The Wire: Episode 59

How in the hell are they going to wrap this in an hour and a half? It needs like five more hours.

 

I am not too proud to admit that when Bubbles invoked Sherrod's name, I reacted like I did when I was 5 years old watching Old Yeller's demise. Only this time, I realized grief is OK as long as you leave enough room for something else. Dude named Reginald taught me that.

The Michael-Dukie scenes were indeed perfect. Exactly the right amount said, exactly the right amount unsaid. (You could argue that several scenes from earlier this season, most notably Dukie's with Cutty, suffered from too much of the former and not enough of the latter.) They certainly got it right this time. And the little actor who plays Bug isn't too shabby either.

One observation about the scene with Daniels and Pearlman checking the cell phone -- didn't we first meet Cool Lester Smooth in the evidence control room way back in Season 1? And didn't someone say something to him about how they were glad he landed there, much like the sentiment Daniels passed along to the new evidence control man? And didn't Daniels say something very similar to "beats working?" I might be dreaming some of that, but if it's true, it's kind of interesting that the start of his downfall occurred at the same site of the start of his ascent.

 

Wasn't the guy working the evidence room one of those old drunks that the unit got saddled with way back in the first season?
Why couldn't Dookie go and stay with Bug? It looks like they were moving in with his grandma, or an older relative. Couldn't they make room for one more kid? Beats the hell out of him living on the street with junkies or on the lam with Michael.

 

Lester worked the pawn shop unit.

 

Technically, yes. It's called the Fruit of the Poisonous Tree Doctrine. If any evidence is obtained in violation of a Constitutional provision, all evidence that flows from it is to be suppressed.

The Greeks should put a big old hole in Marlo's head. On one of his first pickups, he gets busted. That shit didn't happen to Prop Joe.

 

Since I'm not going to look for the umbrella "Wire" thread, if indeed such a thing exists, I will post this here:

An acquaintance of mine who is related to Clarke Peters (Lester Freamon) told me that Simon & Co.'s next project, if it works out, aims to be a similarly "realistic" depiction of post-Katrina New Orleans. Now part of the reason The Wire is so good is because Simon put in years of life and work to know Baltimore inside and out, so forgive me if I'm suspicious of whether he can achieve something similar in a city with which he is not as familar. Either way, I thought I would throw it out there.

 

It looks like Michael had to pay the relative to take Bug, which would imply she might not be the type to take in a non-relative out of the goodness of her heart.

And how about the final exchange between Michael and Snoop? In the final seconds of her life, we finally get to see that she's human.

 

Simon & Co. are also doing an HBO miniseries on "Generation Kill", which written by a reporter embedded with the troops during the early days of the Iraq War. They had a promo for it on HBO a couple of weeks back...supposed to be pretty realistic and gritty. That Walter Reed scene was probably a taste of what we'll get.

 

I didn't even take it that they were paying her, as in paying her off, to take care of Bug. More like Michael just giving her money to help take care of him. And she doesn't know Dukie as that warm, sensitive kid we've all gotten to know. She must have an idea what Michael's into, why would she want to take in one of his friends from the corner?

And to the other poster, that was definitely one of the old drunks from the first detail. I believe it was the one who tried to throw himself down the stairs so he could get workman's comp. Daniels said something along the lines of glad to see you landed ok, and he replied "It beats working."

I've loved the way they've weaved in past characters in realistic ways. It gives a good glimpse into how their lives are going without being major parts of the story or seeming forced.

 

Long live Prez.

 

Damn. Great episode. After floundering (at least by Wire standards) through much of the season, looks like they're going out on fire.
A few thoughts:
Loved the stuff with Michael and Dukie and Bug. Like Dedo said, just the right amount was said, and left unsaid. There are no children here.
Also, re: Herc, people in this show don't change much, at least not most of them. Herc's always looking out for Herc.
Kima, too, always a straight arrow, even if it means calling out two of her mentors. She plays by the rules.
And the newsroom stuff has been less and better lately, though that Pulitzer-prize planning scene was a bit much.
That guy in evidence control was definitely one of the drunks from Season One - they're waving all the old flags at the end here - and it was Daniels who got stuck in evidence control at the start of Season Two, not Lester. And Lester mentioned a woman in his life; is he still with the stripper from Season One? Smooth, indeed.
As for the resolution, yeah, while they might run McNulty out of the department, I don't see how they can hang him publicly on this without pulling back the arrests on Marlo & co., which, given the mayor's ambitions, they won't do. That said, Marlo might beat the charges if Levy can force their hand on the illegal wiretap. Chris, though, is fucked.
What are the odds on Bubbles? Does he make it through the finale without a relapse? Does his story get buried on the bottom of the metro front while Templeton rides to glory? Does he finally get to make dinner?

 

wow, just wow. this show makes every other show just look silly. i've never been nervous before an episode like i was before this one. i'm terrified of the next one. just amazing television.