The Wire Season 4 (4-6)

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Episode 4

How interesting that the world repeats itself and Omar goes up against Marlo (Jamie Hector) and Prop Joe (Robert F. Chew) tries to use him as a tool. This as a story line beginning can only play out in a fascinating way.

Also it continues to fascinate that so many people are after Michael Lee (Tristan Wilds), Marlo, Cutty, Prez. That one boy on the corner stands out, shines because of how he treats others and his family and garners the attention of so many. Granted this is a television show, but it is interesting to see it all play out in these episodes.

I’m interested to see how things play out for Michael Lee, and for the rest of these boys, and how it all shakes out in the election. As always this show fascinates me so very quickly.

Episode 5

The politics in this episode take center stage, and it is well played and it adds some great scenes, but still what is fascinating me mores is the kids, the students, and the school.

Watching Prez come into his own as a teacher as he learns more about how he will teach, how he will interact with his kids, hell as he learns more about his kids in general is really very engaging to watch. The students program that Bunny is helping to develop is also something I just want to know more and more about, because it sounds innovative, but also like it could go very wrong very quickly.

I continue to be impressed with these young actors. Yeah they are young and they need to act their age, but they are also bringing about a certain amount of sadness to the stage, a certain amount of fear to the whole deal that one can’t always expect with ease. The running conversation about being a zombie and Chris (Gbenga Akinnagbe) being the zombie master and special kinds of dead is chilling, even if it is children’s talk. The two scenes where the kids talk about the gunfire, guessing what kind of gun will make a person sad, and then when they go to look at a body and declare that there is no special kind of dead there is an understanding that these boys are really not going to ever be quite right after this moment, if they have been up to this moment.

Episode 6

As the concentration shifts to Randy (Maestro Harrell) and his confession that he knows about a murder may lead to the trail of bodies that can bring down Marlo. Major Crimes finally might have what they were searching for five episodes ago. Seeing Prez pleading for the young boy to not be chewed up by the system makes the evolution of him as a teacher seem remarkable and touchingly hopeful.

I feel deeply for poor Namond (Julito McCullum), as I suspect that he is more like his father Wee-Bey (Hassan Johnson) in that he is a soldier in his heart, and not a slinger. He can protect but not really run a game with any kind of ease. Add to the fact that his mother is a grasping woman that puts all of her needs into him, and the boy seems doomed to live under her expectations and demands.

The election comes to fruition, and as we knew would come to pass, Carcetti wins the election. I mean why else would we have been as invested these last seasons? Although the struggle and the politics involved in winning an election is far more involved than even I could’ve imagined, and I can imagine a lot. Although the sexual moment on the night of his winning night reflecting the night where we saw Carcetti boning a woman years earlier when he was on the path to deciding to run for mayor and how we weren’t supposed to like him then, and how determined he was then to win, and how surprised he is at not wanting to have sex with his campaign manager and how surprised he is at winning, the two scenes as bookmarks of his campaign are very telling.