The Wire season 3

[alexandral]

"We don't need to dream no more" Stringer Bell

I have finished watching the third season of "The Wire" this weekend. To tell the truth, I struggled a little with the season 3. It didn't "grab" me from the beginning as season 1 and particular season 2 did. But as I continued to watch so much of the whole picture and whole paradigm of "The Wire" started to develop beautifully in this season that at the end I fell completely in love with it.


Broken dreams
It very realistic and very sad but all three seasons in one way or another follow a story of broken dream, a failed attempt to break free from the old way of things..

In season 1 D'angelo Barksdale came very close to being free from his family and their way of life (selling drugs). He was not born and fit to be a drug-dealer but at the same time there was no realistic way out for him. I think that betraying his family to the Police would have been impossible for him to get over in his future life. It would have always tortured him.. And if he "just left it" he would have always been a danger for his family. I don't say Stringer did the right thing when he ordered D'Angelo's murder but I see that this was the only logical thing to do. But oh, do I weep for D'Angelo! His story breaks my heart the most in this series full of sad stories. But of course, in the season 3, in a game-of-fate connection to the D'Angelo's attempt to come clean, his murderer Stringer Bell becomes the one who betrayed Barksdale to the Police.

In season 2 Frank Sobotka had a scheme which was his dream : he wanted to rebuild the grain pier and bring some new life to the dying docks of Baltimore city. And because he needed money for dealing with the city politicians he found money from dealing with THE Greeks, the scariest crime organisation in "The Wire" world to which none of the drug-dealers of Eastside and Westside come even close in scariness! And of course, "to live with wolves means to howl as a wolf" and Frank Sobotka was murdered by the Greeks when he attempted to betray them to the Police (just as D'Angelo did in his time)...

In season 3 it is all about Stringer Bell who is clever and brilliant and wants to have another life and some clean business as a building developer. But he can't.. He wasn't born into this, he doesn't have connections in the city, he doesn't know things. He is a boy who was born in the Westside and the Westside can't be taken out of him. And here is the point where I go very very sad for Stringer who tried his best but who at the end was dragged back into the place he has been trying to escape from. I am too sad for him to write any more..

Parallel between Drug trade/Business and Politics Hmm.. There is no difference between these three, isn't it? As Stringer and Avon say their famous "It's only business" when they betray each other, D'Agostino says to Carcetti "It's politics. Live with it or lose." when he is going behind the back of his only friend Gray.

Here comes the hopeful part
- Avon Barksdale seems to have received his comeuppance at least! Minimum 7 years!

- Stringer in a way paid for D'Angelo's murder.

- Cutty (who is so very lovely) built his gym! He has broken free! EEEE! I even confess that I started liking Avon Barksdale because he let Cutty go!

- Daniels got finally promoted! And he is going out with Pearlman! My first ship of "The Wire" is born!!!!!!!

- Even though Hamsterdam ended as a total disaster for fabulous major Colvin I can't see this as the end of the road for him. I don't know why but I think Colvin will have some good things coming to him. (And better soon! May be in season 4?)

- Jimmy broke my heart to little pieces but he finally realized that his life is self-destructive! May be he will change?


My favourite characters in a gallery of sceencaps. Spoilers

Omar Little because he is my Lone Gunman:



Stringer Bell because he is so brilliant and looks so gorgeous in suits:



And he looks very good when frownig which he does a lot in season three. Frowning can be so attractive!!!



Bunny Colvin because of many many things he is and among them: a dreamer, a courageous man, an excellent leader..



Lester Freamon because I adore a man with the brains:



Brother Mouzone because I adore an articulate man:



Dennis Wise because he is just a lovely big teddy-bear:



Jimmy McNulty because he is full of self-destruction:



Cedric Daniels because he is so scorchingly hot:



And here is the shippy moment of the season 3: Daniels touching Pearlman's hand. AWWWWWWWW!





I made some icons too (I never can resist) and they are free to share. Please let me know if you need any customisation, any text added or taken away

Preview:

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.01.02.03.04

.05.06.07.08

.09.10.11.12

.13.14.15.16

.17.18.19.20

.21.14.23.24

.25.26.27.28

.29

Comments

[gobi-rex.livejournal.com]

Oh My God. I haven't read your post yet, just wanted to drop you a note I'm drooling over no.6 And the rest of these icons. Beautiful work!

[herself_nyc]

Ooooh. Taking #5, will credit. Wonderful!

[arathesane.livejournal.com]

"We don't need to dream no more" Stringer Bell

god, that line, that scene, that episode-Stringer and Avon's final scene, Omar and Brother Mouzone, that episode killed me... and then Jimmy in the final one, Lester telling him he needed a life, the final scene with Bubbles and Colvin. oh I love this show beyond reason...

hmm, I don't want to spoil you but season four is fantastic, some general previews(skip if you want): you will be seeing a lot of Colvin, there will be four kids(new characters) that will amaze you and break your heart, Carcetti becomes a more fleshed-out character- and I think you will like his deputy Norman Wilson, Lester, Bunk, Kima, and Omar are generally quite awesome, Carver, Prez and Bodie really set up in their respective jobs and while there's less McNulty('cause of DW's movie schedule) it doesn't matter because the show is just as amazing. plus I think the scenes that do feature Jimmy in them will make you happy. oh, and Andre Royo is just amazing as Bubbles in season four.

love the icons, will probably snag a bunch.

[queenofthorns.livejournal.com]

The icons are glorious as always my darling ...

I think I had a very similar reaction to Season 3 - it was very hard for me to get into it at first, and then by the end, I LOVED it (even as I mourned so much for Stringer - for his wasted potential, mostly.)

As for your list of hopeful things ... I think some of them are not so hopeful - yes, Avon goes to jail; but Marlo is right there to take his place, isn't he? And I think this was something that Jimmy learns in this final episode, where he realizes that he's spent all this time chasing Stringer and it totally didn't matter because String is dead, and Avon's in jail, but that doesn't mean anything, because the trade will go on, just with different people.

HOWEVER - I think the ending is a very clear sign that Jimmy is going to be happy and at peace - he left Beadie before, because he knew he would only destroy her life; and I think his going to find her at the end of that last episode is a sign that he's turned himself around, and that he thinks he can be with her without destroying her. He actually looks HAPPY as a beat cop, and I think we really are meant to take that away from those scenes.

And I also think Cuddy provides an element of hope - it seemed earlier on that he would definitely succumb to becoming a drug-dealer's hired gun again, and instead, he found something that he really believes in, where he can do some good for those children. So I see him as the other symbol of hope in this season.

As for Hamsterdam, I think it was doomed because Bunny wasn't really solving the drug problem just, as they say on "The Wire", finding a way to juke the stats. Of course he meant well; but the fragility of his system is inbuilt, and Bubs's walk through hell kind of showed the dark side of Bunny's optimistic idea, I feel.

[queenofthorns.livejournal.com]

I didn't think it would be possible for me to love a Stringer-less season the way I loved 1-3, but yes, Season 4 is possibly even better than the others. I think it's because it broke my heart like no other season did!

[queenofthorns.livejournal.com]

P.S. I took this one - I love that scene SO much and it's such a gorgeous icon too.

[arathesane.livejournal.com]

I remember thinking after the season two finale something to the effect "there's no way they can top this", and then sort of thinking the same thing after season three's. but season four was fantastic, it was just so damn moving, and those kids-all of they're performances were so strong. it was really was heart breaking but there were also little silvers of hope. I can't wait for season five.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much ! Number 6 is my favourite too. There is always an icon in any batch which is the "first" one, the one that is made from the screencap that makes one go "WOW! I must make an icon of that!"

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I am so gald you liked it!

[baleanoptera.livejournal.com]

First up a yay for the icons, which are absolutely gorgeous! I'm still trying to decide which ones to take - though # 4 or 6 is a definite must!
But they are all so pretty!

Like you I also had problems getting into season three. It is in a way much slower and the build-up takes it time. But I think that makes for a greater emotional impact at the end of the season - and all in all I loved every part of it.

Oh and Daniels and Pearlman were great! I truly did not see that relationship coming - but they match each other so well.

Hmm..this also reminds me that I should get of my ass and post my thoughts on season three. I keep saying I will, and most of its typed up - but for some reason I find it very hard to articulate all the nuances about The Wire.

One of the things that struck me about s3 was that there is a great difference between what people say and what people do, or if you will a juxtaposition and a discrepancy between the real world on one hand, and the desired and presented world on the other. This is best symbolised through the Police hearings where the goal is to make everything look good on paper (great statistics - aka the world presented) instead of doing something with the world as it is.(the crime, the corners etc.) Does that make sense?

[jesshelga.livejournal.com]

I'm torn! Because of my recent influx of Deadwood icons, I don't have room...yet I really, really want the lovely, lovely #6! What's a girl to do? (Grab it with thanks and try to make room!)

[scarcrest.livejournal.com]

Gonna make room for icons #5 and #29. Will credit. Thanks for sharing these!

[queenofthorns.livejournal.com]

While it certainly devolved into a hellish world, they were also bringing in a lot of services for these people and concentrating them in an area where they could do the most good.

Not initially - Bunny's original plan was just to corral all the drug dealers into one area and bring down the murder rate by essentially creating incentives for them not to kill one another, which was basically related to the directive from on high that the murder rate HAD to go down. No one, not even Bunny, was really thinking about "doing good" by providing services at this point - although as an absolute good, of course, reducing the number of murders (especially of bystanders not involved in the drug trade) was a good. Bunny was, by his own words to Lt. Mello, thinking about keeping his district's stats clean until he retired in a few months - initially this is his main incentive, which slowly changes as Hamsterdam takes on a life of its own.

It's only later on, when Bunny realizes how hellish the world he's created in hamsterdam is that he kind of listens to that pastor and to the sociology guy from the university about providing clean needles, etc. (And there are still trickle-down effects from Hamsterdam like all the little hoppers without activities - Carv tries to address that issue with his basketball games.)

I'm not saying Bunny's a bad person, or that he didn't come up with a creative solution - not at all - just that the solution posed nearly as many problems as the initial problem itself.

[littleeva.livejournal.com]

Wow, these icons are beautiful, I'm snagging a few and I will credit.

When you watch season 4 I hope you write down your thoughts.

[queenofthorns.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, I kind of thought about your comment a little more, and I actually think we’re both mostly in agreement – although Bunny wasn’t motivated purely by altruism, some of what he did was about finding a solution for the people in his neighborhood that would do the least damage to the fewest people. Of course, in typical “Wire” fashion, his solution also created a lot of problems (that he then DEFINITELY worked to find a solution too. I love Bunny, just so we’re clear on that! I don’t know whether you’ve seen the fourth season yet, but he does some pretty amazing stuff in that season). On another show, I think probably we would have gotten maverick Bunny being totally right and everyone else being totally wrong, but that’s almost never how it works on “The Wire” (hence, McNulty spends three seasons trying to take down the Barksdales, and then he does and it doesn’t even matter.)

did you know the actor playing the Deacon is a guy named Melvin Williams - the guy they based Avon Barksdale on? Just like Mello is the real Jay Landsman. God I love this show!

Oh, yeah, I did know about Melvin Williams – it’s a little freaky! And it’s so funny that Jay Landsman IRL looks SO different from the show’s Landsman (I love it!) I love Mello’s accent too – the real old school Baltimore.

(And yes, I totally agree that this show is absolutely brilliant and has yet to disappoint me at all!)

[queenofthorns.livejournal.com]

I was going to point you here, but I see you beat me to it :)

[queenofthorns.livejournal.com]

Absolutely! I actually dreaded the finale of Season 4 (in a good way, just, I knew I would be heartbroken) so much that I delayed a long time before I watched it. I can't wait for season 5!

[carminaburana.livejournal.com]

Ganking ALL of the icons and will certainly credit. I loved Season 3 (and well ALL of the seasons hahaha). Brother Mouzone and Omar need a spinoff.

[gobi-rex.livejournal.com]

Hee, it's one of my favorite scenes as well. Is it the one with a bit of slo-mo?

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Omar and Brother Mouzone, that episode killed me

And Frank Sobotka's flyers still on the walls in the harbour where Omar was disposing of brother Mouzone's gun!

hmm, I don't want to spoil you but season four is fantastic, some general previews(skip if you want): you will be seeing a lot of Colvin, there will be four kids(new characters) that will amaze you and break your heart

I have already gotten the season 4, I 'll probably start watching ti this week. I am glad there will be more about kids, I really liked it in the season 1.

Carcetti becomes a more fleshed-out character- and I think you will like his deputy Norman Wilson

I am not sure I like or despise Carcetti at the moment but I find him really fascinating. The problem is I am like Jimmy McNulty completely dumb where politics are concerned but I like to watch the games of power..

Oh, Prez broke my heart in season 4 – how silly his accident was! Imagine to live with something like that!

oh, and Andre Royo is just amazing as Bubbles in season four.

Oh, bring more Bubbles! Not enough Bubbles in the season 3. :D

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Avon goes to jail; but Marlo is right there to take his place, isn't he?

I know.. But At the same it this means that all the Police work is not in waste, that even the big fish as Avon can get what is due. It is like never ending war but at the same time there are victories in it too. It still means that the war on drugs should continue, right?

As for Hamsterdam, I think it was doomed because Bunny wasn't really solving the drug problem just, as they say on "The Wire", finding a way to juke the stats. Of course he meant well; but the fragility of his system is inbuilt, and Bubs's walk through hell kind of showed the dark side of Bunny's optimistic idea, I feel.

I was kind of torn about Bunny's idea. It gave some real reduction of crime in his district but at the same time it created this hellish place. For me it is something in parallel with the experiments of idealists, their communes and such. These were things totally out of place and bound to fail dramatically but at the same time they give us some more understanding of the social mechanisms. His experiment rises all sorts of questions.. For example, was the reduction in crime real? How did these free drug zones affect the bigger picture in the whole city?

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

It was a wonderful scene and I am glad you like the icon - I tried to make sure Stringer's wonderfully shapely back is clearly visible. :D

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Oh and Daniels and Pearlman were great! I truly did not see that relationship coming - but they match each other so well.

They just right for each other, they are on the same level as many things are concerned. I particular liked their understanding of each other, many times they were talking and their exchange was showing that they respond to each other's thoughts..

One of the things that struck me about s3 was that there is a great difference between what people say and what people do, or if you will a juxtaposition and a discrepancy between the real world on one hand, and the desired and presented world on the other.

This is best symbolised through the Police hearings where the goal is to make everything look good on paper (great statistics - aka the world presented) instead of doing something with the world as it is.(the crime, the corners etc.) Does that make sense?

Oh, yes!!!!!! The same was with the political scene. As always in politics there is so much effort spent in make things look good in the correct moment instead of really making a change.

I m so glaad you liked the icons. :D

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I am glad you like it! ** sigh ** Omar is so icon-worthy.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Thank you - I am glad you liked them!