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Kima Greggs wakes from her coma and finds her voice. The bulletin board adds more “ARRESTED” tags, but the wires have expired. With no prospects for obtaining a new surveillance authorization “while Deputy Burrell breathes air”, McNulty suggests that Daniels should take the case to the FBI. Since the city doesn’t want to pursue it, perhaps they can convince a higher agency to take it and run.
 The Barksdales put their heads together with their lawyer, pondering the issues, including the D’Angelo problem. Lacking the privacy of their old headquarters in the strip joint, they now use a funeral home. Avon says, “It’s . . . → Read More: The Wire: Sentencing
 Once the head of the police has his photo opportunity in front of a pile of seized guns and drugs, the flurry of activity dies down. The chief of police has gone on TV to show how he’s fixing Baltimore, and now it’s back to business as usual.
Daniels and McNulty wait outside of Kima Greggs’ hospital room mulling over the case. Wallowing in self-pity, guilt, and a strong blood-alcohol level, McNulty ponders why he pushed the case in the first place. Reminiscent of the previous episode, Daniels has to talk McNulty out of his funk. McNulty says, "It was never about Avon Barksdale. It was just about me." Daniels responds, “You think I didn’t know that? . . . → Read More: The Wire: Cleaning Up
 Hell hath no fury like that of a police department with a fellow officer down. Perpetually pissed-off Major William Rawls takes command of an overpopulated crime scene, showing his bulldog nature in a productive way for once. Finally we see that he’s got some skill at something other than badgering subordinates. While surveying the scene, Rawls notices that the street signs have been turned, which is why Kima Greggs’ backup couldn’t locate her. She had given the incorrect streets in her communications before the shooting. (Side note: When I was a kid, I had a friend who used to turn street signs as a prank. I wonder how many people took wrong turns because of that kid.)
The mood . . . → Read More: The Wire: The Hunt
 Enjoying fresh air and clean veins, Bubbles basks in his surroundings on a park bench. On one side of him he sees kids and moms, playing and blowing soap bubbles. Not far away, he can see a dealer exchanging dollars for dope. I couldn’t help but think of the Johnny Cash/Kris Kristofferson song “Sunday Morning Coming Down” and the lyrics:
Lord, it took me back to something that I’d lost Somewhere, somehow along the way.
As the token addict of The Wire, Bubbles shows the eternal struggle of a shattered soul, the ups and downs, and most of all, all the things Bubbles “lost along the way.” After an instant of peace on the park bench, the mere sight . . . → Read More: The Wire: The Cost
 It’s east versus west in an underground Baltimore basketball game. Stringer Bell and Avon Barksdale recruit ringers for their team, since Avon is "…tired of losing to these Eastside bitches every year." So we get a little backstory in the opening scene: West Baltimore hasn’t won the cross-town gang game in some time. The leaders of the Barksdale gang have more than just gang pride, they have team pride, too. The Barksdale’s live in a whole unsanctioned kingdom within the city.
“You got a good heart,” D’Angelo tells Wallace, who is still struggling with witnessing a murder. Wallace can’t recover because he’s suffers from having a conscience. Poot and Bodie don’t share the same limiting condition. Bodie in . . . → Read More: The Wire: Game Day
 The vague title of this episode can have various meanings. At the outset, the lesson Jimmy McNulty teaches to his sons is a police tactic called “front-and-follow.” In a supermarket, he has his boys tail Stringer Bell, which is cute…until McNulty loses sight of them. McNulty’s worry doesn’t sell me when he can’t find the kids. As a parent who has lost his kids while tracking one of the city’s top gangsters, he would probably be at his wits end. So…
Lesson 1: Don’t use your kids in police investigations.
Lesson 2: What a cool lesson to learn as a kid .
The Wire . . . → Read More: The Wire: Lessons
I the One Arrest episode blog, I forgot to mention a powerful scene where Kevin Johnston is brought in for questioning. He’s the teenager who lost his sight in one eye when detective Roland Pryzbylewski pistol-whipped him in The Detail episode. In an act of police brutality, “Prez” completely lost his cool when Johnston leaned on the police car in defiance. A clip on YouTube shows this questioning scene.
Still defiant, Johnston stares down Prez, who eventually gets up and leaves the room, out of shame for his moment of violence that cost this kid his eye. Lieutenant Daniels takes over talking to Johnston, in a scene that speaks volumes about both Johnston and Daniels.
Daniels sends Detective Carver to get a candy bar for Johnston, in an attempt to make friendly with the kid, and to get some privacy. Acting . . . → Read More: The Wire: One Arrest (addendum)
 Even after the squad has cracked the numeric code used by the Barksdale gang, they still have to unpack the slang that they intercept over the wiretaps. Prez and Lester once again earn their keep. As Prez deciphers the lingo, I couldn’t help but think of the movie Airplane where the old woman says, “Oh stewardess! I speak jive.” The team made up of misfit toys (like Prez) starts to show versatility in solving problems.  Judge Phelan becomes a feisty grammar Nazi in this episode, mocking McNulty – but he is truly McNulty’s best friend in the case. McNulty gets . . . → Read More: The Wire: One Arrest
 Young Wallace is first to awake in his apartment. While brushing his teeth, he rousts the awakes the rest of the household – who are all children. Still a teenager, Wallace runs a virtual orphanage, making money by working in the Pit. Until now, we’ve seen Wallace passed off as a kind of minor character without much depth – a kid, really, who struggled to pay attention, floated naïve thoughts, and mostly followed orders.
On this morning, after our deep dive into his back story, he emerges from the house to witness the dead body of Omar’s boyfriend, Brandon. Since Wallace tipped off the Barksdale’s on Brandon, his spirit grows heavy. Wallace, in his naivety about “the game”, . . . → Read More: The Wire: The Wire (Episode 6)
Avon Barksdale’s paranoia makes another visit in episode five. He never stops looking over his shoulder, which seems to be how he’s stayed on top of the gang. With no tendency for relaxation, he never allows himself to enjoy his position, but that’s the same reason, we can presume, that he’s thriving. To get fat and happy is to lose the hunger. Avon remains hungry no matter what. His combined paranoia and ruthlessness make him a believable leader.
This episode’s title is “The Pager.” McNulty gets legal approval to listen in on D’Angelo Barksdale’s pager. The only problem is…the gang uses a code, and the police cannot decipher the number pattern. Prez eventually cracks the code – and he shows that he does provide some . . . → Read More: The Wire: The Pager
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The Barksdales put their heads together with their lawyer, pondering the issues, including the D’Angelo problem.
Lacking the privacy of their old headquarters in the strip joint, they now use a funeral home. Avon says, “It’s . . . → Read More: The Wire: Sentencing
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