The Wire: -30- (series finale)
(S05E10) “…the life of kings.” - H.L. Mencken
History repeats itself. Just like Daniels said, what’s the point if one generation is too busy training the next how not to do the job? More than anything, that was the biggest message that came across in the series finale of The Wire. But there was one more too. You always hear the saying “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” but over the course of five seasons and sixty episodes of The Wire, David Simon systematically explained why things that are broken don’t seem to get fixed either. And now it’s over.
For the most part, the finale played out exactly as I expected it. There weren’t too many surprises or jaw-on-the-floor WTF moments. It was just what viewers deserved. A perfect ending to a perfect show. Hey… at least the screen didn’t go black.
Essentially, it picked up right where it left off last week after Rhonda and Cedric put the pieces together. They went to Bond and Rawls who in turn went to Carcetti, Steintorf, and Norman. The choices? Go public and try to make sense of it all with the hope of being forgiven by the people or… bury it deep. Guess which choice won? At this point, it all unraveled slowly as things logically played out.
Lester and Jimmy got off relatively easy, each only having to file their papers rather than get fitted for orange jumpsuits. It made sense though. If you want to keep quiet, you can’t go firing two veteran cops. It would draw too much attention. Considering where they would have ended up (Jimmy back on the boat and Lester in the pawn shop unit) early retirement ain’t too bad. Unfortunately, only Lester was in line for a pension since Jimmy had just barely cracked thirteen years on the force. I love the idea of him having a future with Beadie though. That scene with the two of them on the porch when she smiled and put her head on his shoulder was great.
Speaking of McNulty, how great was his “wake?” Landsman and the rest of the department actually held an Irish wake for Jimmy’s career, complete with McNulty lying on the pool table! Probably the best scene of the episode, especially because we got one of Landsman’s speeches, much like when Nolan (glad they paid tribute to Robert Colesberry again) died during season three. He nailed it for Jimmy though: “natural poh-lice.” After all, he did clear those copycat murders pretty quickly once he remembered that bum who collected the business cards. Jimmy still had it.
Moving on, let’s talk about The Sun. No one wanted to hear what Gus had to say. Scott was a huge liar right up until the end and Klebanow and Whiting could have cared less. That scene where McNulty called him out was classic — he can’t figure out why Scott did it though. They got their Pulitzer in the end, so who cares? Quoting Norman, “everyone’s getting what they need behind some make-believe.”
At The Sun, any dissenters got tossed aside. When Alma stood up for Gus and brought up Scott’s empty notebook that was supposedly filled with notes, she got bumped to a county bureau. And for Gus’ troubles? He and Fletcher flip-flopped jobs. No longer the city editor, I’d suspect that Gus is slightly more comfortable with the downsized responsibilities of a reporter. Honestly, I’m surprised he didn’t get fired.
I think my favorite moments of the episode were with Rhonda and Levy. Seeing the two of them position against each other and do their best to blackmail the other was great. Part of me wants to be angry at her for putting Levy in a position to help Marlo walk with his money, but what else was she going to do considering the possibility that she too could face jail? With that in mind, she manipulated a pretty good deal. She had Levy by the balls since Lester uncovered DiPasquale as the leak and was still able to get Chris and Monk life sentences.
Marlo’s ending was superb though. He’s going to get a ton of cash for selling the connect to The Greek to Fat Face Rick and Slim Charles. You’ve got people like Levy and Krawczyk pushing him to become the next Stringer Bell, which just means dumping all his money into Krawczyk’s pockets, and all Marlo can think about is the crown he gave up. So he jacks two kids on a corner, gets his arm sliced by a knife, and then tastes his own blood as he admires the real estate he just took. The best part? They didn’t know who he was. Even at his height, he kept a low profile. He really can start over if he wants to.
Then there’s the remainder of the co-op. Are they all really going to be able to work together? I think so. They’ve got a common goal and I think that with Cheese’s murder (”payback for Joe”), there aren’t any more instigators. Slim will be a good leader for them.
More thoughts… I’ve got plenty:
- Dukie. Sad. I still can’t figure out why Prez gave him any money though. By the way he handled his new students, Prez isn’t a fool now. I suppose he wanted to believe Dukie had a chance, but all it took was one look. Donnelly saw it and wouldn’t let him into the school. I think what surprised me the most was that Dukie didn’t even try to hide it and run with his lie of getting a GED. Prez gave him the money and Dukie just walked off with the arabber to go and shoot up. The new Bubbles. Again, sad.
- On the flip side, the original Bubbles finally got redemption via Fletcher’s front page story. It seemed that something public like that is what it took for Reginald’s sister to see that his rehabilitation was real. She let him upstairs. He’s finally out of the basement — in more ways that one.
- For those that are curious, the title of the episode “-30-” is journalistic slang for “the end.” It refers to the practice of ending telegraph transmissions with XXX, aka “30.”
- This episode’s quote refers to what H.L. Mencken thought the job of being a newspaper reporter was: the life of a king.
- We never really found out precisely what was in Cedric’s file, other than his involvement with the Eastern vice squad and the missing money. What was his link? He was willing to resign over it to help Marla and Rhonda keep their jobs so it must have been huge. I say that because despite his anger for McNulty and Lester and what they did, he said he still cared about them. He had dirt too and wasn’t that much better of a person if you look at it that way. Why air out your own dirty laundry when you can just make a clean break?
- Great to see Lester show up with Chardene at the “wake.” I was hoping he’d hop on the felt with Jimmy though.
- Jimmy had a great line when Landsman was pressing him about the manpower and the lack of work: “I can’t make shit up, can I?” And Jay had a great one at Jimmy’s wake when he said if his body was ever on a corner, he’d want Jimmy to work it. A true compliment.
- When Rawls and Daniels both confronted Jimmy in the interrogation room, I was really expecting Rawls to whip up both his middle fingers and say “these are for you McNulty,” just like in the pilot episode.
- Do you think Levy realized that it was Herc that leaked Marlo’s number? I’m thinking yes. By doing that, it really did earn Levy some serious street credit. He got Marlo off because of what Herc started and Levy must have put two and two together since his Rolodex was the only place Marlo’s number was written down.
- Anyone else catch David Simon’s quick cameo in The Sun newsroom?
- I’m glad Kima came clean with Lester and McNulty. I was surprised Lester forgave her so easily though. If she had kept quiet, he and Jimmy would still have jobs and they could be working to fight Levy and keep Marlo in jail. That’s worth being a little bitter about I’d say. Then again, Lester was drunk. And he did accomplish a lot. No sense in holding a grudge.
Then, as the previous four seasons ended, a montage filled the final minutes. Set to The Blind Boys of Alabama recording of “Way Down in the Hole” from season one, we saw everyone assume their new roles. Michael, the new Omar — double barreled shotgun! Sydnor, the new McNulty, griping to Judge Phelan. Governor Carcetti. Mayor Campbell. Superintendent of State Police Rawls, who’s skin is just the “right color” now. Police Commissioner Valchek! Kenard got arrested. The Honorable Judge Rhonda Pearlman. Cedric Daniels — a lawyer. Chris and Wey Bey chillin’ in jail. We saw the basement where the first detail started, phone still on the floor. The docks. The low-rises. It was just brilliant, tying every last little thing together.
Then Jimmy made one final honorable move, bringing Larry the bum home to “Bawlmor.” You’d think after everything he’s seen, he’d want to drive that guy as far away as possible. I know I’ll keep coming back though. “…all in the game…”
The Wire: Took
(S05E07) “They don’t teach it in law school.” - Pearlman
McNulty finally got his wish. After weeks of lies, Carcetti caved to the potential implications of a serial killer running amuck. For a man with aspirations to run for governor of Maryland, that can’t happen. So Jimmy’s case finally became a true red ball and the floodgates opened. Not even McNulty could have expected the insanity that came along with the department’s complete cooperation. As it stands right now, McNulty can have anything or anyone he wants. While he and Lester had been feverishly awaiting this moment, it quickly turned into exactly what they didn’t need.
Think about it. They’re running one of the biggest scams in the history of the Baltimore Police Department, and now everyone from top to bottom is involved. With that many eyes assisting the investigation of the “case,” someone has to notice something. A mistake in one of Jimmy’s doctored case files? The discovery of Lester’s dummy wires? A fresh report from the medical examiner on one of the dead homeless victims? Or maybe the discovery of Larry in that Virgina community shelter? Surely someone there must have seen those pictures of Larry posted somewhere. As Scott put it, “this case has legs,” and legs means national coverage.
So… after placing the call (and sending the picture of Larry) to Templeton using a voice modulator, things happened fast for Jimmy and Lester. The Sun and the B.P.D. rallied their troops to ensure that this thing is covered and policed from all angles and then Phelan signed off on Jimmy’s cell phone picture intercept tap. I loved the way that initial scene was set up though. I had to watch it a few times, but here’s how it worked: Jimmy called Templeton through the voice modulator I mentioned and it was attached to Marlo’s cell phone number. However, the outgoing trace signature was attached to a cell phone that Sydnor had down by the river. So when the call came through, Holley saw Marlo’s number on the tap and Lester’s re-routing of the number sent the signal to the phone Sydnor had. When the phone company ran the trap and trace, all Sydnor had to do was drop the phone into a magnetic bag, stuff it in his pocket, and walk away. As a result, the cops had to go about grabbing anyone (read: everyone) with a cell phone in that area. Scenes like that are so expertly laid out and I love that about The Wire.
Now I know I ask it every week, but here I go again: if this all plays out perfectly and Lester gets everything he needs to bust Marlo, is he really going to be able to attribute all this knowledge to an informant? I just don’t see it happening. It’s so much info and some of this has to be inadmissible right? How is he going to justify knowledge of the “clock code” without referencing the intercepted cell phone pictures? Speaking of which, they have a code to crack? Why didn’t either Jimmy or Lester call Pryzbylewski? He’s the master of cracking that stuff! (Remember season one? All you need to do is “jump the 5.”)
OK, moving on to Clay Davis. I called it. He walked and as guilty as he is… it’s probably justifiable. Bond’s case just didn’t have enough to nail him down. With the help of Billy Murphy (a sort of Johnnie Cochran/Jackie Chiles hybrid), Clay put on quite a show. The bottom line? Sure, his basketball charity may take in ten grand and the next day, Clay’s personal bank account might show a ten grand deposit. But there’s really no way to prove that he didn’t take that money and buy what was needed for the charity and then give the rest of it away to needy constituents. Legal? Probably not, but it makes him sound like one hell of a good man and created enough reasonable doubt. How did the jury vote though? Was it unanimously not guilty or was it hung? Looks like the only way to get him now requires bringing out that federal loan falsification charge and Bond definitely doesn’t want to do that. How else are you going to get Clay though?
A few “oh shiiiiiiiiiit” moments…
- Omar shot Savino! At point blank range! Unprovoked! Omar does not kill people like that. He may shoot them in the leg or if need be in self-defense he’ll pull the trigger, but Omar is not in the business of just killing people. You can argue that it’s based on revenge for Butchie, but Savino didn’t have a hand in that. On the flip-side, when Omar killed Stinkum, it was because Stinkum had a role in Brandon’s death. For those that have no idea who Savino is, he used to be Barksdale muscle alongside Wee-Bey, Stinkum, and Bird before going to jail. Now he’s running a stash house for Marlo. Bottom line? Omar has reached a breaking point. The man is hobbling around on a crutch and still scaring the crap out of people. I love how he’s just destroying Marlo’s drugs and money.
- Michael wasn’t molested by Bug’s father. Well… he might have been. But the case file that Bunk dug up said the results were inconclusive. I’m guessing young Michael was just as talkative with the social worker years ago as he was with Bunk in the interrogation room in this episode. Damn near mute.
- Gus did catch Scott in a lie! Last week, when he fed him that correction about Scott’s seafood allergy lady, it was bogus. But since Scott didn’t know that and didn’t bother to look into it, he lied and said he did. Gotcha. As Gus points out, it’s not that uncommon for a reporter to duck a correction… but it does mean that Scott is open to lying. Gus actually came out and said for the first time, “I don’t trust him.” While Gus and Rebecca are both on to him, especially with all the embellishments and exaggerations that Scott made during his homeless piece, it’ll be interesting to see if either Klebanow or Whiting continue to take Scott’s writing as gospel.
I also wanted to talk about Kima. One of my favorite ongoing stories in this show has been how she’s slowly transforming into the female version of McNulty. It pretty much came full circle in this episode. In the past, she cheated on Cheryl (with Jimmy’s help) and now she’s in the same situation he was way back in season one. Elijah is visiting for one night and she has no kiddie furniture. Cue a nice throwback as we watched Kima attempt to assemble something from IKEA with a glass of wine, just as Jimmy did all those years ago with a bottle of Jameson. Just really well done.
And speaking of McNulty, what are your thoughts on his new Robin Hood mantra? He has all this manpower and money at his disposal and no use for it, so I suppose it’s better than nothing and it is allowing actual police work to get done. You could see how Bunk was starting to get to McNulty as he was feeling guilty about the whole situation. I loved how it got all the way to Crutchfield and he knew the process without Jimmy saying anything. Then he called Jimmy “boss” as if he were Landsman. Hilarious.
More thoughts…
- How great was that final scene with Kima as she tried to put Elijah to sleep? Goodnight moon. Goodnight stars. Goodnight Po Po, fiends, hoppers, hustlers, and scammers. Police work — it’s all she knows.
- Awesome to see Day-Day Price again! He was hilarious on the stand when Bond questioned him.
- Anyone else think that Tommy’s gubernatorial campaign platform of homelessness is a little weak? It’s sad to say, but once McNulty’s “killer” is gone, I don’t think people are going to care as much and that kills any steam Carcetti had.
- “You got the right Allen wrench?” Hilarious.
- I think my favorite moment of the episode was when Jimmy mentioned to Lester that Jay wanted him to go to Quantico to get an FBI profile for the killer. Lester’s response? “You might learn something about yourself!”
- Looks like Bubbles has found an outlet for his frustrations in Fletcher. I’m guessing Fletch will eventually get him to open up about Sherrod’s death.
- Richard Belzer! He only had a few lines and no one, other than the bartender, acknowledged him. So, the big question? Was he supposed to be just some guy? Or was he supposed to be Munch? Because if so, that would create a nice little connection with Homicide. Plus it would be about the millionth show that Belzer has portrayed that role on. Also of note? The character of John Munch was based on the real life Jay Landsman, who just so happened to also be in the bar. Landsman plays Lt. Dennis Mello, whom Gus sat done and spoke with. (Not to be confused with Delaney Williams, who plays Jay Landsman on The Wire. Got it?)
- Not enough Carver this season.
Only three episodes left. Wow. Knowing that, something has to go wrong because I refuse to believe that this mess Jimmy has created can have a happy ending. Either him or Scott are gonna get nailed and from there, it falls apart for whoever’s still standing. Jimmy’s gonna wish he never came back to the major crimes detail at the end of last season.
The Wire: React Quotes
(S05E05) “Just ’cause they’re in the street doesn’t mean that they lack opinions.” - Haynes
I hate Scott Templeton. Or should I say M. Scott Templeton? Did you see that on the newspaper article he co-wrote with Alma? He added a pointless first initial to his name! Nowhere in his bio on The Wire website does it say anything about a first name that starts with M. This very well could be a pointless detail, but on this show those types of things rarely occur. It’s just another reason that Templeton is a giant ass. He’s really no better a man than McNulty when you consider what he’s doing. The difference is that Scott has this air of arrogance about him, as if he feels as though he’s meant for great things. Yeah right. He’s lazy and has no work ethic whatsoever. And he wonders why Gus continually passes him over and gives him tons of grunt work. Imagine how Gus will look at him when the truth does come out. That being said, I loved how this episode played out. One bullshitter versus another. That always leads to a good story.
It’s probably one of the best scenes in the five season run of this show. Scott lies. McNulty’s eyes bulge. Then McNulty lies. Scott’s eyes bulge. They both know (or at least think) the other guy is full of it (sort of… I’ll get to that) but can’t say a thing about it. It was brilliant watching the two of them react, realizing that their lies are growing into something far bigger than imagined. Obviously, neither of them got a call from the “serial killer” but only they know that individually.
Here’s where it gets interesting though. McNulty knows without a doubt that Scott is lying. On the other hand, Scott doesn’t know for sure that McNulty is lying. Everyone except Bunk, McNulty, and Lester think this “serial killer” is real. When McNulty said he got a call too, Scott was worried that the “real killer” would discredit his “fake killer.” (Honestly, typing this up right now is comical. I feel the need to put parentheses around everything I write because nothing is “real” here.)
So Scott spins his story, McNulty confirms all of it and voila - Jimmy spins it into the wire-tap that he and Lester need. You didn’t think the final season of The Wire would go without one of those, did you? Anyway, I’ll come back to this. More to talk about first.
Let’s start with Dukie. He’s got smarts, just not street smarts. Remember how addicted he was to the computer in Prez’s classroom? While I took great pleasure in seeing Dukie beat tiny Kenard into the sidewalk, seeing Spider take out Dukie was hard to watch. He’s a nice kid and clearly has a bright future if he plays his cards right. I’m not sure what to think though. First he makes the effort to train a little with Cutty and get some life advice (Sidebar: The moment when Cutty and Michael locked eyes was great. Michael could never trust Cutty personally, but by bringing Dukie to him, it was definitely a sign of respect and Cutty recognized that.) and the next day he was getting gun lessons from Michael. I really don’t know what sort of outcome is in store for Dukie yet. I’d like to think that he’ll actually get out, but I’m not sure he’s strong enough to make such a commitment.
My one worry for Dukie? Omar knows who Michael is now. He knows he rolls with Chris and Snoop and I hope he doesn’t go after Michael’s corner when Dukie is around. That’d be a shame. Speaking of Omar…umm, what the hell?!? He jumped off a third or fourth floor balcony during that ambush/shoot-out. This show is about as real as it gets, but c’mon…Omar probably should have been plastered on the sidewalk after a jump like that. Unless his black duster turns into wings or something, I don’t see how he lands that and walks away. He better have some broken bones in next week’s episode.
Moving on to Clay Davis. Maybe it’s a stupid question to ask, but is there anyone he wasn’t in bed with? Those two scenes where first Nerese and then Royce each told Clay to buck up and take the hit were great because it just shows you how connected he is in Baltimore’s political scene. He opens his mouth and plenty of others will go down with him. I think the one thing I found troubling was Clay’s radio appearance and the subsequent rally. I suppose it’s unavoidable, but I hated the way all the people at the rally were depicted as being so naïve. Read the papers, watch the news–Clay is not a good guy. But politics can be just like a religion and supporters can quickly become rabid in their beliefs to the point that even the most blatant evidence won’t sway their opinions. Honestly, I think it would have been just as realistic to see only two or three people show up at the rally as Royce says the same things to Clay: take the hit, or you’re done in this city…and everyone knows it.
I also wanted to mention the appearances by Elena and Beadie. Two really great moments. Elena tried to set Jimmy straight, telling him to not screw things up with Beadie. How often do you actually hear a woman tell her ex-husband that she likes his girlfriend? That’s got to count for something. At the same time, you have Beadie going to Bunk asking if Jimmy will ever change. It put Bunk in an odd position and you could tell he hated himself for using Jimmy’s “serial killer” as an excuse, but at least Beadie saw through it. I’d like that think that if she does go through with kicking Jimmy out, it will make a difference. But now that he and Lester have their wire-tap, I don’t think anything is going to slow him down. Even if it means the end of Jimmy and Beadie.
So, about that wire-tap. How exactly does it work this time? Jimmy filed it based on the pay-phone call that Scott “received.” However, he made sure The Sun didn’t report where the call came from. Jimmy plans on keeping that secret. Why? Because he filed the tap clearance using Marlo’s cell phone number as the number that came in. (Herc has officially redeemed himself by snagging that # from Levy’s Rolodex.) So while homicide is monitoring a dead line leading to nowhere, Lester is actually up on a wire at the Major Crimes office.
So all of this warrants an obvious question that was born in the first few minutes of this episode: knowing what he knows, why the hell would Marlo ever use a cell phone? Vondas gave it it to him and there was obviously something about it that convinced Marlo it was safe. We found out at the end. After Lester flipped on the wire-tap, a call came through almost immediately. The problem? Static. Buzz. Sounded like a dial-up modem. So the phone has some kind of jamming device built into it. So now what? Coincidentally, this relates directly to what I wondered about last week. Lester is officially involved in this whole mess now since he’s maintaining an illegal wire-tap. He and Jimmy are screwed if they can’t fix this.
More thoughts…
- I loved when Zorzi gave Rhonda hell at the Bond press conference for not calling The Sun about Clay’s perp walk.
- Seeing Chris say good-bye to his girlfriend and then play with her daughter and some dolls was just weird. Who could ever love that guy?
- Bubbles isn’t HIV . That’s great! I’m looking forward to the moment when he stops punishing himself for Sherrod.
- I loved the scene when Lester went to Cedric for money to take down Marlo with the new phone number and a fresh wire-tap. Cedric had just returned from eating his first “bowl of shit” from Mayor Carcetti and when he said “no,” Lester gave him a look that said, “you’re part of the problem now.”
- Scott made up a homeless family of four! He’d kill his own mother if it got him on the front page.
- I think the funniest part of the episode was when Jay was looking at a lingerie ad instead of porn and Bunk asked what it was. Jay’s response? “Change of pace. They look good with clothes on too.”
- Saddest line of the episode definitely goes to Beadie: “I don’t like givin’ up.”
- Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, you know what was funnier than Jay’s line? When Scott asked where he was going to find homeless people. Gus: “Not at home I imagine.” Priceless.
- Now that the “serial killer” has turned into a true red ball, there’s going to be a lot more eyes on it and I really don’t think Jimmy considered that. The idea is for everything to go unnoticed until they have what they need for Marlo.
- Even though Lester plans to attribute anything he gets from the wire-tap to an informant in court, I still don’t see how he can’t get caught. Sooner or later, someone has to realize how he got from A to Z, right?
Well, we’re at the half-way point of the season and I will say this definitely felt like a peak because it’s all downhill from here. Jimmy and Lester have gotten what they wanted, so it can only unravel from here. Omar has presumably had enough since he went over the edge (literally) and I wonder if he’ll just start gunning for only Marlo. Dukie’s relations with the rest of the corner boys are only going to get worse unless he makes a change. And Clay Davis is getting ready for his day in court. In the meantime, one great thing to look forward to is the return of Randy next week. Looks like Bunk is back up on the Lex murder. In the words of Omar, “Indeed.”
The Wire: Not For Attribution
(S05E03) “They’re dead where it doesn’t count.” - Fletcher
Poor Bunk. Nothing can ever go his way. He sees Jimmy digging a hole that he isn’t ever going to be able to get himself out of and he does what anyone with half a brain does. He appeals to someone with logic. Someone with brains, wit, and experience. He calls on Freamon to knock some sense into McNulty, so he stops with this fake serial killer business. Then, the two of them started talking. Poor Bunk.
I honestly didn’t see that one coming. Freamon and McNulty have fought numerous times in the past about procedure and going by the book and blah, blah, blah. Lester wants Marlo as bad as anyone, but I never expected him to fall as low as Jimmy. Sensationalize the killer. Give him a name. Jimmy thinks they should “kill” again! It’s twisted, but it’s brilliant too. Jimmy already tampered with those past cases by adding in the red ribbon and now with Lester’s help, Alma’s next story will definitely not be dumped into the middle of the metro section.
I think the one thing that has me bothered is that neither Jimmy nor Lester seemed concerned (or even considered) the consequences attached to this whole scheme. What if they get caught? What if a different M.E. sees through Jimmy’s fake strangulation techniques? What if Landsman simply decides to stop flipping through porn mags in his office and actually takes a peek at what his detectives are doing? The last thing he wants is more red names on the board, especially ones that’ll never go down. The biggest hurdle? Making people notice. Heed Fletcher’s words. Unless Jimmy and Lester can attach their killer to some dead, wealthy white folks, will anyone actually care? Aren’t a dozen or so homeless going to end up being just as disposable as Marlo’s 22 rowhouse murders? Time will tell.
Elsewhere, Marlo continued his quest for Baltimore domination. He finally met with Vondas, gave him a nice pile of money, and business should be flowing soon I would assume. Then there’s Prop Joe. For once, he has no idea what’s going on. Does he even realize that “civilizin’ this motherf*cker” is leading to his own undoing? He’s revealing all the tricks of the trade when it comes to money laundering. His dedication to the co-op is going to get him killed. That and his nephew. Once Omar (he’s baaaack) catches word that it was Cheese who gave up Butchie… well, you know what’s next.
The players at the Sun are finally starting to grow on me. Little things though. I loved when Twigg went on that rant on everything he knows about Daniels. Scott knew squat about Cedric and Twigg is the one being bought out. Doesn’t make sense. I still can’t wait for the moment that Gus figures Scott out though. Now the guy is making up quotes from Nareese! That takes balls! That was my favorite part of the episode though. Look at what it set-up. The Nareese “quote” gets Burrell pissed at Daniels (that, and the “promotion”) and now his past could be brought back up. We still never found out exactly what he did. Something about an assets investigation. Remember season one? Fitzhugh tipped off Jimmy and called Cedric dirty. Whatever it is, it can bring down Daniels and Marla, and Burrell has the file. Can’t wait to see how that plays out.
More thoughts…
- Great to see Michael, Dukie, and Bug just be kids. A day at Six-Flags and Dukie picked up a girl! The consequences scare me though. Michael left his corner for a whole day. Not good.
- During the Clay Davis depositions, Rhonda interviewed Day-Day! Hilarious. Remember that scene when we met him in season one? Day-Day was talking about robbing some mansion and he introduced himself to Daniels and Cedric says something like, “I’m Cedric, but you can call me sergeant.” Priceless.
- Butchie kept his mouth shut. Rest his soul.
- And speaking of those who’ve died, it was nice to see Jimmy digging through some of Ray Cole’s old files. For those not too familiar with the show, Cole (one of the department’s most inept detectives) was played by Wire executive producer Bob Colesberry. He passed away during the making of season three and as such, his character’s death was written into the show.
- Other than D’Angelo and Wee-Bey’s trips to NYC and Philly, I think Marlo’s visit to the Caymans is the farthest we’ve traveled from Baltimore on The Wire.
- I liked the back-story on Norman. He used to work for the Sun with Gus. Explains a lot actually. Little scenes like the one where he leaked Carcetti’s plans to Gus are what makes this show for me. So many tiny pieces, but each one chock full of meaning.
- Valchek was back too. How gracious of him to offer up his services as acting commissioner. What an ass. Does he really think Carcetti would give him that job?
This really is starting to feel like the end though. Old stories are popping up, resolutions are visible, and Clay Davis is scrambling for help. He’s been shut out by Burrell and now Tommy. Who’s next to say no? Shiiiiiiiiiiiit.