fuck when it ain't your turn to give a fuck."













The Operators
They see the dynamics of the system and make moves to maximize their own gain
(Bubs, Avon, Rawls, Levy, Rhonda, Burrell, Carcetti, Marlo, Brianna, Prop Joe, Valchek, Marla Daniels, Mayor Royce, Nicki Sobotka, The Greek, Butchie, Delonda, Templeton, Naresse, Norman, Clay Davis, Kenard, Whiting)

"I wasn't meant to play the son."














The Soldiers
Characters who just are
(Herc, Carver, The Bunk, Wee-Bey, Kima, Omar, Bodie, Poot, Landsman, The Old Detectives in Season 1, Snoop, Slim Charles, Chris Partlow, Sham, Sydnor, Ziggy Sobotka, Beadie, Alma)

"...less they some smart-ass pawns."











The Tortured Bystanders
Characters who see the fall coming but don't have the will to mount up
(Daniels, Freamon, D'Angelo, Shardene, Carver, Cheryl, Fletcher, Waylon, Gus)

"It all matters."








The Victims
Not so much a perspective as an outcome, these characters drive the churning of their institutions by inspiring the visionaries and bystanders to take action in some form
(William Gant, Wallace, D'Angelo, Johnny, Snot Boogie, Brandon, Ziggy, Sharrod, Twigg, Security Guard)

"This is me, yo, right here."

The best characters on the show are those that straddle and shift among the perspectives - those that have it all inside them and have real choices to make.

Bubs is illustrative of this - he's an operator by day, bystander and sometimes victim by night.

Carver as well - we've witnessed his transformation from goonish soldier to impotent observer of Randy's descent to a Colvin-esque sergeant who wants to draw a line in the sand, no matter the consequences.

Without cataloging the other characters that have progressed through several perspectives, I think I can safely say that the role of Michael is genius. In just over a year, he goes through each type.

Michael's backstory is that of the victim, with strong suggestions that he had been sexually abused by his stepfather as a child. He is familiar with the impotent bystander position, as he is powerless to save Randy from the snitch beatings or stop Cutty from being shot for trying to reach out to him. He's clearly an efficient soldier if he can win Chris Partlow's mentorship, and his operator tendencies are on display in small measure throughout the show. Busting Kenard was a small manifestation of all that Michael understands about his world - he plays his cards close, though it's hard to doubt that the boy knows how to play the game.

What Season Five has brought us is Michael's burgeoning vision of a life lived by a code. He balks at killing for Marlo over a rumored dis, and when he reaches a moral threshold, he turns back rather than kill a child.

Michael's moral development is the most dangerous thing that could happen to him. But the boy is smart, the boy is tough, and he has a large array of perspectives to draw from in escaping the nets cast round him. Life, however, is cyclical on The Wire, and Michael might not be able to dodge another turn at playing the victim.

One Side Loses More Slowly

Welcome to Taking Notes On A Criminal Conspiracy, a blog devoted, like so many before, to HBO's The Wire.

Realizing that we are late to the game, this blog will jump right into the meat of Season 5, tying threads and themes to earlier events. It will also serve as a clearing house for the best Wire resources that we happen to find on the web.

The best Wire-blog out there, in this writer's opinion, is Heaven and Here. We'll try to contribute to the discussion in that spirit.