Rinaldo September 15, 2014 Share September 15, 2014 Story by David Simon & Ed Burns; teleplay by David Simon; directed by Ed Bianchi. The police start to deal with the thirteen bodies in the cargo container. Link to comment
ToxicUnicorn September 17, 2014 Share September 17, 2014 That was a pretty heartless game of hot potato between the agencies. I'd like to believe I would not reach that point of casual disregard for life, but I have no idea. As horrifying as that was, I suppose it is better to see that depiction rather than yet another romanticized story (as in the sort t I am used to seeing on tv). 1 Link to comment
Misstify September 17, 2014 Share September 17, 2014 (edited) I think the worst part of the hot-potato game was, "They're dead, so they're cargo." So much good stuff in this episode. We get to see more of our season 1 people… D'Angelo (and his new drug habit)! Wee-Bey (and his plastic fish)! And…let's not forget Polk ("Who signs the overtime slips?"). Omar is not forgotten, as Bunk continues to harass McNulty to try to get a hold of Omar for the Gant case. Newspapers show up a lot this season. Here, McNulty finds out about the 13 bodies via a newspaper-wrapped crab feast, and makes the possible connection to his floater. (Last episode, it was Stringer and the new lawyer looking at a newspaper article about how their supplier got nabbed by the DEA). McNulty's meddling ends up biting his friends, as Lester and Bunk get stuck with the 14 Jane Does (who wouldn't even be murder cases, if not for McNulty 1. mentioning the defensive wounds on the floater and 2. investigating the top of the can). Why? Because they are good at what they do. A classic situation: the better you are at your job, the more you get stuck with the hard stuff, the stuff no one else wants to do. Cole is mediocre, and gets let off the hook. One wonders how many cases remained unsolved, or not classed as murders, because there wasn't some pain in the ass detective trying to piss off his boss by sticking him with a whodunit. Edited September 17, 2014 by Misstify 2 Link to comment
Rinaldo September 19, 2014 Author Share September 19, 2014 I'm with you right down the line, Misstify. We're moving pieces into place, but so many great moments along the way. Beatrice admiring Jimmy for actually caring about the dead women, and then getting a bucketful of reality in the face as she realizes he's doing it to stick it to his former boss. And then when she meets Bunk & Lester, and asks them if they know Jimmy, Bunk's dry "Yeah, but he's dead to us." The tiny moves and countermoves within the Barksdale organization, even with members in prison: making sure all bases are covered and everyone is properly looked after. More evidence of how useless and unwanted Ziggy is, and the worst part is he knows it. Meanwhile the Sobotka/Valchek rivalry steps up, and Stan gets Burrell to spring for a special unit to get him his dirt against Frank: a useless collection of cast-offs (Polk's priceless single response "Who signs the overtime slips?"), under the direction of Prez, well-intentioned but not leadership material for something like this. And then at the end, the chilling scene through which we realize who "the Greek" really is. Link to comment
KnoxForPres September 27, 2014 Share September 27, 2014 Gosh it's good to read everyone's commentary. I didn't understand the hotwired white van. At all. I'm hoping it comes with time and I'm not just missing major things (this happens to me, sadly) but don't really understand all the stained glass/catholic church/money exchange. Like I understand it at the very base element, but am not following the significance. I liked the prison scenes. I could handle a "special" episode a la Oz where they just showed us our old friends doing time. Link to comment
Rinaldo September 27, 2014 Author Share September 27, 2014 You probably do understand the whole stained-glass business. It's an incredibly petty, insignificant rivalry between a police lieutenant and a union man as to who can make the nicer, more impressive-looking gift to their church. It doesn't have any deeper meaning, except for what it accidentally led to. It's characteristic of the series that much of the second season wouldn't have happened the way it did except for Valchek's determination to win this idiotic bit of one-upmanship. What is it that you don't understand about the white van? 1 Link to comment
KnoxForPres September 28, 2014 Share September 28, 2014 You probably do understand the whole stained-glass business. It's an incredibly petty, insignificant rivalry between a police lieutenant and a union man as to who can make the nicer, more impressive-looking gift to their church. It doesn't have any deeper meaning, except for what it accidentally led to. It's characteristic of the series that much of the second season wouldn't have happened the way it did except for Valchek's determination to win this idiotic bit of one-upmanship. What is it that you don't understand about the white van? Great. Then I do understand the stained glass. Thank you. I just finished ep 3 and now understand the white van. I initially didn't see who's it was. Link to comment
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