'Grey's' Isn't Going Anywhere
'Red Widow' Gets The Axe
Jane After Dark: The Wire, season 3 - Stringer wears a suit, Omar gets rash
by Jane Boursaw, posted Jul 5th 2009 2:05PM
After a brief break to watch season four of Weeds last week, Jane After Dark is back with The Wire. I'm half-way into season three, and while there are definitely parts of this show that put me to sleep (ducking and running for cover), it's still a brilliant drama. My teenage son popped in for part of an episode, decided it was too "real," and promptly lost interest.
To help me organize my thoughts, let's take a look at a few characters:
Stringer Bell. I'm really digging Idris Elba dressed up in his fancy suit, running the real estate company, working with government officials, and holding drug meetings using Robert's Rules of Order. It's fascinating that there's this whole hierarchy within the gangs that most of them respect and follow.
I had to laugh, though, when one of his minions starts taking notes at a meeting -- because that's what Robert's Rules says to do -- and Stringer snatches the paper up and says something to the effect of, "Are you out of your mind? Taking notes on a meeting about illegal business?" Maybe Stringer realizes that you can't always have it both ways. You can run a drug business like a business, but there are limitations.
Omar Little. Omar seems like the anti-Stringer to me. He's more impulsive, rash, ordering strikes on the Barksdale houses without fully thinking through the consequences. I could be totally off-base, but Omar is more old-school to me. I mean, he definitely has a plan, but the way he carries out that plan isn't always the smartest. He doesn't mind dropping a few bodies along the way. It will be interesting to see how things play out between Omar and Stringer heading into the end of season three.
Dennis "Cutty" Wise. This guy is really interesting to me. He's caught between two worlds and doesn't really fit in either one. I loved the scene where he's supposed to be taking back Barksdale corners from Marlo, and freezes up when faced with the idea of shooting someone in cold blood. I was sort of cheering for him at that point, hoping that he'd now realize he doesn't fit in with that life and needs to do something better, both for himself and the greater good. I love the idea of a boxing gym; give those street thugs a way to channel their energy! Well, we'll see how that goes.
The Cops. I'm going to lump all of them in together, because they just seem like they're grasping at straws on how to deal with the street violence. They've got officers stationed on the streets and they're trying to establish a connection with the drug people -- whether it's Greggs and McNulty recruiting Bubbles to wire up or Bunk reaching out to Omar -- but it's not really getting the job done. People are still dying. Maybe their personal lives are getting in the way: Daniels trying to do right by his estranged wife while sleeping with Pearlman, Greggs imploding over the addition of the baby to her life, McNulty just plain imploding -- he makes a pass at Greggs, for cripes sakes.
Ok, I guess that's it for now. I know this is just a tiny tip of the massive iceberg, so I welcome your thoughts, explanations, and insight on season three of The Wire.
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