I finished watching it yesterday. I have some thoughts about the politics of it but to be honest I don’t have a leg to stand on because I know nothing about how majority black cities in America work.
On the non-political side, I really enjoyed the first two seasons. Season 2 in particular was the best one for me. Post that there was too much focus on politicking for my taste and I just wanted to it be over with. That Carcetti guy reminded me of Buttigieg and I found him really annoying. I knew he was gonna be a rat faced turncoat the moment I saw him. But I appreciated the focus on school aged male children even though it was depressing.
The ending was a bit disappointing for me because it essentially said nothing ever changes. The sobriety of it makes sense to me but it feels reductionist because it denies anyone the chance to make a tiny improvement and disregards qualitative changes.
Interested in hearing what you all think about it.
I like wire. I think the first season is really perfect and unmatched. But I have over the years found it hard to finish the show. I lost full on interest once stringer dies. And once barksdale crew is out of focus the show was really boring for me.
Overall the show really teeters between what it wants to convey. It wants to point to how corrupt police are or how voilent they are but also they are goodie two shoes who want to do good. My biggest annoyance is the attempt to really hamfist and whitewash pryzbylewski. How he becames a great teacher after committing a hate crime. They go real far with it, like him giving sage advice to dukie and dukie in the end falling into addiction. Ughhh if only he let the white savior save him.
The last two seasons are unbearable to me. Especially the last one. Its almost like mr simon channels his inner aaron sorkin and does a newsroom. The noble truth teller journalist vs the dumb new reporter. The whole dumb plot about mcnulty and his murder scheme.
I can’t stand marlo or his crew. I think barksdale crew was interesting and then they lost the plot. Here’s a bunch evil characters who kill people cause why not.
Of course as it goes on they really lose grip on using previous characters. Like omar. Omar’s character arc by the end was just uneventful.
The show just keeps doing this thing where it shows people who suffering in this system and dying. Like the women in the containers or the several homeless people in the show or the kids that get roped into drug dealing. It shows the incomplete response from the state or shows the lack of support systems. But overall the show just shrugs and says well all the different people incharge of this system, their hands are tied. Everyone just wants to get in on the game doesn’t matter who it is. But the people suffering are just hapless and bound to suffer. They got no recourse.
It starts solid but ends in self flagellation. In that sopranos edges it in being way better as it goes on.
That’s not to say its trash. Its just not better. Also valchek is the funniest character and season 2 rocks.
I hadn’t thought about it hard but yeah you are right. The last season is awful. Stuff seems to happen out of nowhere. New mayor finding himself 54 mil in the hole. Marlo isn’t a new character in the season, but his gang effortlessly killing other profile gangsters on top of the whimsical killing of civilians feels just like kinda stupid. The plotline about journalism feels shoehorned in. There isn’t anything about journalism until this point and now they try to show how careerist journalists lie and the newsroom lets them and this whole thing is explained by an obsession with the pulitzer prize. It is all really bad stuff.
Oh yeah. Mr simon worked for the sun (rag 🤮), of course he put like a self insert. Not to mention this show was on during the iraq, which the Usa media help launch and launder.
That’s why I think sopranos is the better show which does showcase putrid america by the end.
Also simon is insufferable outside. He is a huge russiagate guy amd of course now slava ukraini guy. Very annoying liberal. But hey made decent shows.