The above quote perfectly describes the feeling I had before realizing that there was indeed going to be one more episode following this week’s, and the set-up couldn’t have been any better. Before I get into any specifics, I have to say that the opening scene had to be one of the best in the show’s history. Watching Snoop and Chris chase down Michael with guns in hand triggered a sudden state of confusion for me. What exactly did Michael do to warrant Marlo handing out a death sentence? Perhaps he found out about the diamond ring that Michael got off Officer Walker? Or maybe he’s just pissed off that his friend snitched about Lex. Actually, neither. Michael is being put through the usual regiment of training, and the guns in question are actually just paint guns. When I saw Chris get splattered with red, however, I was almost certain that Michael had just shot him. Then, it came to me. A very smart red herring by the writers.
Anyways, now that Michael’s slowly being ushered in as part of Marlo’s new generation of thugs, the kid’s gotten downright brutal. He’s moved out of his mom’s place and isn’t acting the same. When Namond discovers that his Lt. (that little hoodrat named Kenard) ripped off his stash, he employs Michael’s help to get it back, but when Michael starts beating the shit out of the little kid, Namond runs for his life. Later on, Namond tries to regain his alpha status by teasing Duquan at Cutty’s gym, but Michael isn’t about to have any of it, and starts smacking (yes, open handed smacking) Namond in the face. Cutty forces Michael to leave and Namond falls to the ground crying. Oh, sweet justice.
Meanwhile, the battle on the streets finally gets some much needed momentum with the actual uncovering of Lex’s body, but the higher ups don’t appreciate ‘ol Lestor adding another body to their piling heap of unsolved case loads. To make matters worse, Lestor is trying to get his detail back into gear, but Herc is forced to leave when he’s picked up by IAD, and Kima is plenty happy with homicide. It looks like Jim McNulty is ready to make his grand reentry, but we probably won’t see it actually happen until the next season. Still, none of this would have ever happened if it weren’t for Randy opening his big mouth, and he paid for it big time when his house was burned down by a bunch of Marlo’s thugs. Randy survived unscathed, but his foster mother wasn’t so lucky.
And with Duquan now out of a home as well, it looks like both will be shacking up with Michael, who will no doubt convince them to join up with him and Marlo. To put it in “The Wire” terms, Michael is probably going to become the next Avon Barksdale, with Randy as his Stringer Bell. The comparisons make perfect sense, and they also have a very similar childhood friendship. And what of Duquan? Who knows, but there’s a very good chance that Prez might adopt him before long. At least, that’s what seems to be happening with the fourth member of their circle of friends, Namond, who will no doubt go to live with Bunny Colvin after that ugly scene with his mother.
As usual, there’s plenty more that I could go on about – like Carcetti’s trip to D.C. to beg for education money, Omar’s impending takedown of Prop Joe and Marlo, or Bubble’s meaningless struggle to get clean – but that would only cheapen the more important events that took place tonight. One more week, and hopefully all of our questions will be answered. And because you know it’s going to happen, feel free to speculate on who you think won’t be lucky enough to stick around for the fifth and final season.
