The Wire, Season Five, Episode 4

This week, we learn that Baltimore is no city for old men.

First, Clay Davis continues hurtling toward an indictment, and gets the perp walk treatment from the DA to boot. I almost feel sorry for him, except not really. Then Commissioner Burrell gets the final word on his ouster. He tries to play the Daniels corruption card, but to no avail, because the truth hardly matters when it comes to politics, which he should have learned by now. Finally, Prop Joe's long, long run comes to an end. The Post's Tom Shales draws the parallel to Abe Vigoda's demise in The Godfather, which is a reasonable observation except he made it behind the thinnest of veils nearly a month ago, before the first episode had run. Maybe one reason newspapers are losing revenue and readers to the Internet is that their TV columnists don't know the meaning of "spoiler alert."

Ultimately all three got what was coming to them, and none were truly surprised. Joe's mistake was seeing himself as civilized, with his lawyers, bank accounts, and business-like reasonableness. But he was only a murderer and a drug dealer in the end, just like Marlo, and of the two of them, Marlo was the one smart enough to understand what that meant. Leroy Burrell may be "stone stupid," but he's headed to a full pension and sinecure in DC while Joe rots in a vacant with all the rest.

The rest of the episode was a little slow, I think. It was good to see Kima again, albeit to no real purpose. Beadie confronts McNulty, whose fake serial killer investigation continues like a slow-motion car crash. Lester enlists the help of old partner who got busted out of homicide because of some righteous confrontation with The Man. Hey, isn't that exactly what happened to Lester, almost to the letter? Saint Gus of the Newsroom takes a few more arrows on behalf of American Journalism. Carver decides he has no choice but to bust Colicchio for being a violent SOB, leading to a conversation with Herc that was one of the best moments of the season so far. Daniels barely settles into his new desk as Deputy-Ops before getting a call for Rawls. Maybe someone from the gay bar? Odds on that ever coming up again? Omar confronts Slim Charles but doesn't kill him, because a man's got to have a code.

Years-gone-by reference of the week: Prop Joes buy flowers for Butchie's funeral, telling the florist that he doesn't want one of those gangster arrangements, like the one Bodie (R.I.P.) bought for D'Angelo's funeral back in Season Two, Episode 7.

Next week: Looks like Cutty finally reappears. Dammit, where's Poot?!