Avon and the Bad Drugs

“It ain’t about what happened. It’s about using what happened to our advantage. Play or get played.”–Avon

Avon is incredibly intelligent to know how to orchestrate such a thing so as to work to his advantage. It’s very frightening how much power he maintains and the way he uses it to benefit himself and those whom he’s willing to protect. I’m a little afraid for what this means for D’Angelo, now that he’s told Avon that he wants nothing to do with him.

Important Moment to Note

The scene where Daniels is sitting at home watching the dog agility competition, you can hear the British TV announcer saying, “…follows orders without question” about the dog that’s running the course. That obviously was intentional, as Daniels’ loyalty and ability to follow orders is pretty questionable.

This is also the second time a dog has appeared in the season. I’m wondering if that has any significance or if they are entirely unrelated.

Nick & His Daughter

Nick having his daughter name all the boats is just another example of parents teaching their kids their trade. While this is a pretty innocent lesson, and merely shows that Nick does spend time with his daughter, even if some of it is him teaching her about his job. If nothing else, he comes across as one of the better fathers on this show.

Studious Stringer

“I got a midterm. I gotta study.”–Stringer

Stringer’s dedication to his studies never ceases to amaze me. I love that detail about him.

Ziggy & Nudity in Television

This episode featured a lot of Ziggy’s antics, all of them a by-product of his wheeling and dealing the digital cameras. While I’m not very keen on dick pics–especially Ziggy’s–I must say that it is a rarity to see a penis in a television show or movie. Female breasts and even genitalia are more common than penises are, at least in my viewing experience. I think that says a lot about how we view female versus male bodies. There’s been several times when other male characters have been naked, but their movements, placement of sheets, and the camera angles have all worked to shield the viewer from seeing too much. Conversely, like a lot of HBO shows, it’s been littered with naked female bodies. I think this has a lot to do with the male gaze and how society seems to believe that it’s totally okay to stare at naked female bodies, but you have to be more selective with male bodies. Also, most female nudity occurs in a very sexualized manner, while Ziggy’s nudity is largely about him emasculating the guy who dumped coffee on his jacket.

Similar Shots

 

I’m not sure who has the worse living condition, McNulty or Nick. I found it interesting that this comparison was drawn by placing these two shots close together.

I thought this was an interesting shot. Everything is a shade of beige or black except for the blue sheet of paper that has the picture of the gun printed on it.

 

Facial Expressions

 

 

I just really dig this little exchange that occurred between Frank and Ziggy. They have a really interesting father-son relationship, especially when you consider how Nick plays into it. They are both very expressive characters, which I enjoy.

The Team’s Back Together

 

While this show isn’t some procedural with its heart warming moments that show the importance of team work and family in solving crime, I found this to be a really great moment. The season really feels like it’s revving up now that this gang is mostly reassembled.

They’re standing pretty far apart from each other, but Herc’s already sat down at a desk and this office space has a different vibe than this one. It seems lighter.

Omar Being Omar

I really enjoy Omar, so I’m happy to see that he’s back as well as Bubbles and Johnny. Of course, in this scene, I’m a little scared for everyone. However, it is very low-lit and full of warm colors, which seems to go along more with last season’s lighting and color palette.

“I’ll tell your wife if you tell mine.”

 

This was such an excellent scene. It was so well shot and well edited. It was hilarious, but you could also understand that things were tense in both relationships. I like how their faces were framed by candlesticks and a musical score played through the whole scene. However, Kima and her girlfriend are wearing white shirts while Daniels and his wife are wearing darker colored shirts.

Reflection

I thought this was a really interesting shot that suggests Frank’s got some internal conflict going on. It reminds me a lot of how reflection was used in the series Breaking Bad  to show Walter White’s duality. I’m not sure if it’s functioning the same way here, but I’m interested to see what Frank does in the coming episodes now that it’s apparent that the police are keeping a close watch on them.

The Final Shot

 

I’m not sure what this statue (or is it a picture?) is, but it seems to mean something to Frank and I’m also not entirely sure about what purpose it’s serving as the final shot in the episode.