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

[Raasean Asaad]

 

[Holadem]

Just watched ep8. Agreed. Greatest scene in a episode that had a couple.

Spoiler space for the email crowd...
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
The Omar thing was telegraphed, the empty corner a tribute to his "badassness." I knew it from the moment that fucking lil punk didn't run like the others. Still, fuck I am so upset. It was always a near certainty but goddamn it's hard to come to terms with. At least he never saw it coming. And i am glad it wasn't any of his long time foes. Still, I always knew that little fuck was up to no good. The other lil punk, "Donut" (car thief extraordinaire last season) was a lot more fun )

One of my favorite aspects in the last 2-3 eps was seeing Chris and Snoop deeply unsettled. 'bout friggin time.

It's funny, a few minutes into the episode (the briefing) I thought about what I wrote earlier about the police side of the serial killer being boring, and how so NOT true that was . I was just hit by the enormity of what McNulty was doing during that briefing, and could barely stand it. The recklessness of the guy is just off the charts.

So is Carcetti now in bed with Davis or is he running a (long ) con? The former was kind of inevitable -- this is Baltimore, we sorta knew from day 1 that C would eventually join the dark side. The scene with his wife was subtle but telling. I think we've lost Carcetti to B'more. :frowning:

Amy Ryan delivered one of the best (perhaps THE best) "what really matters" speeches I have ever heard. This is the sort of eye-roll inducing wisdom often attributed to females. I am no McNulty but somehow it just hit home this time around.

--
H

 

[Chris]

Holy cow. Episode 9 is the first episode this season that cinched everything together for me. Brilliant in that it made me feel as though the long trip there was worth it.

 

[ScottH]

Regarding episode 8, the FBI profiler guy describing McNulty as the serial killer was classic.

And what was the deal with the tags being mixed up at the end? Was there anything to that or was it just driving home the point that Omar's death was just another forgotten murder (that even got bumped in the paper).

 

[TravisR]

That was my read of it. He was a legend on the street and unkown and forgotten everywhere else.

 

[James St]

Just watched episode 9.

After episode 8 I was really disappointed with the previews they decided to show. They should have shown nothing of Michael in the SUV. It was pretty obvious who he shot.

It was nice to see cameos from all living characters from the previous seasons. Looks like Namond made out best being taken in by Bunny.

Is it me or are they setting up Michael to follow the path of Omar and Dukie to be the next Bubbles.

 

[TravisR]

 

[Holadem]

Episode 9

OK I had to come up and write this down in the middle of the episode: Marlo pissed off is a fearsome thing

I was beaming like a mofo when whatshisname was relating to Michael a vastly exagerated, Rasputin-like version of Omar's death. I didn't see this coming, but like all good plot developments, it makes perfect sense after the fact: Omar's legend is gonna be even bigger than the notoriety he enjoyed in life. It makes his death pretty much worth it!

"They the ones these ghetto mothafuckas always listen to when it comes to cash money" -- Clay sounded a tiny bit resentful there

Best ep of the season. And NO idea where things will go from here. Man, here I am wishing that Daniels gets reacquainted with the evils of his past, i.e., just let it go. Don't screw everyting up.

 

[Holadem]

There is some grumbling online at the Gus character being too good to be true, and a departure from the norm of the show. That may very well be, but I don't hear anyone complain about the sociopath that is Marlo Stanfield? There isn't one layer of depth or complexity to this guy either, he is just a black hole of limitless power hunger and ruthlessness, a singularity of elemental evil. If Marlo is OK, so is Gus. It's not like the series has many of those extremes anyway.

Why is this thread so dead? There is no series I want to discuss more than this one.

--
H

 

[TravisR]

I always want to discuss the 'next' episode but I don't want to spoil it for people so I end up saying little.

As for Gus, I love that character. I hate what the real world media has become but I'm sure some real reporters like Gus are out there. I defintiely don't think Gus is an example of being "too good to be true". I think he's like McNulty to some degree in that he feels superior to his bosses, wants to start shit by screwing with his bosses and he fights what he sees as wrongs in his industry (like exposes about the homeless that are meant to cash in on tragedy rather than actually work on solving the problem). Not turning a blind eye to a liar like Templeton just to sell more papers doesn't make him too good to be true. And he knows that he's got an Ace up his sleeve in that if the paper ever canned him, he'd be able to expose The Sun and Templeton's BS stories or at least open them up to some serious scrutiny.

 

[Charlie Campisi]

I don't have on demand, so I am a week behind you guys Holadem. I'm trying.

Re your spoiled post on Omar, I am sad too. I think it was a completely appropriate death though. Would it have felt any better if he got taken out in the battle at Monk's apartment? That would have been the blaze of glory and he could have popped Chris or Snoop on his way out. But still, it would have meant there was a better gun than him, and that would have been disappointing. This way, he gets taken out in way that nobody can really claim a victory over him. And we come to find out that he knows more about Marlo than the police found out with all their people, legal and illegal wiretaps, etc.

Some favorite Omar lines:

On the witness stand: "I robs drug dealers."
Staring down Mouzzone: "With a .50 cal, even if I miss I can't miss."

I still think the serial killer line is boring, but ep 8 did have some great moments with the FBI profiling scene. Watching McN give the briefing, Kima flipping out and Beadie's disappointment was good, but not enough to tip the scales for me that the plot thread was a mistake.

I like how Gus is ready to commit an asset to getting a story from Bubbles, but is turning down perfect pieces from Templeton because of the ethical questions. BTW, what do you think of Tom McCarthy, the actor playing Templeton? I think he's doing a pretty decent job being a scumbag. He lived a couple dorm rooms down the hall from me my freshman year at college.

 

[James St]

I felt the same way. He didn't see a child in a convenience store as a threat and it cost him.

I'm hearing rumors that the final episode will not be added to OnDemand until after it has aired. Can anyone confirm or deny this?

 

[Marty M]

That wouldn't surprise me at all. I am sure that HBO wants to make sure they get all their viewers watching the last episode on the Sunday night of its broadcast. Of course, I have been watching the next episode on Monday or Tuesday and again on Sunday. I am looking forward to the last episode, but will be really sad when it is over.

 

[Corey3rd]

Omar's killer is predicted in season 3

YouTube - Omar and Kenard foreshadowing

 

[Holadem]

That's some serious reaching

On the other hand, Kenard's reaction in the last minute of this clip is a much stronger indicator of things to come:



--
H

 

[Sheldon C]

It hurts to see my favorite character die, but you could tell it was coming. They were easing us into the idea that Omar's day's were numbered. I too loved how Omar knew more about Marlo's crew than the police did without the benifit of technology.

I don't know how to use spoiler tags, so I'll keep my thoughts on the 9th episode. I will say that it was the best episode of the season, and one of the best ever IMO. I've found I can't watch this show to late at night or I can't sleep because my mind keeps racing and replaying scenes.

I don't want to sound like a Wire snob, but man... I have never watched a show that affects me like this one does.

As far as it's reality, I can't speak on how realistic the show is about dealers, cops, politicians, newspaper writers, or what it's like to work at a port. However, as a teacher I thought they captured that perfectly in season 4. No, I don't teach in the inner city, but the inservice meetings they showed had me grinnning and nodding.

In the past 2-3 years they have all teachers, regardless of what we teach, incorporating lessons that focus on increasing reading comprehension and writing proficiency just like on the show.

 

[Marty M]

Here is something I found from another forum about an obit for Omar in the past week's issue of Newsweek:

*Omar Little, 34, Armed Robber*
A charming, cunning shotgun surgeon who made his living robbing drug dealers, Omar Little had an aura of permanence-amazing considering he wasn't a real person, he was a TV character (played by actor Michael K. Williams). On "The Wire," HBO's Baltimore crime drama, we're used to lives ending abruptly. But the death of Omar-a cult figure among "Wire" fans, felled by a bullet to the head from a tween triggerman-was especially jolting. And the subsequent scenes, in which news of his death spread, were even more sobering: neither the cops nor the corner boys showed any affect, a response that was faithful to the world of the show, but created dissonance between the observers and the observed.

We spent years with Omar. In his way, he was principled, committed to hustling those who hustled others. ("A man got to have a code," he said once.) His moral compass so endeared him to viewers that he long outlived the seven-episode arc his creators had originally planned for him. More than any other death on "The Wire," Omar's made us know the agony of caring for a murder victim-even one who, by all rights, had it coming. For a moment, we knew how it felt to have someone close to us die, and to wait in vain for someone to give a damn.

© 2008 Newsweek, Inc.

 

[TravisR]

^ And that's why I avoid waiting for DVD releases to watch TV shows.

 

[James St]

Things don't look good for Marlo. His attorney is doing Arby's commercials.

 

[Charlie Campisi]

The homeless thing is now central to two storylines, the Marlo bust and Templeton. I'm trying to figure out how I feel about it. Was it a necessary storyline? Would it have been too conventional for The Wire if something else had put the Marlo bust in jeopardy? Maybe. Kima and McN on opposite sides doesn't sit well with me. Nor Lester as a bad cop.

As for Templeton, I hope he gets what he deserves. But couldn't they have done the same thing with a real story and had him embellishing it?

Nice to see Bunny and Namond again. Bubs talking about Sharrod was touching.

Enjoy tonight all you guys with On Demand. I need a week to process what I just saw.