“The Wire” Season 5, Episode 4
“Transitions”
This episode was all about power shifts, and there were some major shake-ups in both the police and drug organizations. One of the best aspects of this show is how the “good guys,” the police department, and the “bad guys,” the drug dealers, parallel each other so closely. By the end of this episode, both the po-lice and the corner boys have a new head honcho to answer to. In my opinion, we have one (semi) good change and one VERY bad one. Here’s how it went down:
Burrell gets the boot. Carcetti finally makes his move on Burrell after bribing the ministers and Nerese into swallowing Rawls as acting police commissioner while Daniels is groomed in the deputy opps position. Burrell throws a hissy fit, threatening to Nerese that he will “do Daniels.” He pulls out “the file,” the mysterious document that Burrell has been holding over Daniel’s head since season 1. Burrell hints that “the file” contains evidence that Daniel’s squad in the Eastern was skimming drug money. This is the most detail we’ve heard about “the file” until now, but it’s pretty much what I expected would be in there. Nerese warns Burrell to go quietly, and promises him a full pension and a cushy government job if he lowers the volume of his hissy fit. He agrees and he is officially “shit-canned” at a lovely press conference where all the back-stabbers (Carcetti, Burrell, Rawls, etc.) smile pretty and shake hands.
“The file” is now in Nerese’s hands, which is ominous. She’s maneuvering to be the next mayor and I’m betting she uses this information to her own advantage somewhere down the line. I really hope she doesn’t, though, because Daniels looked so happy and proud in his new deputy opps office. Good for him; he deserves the promotion. Now all we have to do is live with Commissioner Rawls for six months… poor Baltimore.
But the citizens of Baltimore have much bigger problems than Bill Rawls – Marlo has officially taken over the drug trade. In the beginning of the episode, Marlo goes to Prop Joe for more help cleaning himself up and Joe takes him to see Levy, which leads to one of the episode’s funniest/most ironic moments. There sits Herc, who is now chatting it up with Prop Joe and Marlo – two drug dealers he was working to take down when he was police. Marlo looks amused and asks him how it’s going with the camera. Herc – not so amused – tells him that camera cost him his job.
Marlo also makes his move with Spiros and The Greek, telling them cryptically that he needs an “insurance policy.” Though Spiros originally refused, The Greek stepped in and – in equally mysterious wording – agreed to some sort of deal. Marlo also secured a rat in Prop Joe’s organization – Joe’s nephew, Cheese. Last week, Cheese ratted out Butchie to Chris, and this week Marlo rewarded him by serving up one of his enemies on a silver (bound and gagged) platter.
Marlo’s final move was on Joe himself. In a shocking turn, Marlo and Chris appear at Joe’s house to remove him from “the game” permanently. Joe pleads with him (“But I treated you like a son.”) and offers his final proposition: that he’ll disappear from Baltimore and the game forever. But Marlo – as cold-hearted and malicious as ever – tells Joe to close his eyes and gives Chris the order to shoot him. The last sound we hear is the gun shot ringing, and the lost image is Marlo’s cold, remorseless face.
I literally jumped off my bed and gasped during this scene. I had really come to like and respect Joe’s character. Sure he’s a major drug player, but he played fair and he had a code. I had extra love for Joe this episode because of his genuine sadness over Butchie’s death and the nice note he sent with his flowers. I’ll really miss you, Joe!
In other plot developments…
One of the hoppers plays a “crappy” trick on Officer Colicchio on Michael’s corner. Colicchio takes his anger out on a horn-friendly citizen, who is trying to pass the scene in his car. We later learn the man Colicchio beat up is a model citizen – an elementary school teacher making his way to an after-school program to help troubled youths. After Colicchio refuses to cook up a nicer version of the story to placate the brass, Carver writes him up for excessive force. Colicchio calls him a rat, but Carver takes it and stands up like good po-lice. Even in earlier seasons when Carver was bashing heads, there has always been a glimmer of hope for him, and he’s finally starting to live up to it and come into his own.
Lester and Jimmy, on the other hand, are up to no good. They’re trolling the streets for homeless men to use in their fake murder case. They ask a patrol cop friend of Lester’s to tell them about any homeless DOAs and after one false alarm, they find the perfect body to mutilate into a false murder. Lester is doing something with teeth that is making me nervous, so I’m not sure whether I’m looking forward to finding out what he’s cooking up.
Omar is on the war path, vowing he is going to “work” whoever killed Butchie. He attacks Slim, and finds out that Joe wasn’t behind it and that it was strictly a Marlo operation. Consequently, Marlo’s people must go.
On the Baltimore Sun front, Templeton gets rejected from a job at The Washington Post, Gus’s only seasoned cop reporter has one foot out the door, and everyone scrambles to cover Burrell’s firing and Clay Davis’s grand jury appearance. Finally, the good senator is getting what’s been coming to him for five seasons. And so far, it’s only been a “love tap” as Lester says. I’m sure there’s much more excitement on the way.
“Transitions”
This episode was all about power shifts, and there were some major shake-ups in both the police and drug organizations. One of the best aspects of this show is how the “good guys,” the police department, and the “bad guys,” the drug dealers, parallel each other so closely. By the end of this episode, both the po-lice and the corner boys have a new head honcho to answer to. In my opinion, we have one (semi) good change and one VERY bad one. Here’s how it went down:
Burrell gets the boot. Carcetti finally makes his move on Burrell after bribing the ministers and Nerese into swallowing Rawls as acting police commissioner while Daniels is groomed in the deputy opps position. Burrell throws a hissy fit, threatening to Nerese that he will “do Daniels.” He pulls out “the file,” the mysterious document that Burrell has been holding over Daniel’s head since season 1. Burrell hints that “the file” contains evidence that Daniel’s squad in the Eastern was skimming drug money. This is the most detail we’ve heard about “the file” until now, but it’s pretty much what I expected would be in there. Nerese warns Burrell to go quietly, and promises him a full pension and a cushy government job if he lowers the volume of his hissy fit. He agrees and he is officially “shit-canned” at a lovely press conference where all the back-stabbers (Carcetti, Burrell, Rawls, etc.) smile pretty and shake hands.
“The file” is now in Nerese’s hands, which is ominous. She’s maneuvering to be the next mayor and I’m betting she uses this information to her own advantage somewhere down the line. I really hope she doesn’t, though, because Daniels looked so happy and proud in his new deputy opps office. Good for him; he deserves the promotion. Now all we have to do is live with Commissioner Rawls for six months… poor Baltimore.
But the citizens of Baltimore have much bigger problems than Bill Rawls – Marlo has officially taken over the drug trade. In the beginning of the episode, Marlo goes to Prop Joe for more help cleaning himself up and Joe takes him to see Levy, which leads to one of the episode’s funniest/most ironic moments. There sits Herc, who is now chatting it up with Prop Joe and Marlo – two drug dealers he was working to take down when he was police. Marlo looks amused and asks him how it’s going with the camera. Herc – not so amused – tells him that camera cost him his job.
Marlo also makes his move with Spiros and The Greek, telling them cryptically that he needs an “insurance policy.” Though Spiros originally refused, The Greek stepped in and – in equally mysterious wording – agreed to some sort of deal. Marlo also secured a rat in Prop Joe’s organization – Joe’s nephew, Cheese. Last week, Cheese ratted out Butchie to Chris, and this week Marlo rewarded him by serving up one of his enemies on a silver (bound and gagged) platter.
Marlo’s final move was on Joe himself. In a shocking turn, Marlo and Chris appear at Joe’s house to remove him from “the game” permanently. Joe pleads with him (“But I treated you like a son.”) and offers his final proposition: that he’ll disappear from Baltimore and the game forever. But Marlo – as cold-hearted and malicious as ever – tells Joe to close his eyes and gives Chris the order to shoot him. The last sound we hear is the gun shot ringing, and the lost image is Marlo’s cold, remorseless face.
I literally jumped off my bed and gasped during this scene. I had really come to like and respect Joe’s character. Sure he’s a major drug player, but he played fair and he had a code. I had extra love for Joe this episode because of his genuine sadness over Butchie’s death and the nice note he sent with his flowers. I’ll really miss you, Joe!
In other plot developments…
One of the hoppers plays a “crappy” trick on Officer Colicchio on Michael’s corner. Colicchio takes his anger out on a horn-friendly citizen, who is trying to pass the scene in his car. We later learn the man Colicchio beat up is a model citizen – an elementary school teacher making his way to an after-school program to help troubled youths. After Colicchio refuses to cook up a nicer version of the story to placate the brass, Carver writes him up for excessive force. Colicchio calls him a rat, but Carver takes it and stands up like good po-lice. Even in earlier seasons when Carver was bashing heads, there has always been a glimmer of hope for him, and he’s finally starting to live up to it and come into his own.
Lester and Jimmy, on the other hand, are up to no good. They’re trolling the streets for homeless men to use in their fake murder case. They ask a patrol cop friend of Lester’s to tell them about any homeless DOAs and after one false alarm, they find the perfect body to mutilate into a false murder. Lester is doing something with teeth that is making me nervous, so I’m not sure whether I’m looking forward to finding out what he’s cooking up.
Omar is on the war path, vowing he is going to “work” whoever killed Butchie. He attacks Slim, and finds out that Joe wasn’t behind it and that it was strictly a Marlo operation. Consequently, Marlo’s people must go.
On the Baltimore Sun front, Templeton gets rejected from a job at The Washington Post, Gus’s only seasoned cop reporter has one foot out the door, and everyone scrambles to cover Burrell’s firing and Clay Davis’s grand jury appearance. Finally, the good senator is getting what’s been coming to him for five seasons. And so far, it’s only been a “love tap” as Lester says. I’m sure there’s much more excitement on the way.
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