Time to talk about The Wire-No. 49 (contains spoilers)

Someone suggested starting a separate thread here to discuss this episode so let's do it.

Each of the four friends seems to have reached a launching point for the next part of their lives. Michael clearly has gone over to the dark side while Namond is desperately seeking an escape from the life. Duquan is being forced into something he doesn't want and now has Michael as his "family." Could Duquan be the next Stringer Bell? Finally, Randy will never trust the law again.

The Bubbles-Sherrod saga was heartbreaking but you saw it coming from so far away.

the final episode seems to be focused on the public discovery of the bodies in the vacants and, as has been pointed out here, will set the tone for next season's focus on the media's role.

I'm a little lost as to how the Omar/Prop Joe doublecross is going to work with regards to Marlo but at least for now, Marlo Stanfield seems likely to hold his status heading into Season 5.

Also, the opening scene was a classic pumpfake.


thoughts?

 

So many heartbreaking moments. Sherrod dying, the firebombing of Randy's house and probable murder of Miss Anna, and let's not forget the hardening of Michael. The scene where he beats the shit out of Namond's young lieutenant... you just don't see things like that on television. I assume Marlo is the source of the money for him to get his own place?

If Duquan has moved in with Michael, when/if Miss Anna dies, will Randy be far behind? Will he follow Michael's path after what happened?

Might Bunny try to adopt Namond?

Who's Lester going to get for the Major Crimes unit? Greggs doesn't want it. McNulty doesn't want it, or at least I don't think he does. Perhaps Carver? Bunk? And is Herc a goner?

And I still think something bad is going to happen at the school due to this budget crisis. The program definitely gets cut, and maybe Prez' job is in jeopardy as a non-tenured teacher?

So many questions. What a great show.

And I'm crossing my fingers that The Greek makes his return in season 5. That guy makes Avon, marlo and Stringer look like amateurs.

 

the interesting thing about the school situation is that at each level, someone is eating someone else's shit. The kids, such as Randy and Duquan, are eating the shit of the administration decisions; Bunny and the special class creators are eating the shit of the district admins; and Carcetti is eating the governor's shit with regard to the bailout.

Also, it seems obvious that Carcetti has a literal hard-on for the hard-assed chick on the board who goes against him at every turn.

 

the first scene got me. i was yelling at michael to watch out for snoop.

i dont know if there is a character on the show that i dislike more than Namond's mom. I'd like to send Chris and Snoop to her house.

two of my favorite moments were "the cheese stands alone" and Bunk's comments about J-Lo and "the little spanish dude"

...and down goes Cutty.

 

I said it on the other thread, and I'll say it again -- This was, by far, the most depressing episode ever. The collective things that happened outweigh Wallace or D'Angelo getting killed.

But to dust off the old cliche -- I believe it sets up the rest of the season nicely. The Wire's seasons are built to be self-contained, but I'm wondering how the hell they're going to wrap all of this up in a single hour.

 

maybe naymond works with bunny to bring down new kingpin minchael?

 

Ragu, how does Prop Joe fit into all of this. This guy has his hands in too much to not be a prominent player. And what are the chances of Namond visiting pops one last time to tell him he wants to part of The Game, or does he crawl back to Michael and have him bump off his mom?

Also, you have to believe there is going to be some real drama between Carcetti and that one councilwoman, with him probably doing what he could have done in the hotel room after the primary victory. She could use that as leverage for him to do whatever she wants for the schools, which might mean cuts in the police budget. This little chain reaction keeps going as the budget cuts severely hamper the MCU's ability to properly take care of the vacants, leading up to a huge media outrage. Oh, did I also mention the press will get wind of Carcetti's infidelity?

 

This thread has been up for nearly three hours and not a peep from either DoubleDown OR J-Whit? I don't know what's more stunning: that or me actually posting an intelligible scenario?

 

I can't see Namond standing up to either his mother or daddy Wee-Bey. He just doesn't have the heart. He'll move in with Colvin and go to school elsewhere, trying to change his life. The other three, however, I do think will fall into the game. I'm not sure if the saddest is Duquan or Randy, who will go hard due to anger over the (apparent) death of Miss Anna. I think that will open a new window into Randy's soul, and some demons are growing. If that is the case I can really start to see the Stringer Bell comparisons.
I agree that the 'new morning' in the city won't last. If the lesson of season three was that the institution of the drug trade would not allow change like Stringer Bell was advocating, the same institutional resistance to change will eat away at Carcetti's 'Baltimorean Camelot' dreams. Its already begun, albeit benignely, with his refusal to fire Ervin Burrell. He's too smart a politician to drown in the quagmire, but his image will definitely be indelibly stained- I think the media will see to that, and as a member of the TV Media who often disagrees with how we cover stories, I hope like hell the writers depict the 'if it bleeds it leads' mentality I see everyday. He'll do some good, probably more than Royce, but eventually the city will take second place to his designs on Annapolis.

 

Bump.

I didn't see this episode until just now, MC. Don't have OnDemand.

As Jason mentioned last week, he and I accidentally saw a spoiler for the last episode, so I'm hesitant to offer my thoughts. I'll mull it over a bit.

I will say this, however: Did you all catch who played the "security guard" that finally tells Carcetti and Norm Wilson that the governor will see him?

Maryland governor Bob Ehrlich.