Apparently the “episode guide” writers for The Wire’s HBO web page are trying to do “more with less.” (Maybe they’re on strike) It’s disappointing because one of the best things to do after viewing an episode was reading the in-depth re-cap that would supplement some of the more subtle touches (“there’s a ‘B’ in subtle) and plot movements of the program: along with providing much needed character names to keep all the new ones straight. Guess that means, I’ll just have to watch it again.
But that was about the only thing disappointing from the final season opener. As always, the season opens with a beautiful scene meant to encapsulate the entire season. This time, the ever engrossing Det. Norris provides us with the line about how Americans will eat any shit you feed to them. It’s a cynical message from the show’s creators about the focal point of season 5: The Media.
When I first heard about this story arch for the final season, I was thrilled. Having studied and graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism from
After spending the first half of the opener “catching up” with familiar characters, Simon, Burns and co. introduce us to this season’s focal point. To that end, I was sold seconds into the newsroom scenes. Clark Johnson – who directed the first two episodes - proved his acting capabilities mirror his directorial ones. His Lester Freamonesque ability to make a “under the fold” page one story out of the obligatory city council minutes was topped only by the audible he throws out midway through his answer to his boss about who nailed the lead - crediting his news staff with the find. (This was one of the most realistic reactions of an actor displaying thought in film/TV history.) Needless to say, I’m ecstatic to see how this storyline threads its way into Simon and Burns’ portrait of
As for the rest of the painting, I am anxious to follow Marlo’s power play for the entire city. Judging from the preview of the next episode with his “through glass” meeting with Avon regarding the "Greek", it appears as if Marlo is hoping to wholesale to all of
Some other nice touches from the opener were Herc’s new job with Levy and Chris Partlow’s inquiry into court records to an oblivious Daniels/Pearlman (although I find it hard to believe that A. McNulty didn’t run into them as he was following Partlow and B. that Daniels and Pearlman – both privy to the discussion about securing a warrant to search Parlow’s SUV in season 4, and him being the top suspect in the very murders whose investigation they were meeting with Bond to plead to fund – wouldn’t have been slightly familiar with him). Maybe I’m stretching here, but I love the ambitious and successful attempts to collide characters that have no business being in a scene together. On that note it was nice to see old Sergei back in the fold - even if it was just his storyline. For as much as Simon declares that characters are here to serve the story and not vice versa, he still obliges to follow some rules of the television medium and give glimpses of fan favorite characters and let the story circle back on some old faces. He’s seems to have done this with all of my personal favorites from each season including: Wee-Bay, Sergei, Spiros, (I’m still waiting for a “Niko” sighting) and apparently with
All in all I thought it was a superb re-entry into The Wire’s final chapter. I found myself chuckling and smiling during Landsman and
PS: I noticed that when showing Clarke Peter’s (Freamon) surveillance of Partlow, that the camera strangely never showed him walking – minus a glimpse of a long shot that displayed a severe bow-legged walk. The rest of the sequence used above waist shots of Peters. That got me to do the “Mind Rewind” to recall if they’ve ever showed Freamon without a desk or in a full shot actually walking. I know that he was exploring the vacants, but I can’t recall a specific shot showing him in the act of walking. Just thought it was interesting.
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