The Wire Finale

[Bando]

So what did everyone think? Even though I haven't been a fan of season 5, I have to say last night's finale was pretty cool. They (finally) worked the insane serial killer plotline back into the overarching themes of the show (I like how it was foreshadowed in the first scene of season 5 by Bunk). Even the weak newspaper plot seemed to wrap up ok.

Man, Marlo has everything Bell ever wanted, but he can't stand it. And Michael's the new Omar, Dukie the new Bubbles.

[Jack]

This man disagrees, vehemently: tinyurl.com/29vwcy


I fall somewhere in between. The final season definitely did not have the power of the first 4 (especially 1 and 3 in my mind), but I thought it improved at the end. Ultimately St. Gus of Baltimore vs. the Evil Corporate Media types and their snivelling toady Templeton were too much of a handicap, and I did find the McNulty stuff trite, but strength of the show remained with the portrayal of the Game, and it is without question still the Game, with "Muppet-baby" versions of some of the major players in the final few episodes.

[Cambridge]

I've been thinking a lot about the "media" theme. A couple of the thougths distilled:

1) I think that it is ironic that Simon feels so much anger for people like Templeton and the editors, those who have taken the news and fictionalized it and sensationalized it for their own ends. They aren't content with the confines of reality and would rather create the perfect quote and blend fiction and reality to create acclaim. In a sense, hasn't Simon done that as well. He left the newsroom and has created a fictional world that closely mirrors reality but is actually a sensationalization and dramatization that is full of perfect quotes, unlikely plot twists and unrealistic characters. Those characters draw attention to a real plight (the death of the inner city vs the plight of the homeless) but the means by which he is making his point are those of fiction. Therefore, Simon, for all his anger towards Templeton, is more like him than he would probably admit.

2) I think there is value in the media subplot for perhaps an unintended reason. While it is clear Simon bears a grudge against the Sun and that is likely his overt message, there is an underlying commentary. Perhaps on some level, the media subplot is more of a commentary on us, the fans/viewers of The Wire. We, like the fictional newsroom, are somewhat out of touch with the rest of the world. The newsroom seems unaware of the internet or the modern media. We seem unaware that everyone is not as obsessed with this show as we are. Similarly, we are obsessed with The Wire and its creators and moan about the lack of awards. We follow the intricate plotlines of the show and proclaim to care about the underlying issues, however we have merely fallen into a fictional narrative. We pay no more attention to the plight of the inner city, specifically Baltimore than we did prior to watching the show. We spend more time canonizing Omar or Bunk and miss the larger point. Like the newsroom who fails to realize the importance of Omar or Prop Joe, we miss the importance of countless "nameless" and "faceless" characters who fall every day. They are not names known to us, and thus we ignore them until a charlatan like Templeton (or should I dare say, Simon) sensationalize them and turn them into near mythical characters. For example, when the war vet berates Templeton and Gus and says, "you don't lie about combat if you were there," doesn't that seem like an indictment of Simon and ourselves for reveling in this fictional world? This is all very rough, but I get the sense that there is some sort of indictment of the audience in the Sun subplot.

3) I loved the parallels and how they panned out. Michael becomes the new Omar. Dukie the new bubbles. Those were powerful. Also, fascinating to see Slim Charles (the new Prop Joe?) deal out justice against Cheese while Cheese's parallels/shadows, Templeton and McNulty, get off much better. Templeton wins a pulitzer. McNulty gets a soft landing. In fact, the only system that seems able to deal out justice is the street. The police, press, schools and docks all fail their characters. Only the streets manage to maintain a sense of order.

4) I also liked Marlo's dilemma. Much like the restaurant scene from season 4 or his earlier trip to the Caribbean this season, we see one of the characters out of their element. Marlo finally gets what Stringer Bell wanted, what even he thinks he might want and he can't handle it. He is so frustrated by the alien setting he walks out onto the street and attacks two hoppers, just to gain a sense of familiarity. The strange blood tasting pulls it altogether, Marlo has become a nightwalker, a vampire. He is stuck somewhere between the living and the dead. He can't return to his position for fear of prosecution, but he feels unable to enter the straight world. He is trapped in limbo.

[Z]

despite the streetcorner scene, i have a hard time believing that marlo would really return to the street full time, flouting the prosecutor's office and antagonizing the remaining dealers (remember, he now has no muscle and no real residual value to slim charles et al since he sold the connect). he has always had a strong instinct for self-preservation, so i have to think he takes his millions and exits the game.

[Cambridge]

Yeah, but his survival instincts are completely street based. On the street, he knows when the blow is coming and has the ability and instincts to avoid it. See his interaction on the corner.

However, in the room with the developers, Levy has to warn him that the guy would "bleed him dry." He had no idea up until that point. He is without instincts, out of his element and unable to tell danger when he sees it. This coupled by the fact that Levy admitted earlier this season (and Clay Davis backed up the story) that he is bleeding Marlo.

Marlo realized he is out of his element and lacks the instincts to cut it in the boardroom. He will always have to depend on Levy and others who are not trustworthy.

[Z]

i guess my point is that he is now worth 8 figures (didn't he also get the $20mm in bust money back, on top of the $10mm for the connect) and really doesn't need to rely on anyone going forward--including levy--and i have to think he realizes that. even if "real estate mogul" marlo is a non-starter, he's still a rich dude that probably is smart enough to know when to get out of dodge. that being said, heading straight to and almost dying on the corner during a high-society event doesn't exactly make him seem like the most logical guy around.

[Bando]

Mar 10, 2008 20:27:04 GMT -5 Cambridge said:

I've been thinking a lot about the "media" theme. A couple of the thougths distilled:

1) I think that it is ironic that Simon feels so much anger for people like Templeton and the editors, those who have taken the news and fictionalized it and sensationalized it for their own ends. They aren't content with the confines of reality and would rather create the perfect quote and blend fiction and reality to create acclaim. In a sense, hasn't Simon done that as well. He left the newsroom and has created a fictional world that closely mirrors reality but is actually a sensationalization and dramatization that is full of perfect quotes, unlikely plot twists and unrealistic characters. Those characters draw attention to a real plight (the death of the inner city vs the plight of the homeless) but the means by which he is making his point are those of fiction. Therefore, Simon, for all his anger towards Templeton, is more like him than he would probably admit.

2) I think there is value in the media subplot for perhaps an unintended reason. While it is clear Simon bears a grudge against the Sun and that is likely his overt message, there is an underlying commentary. Perhaps on some level, the media subplot is more of a commentary on us, the fans/viewers of The Wire. We, like the fictional newsroom, are somewhat out of touch with the rest of the world. The newsroom seems unaware of the internet or the modern media. We seem unaware that everyone is not as obsessed with this show as we are. Similarly, we are obsessed with The Wire and its creators and moan about the lack of awards. We follow the intricate plotlines of the show and proclaim to care about the underlying issues, however we have merely fallen into a fictional narrative. We pay no more attention to the plight of the inner city, specifically Baltimore than we did prior to watching the show. We spend more time canonizing Omar or Bunk and miss the larger point. Like the newsroom who fails to realize the importance of Omar or Prop Joe, we miss the importance of countless "nameless" and "faceless" characters who fall every day. They are not names known to us, and thus we ignore them until a charlatan like Templeton (or should I dare say, Simon) sensationalize them and turn them into near mythical characters. For example, when the war vet berates Templeton and Gus and says, "you don't lie about combat if you were there," doesn't that seem like an indictment of Simon and ourselves for reveling in this fictional world? This is all very rough, but I get the sense that there is some sort of indictment of the audience in the Sun subplot.

3) I loved the parallels and how they panned out. Michael becomes the new Omar. Dukie the new bubbles. Those were powerful. Also, fascinating to see Slim Charles (the new Prop Joe?) deal out justice against Cheese while Cheese's parallels/shadows, Templeton and McNulty, get off much better. Templeton wins a pulitzer. McNulty gets a soft landing. In fact, the only system that seems able to deal out justice is the street. The police, press, schools and docks all fail their characters. Only the streets manage to maintain a sense of order.

4) I also liked Marlo's dilemma. Much like the restaurant scene from season 4 or his earlier trip to the Caribbean this season, we see one of the characters out of their element. Marlo finally gets what Stringer Bell wanted, what even he thinks he might want and he can't handle it. He is so frustrated by the alien setting he walks out onto the street and attacks two hoppers, just to gain a sense of familiarity. The strange blood tasting pulls it altogether, Marlo has become a nightwalker, a vampire. He is stuck somewhere between the living and the dead. He can't return to his position for fear of prosecution, but he feels unable to enter the straight world. He is trapped in limbo.

RE: the media story, I don't think it really made sense until the finale. The whole point of the media subplot was to show (and Simon says this himself, in an interview I can't find) how the paper missed every major plot development this season. That is, the viewer was much more informed than the paper. He tries to show why this is, namely people are chasing pulitizers, budget cuts in the newsroom, 20-somethings on the city beat who haven't been around long enough to know who the heck Prop Joe is, etc.

That said, this definitely didn't need to be a season-long plotline. He could have made this point in two episodes, tops.