Letters to the Editor
-
Prop Joe RIP
What I love most about The Wire is that the landscape of the show feels just as alive as the real world. Characters just don't 'go away', you feel like they are going on with their lives, just not in a way that is related to this season's storylines. Contrast that with the 2-D and cartoonish world of The Sopranos (no, the Russian never came back!)
Two great examples from this week.
Yes, that was the former dockyard worker with the homeless - I believe he worked up with the computer terminals and made sure no one recorded the disappearnces of the containers. He was also seen at the end of that season, with beer in hand, being dragged away from the closed unionhall. That struck me when I saw him. We see what happens to some people when their way of life goes away in favor of new waterfront condos. A great touch that ties in what many believe (wrongly) was a detour of a season.
Also, the flower store was the same place where a young Bodie went to get flowers for Deangelo's funeral. If you recall, he was led in back where they had AK-47 themed flower arrangements.
Why did it surprise us when Prop Joe got his? We saw this same thing happen to Stringer Bell for the same reasons. Stringer could not "civilize" Avon any more than Prop Joe could do it for Marlo.
My biggest question - why is Dookie getting trained with a weapon? I hope I am wrong about this, but I hope he isn't there when Omar takes a shot at Michael.