This Dark Corner of the American Experiment

Last night, the fifth and final season of HBO's The Wire concluded.

Is it just me or does the world seem a little drearier today? (No spoilers ahead. Read away...)

(I'll keep this little eulogy short and I promise not to spoil anything.)

Plenty will be written about the quality of this last season and how it compares to the overall brilliance of the show. But I find myself not even really caring about all of that.

More than anything, The Wire articulated so much about the problems that we all face in modern life. It tackled something so monstrous as drug crime and followed it all the way up to city hall. It examined how so many things contribute to the problems of American cities. Most importantly, it put a human face to all of the issues and drove home the point that there are no real good guys or bad guys, there is no black or white. There's just people trying to survive and screwing up a lot along the way.

It's easy to sit on our cozy couches and think that the problems of inner-city Baltimore are not ours and that we have nothing to do with them. But we're wrong. And maybe someday we'll really realize that.

It's hard to think about all that has gone wrong and how insurmountable things are and to still want to get up everyday. But, like Bubbles said, it's alright to hang onto grief, as long as you make room for other things, too.

In last night's finale, the cops revisited one of my favorite scenes ever from the whole series: the policeman's wake. Last night's wake was perhaps for the show and the characters, but maybe also for the old ways of thinking about ourselves and how we fit into this big, messy scheme we call life. In any case, it was a fitting tribute. Below is the original. Try not to blubber too much.

Comments

[sweetney]

(heart is breaking)

god i love that show. just seeing the photo of Omar at the top of this post made me a little misty.

RIP, the wire. we'll miss the hell out of you.

[BaltimoreGal]

Anyone else find Michael K terribly attractive (scar and all)?

[Wire Fan]

I was talking to friends about the ending tonight. I never did agree with Keema "talking." She was Jimmy's drinking buddy. She lived like a man. She loved Lester. Despite any "growth" she may have experienced, I felt it rang false to have her violate the code.

As for Omar's passing. Took it hard. He was High Noon. He was Clint Eastwood. He was the avenging cowboy.

Loved Cheese's shooting, and "This was payback for Joe....you sentimental fool, you just cost us $900,000."

Everyone hated Snoop's demise.

Col. Daniels would not have been so high minded, either, in terms of his own career, his ex-wife or his girlfriend..all put in jeopardy by his actions.

Everyone hated that reporter....wanted him to go up in flames.

As for that wake. That's the Sidebar across the street from the courthouse in downtown Baltimore. Two stories about that bar. One night the bartender grabbed my foot/leg while wearing velvet boots and rubbed his hand up and down them. Talk about violation of personal space. Another night I was in there, seeing some friends perform in a band, wearing a "Light" summer dress and said something about my flesh on the barstool, and the bartender (a stripper on the side) said, "Welcome to my world."

Gotta love Bmer.