Tag: The Wire season 5 (Page 1 of 2)

Most hour-long dramas can cram an awful lot into 60 minutes (or even 44, with commercials), but no one does it better than “The Wire.” I only mention this because tonight’s episode was overwhelmingly unproductive. Sure, the major story arc inched a little closer to the finish line, but most of the other subplots seem to be stuck at a standstill. Bunk has come no closer to solving his vacant murders, Omar continues to kill/beat up Marlo’s crew (only to let some live in order to pass along a message to their boss), and despite a promise that the media would play an integral part in this season, we’ve seen very little development from within The Sun other than in Templeton’s involvement with McNulty’s case.

For the time being, however, it looks like that case will continue to dominate most of the season, with the only positive I could possibly draw being that when Marlo’s comeuppance finally does arrive (and it better), it’s going to be one hell of an episode. After faking a call to Templeton as the homeless serial killer, Lester and McNulty have finally gained the Mayor’s approval in all the overtime and surveillance they need. It was great to see how truly spooked Templeton was after realizing that all of his shady journalism tactics might have actually turned him into a real target, but I doubt McNulty appreciates the humor in the situation, since everyone (and I mean everyone, save for Bunk) in the BPD has been reassigned to a citywide search for the killer.

True, it was a genius move on Lester and McNulty’s part, but with mounting pressure from Landsman, and every other cop in the district looking for OT approval to work other cases, McNulty definitely wants this to be over sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, Lester isn’t any closer to cracking Marlo’s code after receiving the first image as he is after receiving the 50th. They’re all just pictures of clocks, and while each photo shows a different time, there doesn’t seem to be any method to the madness. Of course, if I were Lester , I’d make a quick trip to the local junior high and see what Prez thought. After all, wasn’t he the one who was at the center of cracking the Barksdale wiretap?

It seems like a distinct possibility to me, and I can’t imagine that after acquitting Senator Clay Davis in what will surely go down as one of the most surprising (yet entertaining) developments of the show’s five-year run, that David Simon and Co. will let the other villain off the hook as well. Regrettably, history seems to indicate that Simon will deliver the more realistic ending, but if there was ever a time to ignore one’s values and reward your fanbase, this would be it. Mr. Simon, I truly hope you’re listening.

It’s hard to imagine this season of “The Wire” becoming any more twisted, but alas, tonight’s episode upped the ante on the homeless serial killer case to the point where even McNulty is beginning to rethink the predicament he’s gotten himself into. With Carcetti’s harbor-side shopping mall getting little media coverage, the governor hopeful directed his attention to the ongoing investigation with a press conference that assured the local and national news affiliates that the city police would do whatever he takes to stop the murders. It was quite the speech, but as we know all too well, it meant very little in regards to getting anything done.

McNulty’s still only getting one detective to help, and Landsman has squashed his request for a surveillance crew yet again. Heck, he can’t even get a wire tap on Scott’s cell phone, since doing so would likely put his judge friend in hot water with The Sun. So, it seems like McNulty and Lester are back to square one – despite the fact that Sydnor has begrudgingly come onboard, if only to put Marlo away for good. McNulty can’t even dig up a fresh body anymore, since every homeless person that kicks the bucket is immediately bum rushed (no pun intended) by every cop in the city.

Leave it to Lester, then, to discover Marlo’s method of dealing over the cell phone just before hearing the bad news. As it goes, Marlo is using his phone for drug-related business, but instead of actually talking to his middlemen, he’s sending them photos. In order to catch him in the act, Lester needs access to a different kind of wiretap (one that would allow the interception of files), and believe it or not, McNulty actually has a plan. Thanks to Scott’s dumbass decision to begin making shit up in his articles (which McNulty is more than happy to brag about to Bunk), McNulty devises a new strategy that has the killer contacting The Sun with a text message stating how displeased he is with Scott’s depiction of him. Instead of leaving dead homeless around the city, he’s going to kill them, send a photo of their dead body to his cell phone, and then get rid of the body. McNulty jumpstarts the whole operation by “kidnapping” a homeless man and shuttling him out to D.C., but when he begins to realize just exactly what he’s doing, you can disgust on his face. It’s a brilliant scene that shows McNulty for who he really is, and I completely expect him to fess up as early as next week.

Meanwhile, Bunk continues to play it safe by working real cases. He’s re-opened all of the vacant murders with the hope of stumbling onto something he didn’t notice the first time around. That includes interviewing Randy (who clearly wants nothing to do with the police) and checking into the murder of Bug’s daddy. Suffice it to say that Bunk is one lucky motherfucker, especially after learning that a temp working at the city lab has disorganized all previous blood work on the vacant deaths. Still, when he goes to question Michael’s mother about the guy’s death, it’s clear that he wasn’t expecting the answer he was given. What? Michael was bragging about his mother’s boyfriend’s death and he’s rolling with Marlo, Chris and Snoop? Too good to be true.

Equally so is the fact that Omar survived last week’s shootout, and after hearing of his courageous jump from a third-story (or is it fourth-story) balcony, Marlo says what everybody else was thinking: “That’s some Spider-Man shit there.” Chris is clearly upset that they let Omar go, and despite Marlo offering a $250,000 bounty on his head, Omar has returned to fight on his own terms. He seems intent on calling Marlo out until he can fight him face-to-face, but Marlo isn’t that kind of gangster. Primitive though he may be, he’s still one of the classier, Stringer Bell-type guys on the block. Still, now that most of the co-op know (or will know very soon) about Marlo’s hit on Prop Joe, Omar might not even have to get his hands dirty. Then again, what fun would it be if he didn’t?

We’ve already hit the midway point of the season, and as the many subplots continue to creep along, they’ve also finally begun to merge together into one cohesive story. McNulty’s serial killer remains the center of attention, and for good reason. After calling Alma with news about the killer’s most recent victims, the two meet to discuss the case in detail. McNulty is hesitant to disclose any information at first, but when Scott (who tags along) admits that juicier details would give the story better coverage, McNulty lets them in on the fact that his killer has been biting people in very inappropriate places.

That alone is enough to send the story to the front page, and within hours, Daniels is at the mayor’s office to speak with Carcetti about the investigation. It turns out Carcetti is a little bothered by the spotlight a high-profile serial killer could bring to the city, and so he lifts the OT cap for McNulty and one other detective to work the case. Unhappy with the lack of commitment from the mayor’s office, McNulty is left to figure out another way to get surveillance on Marlo and his crew. As it turns out, McNulty left it up to luck.

After Marlo meets with Vondas to discuss the details of their new business venture, Vondas gives him a cell phone so that he’s easily reachable. Marlo then gives his lawyer the number in case of an emergency, and when Herc steals it from his boss’ rolodex, it winds up in Lester’s hands. Unfortunately, Lester ‘s bid for a wiretap doesn’t go well, so instead of calling it quits, he and McNulty plot a way to fudge the paperwork on a wiretap for the serial killer case, and instead use it for Marlo’s cell phone.

The case gets additional help when a disgruntled Scott (who’s sent out to get react quotes from the homeless community) ends up faking a call from the serial killer to his cell phone. When combined with McNulty’s “call” (which just so happened to be dialed from the same location), the bid for that wiretap is a slam-dunk. Of course, now we know that Scott really is the sleazy scumbag that he appeared, but if his selfish motives end up helping McNulty and Lestor’s case, then so be it.

Meanwhile, Omar is back in town and staking out one of Marlo’s lieutenants. Being patient so as to not walk into a set-up, Omar waits for the best moment to strike. What he doesn’t realize, however, is that Marlo has remained one step ahead, and when Omar busts through the door to take out a few of his men, he’s ambushed by Chris, Snoop and Michael. Cornered behind a sofa, Omar makes a run for it and jumps out of the third-story window. When the three shooters run to the balcony to see where he landed, Omar has already disappeared. I was actually a bit surprised to discover that Omar made it out of the shootout unscathed, but the guy has shown in past seasons that he’s virtually indestructible, and while he still might not make it out of this season alive, he certainly won’t go down without a fight. And personally, I can’t wait.