The Wire: Season Five (see post #1 re: SPOILERS) (1 Viewer)

[James St]

It doesn't get any better then the one he dropped last night.

 

[Michael Reuben]

It's like he knew everyone was waiting for it and wanted to make sure he delivered a good one.

Isiah Whitlock, Jr. has created a portrait of a crooked politician for the ages. He gets Clay Davis' sliminess into even the slightest gesture. And it truly is a performance; you realize that when you see him do a completely different character in something like Pieces of April.

As for the season itself, it felt somewhat diffuse at the outset, but I have a very definite sense of the disparate threads starting to wind together. And things don't look good for a lot of people. Have we ever seen Omar outsmarted like that? Could anyone have predicted that Freamon would end up cooperating with McNulty to fabricate evidence? (The look of disbelief on Bunk's face says it all.) And that reporter Templeton -- we know, from real life examples, what damage his type of fabrications can ultimately do to reputable news reporting. The Wire, with its usual thoroughness, is taking the time to show us how a Templeton gets created.

M.

 

[Marty M]

The looks between McNulty and Templeton were just priceless.

 

[Holadem]

Yup. I loved every hour of it.

When he was done I got up and ran around the apartment screaming in joy. Even my friends who don't watch the show know this guy, from the clips I've shown them.

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H

 

[TravisR]

According to HBO.com's schedule, the finale is going to run 93 minutes.

 

[TravisR]

I watched episode 7 last night on On Demand and, without using any spoilers, they hit that great 'pressure cooker' point in the season where you just wonder how the season is going to finish in only 3 more episodes and how is McNulty going to get out of it (if he does). And Dominic West also directed the episode too.

 

[ScottH]

Interesting seeing Nick Sobotka make an appearance. Isn't he supposed to be in witness protection?

 

[Marty M]

From watching the previews at the end of last night's episode I certainly got the sense that "pressure cooker" point is coming up.

 

[JonZ]

Wondering how this is all gonna work out with the very limited time left.

 

[todd stone]

only 3 left? :frowning:

 

[TravisR]

Just to clarify, there's 3 left after the episode that runs on HBO this coming Sunday (which went up on On Demand late last night).

 

[TravisR]

Sheeeeeit, I hate Clay Davis.

 

[Charlie Campisi]

Ah come on now, it's fantastic he got away with what he did and how he did it. Get caught lying? Make up a lie that they can't check! I know the DA is wishing he didn't reach down to grab that case from Rhonda.

I love this show, but I think they blew it with the serial killer storyline. I've gotten past the fact that it was so out of character for McN and Freamon. Or that they just dumped McN back into his pre-Beadie ways without much of an explanation. But ... what I cannot get past is that they are having an entire season built around a fake crime. There's no tension because the audience knows it's fake. The only drama is whether McN, Freamon and Sydnor get caught, and I find myself wishing they would. It's just boring. I absolutely love everything else about the show, but I think they missed big with this storyline. It should not have been the central plot thread. There had to be another way to cover the press angle in the series without spinning it off a stupid idea of McN's.

Omar broke his promise to Bunk of no more bodies. I think up to now, he was wounding Marlo's guys but hadn't killed anybody.

 

[Raasean Asaad]

Just watched episode 8.... wow!

 

[ScottH]

I tend to agree with Charlie about the serial killer storyline (although Bunk's reactions to each time he seems to get screwed over by that "case" are priceless). I am however still holding out hope that in the end it will all come together in a more meaningful way (sort of like season 2 did in the end), but I'm not optimistic.

 

[James St]

 

[Holadem]

I dunno. Every time I am in danger of thinking that the serial killer thing strains credibility, I am reminded that much bigger lies with far reaching and considerably more tragic consequences were obediently and uncritically regurgitated by a complicit media in recent years. So yeah, shit like that could/does happen, methinks.

I've only seen up to ep7 btw.

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H

 

[Charlie Campisi]

I watch on HBO (no On Demand with Directv), so I'm wherever they are in the series.

 

[TravisR]

Yeah, he's a guy you love to hate but seeing him get away with it just shows that with the right lawyer and the right lie, you can do whatever you want.

I think the serial killer story has tension because I do think there's a chance that McNulty will go down on it (and even if he doesn't get caught, it'll be fun to see him get away with it and have won his battle to get money for the police department). When other cop shows have a 'real' serial killer on the streets, there's no tension because you know he's either a.) going to kill new characters that you don't know or b.) even if the killer does go after an established character, there's almost no chance that he'll kill them.

And I'll echo Raasean's comments about episode 8.

 

[Holadem]

OK I see what you're saying and my feelings are a bit more mixed. I agree that the stuff on McN & co. side is far from the most compelling thread The Wire has seen. On the other hand, I find the flip side of that story (the newsroom) utterly riveting. So McN & co == Boring, B'more Sun == can't have enough

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H