after getting into this show this year and literally flying through the seasons, i’ve decided that the mere impact of this show will outweigh any album i’ll hear in 2009. i wish i was kidding. the wire’s season four is easily one of the most riveting seasons of any show i’ve ever watched. i know it’s redundant as all hell to say this about nearly every season, but the statements stand.
the previous three seasons all dealt with the baltimore drug trade, while maintaining a specific baltimore crisis as the main focal point of the season. from the streets to the ismuggling on the docks to the political corruption, eventually landing on the public school systems in season four.
considering that it deals with the school system, the writers got their hands on some of the most spectacular child actors i’ve ever seen act on any television show. all of the kids (mostly pictured on the dvd-set cover) have a multifaceted heartfelt story that anybody could either relate to or sympathize with. it wasn’t rare to find me cheering on dukie, whose own family would sell his belongings for drugs. or randy, a kid who chose to hustle candy and chips to younger school students instead of drugs, finding himself into some serious shit. these are just to name a few. also, about the school: i gotta show some love to prez. the dude really came up since his stint when he was a power-abusing sociopath cop. he came into his own as these kids’ mentor and had a real earnest and powerful role in this season.
aside from that, comparing marlo stanfield’s crew to that of avon barksdale (season 1-3) is a trip on its own. marlo’s crew is cold and heartless, whereas you could find yourself sympathizing with a lot of the barksdales. chris and snoop are by far the two most diabolical and soulless characters ever written into this show. to steal a recurring quote from the show, i’d say “the game has changed.”
this season had a lot to live up to prior to even watching it. almost every fan of the wire i had spoken to before hand had mentioned season four as their personal favorite or in the top two. after watching it, i can’t help but agree.
don’t forget to check out my previous recaps:
-grizzly
Arguably best season of The Wire. Prez and the school kids were such a great plotline.
Don’t know if you know but the actor who plays Chris Partlow is actually Wale’s cousin. Small world…
haha, what in the hell. i most definitely did not know that. and agreed so much on the prez thing. dude really came up in this season. i’m gonna make an edit really quick..
-g
I read all of your reviews of The Wire, and I swear we think the same. Crazy! I will post here because Season 4 was by far my favorite season. I love how the writers’ handled the evolution of all four boys’ lives. By the season finale; you realize their growth was incredibly drastic, yet, as the season was unraveling, their changes were so naturally shifting, you hardly noticed. I watched the premiere and finale back to back after watching the entire season, and the child actors were absolutely phenomenal. I get angry that this show was never given the awards recognition it deserved. There was so much talent that went unnoticed. One of my favorite scenes in the finale is when Bodie realizes that he has become an old man in the game. I always thought I wanted Bodie gone after he got Wallace, but at the end of Season 4, I was actually rooting for him. I appreciated that he went down fighting. I totally agree with you about Omar’s death in Season 5, but I guess it was supposed to be senseless. I am happy that no one in Marlo’s crew got him; however, it was sad at the end with the misplaced tags on the body. He was a legend on the streets, but just another body in death. I loved the little things like those that the writers threw in to add layers to their message. Yikes, this has gotten long. I told you that your site is instantly addicting!