Episodes 5 and 6

"Just 'cause they're in the streets doesn't mean that they lack opinions" - Ep.5

"If you got a problem with this, I completely understand" -Ep.6

I've been reading a fair bit about season five on other blogs and Salon. There's been alot of criticism about Scott Templeton's character and McNulty's serial killer, specifically that Templeton is a very two dimensional character and that the whole serial killer storyline is way out of character for McNulty. On the first criticism, I'd have to agree. One blogger mentioned that David Simon was involved in "outing" a reporter who fabricated stories during his time at the Balitmore Sun. Clearly Simon has some unresolved resentments against the newspaper business and he left long before people like Conrad Black started snatching up every paper they could get there hands on, laying waste to the staff and politicizing the content. I'm not entirely onboard with the serial killer criticism. True, it does seem pretty out of character for McNulty to start something this ... well, stupid, but McNulty has never been very good at reigning in his impulses. And he always has a typical alcoholic justification for why his self-destructive and selfish actions are really the logical result of the incompetence of others.

One one thing I haven't seen discussed in these other forums, and it is particularly evident in episodes 5 and 6, is how incredibly funny this season has been which speaks directly to the serial killer storyline. I have no doubt that the serial killer story is going to have tragic results but its still delivered us lines like "How do I write that into my bullshit homeless killer's M.O.?" and "I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I can see why Daniels cringed every time you opened your fucking mouth. You’re a supervisor's worst nightmare.". On top of that there's all the great facial comedy - Lester's look when Bunk starts talking about the homeless guy they kidnapped and Bunk almost constant look of impending meltdown whenever the homeless killer is mentioned. Its the kind of comedy that I've loved in The Wire - the best kind of situational comedy - a believable situation gradually becomes more and more ridiculous and only escalates as the characters struggle to hold it together for "a couple more days".

I've also been intrigued by the co-op storyline. I find it a bit unbelievable that the other dealers in the co-op have put up with Marlo for as long as they have. It was a real struggle to them to put aside there differences for the common good and just because Marlo has the best muscle, I don't see them taking this shit lying down and I think its starting to show. I'd be a bit surprised at this point if Marlo even survives long enough to get caught. No connect is so good its worth getting picked off one by one.

And that certainly was some "Spiderman shit" from Omar at the end of episode five. I've seen Omar pull off some pretty spectacular stuff but that must have been a five or six story drop, followed by an immediate retreat back into the building. It was sad to see someone finally get the drop on old Omar but he's started to turn the tables in episode six and hit Marlo where it hurts - his reputation.

As the world turns ...

Wow, you take one family day off and come back to a Cuba without Castro and a Pakistan without Musharraf. Sometimes the world turns very slowly and sometimes the whole landscape changes in a day.

Another Omar

I'm the first to admit I'm a bit confused about the Omar Khadr trial. Let me start by saying I have very little sympathy for the Khadrs. There is no question their father was knowingly involved in the financing of terrorism. Here's what we know, which I don't believe is being disputed - The US government sent US soldiers to Afghanistan to remove the Taliban regime by force and to capture or kill as many members of Al-Qaeda as possible, as the primary response to September 11 attacks. There's pretty good reasons to believe that this is exactly the response Osama Bin Laden was hoping 9/11 would provoke. Either way, a lot of people make the mistake of confusing al-Qaeda, the terrorist organization with the Taliban, the government of Afghanistan, but in this case it doesn't really matter. The Khadrs were members of Al-Qaeda. They were part of a terrorist organization. So I have no problem with US forces killing Ahmed Said Khadr, he's about as fair game as Ayman al-Zawahri or Bin Laden himself. I think we can agree on that. Honestly, in the heat of the battlefield, I don't even have a problem with shooting and killing a fifteen year old boy. These things happen; its an unfortunate fact of war. But in Omar's case things get a bit fuzzy especially with the release of this today -

It has long been assumed by many that Mr. Khadr was the only combatant alive, and so must have been the one who threw the grenade. But the first U.S. service member on the scene described coming across another living fighter, and shooting him dead with a bullet to the head, before finding the wounded Mr. Khadr and shooting him twice in the back but not killing him.

The revelations, mistakenly released in never-before-seen documents, came during a military tribunal hearing for Mr. Khadr yesterday at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay.

Documents that were supposed to be censored in their entirety were accidentally handed out to reporters in the courtroom, taking both defence and prosecution lawyers by surprise.

Somebody's gonna get shot in the face over letting that dossier split out.

Omar was fifteen years old at the time and he didn't exactly choose to live as a jihadist in Afghanistan. Maybe he's a sociopathic killer - I don't know but he was fifteen years old. And he's been held in Guantanamo for over five years because he killed a US soldier. A US soldier who was sent to Afghanistan to kill him and his kind. Now we find out that not only is it possible he didn't throw the grenade that killed the soldier but another soldier shot him in the back. Twice. So I'm a bit confused - isn't Omar Khadr supposed to be trying to kill American soldiers? Isn't that how war works? How does this constitute a "war crime"? It seems that "unlawful combatant" also means its "unlawful" for you to actually participate in a "combatant" role i.e. fighting back. Providing material support for a terrorist organization make him a criminal. A common criminal not a war criminal but, of course, if he was a criminal he'd be entitled a regular trial.

And don't even get me started on how the inmates at Guantanamo are the "worst of the worst" yet the US has "discharged" two thirds of the estimated 750 inmates since 2002 without charges. Three people have been charged. Three.

S5, Episode 4

OK so I've only had my blog for less than a month and I'm already falling behind on my Wire commentary. Things certainly are heating up. To backtrack abit to the previous two episodes, it was great to see Avon back in the game. After a full season with no mention of Avon, I assumed he would not be back but it only seems fitting that he make his presence felt as a "what you call ... an authority figure" in the final season. I'm not exactly sure why Marlo called Sergei Boris but it was a nice little inside joke ("Why is it always Boris?").

Episode 4 also contained a great scene between Beadie and McNulty. It's been obvious the relationship between Beadie and McNulty is deteriorating but we finally get to see where it currently stands and it elaborated on further in episode 5. Props to Amy Ryan (Beadie Russell) for her Oscar nomination for her role as Helene McCready in "Gone Baby Gone". She does an excellent job in the part and it's a fine film. Probably not co-incidentally, "Gone Baby Gone" was based on the novel by Dennis Lehane (Mystic River), who has been working as a writer on the Wire since season 2.

One of the things I read prior to this season starting was David Simon saying the only character who escapes without being drawn into corruption or scandal is Sidner. Of course that probably doesn't include Bubbles or my man Omar. I find it hard to believe Omar is going to go down. I loved Prop Joe's line about Omar coming back - "Out of respect for the man’s skill set, I’m gonna take myself out of the line-up tomorrow after the meeting." . This week's episode shook my confidence a bit and while Omar may not have met his match in Chris and Snoop, he's definitely found worthy opponents.

Mostly I've been thinking about Marlo - about that blank expression on his face as Prop Joe gets one in the back of the head. He doesn't look like it pains him to kill Joe, a man who has gone out of his way to help Marlo, but he also doesn't look like he enjoys it either. It just needs to be done. There's a lot of emphasis in previous seasons on the streets not being like they used to be, how there's no code, no rules, everyone is ruthless and without remorse. "These corner kids today ..." Marlo seems to be the epitome of that ethic - hard just for the sake of hard and totally, completely without emotion. However Marlo and others have made a few references to the crown and the burdens which come with it and it makes me wonder if that will be Marlo's downfall. I don't think Marlo even does it for the money. I think Marlo wants the crown and he wants the power. The money is a means to that end but I don't think its an end in itself for Marlo. And I keep wondering how long the other members of the co-op are just going to take this shit from Marlo.

Right now Omar has been manipulated by Marlo to come out of retirement by Butchie's murder but Omar knows he's being setup now, or atleast he should. I expect tonight to see Omar's game plan change and like most Wire plots, we probably won't know exactly what's going down until its almost upon us.