Still working on the episode two review and probably won't post it until the weekend (these things take time to do right, and I started with a schedule to publish on Sunday nights), but for the benefit of the folks who've already seen episode two via On Demand and want to gab about it, post your comments here. People waiting for the HBO premiere had best stay out of the comments section.
Wow! Talk about customer service! Thanks Alan!
ReplyDeleteLet me start off with the minor gems:
1. Clay and Namond: "I'll take any man's money if they giving it away!" To have that line tie through both situations was fantastic.
2. Cutty and Prez: Nice touch having Cutty's ex-girl be the woman briefing Prez on the school system.
3. The Staredown: "Did you see the look on Marlo's face? It was like he was looking at the future.
4. Lester and the subpeonas: was it not classic for him to make that speech with his signature eyes over the glasses look, the one Daniels had just explained? It worked like a charm...I still wanna see more of Lester's girlfriend from Season One....DAYUM she was fine.
AHH, that felt good.
I had an odd reaction to last night's episode ... odd for me, at least. When it was over, I told my wife that I wanted to cry. She thought that was odd, too, and asked why. I said that it was pretty rare when you were in the presence of something that was the best. It doesn't matter, best what ... could be the best beer, or the best guitar solo, or best fabric ... but being confronted with such excellence makes one pause. It expands your universe.
ReplyDeleteThe Wire is the best.
Cool. Thanks for the On-Demander section, Alan. It's very challenging to be on the boards/blogs right now as so many of us are seeing the show up to a week apart.
ReplyDeleteSteven, I understand what you mean. Last night's show (episode 39) was really, really powerful. I feel like I know these characters and almost like I "love" some of them. Strange, but true.
Having said that, there's still something about "The Sopranos" that resonates in a different, maybe stronger way for me. It's hard to pinpoint and does not take anything away from the brilliance of "The Wire."
I can't get enough of either show.
Mrs. Lester Freamon? Er, my sincerest apologies, I shalt not covet another mans wife.
ReplyDeleteI think that Micheal and Namond are heading towards a conflict...but not on that level.
Namond is in conflict, you can see it in his reactions to wee-bay at the jail.
Micheal however, has no conflict. His nerves are steel and his focus is clear...he WILL control his own destiny, even when others with benevolent intentions (i.e. Cutty) offer him guidance and development.
Namond knows he's not ready to be a man, Micheal knows the time for being a child is over.
Steven, I couldn't have said it better, The Wire IS the best.
teresa, my guess is the Sopranos may ignite a sense of power and raw bravado that Simon and co. do not want to evoke.
The Sopranos WANT you to have clear, strong emotions with characters, the wire wants there to be this magnificent confusion, a grand complexity that Paulie Walnuts and Silvio would spit at.
Just my two cents.
I hate to contemplate it, but is it possible that the season, and the story of the children, will culminate in the death of one of them at the hands of another?
ReplyDeleteBreaking news, people... HBO just picked up "The Wire" for Season Five!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6371196.html?display=Breaking+News
I gotta quit this ... I'm like a little baby! Soon as I saw that Simon was going to get his fifth season, I started welling up again.
ReplyDeleteSomehow I don't think I'll feel quite the same when I watch House tonight.
A couple of things. I really enjoyed the way the ladies in the 'hood were competing over Cutty with food and baked goods. Can't say that I blame them!
ReplyDeleteI was taken aback by the exchange between Namond and his mom at the end of the episode. There seemed to be some flirtatious overtones in the way he winked at her after taking a cigarette from the table and blew her a kiss after he saw the new school clothes she had purchased. I imagine it has to do with the fact that he is in essence the man of the house.
One more thing. When the instructor told Prez to have/use "soft eyes," what did she mean? Was she encouraging him to be non-judgmental?
ReplyDeleteHow great was it to have Prez listening to "Ring of Fire" as he set up his classroom? I remember him listening to Johnny Cash as he contemplated the bulletin board of suspects in season 2 (or was it season 1?).
ReplyDelete