I’ve never seen “The Wire”, much to the astonishment of basically everyone I know. “It’s the best show there ever was,” they’d say. “Dude! What the hell?” they’d say. “OMFGWTF?!?!” “You need to get on that!” etc.
I’ve been biding my time until it hit the instant queue in Netflix, but as it turns out a friend of mine (who we’ll call “Craig” to protect his anonymity) has the box set and let me borrow it. This is the beginning of a running dialogue between myself and Kyle, who has seen “The Wire” and has been telling me I need to watch it. We’ve started watching the series from the beginning, so every few episodes we’ll chime in with a dialogue which will highlight the first-time viewer’s reaction as well as the retort from a seasoned “Wire” veteran.
SKEEZE
When we left off last time we were at the mid-point of season one. Omar had just found out that his main bitch was basically gutted and left on the hood of a pickup truck for all the world to see, a message sent to him by Avon. Naturally, I was very excited to see how many people Omar was about to kill. There was still the yakking back and forth between the cops about this and that, a nighttime raid on the apartments where they all live and deal drugs, and so on but I was more than ready to watch Omar kill everyone.
Much to my dismay, Omar killed NO ONE. What the hell? I knew coming in that a character named Omar was the baddest mofo in the show but it’s like he just let this one slide. I can only hope it’s part of a bigger plan to KILL EVERYONE.
The Diplomat
This is the make or break portion of the Wire. You either stick with it, or you get sick of “how slow” it gets and you move on to Real Housewives of Atlanta. I know you and you are not one to quit, so I am confident you will make it through this rough patch. What are your thoughts on McNulty? Dude is an alcoholic with few redeeming qualities except he has large balls. You like him?
SKEEZE
I love McNulty. That dude reminds me of a not that much younger version of me – alcoholic, large balls (still intact) – and I love the way he’s starting to screw with the bastard who lobbied to have him put on the boat. I’m actually digging season two so far, much more than I anticipated. I was told by “Craig” that I probably wouldn’t enjoy it simply because Omar doesn’t kill everyone in the beginning. What I’ve found is that I love the interplay now that they’ve all been broken up – McNulty on the boat, the lesbian trying to be a housewife (how whipped is she?), the tall dude trying to retire but suddenly getting sucked back in which gets him out of the evidence room…that is all getting pretty interesting. The union guys are cool, too, and why there’s such a stink over a damned church window is beyond me. It’s a church window. Let it go.
The Diplomat
And as you are enjoying all of that… BOOM. Omar comes calling. One thing for me which stands out in the early going in Season 2 is the dynamic between Stringer and Avon. Avon is clearly the king and he knows it, as does everyone else. However, it seems like Stringer is the John Paxson of the NBA, he is the consummate professional. He is smart, has swagger, and is basically the director of all operations even when Avon is around. Avon knows that and takes the opportunity to give him a hand slap in the early part of season 2 to keep him in check. However, with Avon in jail I wonder from your perspective how you think that turns out? Does Stringer take over everything and retain the crown when Avon is releases? Also, how awesome was the spiked coke move in prison? Game recognize game.
SKEEZE
I loved the coke thing – that was hard. That prison guard should’ve known that you don’t mess with those guys. Hell, every prison guard should know that you don’t fuck with the prisoners just fuck with them. That’s insane. You can only hit the hornet’s nest with a stick so many times before you get stung. As far as Stringer goes, I am very curious to see how that plays out. It seems that Stringer is extremely loyal to Avon but maybe that’s all a front. That’s what I dig about this show. It keeps you guessing. Speaking of guessing, here’s a guess for you – Ziggy is gonna get popped for being such a moron.
