The Wire, Season Five, Episode Five

I which Marlo reminds us that the future ain't promised to no one, as he seizes the crown. When it became clear that Marlo was going to become the new force on the West Side at the end of Season 3, I was relatively non-plussed; I wasn't sure what more could be said after the epic Stringer / Avon story came to conclusion. But I think the steady onset of Marlo's dead-eyed will to power has been one of the strongest elements of Season 5. You can barely understand what he's saying half the time (thank God for Tivo), but it's nearly always meaningful and compelling. Marlo, Chris, and Snoop clearly represent the culmination of the capitalist impulse that David Simon is critiquing, what he chooses to do with Marlo thematically and plot-wise will play a big role in the ultimate success of the final season.

Elsewhere, the Baltimore powers-that-be remind Clay Davis to stop snitching. Come on Clay, didn't you see the Carmelo Anthony video? Train Wreck McNulty and the fabulist meet their destinies in one another--maybe. I'm inclined to give Simon the benefit of the doubt that this plotline may not be as crashingly obvious as it seems. Strangely, nobody in the Sun management says or does anything to invoke the righteous anger of Saint Gus. Managing editor Klabenow in particular seems quite reasonable in his handling of the serial killer case, first in declining to put it on A1 without more reporting and then refusing to let McNulty tap their phones. Maybe not such a one-dimensional bad guy after all? Levy, Lester, Omar, and everyone else continue to underestimate Marlo. Cutty and Dukie have a conversaton that's a bit too didactic for my taste, while Lester and McNulty explain their wire tap plan to the viewer each other. Come on! No exposition allowed. Bubbles wrestles with survivor's guilt. Omar goes in with guns blazing only to be outfought by Chris, Snoop, and Michael. The only thing that saves him is an apparently bullet-proof couch and the fact that he's Superman. But we knew that already.

Based on next week's coming attractions, the yet-to-appear list now looks like this:

Cutty
Prez
Bunny
Namond
Randy
Poot
Royce
Elena
Brother Mouzone

I'm assuming that Prez, Bunny, and Namond will show up eventually, and Brother Mouzone will probably stay in NYC. Therefore, I can only conclude that <The Wire will wrap up with the stunning revelation that it was Poot all along, pulling the strings Keyser Soze style to become the unchallenged king of Baltimore.

Let's also return for a moment to the scene between Carver and Herc in last week's Episode Four. To recap: It's nightime, in the back parking lot of the Western District headquarters, and they're having a beer. The two came up in the ranks together, but while Carver has been promoted, Herc was recently kicked out for general incompetence. Carver has decided to bust Colicchio for beating up an innocent schoolteacher. Herc advises Carver that this is going to cause him a lot of problems, people will say he's a snitch. Carver says he's going to do it anyway, because:

Carver: Remember when I gave you that kid to deliver last year, whats-his-name, you were supposed to get him to Bunk Moreland? You remember that?

Herc: Yeah. I f---ed up. So what?

Carver: So, it mattered.

Herc: So what the f--- does this have to do with Colicchio?

Carver: So it all matters. I know we thought it didn't, but...it does.

Herc: So you gotta do Colicchio, huh? Guess you think they had to do me?

Carver: [silent]

Herc: Yeah, probably. [pause] The guys are going to talk s--- about you for a while. But f--- it, Carver. You do what needs done.

This exchange pretty much sums up everything David Simon has been trying to say on The Wire and how it plays out for the characters and story. When asked by Slate to summarize what the show is about, he said:

Thematically, it's about the very simple idea that, in this Postmodern world of ours, human beings—all of us—are worth less. We're worth less every day, despite the fact that some of us are achieving more and more. It's the triumph of capitalism.

In other words, Simon believes that while the only decent, moral view of the world holds that all people have value--that everything and everyone matters--the systems that govern the world, particularly Baltimore, are disconnected from this idea. Often, they oppose it. Accordingly, pretty much every character on The Wire is defined along three dimensions:

1) Where this state of affairs has left them.

2) How well they understand it.

3) How they've chosen to respond.

Simon's crucial observation--what elevates The Wire above standard drama--is that understanding the nature of things and choosing to fight back--to do what needs done--is by no means a sure path to happiness of any kind. McNulty, for example, is painfully aware of how the system works, but trying to do something about it destroys him. He can't deal with the absurdity and injustice, it drives him to drink and dissolution. Jay Landsman, by contrast, understands the system just as well as McNulty, but he's long since given over to cynicsim and self-interest. Not in a totally evil kind of way--remember his mercy toward Bubbles last season--but he's completely unwilling to sacrifice any of himself to change a system he didn't make. Other characters, like Bunk, try to split the difference, trying to matter and stay sane at the same time.

Many of the most potent dramatic moments on The Wire revolve around the characters coming to understand Simon's view of reality, the way it changes them, and the choices they make. Bunny Colvin, Carver's mentor, chose to push back, kept his dignity, but lost his pension and job. Bodie was hollowed out by the knowledge that "the game is rigged," but still decided to die on his feet rather than live on his knees. I suspect that in their last moments, both Prop Joe and Stringer Bell understood that their hubris in thinking that The Game--and thus, those playing it--could be anything other than a remorseless death machine was what brought them down.

Simon's underlying pessimisim is reflected in the fact that the farther up the food chain we go, the less likely to find anyone pushing back against the system, because, of course, the game is rigged in their favor. At the same time, he allows most of the characters who fight honorably to live with some integrity and peace of mind. Lacking that would be the one tragedy that even David Simon couldn't bear to show.