Category: The Wire (Page 6 of 7)

(Note: This is an early review of next week’s episode. If you have HBO On Demand, watch it now. Otherwise, wait until Sunday to avoid spoilers.)

Let’s get right to the good stuff, shall we? After a rigorous election trail that was nearly crushed by incumbent candidate Royce’s last-minute smut campaign, Tommy Carcetti pulled out the upset he needed to become Baltimore’s newest mayor. With this now over, however, it’ll be interesting to see if the newly elected family man really will make the necessary changes to turn the city around. And on that same note, whether Royce’s forfeit will effect some of the characters.

What will become of Herc’s fast track to Major? He’s going to need all the help he can get after his first-rate botch-up with Marlo this week. Confident that Baltimore’s number one gangster had finally slipped up, Herc planned a big bust that would land Marlo with a boatload of cocaine (or “the skinny lady,” as was recorded on the surveillance camera). Instead, Herc literally found him with a skinny lady. D’oh!

And what of Burrell’s temporary posting as Commissioner? I can’t help but think that Carcetti will want to remain loyal to Burrell, but after Rawls’ speech from last week’s episode, it looks like he might just change his mind. Plus, we already know that Rawls does frequent the gay bars (it was only a quick reveal at the end of season three, but I remember it vividly), and what better way to return to that subplot than naming him as the new Commissioner?

The second major development this week was the arrest of Omar, and though it seemed like the shotgun-toting stick-up man had finally met his demise, it was encouraging to discover that the two men sent to his holding cell weren’t there to kill him, but rather protect him. Of course, the question still remains: how will Omar prove his innocence? The answer is actually quite easy: McNulty. The recently reformed beat cop hasn’t had much to do this season, but we all knew that his eventual return was imminent. He knows that Omar has never (and probably will never) kill a citizen in cold blood, and he’ll most likely be the one that helps set him free. As a result, Omar will no doubt go searching for revenge, so prepare to say goodbye to Marlo, Chris and Snoop, because they’re about to get a couple shotgun shells unloaded in their asses.

It also looks like I was wrong on a couple of my predictions last week. Randy (not DuQuan) is going to be the kid who gives up the Marlo murders, but at what cost? Also, Prez did take the information to “someone he trusts,” but it wasn’t Lestor. Nu-uh. How about Major Daniels? Yeah, he’s still on the show too.

Actually, I was perusing some web forums after watching the episode, and I came across a poster claiming to have seen the entire season. Of course, he just had to disclose some seriously major spoilers, and I just had to read everything. Sucks for me (I know), but I will say this: if this dude’s only half-right, we’re all in for one helluva season.

(Note: This is an early review of next week’s episode. If you have HBO On Demand, watch it now. Otherwise, wait until Sunday to avoid spoilers.)

Well said, Chris. Ya know, for being introduced simply as Marlo’s go-to muscle, Chris has really earned my respect as one of the smartest characters on the show. If you must, you could even compare him to the late Stringer Bell (and probably a younger version, at that), but I have a feeling that he’s going to come into his own as a much stronger force before long. His schooling of Marlo on how to deal with Omar was impeccable, and the execution was even better (setting him up to take all the heat from a robbery homicide). Meanwhile, Marlo’s got a few new problems of his own – namely that of the Baltimore police, who have just installed a surveillance camera in a corner of the park where he hangs – but now that he knows about it, why hasn’t he just gotten rid of it?

Dealing with trivial things like this really isn’t his cup of tea, however. He’s more concerned with recruiting street smart recruits like Michael onto his crew, and though he’s tried several times, he’s yet to win him over. If he really wanted the kid on his team, all he’d need to do is get rid of that little brother of his, but I’m still not sure Marlo is as callous as that. He certainly knows the repercussions of such an act, and if it did happen down the road, you can be damn sure that he’ll be well removed.

Michael isn’t the only kid with a spotlight on him this week, either. Namond’s feeling the heat from Prez’s new in-class regime (and is a top candidate for Colvin’s new program), Randy is being haunted by Lex’s death, and DuQuan discloses that he knows exactly where Chris and Snoop have been sticking all of those dead bodies. It’s too bad he’s not working as a detective on the case, though I have a pretty good feeling that if he tells anyone else about it, it will probably be Prez, who’s recently shown an interest in the impoverished eighth grader by bringing him “extra” lunches and shuffling off pocket change for a drink. It looks like old Pryzbylewski is finally getting a hand of his new profession, though his newly earned respect may quickly diminish when he goes running to his old friend Lestor with the information.

Finally, it looks like Carcetti just might pull through with a victory over Royce in the upcoming elections. Gray is clearly no longer an option, but he continues to steal votes from the black population every week. And with only a few more days to go in the campaign, Carcetti’s now only trailing the incumbent by four points, and may have just earned a few new supporters in Delegate Watkins and Deputy Commissioner Rawls. Of course, the latter is purely professional (Rawls has been sniffing out that top post ever since Burrell was appointed as the temporary replacement), but he’ll still probably get it, if only to play up the possible homosexual subplot that was hinted at towards the end of season three. With the election just around the corner (quite possibly as soon as next episode), things are going to start heating up in the city of Baltimore, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

(Note: This is an early review of next week’s episode. If you have HBO On Demand, watch it now. Otherwise, wait until Sunday to avoid spoilers.)

When I heard about all of these other critics saying that “The Wire” was the best show on television, I couldn’t help but question their reasoning. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the show (because I do), but I also find it very difficult to give anything the “best” label. After watching episode three, however, there’s not a doubt in my mind that the HBO drama is certainly in the running. It wasn’t even a spectacular episode by most standards (there have certainly been better), but so much happened throughout the course of the show that really got me thinking just how multilayered (and unique) this series is.

Perhaps I liked this week’s episode so much because almost every character was given something to do. Even Omar made his big debut, although he didn’t appear nearly as entertaining or threatening as in past seasons. Maybe it’s the new do, or the fact that he traipsed the streets in a silk robe that kind of lost respect points on my end, but here’s hoping that he plays a much bigger part further into this season. I sure would like to see him face off against Marlo’s crew – namely Chris and Snoop – in a big gunfight. That would create some bodies, and that would give the Detail a reason to get back together.

For now, however, it looks like the Detail has been shut down. With only four remaining members causing trouble around town with their issued subpoenas, Capt. Rawls has decided to kill the project by issuing the unit a new Lieutenant. A move that eventually causes Kima and Lestor to throw in the towel and ask for new assignments in homicide.

They’re not the only ones with new jobs, either. Herc gets the call from the Mayor for what looks to become the fast-track to Sergeant, and after Bunny Colvin quits a decent gig working as the head of security at some fancy hotel, he’s decided to hook up with Social Services as a consultant for a new experimental project in the schools. Apparently, it looks like they’re going to separate the good kids from the bad, with the hope that the bad kids will be much easier to teach as one group. It’s not a bad idea, and one that (according to the recently-aired “Wire” specials) has actually worked in Baltimore.

Speaking of school, Prez certainly has his hands full. His first day doesn’t go very smoothly, and what first appears to be a simple problem of disciplining the students to listen, quickly snowballs into a much bigger situation when a girl slashes another student’s face with a razor blade… for the dumbest reason ever.

It’s official: things are about to get very interesting, but I’m too sure McNulty is going to be there when it all goes down. He seems pretty happy (and domesticated) in his new life with Beatty, and while Bunk doesn’t buy the new image, McNulty assures him that it’s the real thing. And while I would normally be ready to count McNulty out of the game, “The Wire” has a history of never really getting started until midseason. It takes a little while to build up such complicated storylines, but if he isn’t riding with the pack by episode seven, I’d say he’s pretty much a beat cop for good.