“The Wire”: Unconfirmed Reports

Posted by SH

Oh no he di’int!

Was that our good and faithful Detective Jimmy McNulty rearranging a murder scene to make it look like a serial killer is on the loose in Baltimore? Well, what else can you do when city hall just won’t cough up enough cash to let the police do their job? As Freamon says, if it were 300 white people who were killed every year in the city, the National Guard would be deployed immediately. Don’t count on public outcry to help, either, because apparently the problems in Bodymore pale compared with a blonde girl who went missing in Aruba.

So you see where McNulty’s coming from and where he’s going. This victim was male, but perhaps they will be getting more tow-headed and female as time passes. It was enough to make the usually unflappable Bunk wash his hands of the situation and high-tail it out of there, but McNulty is betting that the media will eat it up. And based on what we’ve seen from the folks at The Sun, he’s probably right. They fell hook, line and sinker for a fishy lead about a 13-year-old kid in a wheelchair who tried to scalp tickets to see the Orioles play baseball on opening day. The objections from our lovable old Gus — the reporter provided no last name, no pictures — weren’t enough for Whiting to give up what promised to be a heart-tugging read.

I gotta say, I’m all on board for beating up on incompetence in authority positions, but Whiting has the be the most clueless editor ever put on film. I get the whole aiming-to-win-a-prize, not-write-a-good-story mentality they’re going after, but he seems a bit of a caricature, like something a spurned lover would portray. David Simon is merely a disgruntled former employee, but I expected a bit more depth than what we’ve gotten so far. It’s also implied that the reporter — the slimy and ambitious Scott Templeton — Stephen Glass-ed his way through the story, having come up empty in his canvassing of the opening-day crowd for a compelling angle. Which leads to the question that if a cop gives a made-up story to a reporter who makes things up, does that make it real on some level, using the two-negatives-make-a-positive theory?

As for those who more routinely break the law and flout ethics, Marlo finally managed to persuade Avon to broker for him a jailhouse meeting with Sergi. Not quite sure what they’re up to yet, only that it involves a power play with the Greeks and Prop Joe’s crowd. And probably a few caps going into a few a****. Speaking of which, Marlo ordered the killings of some of his naysayers, one of whom was only thought to have said something pertaining to Marlo’s oral fixations. This troubled one of the assassins, who let a young boy flee unharmed out the back door. Among Marlo’s hit list was Omar, who has yet to surface this season.

Quite a bit of time was spent on Bubbles struggling with his sobriety. He goes to his group meetings, but can’t quite engage fully, still stinging over his role in the death of Sherrod. Not sure how he’ll end up, but there was a scene at the homeless shelter that consisted of little but Bubs washing dishes and doing a slow burn. Not sure what was going on, but it didn’t feel right.

Not much was revealed on the preview for next week, other than a few clips of the Greeks doing business and Bunk telling McNulty that his serial killer ruse is going to lead to his downfall. Probably, but McNulty seems to be preparing himself for ruination, reverting back to his alcoholic, womanizing ways, and alienating his girlfriend (poor Beatie!) and now his best friend. But seriously, you never thought “The Wire” was going to end with a surprise wedding, didja?