S02.E12: Port in a Storm

[Rinaldo]

Written by David Simon & Ed Burns. Teleplay by David Simon. Directed by Robert F. Colesberry.

 

The season reaches its conclusion.

[ToxicUnicorn]

What was the FBI's interest in the union?  Only to get them to elect new officers?  Why?  And, why did Ott tear down a paper and leave, saying "One man, one vote"?

 

Sergei is always good - how gratifying that he and Nicky give the case to the officers.

 

The Sobotkas (Frank-Ziggy-Nicky) are a hot headed crew.  I found it a little hard to believe Nicky would go back to the union hall.

 

I hope the show is setting up for a return to the Barksdale crew.  Stringer vs. Avon vs. Mouzon vs. Oscar sounds pretty exciting.

[Rinaldo]

Are you planning to move right on to Season 3? If so, I need to start the episode threads.

 

More later.

[ToxicUnicorn]

Onward!  I'll probably start Season 3 tonight.  Thanks, Rinaldo.

[Rinaldo]

OK, give me a couple hours to get 'em started.

 

I mentioned in the previous episode's thread that the structure of each season is to culminate (generally after a slow build) in the penultimate episode. Then in the final segment, the aftermath is faced ,pieces get picked up, the cops usually salve some small pieces from the mess left by bureaucratic impatience and self-interest... and then just before we finish, a montage. The montage shows us how some threads will tie up, while other things stay the same as always. And it gets a song for background scoring! That's the one exception to the rule that any music heard within an episode is "source" music -- it comes from some visible source (radio, whatever) within the story.

 

I always have mixed feelings about seeing Beadie back on her dock beat. On the one hand, she grew enormously in the course of the detail and learned she could be real po-lice. On the other hand, this is probably better for her mental health, and her schedule as a single mom. She's better off without McNulty, too.

Edited November 22, 2014 by Rinaldo

[Jordan Baker]

I always have mixed feelings about seeing Beadie back on her dock beat. On the one hand, she grew enormously in the course of the detail and learned she could be real pi-lice. On the other hand, this is probably better for her mental health, and her schedule as a single mom. She's better off without McNulty, too.

Seeing Beadie driving that car through the dock made me sad. She really flourished while working with the team. And here she was, back to the solitary existence and unexciting task of checking containers (or whatever it was she was checking). I see your point, though. She probably would have an easier time in her personal life.

 

And, yes, she's better off without McNulty. She probably would have had some fun along with the heartbreak, though. :) 

 

I think the saddest moment of all for me in this episode was the very brief scene of Ziggy, shuffling along with the other prisoners. Heartbreaking.

Edited November 21, 2014 by Jordan Baker

[Janc]

What was the FBI's interest in the union?  Only to get them to elect new officers?  Why?  And, why did Ott tear down a paper and leave, saying "One man, one vote"?

 

 

Did you ever obtain an answer to these questions, TU?  I was wondering the same thing.  Why would the FBI want to break up the union, other than to stop their illicit activities with the Greeks?

 

ETA: Poor Herc and Carver, not being told that Nick had turned themselves in. But they weren't the best at surveillance anyway, arguing over food when their targets would be on the move. I read that the actors playing them were also frustrated about the lack of drama in their scenes and were about to quit, but David SImon told them to use that frustration to play the cops who are in the same position. 

Edited January 13, 2015 by Janc

[AuntiePam]

 

Did you ever obtain an answer to these questions, TU?  I was wondering the same thing.  Why would the FBI want to break up the union, other than to stop their illicit activities with the Greeks?

 

Unions are held to a higher standard than an ordinary business or organization.  It's because they represent other people -- they don't just act on behalf of themselves.  Like lawyers -- there's a code of ethics.  With the unions, it's a charter. 

 

They didn't want to break the union so much as they wanted the union to elect new, honest leadership. 

[Constantinople]

They didn't want to break the union so much as they wanted the union to elect new, honest leadership.

...that won't do business with the confidential informant the FBI is protecting from prosecution.

[ToxicUnicorn]

Did you ever obtain an answer to these questions, TU?  I was wondering the same thing.  Why would the FBI want to break up the union, other than to stop their illicit activities with the Greeks?

Only this one!

 

Unions are held to a higher standard than an ordinary business or organization.  It's because they represent other people -- they don't just act on behalf of themselves.

This explanation doesn't make sense to me.  Publicly traded businesses are owned by shareholders and governed by corporate charters (not sure that is the right word).  Why are unions different?

 

I would have guessed there was some kind of concern about money laundering or something.  But, all I've ever seen about this is from TV.  Still was jarring to see the FBI there, all of a sudden.

 

Re: Herc and Carver - their roles aren't very glamorous, but I'd argue their characters are really important for maintaining the sense of everyday realism that is the show's strength.  I hope they felt better about it over time.

[AuntiePam]

 

This explanation doesn't make sense to me.  Publicly traded businesses are owned by shareholders and governed by corporate charters (not sure that is the right word).  Why are unions different?

 

Oh you would have to make me think about this!  :-)  I don't see any similarities between unions/members and corporations/shareholders.  The differences (as I see them) are mainly relating to power.  Individual union members give up their right to negotiate directly with employers -- the union does that for them, working with employers in setting wages, working conditions, criteria for advancement,  discipline, termination, etc.  When an entity has that much power over someone's life, there's an added level of care, responsibility.  That makes unions similar to lawyers -- they're acting on behalf of someone else so the standards are high.  Corporations control your investment, but they have no power over your work life.

 

And then there's the matter of publicly-funded projects awarded to unions -- taxpayer money  -- another layer of responsibility.

[Constantinople]

Oh you would have to make me think about this!  :-)  I don't see any similarities between unions/members and corporations/shareholders.  The differences (as I see them) are mainly relating to power.  Individual union members give up their right to negotiate directly with employers -- the union does that for them, working with employers in setting wages, working conditions, criteria for advancement,  discipline, termination, etc.  When an entity has that much power over someone's life, there's an added level of care, responsibility.  That makes unions similar to lawyers -- they're acting on behalf of someone else so the standards are high.  Corporations control your investment, but they have no power over your work life.

These days corporations have more control over your work life than unions do, assuming the corporation even hires union workers. Given that they have that control over their employees and peoples' investments, it seems they should be held to a higher standard of behavior, not lower.

 

And then there's the matter of publicly-funded projects awarded to unions -- taxpayer money  -- another layer of responsibility.

Publicly funded projects aren't awarded to unions. They're awarded to businesses who may or may not hire union members.

[AuntiePam]

We're either splitting hairs or I'm not explaining my position very well.  You might work for a corporation, but if you're in a union, the corporation can't change your work hours, your duties or your pay.  If they want to fire you, it has to be done by the terms of the union-employer contract.  All that stuff has been negotiated between the union and the company. 

 

The issue is representation.  If you're not in a union, it's just you and your employer -- no one's acting on your behalf. 

[Vicky8675309]

I still don't see why the FBI cares about new union leadership. The FBI the prior season no longer cared about drug racketeering crimes and transitioned into just caring about stuff related to terrorism despite the formation of Homeland Security which we saw the 1st season.