Season 3, Episode 2-
I love the opening scene with Omar dressed up and doing what he does best: stealing and scaring people. I will really not be happy if this show starts being a dog fighting crime show. So far this is the worst crime yet for me, and yes I know that’s insensitive. I was disgusted by this scene and had to silence my computer. I swear they better not have hurt any animals while filming.
Wow, Kima’s baby is already born, how the time passes. Her and her girlfriend are still very uncomfortable and Kima seems uncomfortable with the baby. They don’t even look at each other when they speak. McNulty is trying to figure out what really happened to D’Angelo, which is nice to finally see. The relationships in this episode in general are really interesting, with Kima, Lt. Daniels and others all getting into a bit of trouble.
Episode 3-
I love all of the ways Omar screw people over. He really has some nice, elaborate plans. Omar and his crew are pretty badass. It’s crazy to me that children later play at being Omar, like he is a superhero of some sort in the town. I loved the line in this episode, “It’s Baltimore Gentlemen, the gods will not save you.” The way politics work in this town are so roundabout and selfish. It’s like nothing gets done and everyone is content with the status quo. They only force change to make themselves look good and move up, this goes for politicians and the drug crime area.
Kima’s discussion on her partner and her frustrations there was really interesting because it’s the same relationship for every one of the cops. They can’t get away from the job and become estranged from the people who love them.
I think the cop funeral is really interesting. They have a dead body lying on a pool table and they talk a lot of crap about the dead cop. The camera views on the few aspects of the cop (tie, badge, Jameson, etc.) was pretty interesting too, as is the traditional Irish funeral. It almost serves to make the cops a sort of clan. The body count this season is piling up quite quickly and we get the other funeral of Tosha juxtaposed with the happy Irish themed one before.
I did the discussion on this episode and brought up the following photos and points:
This was a scary scene because it so closely paralleled when D’Angelo died. But I am happy that McNulty is trying to figure out what really happened.
This was just a picture to show how cool Omar is and how well he and his team work. They come up with really elaborate plans and a lot of what they do is just nuts!
This is the first time we see Omar visibly upset. His whole group is upset by Tosha’s death and Omar even punishes himself by burning his hand because he sees it as his fault.
This scene was really interesting to me because it is a blatant attempt at masculinizing Kima. She is never very feminine, but here she is shown walking out of bushed and zipping her pants up like a guy would do if he were scouting. It’s something we see in war movies and many other themes with just men involved. Following this, Kima sits with McNulty, having a beer and like it’s a guys’ hangout, and seemingly bashes how hard relationships are. This is another male theme of not wanting to be too involved in complicated relationships, a stereotype that is placed on Kima in this scene.
Episode 4-
This episode showed the change in the status quo and the move for cops to change the system. The drug dealers question the new change, which I found really interesting. McNulty’s fight was interesting and once again he is screwing things up for everyone else. Kima is becoming closer to McNulty, too, which we have seen before. McNulty is still going after Stringer and sorting out that old issue. Seeing Stringer at a nice restaurant talking to men in suits, one of them a senator, is definitely a change. Stringer is “legit” as McNulty says and obviously has backing from officials. He is not just a typical drug dealer, as we have seen, but even more so now, but he also knows McNulty is going after him.
Seeing all of the dealers in the auditorium looked like a bunch of kids together, and Coleman cannot even get his point across. The words he uses don’t even get to them. This principal lady seems to have some power, however. Once again, there is the sense that generation after generation is being lost in the quagmire of the lack of education and life fulfillment in the drug crime world.
