5 reviews
This is an excellent episode with moments that are quintessentially 'The Wire'.
The opening scene depicts one of the most hard-hitting and tragic incidents in screen history. It shocks because you know people go through situations like this in real life in war-torn countries and crime ridden neighbourhoods. As a parent, it hits like a sledgehammer.
This makes the blatant self-serving politics that is always depicted so well on 'The Wire' that much more infuriating. The scenes involving Valchek, Burrell, Daniels, and Pearlman, plus the FBI related shenanigans are brilliantly portrayed and so relatable to organisations I have observed.
The plot gets increasingly compelling, with the antagonists of the Barksdale crew and Greeks having some of the most intriguing plot threads. Bodie gets some of the most memorable and ironically written scenes that work well visually and in dialogue exchanges. J D Williams is on great form as always, along with Idriss Elba.
Ziggy has more scenes that increase the sense of dread associated with his character arc. Some of this is meticulously detailed in its writing and thematically tragic, particularly in the visuals with the duck and the path we think the character is going down. James Ransone cuts a pathetic figure and shows great range in his portrayal of this character.
As bleak as the episode is at times, the humour is as strong as ever in certain scenes. McNulty's undercover exploits are easily the funniest, along with the usual banter from Bunk and Landsman.
There are also some great introductions to new characters who will become more important and prominent in later episodes. This shows how clever the writing is for the larger narrative of the show.
It's a 9.5/10 for me but I round upwards.
The opening scene depicts one of the most hard-hitting and tragic incidents in screen history. It shocks because you know people go through situations like this in real life in war-torn countries and crime ridden neighbourhoods. As a parent, it hits like a sledgehammer.
This makes the blatant self-serving politics that is always depicted so well on 'The Wire' that much more infuriating. The scenes involving Valchek, Burrell, Daniels, and Pearlman, plus the FBI related shenanigans are brilliantly portrayed and so relatable to organisations I have observed.
The plot gets increasingly compelling, with the antagonists of the Barksdale crew and Greeks having some of the most intriguing plot threads. Bodie gets some of the most memorable and ironically written scenes that work well visually and in dialogue exchanges. J D Williams is on great form as always, along with Idriss Elba.
Ziggy has more scenes that increase the sense of dread associated with his character arc. Some of this is meticulously detailed in its writing and thematically tragic, particularly in the visuals with the duck and the path we think the character is going down. James Ransone cuts a pathetic figure and shows great range in his portrayal of this character.
As bleak as the episode is at times, the humour is as strong as ever in certain scenes. McNulty's undercover exploits are easily the funniest, along with the usual banter from Bunk and Landsman.
There are also some great introductions to new characters who will become more important and prominent in later episodes. This shows how clever the writing is for the larger narrative of the show.
It's a 9.5/10 for me but I round upwards.
- snoozejonc
- Apr 25, 2022
- Permalink
The first 3 minutes of this episode is one of the best openings to an episode I've ever seen gave me absolute chills. the rest of the episode was very good and sets up for the last 3 episodes of season 2
- Gus-Lannister
- Aug 22, 2020
- Permalink
- silverton-37959
- Mar 9, 2024
- Permalink