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The Wire Season 5 Episode 5

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9.3

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EPISODE REVIEWS
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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 2/3/08

"Just because they're in the street doesn't mean they lack opinions." - Haynes

Marlo forges an alliance with a drug connect, who shows him a new communications trick; McNulty's case gets increased attention from the newspaper, in large part thanks to the addition of Templeton to the reporting team; Dukie turns to Dennis "Cutty" Wise and Michael to hone his pitiful self-defense skills; Clay Davis finds a new ally; State's Attorney Rupert Bond raises his public profile; Maurice Levy and Herc prepare for litigation; Elena confronts her ex-husband about his behavior; Bubbles has fears about new opportunities; Greggs gets some overtime work; Omar shows patience as Marlo throws out his bait.

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FAN RECAP

Fan Episode Reviews (4)

Ok, I may have lost all objectivity, but I think EVERY episode this season has been a candidate for Series Classic. This one is certainly deserving of that designation, with pivotal plot turns, poignant character development and a crackling action scene.moreless

9.8

By rockin01, Aug 22, 2010

McNulty is successful in his twisted pursuit of media attention for his bogus homicide case, but his determined efforts are costing him- bigtime: Beadie is ready to leave him, he is boozing and whoring like never before, and even his old friend Bunk is disgusted with him. But no one seems to loath good ole Jimmy more than himself...this is a sad turn of events for a character I continue to genuinely like, but I just can't stand his recent actions. Add his accomplice Lester to the list of characters I am deeply disappointed with this season. I expected better of this very intelligent, highly principled man.

But it seems no one is going untainted on The Wire this year. AG Bond shows his naked ambition by making the Clay Davis case his ticket to a higher profile and a presumable campaign for the Mayor's seat. Templeton pulls his biggest stunt yet, concocting a scheme to fake a call to himself from the nonexistent Homeless Killer. Of course, all the political figures remain viciously self-promoting- who would expect anything different from them? Even Bubbles, another favorite character, seems steadfastly opposed to surrenduring himself to a redemption arc. At least Cutty seems to have stayed true to himself and forged a worthwile existence. Omar? Omar is just Omar..for some reason he exists for me on a plane that transcends standard notions of good and evil. I just tend to give him a pass, no matter what he does. Call me biased- the guy is my favorite character. And what an action scene to end this fine episode! Wow!

If I hold out hope for anyone to escape a bleak future, it's Dukie- sweet, awkward Dukie, so unsuited for the unforgiving streets of Baltimore. God, if there's any fairness left in the uncompromising world of The Wire, please let this one escape unscathed. Amen.moreless
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I have a sore bum from sitting on the edge of my seat.

10

By Plonked, Aug 22, 2010

This episode had me sitting on the edge of my seat the whole way through. Omar was the reason why, everytime we had him on the screen I kept thinking this is it, one of Marlos peoples are going to be dead. I didnt think Omar would go at it like that. This is the first time that I have seen Omar suprised and not expecting anyone to be there. There is so much pain that has happened to Omar, nearly all that are close to him have been killed.

McNulty has a bit of competition on his hands since he has met Templeton. To see who can pull the biggest lie on the fake serial killings.

Nice to see the young boys again. Kennard needs s good kick up the bum, he has such a big mouth and he thinks he bigger than anyone else. I think Michael will end up giving him another smack in the head soon, for the way he has been treating Dukie. Poor Dukie though he is trying to step up and not be pushed around anymore. He tired boxing, shooting and giving his own back to Kennard but nothing has worked. He wants out but doesnt know where to look.moreless
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McNulty's "serial killer" story gets amped up quite a bit thanks to Scott Templeton. Great "Wire" moments ensue.

8.9

By abomb85, Feb 08, 2008

The lies of McNulty and Scott Templeton collide and the government of Baltimore is finally ready to pay for policework. However, the way this is going it seems that both will inevitabely take a fall. Hopefully, Scott falls harder as he is lying to try to advance his career while McNulty and Freamon are just trying to take down Marlo and get the higher-ups to shell out some money for policework. Also, McNulty is at least good at what he does while Scott can't even manage to get some respectable quotes from the homeless and makes up yet another story. The scene where McNulty and Scott are at the table with the Sun editors was especially good, with both hearing the stories the other was making up and having to react to them. Scott doesn't know that McNulty's completely lying however, while McNulty clearly knows Scott is. Moving on, Clay Davis finally accepts he must take the fall, but while he is not going to give anyone up he is not going to lie down easily, holding a rally and appearing on the radio to pronounce his "innocence." I especially liked how Royce exchanged words with Clay after standing by him at the rally. With Daniels now completely in the role of commissioner-to-be, he had to deny Freamon which was somewhat hard to watch after. He was such a good guy for all those years but now in a higher position it seems he can do even less for "real" policework. Carcetti is getting worse and worse in my mind as well. (On a sidenote, it was nice to see the guy who plays Daniels on Lost the other day, he's a good actor.)

Things on the corner finally came to a head regarding Dukie as he got the **** kicked out of him. The only real option I see for Dukie is to go back to high school, but I doubt that will happen. Going to Cutty for help didn't seem to work out all that well (although this was probably the only way they could think of to get Cutty back in the storyline).

Beadie was back in the mix in this episode as well which I did not really expect (since Amy Ryan is now more famous, being nominated for an Oscar and everything). With McNulty back to his old ways I'm surprised she is even sticking around this long.

Things aren't all bleak as we learned that Bubbles is HIV negative, but he really needs to get over Sherrod's death or at least stop punishing himself for it. But for all the tragedies Bubbles has had over the years, with only 5 episodes left it appears that he may be actually going out on a good note.

And finally, Omar makes his move on Marlo's soldiers, which does not go over well at all and ends with him jumping out a 4-story window. It appears that he has superhero abilities though as he is not dead on the spot or even still on the spot. This could mean bad news in the future for Michael as Omar is apparently not dead since he was with the other soldiers trying to gun him down. Marlo's strength continues to be shown however, as this is the first time I can remember that Omar **** up one of his missions. Proving Marlo's strength more though is the fact that he now pretty much completely controls the co-op as he has the connect.moreless
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Omar must be Superman.

9.8

By lawgotham, Feb 05, 2008

Last weeks episode showed the parallels of those being put out to pasture. To an extent, this week's show presented us with the web of lies. McNulty upon Lester's direction has upped the ante with his conjured up (and evidence tampering) stories regarding a serial killer. This gets our wonderful reporter Templeton to spin a web of lies beginning with an exagerated quote from a homeless man to an embellished lie about the non-existent killer calling him. McNulty the opportunist takes the ball and runs with it. (I was laughing out loud during this scene at the newspaper where McNulty realizes the tale being told.)

Now it's front page, overtime has been procured for two detectives and a wire finally approved but it will be used to snare (hopefully) Marlo.

Speaking of lies, Clay Davis can probably take down everyone but must "lie" to take the fall. Politics at it's best, it reminds me of Scooter Libby. This episode we see McNulty's first wife (played by the lovely Callie Thorne) as well as McNulty's girlfriend. Both are trying to get Jimmy to stop lying.

Dukie meanwhile is roughed up and wants to do something about it and ends up at the gym. Maybe he can get away from the corner for good.

In a nutshell, Marlo plays Omar, lying in wait, gunplay erupts and Omar jumps off the balcony...the 4th floor balcony. Everyone runs to see him lying on the ground dead or close to and what? He's gone. That's the only reason I rated this episode a 9.8 and not a 10. FOur stories is a long way. Those bushes must be much bigger than they look to cushion his fall.

This is a near perfect season of "The Wire" so far.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Seth Gilliam	Sgt. Ellis Carver
Dominic West	Det. James "Jimmy" McNulty
Clark Johnson	City Editor Augustus "Gus" Haynes
Aidan Gillen	Mayor Thomas "Tommy" Carcetti
Deirdre Lovejoy	Chief State's Attorney of Violent Crimes Rhonda Pearlman
Michael Kenneth Williams	Omar Little

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Steve Earle	Walon	Guest Star
William F. Zorzi	Bill Zorzi	Guest Star
Larry Andrews	Donnie	Guest Star
Paul Ben-Victor	Spiros "Vondas" Vondopoulos	Recurring Role
Amy Ryan	Off. Beatrice "Beadie" Russell	Recurring Role
Callie Thorne	Elena McNulty	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (1)
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- Former state legislator Larry Young, who was expelled from the Senate in 1998, appears as a talk-show host interviewing Senator Clay Davis on WOLB-AM, the Baltimore station where Young now works as a host.
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QUOTES (6)
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- Scott: Where do you expect me to find homeless people?
  Gus: Not at home I'd imagine.
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- Herc: Gift from your one true partner; cell phone number, Marlo Stanfield.
  Carver: Where the fuck did-
  Herc: Don't ask, don't tell. It's like one of those guys sucking dick in the Army. Whatever else I did to piss you off, remember I also did this. And Carv, when you put the braclets on that bitch, remind him again of my fucking camera.
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- Bunk: You've lost you're fuckin' mind Jimmy, look at'cha! Half late every third night, dead drunk every second. Nut deep in random pussy. What little time you do spend sober and limp dick, you're workin murders that don't even exist!
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- Clay: Think I'm gonna be the scapegoat for the whole damn machine? Shiiiiiiiit.
  Nerese: Clarence is gonna stand with you, he told me so. He'll be out there.
  Clay: Easy for him, he ain't runnin' for nothin' no mo'.
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- Landsman: (to McNulty) Just 'cause you got some fuckin' reporter to buy your weak shit does not mean that everyone else buys it. Deputy's over there right now talkin' 'em back down to Earth.
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- Carcetti: You said it Norman, there's the short con and the long con.
  Norman Wilson: You're gonna need a statement. Nothing too joyful, you don't dance on Clay's grave until you're sure the motherfucker's dead.
  Carcetti: Clay ain't getting up from this.
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NOTES (3)
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- Music: "In Time" by Sly & The Family Stone; "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" by Tears For Fears; "Just Out Of Reach" by Joe Tex; "Party Like A Rock Star" by Shop Boyz; "Just My Imagination" by The Temptations; "Beyond The Fields We Know" by Dead Meadow; "My Girl Has Gone" by Smokey Robinson; "Gypsy Woman" by Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions
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- Clark Johnson was originally slated to direct this episode, however due to unknown circumstances, Agnieszka Holland directed the episode instead.
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- Although credited, Corey Parker Robinson does not appear in this episode.
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ALLUSIONS (0)
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