Comments on The House Next Door: The Wire Mondays: Season 5, Ep. 5, "React Quotes"

I don't buy Omar's leap to relative safety, even t...

2008-02-07T11:38:00.000-05:00

I don't buy Omar's leap to relative safety, even though I am thrilled to have him out on the street doing the Lord's good work.

Yes, I understand that The Wire is not a documenta...

2008-02-06T21:54:00.000-05:00

Yes, I understand that The Wire is not a documentary, and yes, the characters of Omar and Brother Mouzone have always seemed a bit like characters out of a Sergio Leone western. But it's a matter of degree, and this season Simon & Co. have pushed it way too far, imho. There are too many sudden reversals of character (Prop Joe the cunning manipulator conveniently becoming weak and stupid, Lester the voice of wisdom and sanity conveniently becoming as nutty as McNutty). And the shift in tone has been too abrupt, from more-or-less realistic drama to outright absurdist farce. (Yes, Hamsterdam was a bit of a stretch, but the magnificent conclusion of the Bell-Barksdale saga made up for it.)

I've loved this show since the beginning and have always made allowances for its few lapses, but I'm finding it painful to watch its last season. It's like watching a loved one die of some hideous degenerative disease.

And thanks for the follow-up, Andrew. I see your p...

2008-02-06T19:39:00.000-05:00

And thanks for the follow-up, Andrew. I see your point.

"Season Five is where The Wire suspends the laws o...

2008-02-06T19:38:00.000-05:00

"Season Five is where The Wire suspends the laws of physics and probability and creates a magical fairytale land of superhuman outlaws and sudden inexplicable personality reversals."

Sorry to hear you think that, Anon, because I just don't agree.

I'm no TV fanboy and I've made my views clear on other series much beloved here at HND that have slipped painfully into cliche, hyperbole, and mediocrity (cough, Lost, cough, cough) but I just don't buy it with The Wire.

The show has been compressed for a final season and some of the recent developments are incredibly shocking, but Matt is right in pointing out that The Wire is no less dramatized than any other series. If it weren't, it probably wouldn't be so damn engrossing.

Charles Dickens had flights of fancy? You mean pe...

2008-02-06T18:48:00.000-05:00

Charles Dickens had flights of fancy? You mean people don't really spontaneously combust?

I'm hanging back on commentary for the moment, but as founder and co-editor of The High Hat (www.thehighhat.com), I want to state definitively that yes, we do have takeout pepper steak.

Omar's escape does stretch credulity, but "The Wir...

2008-02-06T18:21:21.611-05:00

Omar's escape does stretch credulity, but "The Wire" stretches credulity more often than fans like to admit -- the whole Hamsterdam plotline in Season Three was ludicrous and would never happen.

And Omar himself is the least realistic major character in a series that prides itself on credibility -- if he weren't gay, which is a nice touch that subverts macho 'hood cliche, he'd be another one of those Criminals With a Code of Honor that are all over fiction but have few equivalents in life. (The show's street criminals are more Scorsese types -- meaning human but unsentimentalized -- whereas Omar seems to have escaped from a samurai picture, or maybe Coppola's "The Godfather," which made sure to differentiate between the good gangsters and the bad ones.) Even if the character of Omar is based on fact -- as I bet he is, knowing Simon's bio as a reporter -- I simply cannot believe that he was as morally consistent as the character on the series, and as willing to differentiate between those who deserve to die and those who are simply collateral players.

Brother Mouzone is ludicrous as well -- even more of a graphic novel bit player than Omar. The relationship between them -- enmity giving way to grudging respect and a kind of partnership -- was fantastic in every sense of the word. I loved it, but it was more Sergio Leone than Richard Price.

I'm not saying that "The Wire" becomes a lesser show when it departs from what could plausibly happen. All I'm saying is, it's drama, not a documentary, always more the former than the latter. The credulity-straining elements are couched in realistic details, and played in a somewhat deadpan way so that you're inclined to believe in the absurdity. Plus, the show's ambitions toward social critique make the various coincidences, contrivances, convenient relationships (Baltimore's not New York, but what are the odds of so many characters having had long, tight previous relationships with each other?) forgivable and in some ways necessary. Charles Dickens, whose name is invoked in this season, drew heavily on reportage but put it all together with flights of fancy; it was all of a piece.

I did some editing/rewriting to the recap to fix t...

2008-02-06T14:53:55.141-05:00

I did some editing/rewriting to the recap to fix the mistakes pointed out by Gail and Anon #2. Thanks for bringing them to my attention.

I'd have to rewatch the scene to be certain, but I believe that Royce actually warns Davis to take the charge and roll with it rather than hanging anyone else out to dry. Or am I misunderstanding your use of "plausible denialibity" here?

My sense Royce's comments is that he was saying "don't make me regret sticking my neck out for you--if I do, you'll never raise a dime in this town again". In other words, "find some way to skate on the charges, or else." I'm inclined to think that syncs up with the concept of plausible deniability...

"Any reason the commenting has been so light?"They...

2008-02-06T04:09:00.000-05:00

"Any reason the commenting has been so light?"

They've all gone over to the blogs that cater to the On Demand viewers.

"I'd have to agree that Omar's escape really stretches credibility. We'll see how they play it out. I'm hoping it defies cliches and goes somewhere really interesting"

Don't get your hopes up. Season Five is where The Wire suspends the laws of physics and probability and creates a magical fairytale land of superhuman outlaws and sudden inexplicable personality reversals.

"That said, Royce takes pains to tell Davis -- thr...

2008-02-05T16:04:00.000-05:00

"That said, Royce takes pains to tell Davis -- through the clenched teeth of a Cheshire-cat smile -- that if the state senator can’t retain some degree of plausible deniability regarding corruption charges, he’s well and truly fucked."

I'd have to rewatch the scene to be certain, but I believe that Royce actually warns Davis to take the charge and roll with it rather than hanging anyone else out to dry. Or am I misunderstanding your use of "plausible denialibity" here? It sounds as though you're characterizing Davis' guilt more than his willingness to rat out the other dirty politicians in Baltimore.

I'd have to agree that Omar's escape really stretches credibility. We'll see how they play it out. I'm hoping it defies cliches and goes somewhere really interesting in the same way that Kima Gregg's cliched undercover shooting in season one did.

Awesome. Marlo as Walmart. And that means Maury ...

2008-02-05T11:03:00.000-05:00

Awesome. Marlo as Walmart. And that means Maury Levy must be Hillary Clinton, a morally bankrupt lawyer representing the rapacious vertical integrators while pretending to be the people's champion?

Perhaps it is the 10-episode season, but things se...

2008-02-05T10:26:00.000-05:00

Perhaps it is the 10-episode season, but things seem to be moving a a hurried pace. This gives viewers a lot of payoffs, but at the same time it sacrifices some of the sweep and richness of past seasons, esp. season 4. It also is stretching the limits of plausibility more and more; the Omar = Batman thing went over the edge, literally.

So The Greek is China?

2008-02-05T02:25:00.000-05:00

So The Greek is China?

Any reason the commenting has been so light? Super...

2008-02-04T23:37:00.000-05:00

Any reason the commenting has been so light? Super Bowl?

I just wanted to throw out the idea that Marlo is a bit of a metaphor for wal-mart. It's not perfect, but he's ruthlessly eliminating the local competition and vertically integrating up the supply chain. Perhaps it's tough to analogize the mom and pops put out of business by Wal Mart to Prop Joe, but it is the Wire after all, and the main thematic element this season relates to the individual mattering less. Consolidation in the news business, consolidation in the drug business - squeezing out the local flavor David Simon so clearly pines for.

Good recap but there's one mistake. It's Scott who...

2008-02-04T15:28:00.000-05:00

Good recap but there's one mistake. It's Scott who makes up the serial killer call first, not McNulty. McNulty is surprised when Landesman tell him about it and you can see him -- to humorous effect - just building on the reporter's bullshit with his own.

Wow. A literal cliffhanger for an episode ending. ...

2008-02-04T00:00:00.000-05:00

Wow. A literal cliffhanger for an episode ending. Getting a little desperate, are they? (Although I did enjoy the literal match cut in S4.)

Levy is reviewing the gun charge against Chris tha...

2008-02-03T23:20:00.000-05:00

Levy is reviewing the gun charge against Chris that stemmed from last season's traffic stop. He's maligning the attorney who originally handled the case and advising Chris to find someone who can do the time because the case is airtight against him.