The Wire: Season Two
One summer, two seasons of The Wire so I could follow along with Sepinwall, and it’s well worth watching, as almost everyone but us knew.
Season Two goes beyond the drug culture of Season One, though it’s more than tangentially related to it. A serious crime at the docks becomes the new focus and brings viewers into the dying culture of the stevedores. The Sobotka famiy–Frank, his son Ziggy and nephew Nick–are the main characters this season. Most of the Police are struggling in their new lives, at least until Prez tries to get the band back together. McNulty becomes a bit player as others take the stage, with both Kima and Daniels getting more air time. As in Season One, nothing is simple and everything connects and loops back on itself. Like the Greek tragedy it pays homage to, The Wire’s stories and characters are riveting and moving–Stringer Bell is cold, McNulty’s a mess, Amy Ryan’s Bedie is beyond sympathetic, and trickster figure Omar continues to shock and amaze.
G. and I are taking a break for vacation, and will have to see whether we’ll try for Season Three before the fall TV season begins. At this point I’d like to continue through to the end. I’ve had one major development spoiled for me, and would like to keep it at one.
August 18th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
I just watched seasons 1 & 2, as well, and really enjoyed it. I especially enjoyed that season 2 was in a different setting than season 1. I’m normally not one to get into hour-long tv dramas, but had heard to much about The Wire that I had to check it out. Then I rented the first few episodes of season 3 and crapped out. Maybe I’ll try to come back to it again, but watching that much of a show in just a couple weeks was hard for me. There aren’t many shows that can do more than 2-3 really great seasons (in my opinion) and I’m still curious if I can appreciate more of this one or not.