I am now re-watching The Wire with my wife, and this series really deserves to be watched multiple times. It starts slowly, in fact my wife wasn’t really into it at the beginning. It’s only because I pushed her that she continued watching.
Just like the case they’re dealing with, this season slowly builds the plot and characters, so as you watch it you get more and more into it. So by the time “shit” happens towards the end, we’re really affected by it.
The writing is very fast paced and doesn’t stop to explain things or let us catch our breath. That’s one of the reasons people watching it the first often feel lost. But even when I was lost the first time I watched it, I still liked it a lot and kept watching.
Luckily for my wife, this is my second viewing, so I was able to follow the plot and explain to her when she was lost. Not that I remember all the details, but I knew enough about it that I could get it quickly from the quick dialogs.
The actors are great, they really portray their characters well, the dialogs are sharp and feel authentic. There are many things I didn’t catch the first time round. Dee obviously sees himself in Wallace, so much of what he tells Wallace is something he really wants to do, but can’t. His story is the most tragic one, not only is he trapped in this life that he doesn’t want, but at the end he has to sacrifice everything for Avon and his family.
Another tragic scene was Wallace’s death, Bodie and Poot also feel trapped at that time, but they still do it because that’s their life, they’ve accepted it.
McNulty is “real police”, he cares about his job and wants to do it right. Unlike everybody else around him (both in police and state’s office) who put their career before their jobs. It’s admirable, but at the same time it’s dumb. Luckily he has found people who share his mindset, like Freemon (you could say his spiritual predecessor) and Kima (his successor in the future), even Daniels.
There are many throwaway lines that are picked up later, sometimes years later. For example, in the first episode Jay asks McNulty what’s the worst place he could get sent, he says the boat, which is exactly where Rawls sends him at the end of the season.
Even better, Judge Phelan tells Ronnie that she could become judge in 10 years. Well, that’s exactly what happens to her at end of the series.
I highly enjoyed re-watching this season, I can’t wait for the rest. I must say I didn’t enjoy season 2 as much the first time around, so I hope to gain new appreciation for it this time around.
Season Rating: 4 Stars