Prez

In some ways, I think there was a sense that things would end badly for Prez much like we knew things would not go well for Ziggy. I really enjoy Prez and am sad about what has happened.

I think it’s interesting that unlike many of the other characters on the team, we never see Prez at home. All that we know about him pertains to his work. Even his marriage is mostly talked about in the fact that Valchek is his father-in-law. This makes is seem like Prez has lost everything in this situation.

I love how this shot it set up from the lighting to the staging. There’s something really pleasing about the over turned chair as well.

This shot is also staged really well. Most of the light seems to be coming from the street light and the police car headlights. I like how the body is between Prez and McNulty and that the rest of the police officers are standing in the background.

This close-up of the bloody badge was a very powerful shot.

The final scene of the episode reminded me a lot of the final scene we usually scene in the season finale. Instead of leaving just a phone behind in the empty room, we’re leaving Prez behind.

 

Gender

McNulty’s new relationship is very interesting as McNulty seems to be playing the “female” in the relationship. He even makes jokes about it. It’s interesting to see him as the more emotional partner. He’s having done to him what he’s been doing to tons of women: calling upon them at all hours of the night, fucking and leaving them, and not wanting to make it a serious thing.

 

Race

Prez’s incident really adds to one of the underlying narratives of race and the associations we make. There’s been conversations here and there about the prominence of black drug dealers, black cops going undercover, and the popularity of black mayors. The way race is used in various public dealings, whether political campaigns, police lawsuits, or going undercover in the drug world is very interesting and definitely builds an important detail of Baltimore.

 

Disability

I thought it was really cool to have a political figure, Watkins, who uses a powered wheelchair. This narrative isn’t one that really has room for disabled characters and I like that being in a wheelchair is merely a detail about him and not something that is given a lot of attention to.

 

Red, Blue, & Yellow

Red book, blue posters, yellow lighting.

Yellow folder, blue suit, red on the poster.

Red carpet, yellow couch, blue walls.

Blue sling, jeans, and dress; red sweater; yellow dress.

Red and yellow on Carver’s shirt and the blue patch on Colvin’s shirt.

 

Yellow & Green

While there are many colors in this shot, the green poster and yellow on the flag really stood out for me.

Yellow champagne. Yellow and green also appears in the food they are eating.

 

Green & Red

Red and green in Bubbles’s shirt.

Red and green in this shot of the building, which has appeared in other seasons.

Red and green in the buildings and trees.

Another shot with many colors, but the red chair and green sheet in front of the manila folders stood out to me the most.

Red car and tail lights and green overgrowth.

Red brick and green trees and shrubs.

Blue & Yellow

Blue and yellow in the glass in the background.

 

Red, Black, & White

McNulty is wearing red and black and much of the background is white.

Red and black clothes next to the white lamp.

Light & Dark

The illuminated part of the shot is red brick and trees.

Omar is partially lit, which speaks to his moral complexity. He understands that a truce exists on Sundays and also wants his grandmother to think that he isn’t doing anything illegal or violent, yet he also is making plans to go after Avon’s crew.

Various members of Avon’s crew are dressed either in mostly white or mostly black. The two dressed mostly in black were the ones who tried to shoot Omar.

Avon is wearing white and well lit, while Stringer is silhouetted and dressed in dark colors. This shows the tension growing between them as well as makes Stringer seem like the one who is committing more evil.

I like the blue lighting in the background providing most of the light for the shot.

Avon and Stringer are sitting so that it looks like they are in opposition to each other. Avon is in all white and the light from the window is shining on him, while Stringer is wearing black, sitting amongst some dark furniture, and is not well lit.

 

Interesting Shots

During McNulty’s self-complimentary monologue, we see him as well as his image coming through the security camera. It’s as if we are seeing McNulty both as he sees himself and as the rest of the world sees McNulty.

I like the pictures on the fridges. Gives some nods to previous seasons and the family like atmosphere they have going on.

This shot from below should make Dennis look large, but instead the building looks huge and imposing.

I love the red colors in hear. Rhonda’s hair really goes well with the sign in the background.

There have been several shots in recent episodes where we’re looking over the hood of a car. I also like the red and green lights in the background.

I thought this shot well well staged. It seemed to handle both McNulty’s fear and fearlessness in this situation. He’s running into a tricky situation, but is also very cautious.

Daniels looks very big and powerful in comparison to Prez.

I like how the police car and body break up the otherwise empty stretch of road and run perpendicular to the rows of buildings we see. There’s also a couch in the background, which appears later.

This yellow tape cutting across the screen was a really great way to start the scene and the way Carver moved back and forth along it later on was visually interesting.

Here we see a bunch of drug dealers sitting on the couch. Reminds me of season 1 in the pit.

McNulty seemed to be a bit more contemplative in this scene toward the end of the episode. He seems to be realizing that he’s not as impressive or interesting as he thinks he is.

Technology

The security camera’s display on the computer screen looks like Lester and Prez are trying to figure out photobooth.

It almost looks like Lester and Prez are trying to take a selfie.

Reminds me of season 1 and the prominence of pay phones. Cell phones have made pay phones less necessary.