The Wire - season five, episodes 1 & 2
Jan. 29th, 2008 06:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
baleanopteraThe only sad thing about The Wire season 5? It's the last season...*sob*
To be honest I was dreading season five a bit. I mean it is the last season, so after this no more "The Wire" – ever. I find that a frightening thought. In addition season four, with the exception of the murders, actually ended on a positive note – and with "The Wire" that is never good!
So far season five haven’t been as dark as I feared, though the actions of McNulty at the end of episode two makes me think things will take a turn for the worse.
Speaking of McNulty –seeing as he is once again one of the series major characters – he really is an asshole isn’t he? It’s odd but when I first watched season one I felt Rawls was yelling at Jimmy a bit much, but I see now that he was in a way justified. McNulty is dangerous and completely self centred. (Oh Jimmy. Never start doing criminal acts, no matter how noble the motive. Have you learned nothing from Frank Sobotka?)
That said was it just me or are there parallels between McNulty and Carcetti. They both strike me as characters who always blames others for their mistakes. They also keep complaining that they can never accomplish anything because other people are always getting in their way, and they have tremendous imaginations when it comes to justifying their own actions.
The newspaper focus is fascinating so far. I think I started to like Augustus Haynes when he commented: "What kind of people stand around watching a fire? Some shameful shit here." I just liked the way he said it – half joking and half deadly serious. I also liked how that line, and the scene it belongs to, can be taken as a meta commentary over the whole situation in Baltimore.
In that vein it is also interesting that when the fire is reported, it is done in an embellished form – with the dolls head in front of the building. As if the real event isn’t tragic enough, but is embellished and in a way turned into fiction.
Marlo continues to puzzle me. The aspect that frightens me most about him is his seemingly lack of personality. Perhaps we will see more of what goes one behind those dead eyes later in the season, but at the same time Marlo’s lack of distinct personality is also quite clever. It makes him more of a brute force and harder to pin down, and at times he appears more like a certain aspect of 'the game' personified than a real person. Sometimes I feel his emotionless monstrosity takes on a shine of symbolic representation, in that Marlo could be taken as a symbol of a crimelord in any city in that he is not shown tied to a place the way Avon was. With Avon there was and is always talk about growing up on the Westside, stories from the streets and family and so forth. All this helps tie Avon to Baltimore in a way that never happens with Marlo. Or this could all be me reading too much into things.
Other things I loved:
Carver trying to handle tension in the briefing room. After being one of those character I didn’t care that much about, I just fell in love with him during season four and so I’m looking forward to seeing his development this season. So far, so much frustration.
Marlo greeting Sergei with "What’s up Boris?" For geeky reasons I loved that season two call-back. "Why is it always Boris?" Indeed.
The briefing meeting at the Baltimore Sun with the older, white editor telling Heynes "This isn’t a racial issue", and the look Gus gave him. Just that little scene packed so much punch it was brilliant!
And lastly I love how funny The Wire is. Both the opening scene with Bunk and the copy machine and the one with Chris asking Daniels and Rhonda Pearlman for directions were wonderful!
I love having my show back.
But to prove I’m very, very shallow I still rather miss Stringer Bell. Because Idris Elba makes everything better.
To be honest I was dreading season five a bit. I mean it is the last season, so after this no more "The Wire" – ever. I find that a frightening thought. In addition season four, with the exception of the murders, actually ended on a positive note – and with "The Wire" that is never good!
So far season five haven’t been as dark as I feared, though the actions of McNulty at the end of episode two makes me think things will take a turn for the worse.
Speaking of McNulty –seeing as he is once again one of the series major characters – he really is an asshole isn’t he? It’s odd but when I first watched season one I felt Rawls was yelling at Jimmy a bit much, but I see now that he was in a way justified. McNulty is dangerous and completely self centred. (Oh Jimmy. Never start doing criminal acts, no matter how noble the motive. Have you learned nothing from Frank Sobotka?)
That said was it just me or are there parallels between McNulty and Carcetti. They both strike me as characters who always blames others for their mistakes. They also keep complaining that they can never accomplish anything because other people are always getting in their way, and they have tremendous imaginations when it comes to justifying their own actions.
The newspaper focus is fascinating so far. I think I started to like Augustus Haynes when he commented: "What kind of people stand around watching a fire? Some shameful shit here." I just liked the way he said it – half joking and half deadly serious. I also liked how that line, and the scene it belongs to, can be taken as a meta commentary over the whole situation in Baltimore.
In that vein it is also interesting that when the fire is reported, it is done in an embellished form – with the dolls head in front of the building. As if the real event isn’t tragic enough, but is embellished and in a way turned into fiction.
Marlo continues to puzzle me. The aspect that frightens me most about him is his seemingly lack of personality. Perhaps we will see more of what goes one behind those dead eyes later in the season, but at the same time Marlo’s lack of distinct personality is also quite clever. It makes him more of a brute force and harder to pin down, and at times he appears more like a certain aspect of 'the game' personified than a real person. Sometimes I feel his emotionless monstrosity takes on a shine of symbolic representation, in that Marlo could be taken as a symbol of a crimelord in any city in that he is not shown tied to a place the way Avon was. With Avon there was and is always talk about growing up on the Westside, stories from the streets and family and so forth. All this helps tie Avon to Baltimore in a way that never happens with Marlo. Or this could all be me reading too much into things.
Other things I loved:
Carver trying to handle tension in the briefing room. After being one of those character I didn’t care that much about, I just fell in love with him during season four and so I’m looking forward to seeing his development this season. So far, so much frustration.
Marlo greeting Sergei with "What’s up Boris?" For geeky reasons I loved that season two call-back. "Why is it always Boris?" Indeed.
The briefing meeting at the Baltimore Sun with the older, white editor telling Heynes "This isn’t a racial issue", and the look Gus gave him. Just that little scene packed so much punch it was brilliant!
And lastly I love how funny The Wire is. Both the opening scene with Bunk and the copy machine and the one with Chris asking Daniels and Rhonda Pearlman for directions were wonderful!
I love having my show back.
But to prove I’m very, very shallow I still rather miss Stringer Bell. Because Idris Elba makes everything better.
