The Wire General Discussion

I mentioned during my Breaking Bad reviews that I was late into getting into both that show and this because I heard both were examples of perfect television series. I distrust perfect television. Completely. Thankfully, there is so little of it for me to be wary of, but that's why it's taken this long.

For the record, Breaking Bad was NOT perfect television. It was great or a mess from week to week.

For the Pilot of The Wire, I'm nervous because I couldn't find anything wrong with it. The show was a little TOO good. What could I possibly say in this review years after the fact? It's so good what brilliance did I miss? I feel very self-conscious about this.

And then it turns out one of the main sets is gonna be a strip-club like the tackiest of HBO softcore and I breathe a sign of relief. There WILL be stuff for me to bitch about after all.

Now, for the first episode, that was the ONLY thing. But as far as things to complain about go, it's not insignificant.

I love that Bunk shot a mouse with his service pistol. It's sounds real and relatable. And it's hilarious.

I'm not gonna take off marks for the strip club, mostly because I rarely see TV this good, and the five stars I am giving it is me saying I noticed that fact. 5 stars.

Even Daniels is corrupt enough to cover for those assholes. Who can you even depend on in that scenario?

Yeah, I'm into this. 5 stars.

I like D'Angelo's chess lesson at the beginning.

Memorable intro to Omar.

Getting interesting. 4 stars.

Speaking of which, Freamon is kind of amazing.

Sexy stuff with Greggs at the end.

I thought it was interesting that Herc actually listened to the mom folding laundry and apologized to her. That was an unexpectedly nice moment.

I think it's REALLY cool that Omar is out and doesn't care who knows.

This show is so good it's a bit intimidating to me. 4 1/2 stars.

Prez figuring out the phone code was pretty cool too.

Good episode. 4 stars.

I am glad and pleasantly surprised Daniels finally took the stand against Rawls he did. Rawls is a bad cop who is terrible at his job. I'm glad to see he's finally getting some pushback from people who aren't McNulty.

Wallace's stuff with his family was interesting too.

I am sure I am not the first person to point this out, but this is one of the only shows I've seen where the people talk like real people. There is no exposition for narrative comfort, and none of the performances are unrealistically arch. Modern stuff often has "realistic dialogue" by making the characters or the words quirky and unusual. There is no such polish to the way people speak here. Which is freaking realistic.

I was right to be intimidated by this show. It's everything people say Breaking Bad was, and it wasn't. 5 stars.

The cops beating on Bird say they are all dirty.

How did Bunk fuck Jimmy? Hmmm.

Stringer figured out the wire. Good for him.

First runner in TV history I was rooting for the runner. I kind of liked how Daniels decided to look out for him. And I like how Kevin threw in his face that it was stupid to expect to pimp him out for a candy bar. Especially after what he suffered.

Although Prez is atrocious in the field, he's very good at breaking codes with Fleamon. I think the show showing good police work and growth is equally as important as showing the bad stuff. Maybe even MORE important.

It's really cool Bubbles goes to the meetings with Johnny Weeks. That was the most realistic N.A. meeting I've ever seen on TV. Most substance abuse meetings are TV substance abuse meetings. This had authenticity to it. It was really cool.

Walon is surprisingly awesome.

This show is so good it almost makes me nervous to review it. 4 1/2 stars.

I love how despite not admitting anything, he's still very up-front with the detectives about how he still needs to operate. And their hands are kind of tied. Maybe they wouldn't be if he weren't so damn USEFUL and refreshingly unwilling to hold back the goods. They need him. Good. Because I LIKE him.

Both Wallace and D are feeling ennui about the job. I don't blame either.

Bunk is a dog. But when he tells McNulty he's no good for anybody, he's actually right. Seriously, "the spy game"? McNulty may not actually be the worst father who ever existed, but he plays him on TV.

Judge Phelan is not entirely useless. Good thing too because I was losing patience with him.

Daniels is pissed Jimmy questioned what the Burrell had on him. The interesting thing is the scene with his wife doesn't outright say Jimmy was wrong. It in fact implied the opposite.

Stringer is actually trying to go straight? It's almost funny, but my problem is his attempt seems incredibly feeble to me. He was like the coolest character on the show after Omar, and you see his big ideas are super dorky instead. It's interesting for sure, but I don't think more of him for it. Like Audrey's wish of "Somewhere That's Green" in Little Shop Of Horrors, Stringer's idea of a copy shop being a nice business to end up in is actually quite tragic.

Solid episode. 4 stars.

I love that Herc and Bodie were actually innocent of stealing the money. Mostly because I didn't see it coming.

Freamon is the best teacher anywhere. He can actually get good police work out of those mooks. I love his fatherly demeanor towards Shardene. And yeah, she's a, innocent citizen and he and Greggs knew it.

Bubbles is a weak man. But he's not a bad man which is why I'm still rooting for him.

I think D'Angelo's reaction to the dead woman in the bed says something interesting. These aren't a group of smooth gangsters after all. They're just a bunch of dumb guys who have NO fucking idea what they are doing. They talk about "the game" a lot, and yeah, they play it. But they don't understand the stakes, and with the exception of Omar, they don't understand the rules. And that's interesting.

I believe I have yet to give a single episode of this show less than four out of five stars. This will not be the episode that breaks that streak. 4 stars.

Omar is smart. He knows the truce isn't real because if it was they'd be all, "Be grateful you still have your life." Talking about having another meeting to discuss the 5 grand means he needs to get all up the hell out of there. Shit like that is why I like Omar.

I like the judge basically telling Jimmy and Elena "I'mma leave the room, and you two are gonna hash it out." By the way, I'm glad there were actual consequences to "the spy game". Because that shit is fucking nuts and Jimmy straight-up lied to her face that Stringer was a friend and not dangerous.

The cops keep getting SO close. But no cigar. Will Wallace help? Shardene? We'll see. 5 stars.

My favorite part is the amount of shocking comfort Rawls gives McNulty over his trauma. He tells him he HATES him and if he WERE actually responsible for this he'd be shouting it from the rooftops. This episode is literally the first time we've seen Rawls do something cool.

I'm with Jimmy in his fight with Rhonda though. Lawyers all cover for each other and are more interested in their future careers than justice. Although the same thing can be said for the cops.

You have a feeling D'Angelo will be okay, just because the scenario is entirely different from the other executions we've seen, but the tension is HE doesn't know. He's amazed when Wee-Bey shows him the fish instead. He will also probably be mad later that Bey didn't understand the entire time why he was freaked.

I was disappointed Herc and Bodie stole the money after all. I feel there was no point making them innocent of that accusation a couple of episodes ago only to have them do it now. A rare misstep on the series, and outside of the strip club shit, I can count the number of those so far this season on one hand.

Still not giving any episode less than four stars. I'm not sure that's a record for my reviews, but it might be. 4 stars.

"Where's Wallace, String?" Turning point for D'Angelo. The Task Force believes Stringer is gonna skate. Because of D, I don't think he will.

I appreciated McNulty admitting this entire thing was actually down to vanity. I appreciated that because I didn't believe that until he admitted it. All right then.

Burrell is dirty and the whole city is dirty. Daniels taking the stand he did was admirable.

Carver saying he had never worked a case like this before says something that is probably true for all the clowns assigned to it. This is going to be their career high point and they know it. It's kind of sad.

Great penultimate episode. The episode title itself says with only two episodes left, we've moved past the main action and are spending our last two episodes on wrap-up. That's an adult notion right there. Lesser shows believe the main drama needs to last until the last act break of the season. This feels like we are being gifted a beautiful beginning, middle, and end. 4 1/2 stars.

Loved Omar in the last scene.

You know what though? Hooking up Freamon and Shardene is gross. Another rare misstep. Seriously, adored the fatherly vibe he gave her and THIS. No. Ick.

I felt satisfied by that. Which is what you actually want in a finale. 4 1/2 stars.