On Second Thought . . .

I've been re-watching The Wire this year and I'm almost finished with Season 4. I've been thinking a lot about the show and really wanting to have some conversations about it. Yes, it's a heart-wrenching look at Baltimore. Yes, it's a glimpse at real issues that are the result of corruption, the "war on drugs," and racism. But also, it's just amazing writing and acting.

I thought maybe a good starting point for a conversation about the craft of the show is this question: What is your favorite scene?

Mine is this one. Chris and Snoop snag Bug's father intent on taking him into the vacant that has become a tomb for their ritual one-to-the-head. Chris, however, becomes so enraged, he beats him to death in a brutal moment.

This scene comes after Michael spending days mustering the courage to ask Marlowe's crew for help with Bug's father. He tries so hard to ask for help at school and from his friends, but he decides that he can only turn to people who will handle the issue in the way it must be handled for the sake of Bug.

I watched this episode, A New Day, this morning before going to an incredibly horrible work day. In the background of the shit happening at Evil, I thought about two things. One, Chris' tenderness when he decides to help Michael (in an earlier scene to this linked scene), and two, how much happens in the beating of Bug's father without any dialogue. Snoop just watches, open-mouthed and understanding fully what's going on, what must have happened to Chris when he was Michael's or Bug's age. It's a wonderful thing that happens in this brutal, bloody scene.

So, what's your favorite scene?