The Wire virgin’s diary – things heat up, the case is closed

(Season 1, Episodes 7-13)

If I weren’t sold before, after finishing the first season of The Wire, I can now consider myself an avowed fan. The first half of the season was a lot of build up , and it turned out that the second half was a lot of pay off. I can’t wait to start season 2, but with the case being closed, I’m wondering if the title of the series will still be pertinent, or if this show will get themselves into a Prison Break situation. You have to plan beyond one season, people!

The big shocking moment in the last half of the first season came during episode ten, “The Cost.” While on an undercover drug deal, Kima got shot in the chest. It was really the climax of the season, throwing everything into doubt. It was interesting watching how everyone reacted to the tragedy. We got to see how the entire Baltimore police department rallied around the situation, taking swift and immediate action. At the same time, we got to see how the shooting hit McNulty so personally. He blamed himself for it, and couldn’t even bear to visit Kima in the hospital until she was nearly fully recovered.

My interest in Omar didn’t wane during the last half of the episodes. I loved seeing him act as the rogue agent in the whole mess, dispatching justice as he saw fit, nearly killing Avon Barksdale in the process. Unfortunately for the cops this only served to mess up the case. I can’t blame the guy though, he did have a 10,000 dollar bounty on his head.

What really fascinated me was how the case really unfolded like a game of chess between the detectives and the drug ring. Stringer was a seriously smart dude, and seemed to counter every move that the police made. From changing up the pay phones, to finally moving to cell phones, he seemed to know exactly what the police were up to.

The characters on the show continue to impress me. I love the relationships and interplay within the police department. The interactions between McNulty and Bunk are fun, as when they pieced together an entire murder scene saying nothing but “fuck.” Daniels is another strong character, and it’s interesting to see how difficult it is to run a case, having to appease the bureaucracy of the police department while trying to maintain integrity.

I loved that Freamon was such a smart guy, and wound up following the drug money all the way back to multiple politicians in and around Baltimore. The police tried to use this to turn the case over to the feds, behind the backs of their superior officer no less. The poor cops, however, didn’t get what they wanted. After all the work they had put in to form a case against Barksdale, the feds just wanted to turn it into a political corruption case.

At the end of the day, the final message was a little depressing: no matter what the police do, the drug trade will always be there. The corruption goes deep, and if they do manage to put someone like Barksdale away for four to five years, there will be someone like Stringer there to pick up the slack. It has to be incredibly demoralizing for the police officers.

That was how the season ended, with an awesome montage in and around the city. Showing how the war goes on, even after a serious battle is over. Finally, we were left with an image of Omar, relocated to New York, jumping right back into the game with a big smile on his face.

Onto season 2!

Clacked by Bob Degon
on Dec 31, 2008 @ 15:00 EST5EDT