Season 5: "How Are You Not In Jail?"

[Macbeth]

Bunk asks Jimmy this question as they kneel over a copycat killing of Jimmy's fake serial killer.  S5, S5 - the illegitimate child of the series.  Not as good or classic as the original 4 - but still brilliant.  It has aged well.  What is news?  What is true?  Still relevant - I can't watch the 24 hour news stations and maintain my sanity. 

 

And the fake killier is in line with rest of the show.  "Juking the stats" - Should they look for the bodies in the vacant buildings? - In what jurisdiction were the prostitutes murdered?  That is all about defining reality, writing history.  First time I saw this season - I was disappointed.  I rewatched the last 3 episodes last night and I loved it.

Edited January 1, 2015 by Macbeth

[AuntiePam]

What helped me appreciate S5 was re-watching it right after a re-watch of the entire series.  One of my kids was visiting for two weeks.  He'd never seen the show and he loves TV, so we watched the DVDs.  Jimmy's behavior (and Lester going along with it) made more sense, having the frustrations of the prior seasons fresh in my head.  Didn't it start with Jimmy having to take a bus to a murder scene?  Back to square one with the police department budget. 

[ToxicUnicorn]

So glad this thread exists.  I'm still reeling from the finale, not ready to think about the entire series yet.

 

It took me until Levy walked out and talked to Herc, (after telling Marlo the terms of the deal), to realize that it was Herc who told Levy, who got Marlo out.  After Herc was instrumental to getting Marlo caught.  Oh, Herc.  You never did anything right.

 

I loved the scene in the interrogation room with Rawls, Daniels, and McNulty.  One of my favorites.

 

I was very entertained by the wake, and by Kima owning up to McNulty and Freamon.  It took me awhile to realize who Freamon's squeeze was.  It was great how people kept coming out of the woodwork, like Prez, and Valchek  So much fun.

 

Had to laugh at the Pulitzer.  Did not raise my opinion of news media, which was already in the toilet.  I was rooting hard for Gus and Alma, this season, though.  Other than those two, I thought all the news characters had pretty unrealistic personalities.  I think the entire news theme was very sparse, compared to all the other stories (which were very fleshed out.  

 

The ending montage was fun.  I enjoyed seeing Ronnie and cedric as judge/lawyer.  Also, Michael as the new Omar.  Was Bugs one of the little kids in a white t-shirt?

 

I missed seeing Randy and Bunny.  Other than that, I think they captured the depth of the cast well.

[tugwilly]

Amen Toxic. We just finished the entire series. I am so pleased to find this forum. I have only 2 criticisms , 1 minor, 1 major

#1 I know this originally aired years ago, but I found the number of working pay phones in Baltimore completely unrealistic.

#2. We are now having difficulty finding another series to watch that even comes close to the level of The Wire.

[ToxicUnicorn]

Welcome, tugwilly.  I'm still happy to talk about the series.  It's pretty fresh for me.

#1 I know this originally aired years ago, but I found the number of working pay phones in Baltimore completely unrealistic.

#2. We are now having difficulty finding another series to watch that even comes close to the level of The Wire.

It's true, payphones haven't been used much for a very long time.  What makes them more realistic for me, though, are the dinosaur computers that Lester uses.  It might be fun to watch the series again and look for period details . I was so busy trying to keep everything straight, I didn't notice too much.  (Except Oscar's broken clock - it has been a very long time since I have seen one like that.)

 

As for other series, I'll see you in Small Talk!

[Gulftastic]

In the very last episode, I love Carcetti's speechless disbelief at McNulty's antics, and Norman's amusement. I also enjoyed Rawls manipulation for his own benefit. Always a survivor.

 

Very glad when Cheese got killed. Nice one, Slim!

 

And Bubbles character arc ended perfectly, with him going upstairs to eat with his family.

[Rinaldo]

And Bubbles character arc ended perfectly, with him going upstairs to eat with his family.

That is my supreme moment of the series. So long in coming, so earned, so well prepared with a true personal journey through the five years, so unexpected at the moment it happens (amid the final montage), and so very perfect. Even thinking about it now brings tears to my eyes, and I'm not an easy crier.

[Gulftastic]

The thing I noticed on a re-watch was that Bubbles' redemption echoes something Waylon said to him in season one. When Waylon's nephew was scrambling for testers in the lo-rises, he said that he wasn't ready to quit as he hadn't reached his bottom yet.

 

Bubbles' had to reach his bottom, with the accidental killing of Sherod and the attempted suicide at the end of season 4, before he could get himself truly clean.

[Mindymoo]

Bubbles' arc was my favorite in the whole series. He was my favorite character (Omar was my number two) but I just loved seeing how things turned out for him. Seeing him go from drug addicted police informant, to the guy doing the whitey sales and selling bootleg DVDS, to being shat on by the cops and betrayed by Herc who was supposed to protect him from the guy who was beating and robbing him on the reg, and then the death of poor Sherrod via the hotshot... It was all so sad. But he really did persevere. He gained some of the trust back from his sister. And when she let him upstairs to have dinner with her and her daughter, I started to sob. Bubbs was finally going to be okay. He still has a tough road ahead of him, but he has proven himself that he can make it and stay sober, and he will be okay. I was so proud of him that I just wanted to hug him. Andre Royo put out such an excellent performance throughout the series, and his storyline was my favorite for all of season five.

[DarkRaichu]

What I loved about the ending was how it felt like lives went on for these characters after the cameras were off.  It fit well with the general theme of the series

[funkopop]

Can anyone explain why the medical examiner(?) switched the name tag on Omar's body bag?  

[Brooklynista]

Without going back to look at the scene, I think there were two bodies.  An older white guy and Omar on the table next to him.  There was a quick shot of the tag the ME was holding w a description of old white guy whick Omar clearly wasn't.  So he put the tags on the proper bodies.

 

To me the scene showed how Omar's name rang out on the streets of Baltimore, but beyond the corner, folks couldn't be half bothered to even identify him correctly in death.

[SoonerGrl]

LOLZ...Another fabulist, but this time outed by the Bmore Sun?

 

https://www.buzzfeed.com/jarrylee/author-of-book-claiming-teens-built-drug-empire-from?utm_term=.qxL4YblWNX#.hjwlxOB2NY

[Zola]

Am going through a Wire marathon again, and am on episode 3 of S5 (It's been a couple of years since I last saw S5, and was fairly unimpressed with it). But the great thing about re-watching a show like The Wire, is that you pick up on things you didn't understand, or totally missed first time round. Also, the benefit of subtitles is a big help second or third time round too.

Although the emphasis is placed on the newsroom, I did feel completely detached by it first time round; but now I feel a bit more invested, especially in the way journalists will fake stories just to get a headline above the fold on the front page. In one respect the fate of some of the journalists at the BS in terms of losing their jobs mirrors that of the working class dockers in S2: these white collar guys and girls are not immune from cost-cutting.

I didn't like the McNutty jumped the shark big time in this season first time round, but perhaps my opinion will change now as I plough through the remaining episodes of S5. But my love for him as waned a great deal over the seasons to the point now where is a complete and utter attention-seeking prick!

More later........

[smoker]

I dislike this season so far, only 3 episodes into it, but I can see why the 6th didn't happen. Turning McNutty into Moriarty, Lester out of character (in my humble opinion) teaming up with him and I don't feel any empathy or interest for those journalists so I totally understand why ratings were lower than season 4.

Edited October 12, 2017 by smoker