‘Black, white. What’s the difference, Nat? Until we get that canal dredged, we’re all niggers. Pardon my french.’
- Frank Sobotka, 7×12, The Wire
Season 1 blew my mind. And naturally, I was worried dead that season 2 would not live up to my incredibly high expectations. I hoped and I wished, and had I been iven remotely religious, I would have prayed.
It was almost with shaking hands that I inserted the newly bought Season 2 DVD, only a day after having finished season 1.
To my surprise season 2 lived up to every expectation, and more!
Allow me to elaborate.
Important Note: If you have not not finished season 1, then do NOT read further, as this review will contain spoilers of the previous season.
With Avon Barskdale incarcerated along with D’Angelo and Wee-Bey, the Barksdale Detail has accomplished its purpose and is effectively shut down.
McNulty is demoted to the marine unit, Greggs is working a desk job, Daniels has been re-assigned to evidence division, Lester is partnered up with Bunk in homicide division, and the rest have returned to their respective divisions.
The focus now shifts to the Baltimore docks, where union leader and treasurer Frank Sobotka has resorted to smuggling drugs and stolen goods through the port for a mysterious criminal organization known only as “The Greeks”, as a means to fund his political contributions and campaigning to maintain the prosperity of the docks.
However, a feud between Sobotka and the vindictive Major Valcheck results in the latter pressuring the newly made Acting Commissioner into assembling a detail dedicated to investigate Sobotka and the affairs on the Docks.
Despite the arrests and deaths of some of their best men, the Barksdale Organization is bruised, yet not broken. Avon continues to run the organization from prison through his second-in-command Stringer, while scheming for an early release. Stringer administrates the organization, and has to contend with the loss of their connections, dissention within the organization, as well as rival drug dealers eyeing their prized territory.
Bodie has been promoted to crew chief of the 221 Tower, while Poot has been given command over the Pit.
The second season of The Wire examines the struggles of the blue-collar working class, represented by the stevedores of the Baltimore port, and how easily the working class becomes victim to capitalism in modern America.
It portrays the betrayal of the working man, and how he must contend with a society that values maximum efficiancy at the expense of the working class.
With the addition of the Docks and the people working there, the ensemble of characters grows substantially, most notably among them, Frank Sobotka, as well as his reckless and and troubled son Ziggy, often paired with his more level-headed and intelligent cousin, Nick.
Also introduced are the mysterious “Greeks”, whose cunning are matched only by their ruthlessness.
The Barksdale Organization sees the addition of several new soldiers, but are not as notable, due to the Organization being featured less prominently this season.
Omar returns to Baltimore with his new boyfriend and picks up where he left.
Proposition Joe receives more screentime, and more plot involvement
Most of the original members of the Barksdale detail return in the second season, with many of them still suffering from their actions in the previous season. McNulty’s meddling yet again earns him the scorn of his superiors, but proves instrumental to the case.
Some of my favorite characters this season, were Frank, Nick and Ziggy Sobotka. I particularly liked how human they were protrayed, and how easy it was to sympathize with them. They are the perfect examples of ‘grey area’ characters.
Frank Sobotka, the struggling union leader resorting to desperate measures to preserve the jobs and futures of his fellow stevedores. Nick, whose frustration with the lack of working hours and a steady income, gets him involved in the smuggling business. The reckless and juvenile, Ziggy, offers both comic relief and tragedy the same time.
Omar is great as always, and delivers one of his most epic “Omar moments” this season.
Brother Mouzone was also pretty damn excellent.
Conclusion: Season 2 of The Wire is even better than the previous season. The pace is turned up, and characters that you get more emotionally invested in, as well as more character development.
Season 2 continues to to portray the city of Baltimore in a brutally honest way, depicting how an instituion’s failings affect the people living in the city, and how the port of Baltimore is connected to the the politicians and drug dealers of Baltimore.
Having recently done a re-watch of season 1, I really notice the difference in pace and characters, between season 1 and 2. Season 2 gets a lot more personal, and the pace is - as mentioned a few lines ago - faster.
So, if slow pace, and poor characterization were your main gripes with season 1, then I think you’ll find season 2 more to your liking.
Posts