falafel_musings: (the wire)
[personal profile] falafel_musings
OMG. Could. Not. Stop. Watching.

One of the Best Seasons of Anything Ever. True Dat.

And this is coming from someone who struggled with S1 and had to force myself to watch it to the end. I started to watch S4 on Tuesday night and since then I've been watching eps into the night, every night. I guess those four kids made all the difference for me. I remember feeling a lot for Bodie and Wallace in S1 but they weren't the main focus. McNulty never truly got my interest or sympathy. Even D'Angelo I didn't really feel for until the later episodes. But those four kids had my heart from the beginning and I cared for them enough to let them collectively destroy me. Which they did. 

Randy. Randy isn't even a character. Randy is this little walking voodoo doll the writers created so they could hurt me. When they stick their pins into Randy; I hurt. Every time. Bastards. Damn you, Herc. He never even understood what he did to Randy (or Bubbles for that matter). I never liked Herc and now it seems I never will. Anyone responsible for taking away Randy's beautiful smile has got to be on my permenant shit list (*sigh* that's a lot of people). Randy was such a foster kid; always trying too hard to please people with his rucksack full of sweets and his favours and his smile. Like a puppy still in the habit of trying to get you to take him home. When he blurted out "I know about a murder!" my heart sank, because I felt sure he would end up like Wallace. But he didn't. He survived and I didn't feel any better. That moment where Carver is walking away down the hall and Randy is yelling "You gonna look out for me?" I was in little tiny bits. Actually I was crying from the moment I saw Miss Anna's name on the board and Randy sitting next to the Christmas tree. And then Carver offering to become his foster parent *guh!* and Randy wondering if he could pay someone to adopt him. And finally Carver throwing a fit in his car after leaving Randy in the group home. I swear; I had to pause the DVD and take breaths to stop crying. 

Bubbles is every bit as bad as Randy. I wanted to poison that thug who kept beating on Bubbs. Maybe Herc and Walker too. Grrr! But no. Poor good-hearted Bubbles has to be tormented to the point of suicide and insanity by the accidental death of poor little Sherrod. Bubbs made sure I was crying from the start of 'Final Grades' and he got me at the end too when Kima was watching him through the glass. Again; who is this actor? This doesn't even feel like an acted performance. He is so real.      

I cried for Namond too. Yeah, Namond was all bark and no bite. It was so obvious I found him pitiful. And because Namonds mom's a bitch. A big fat bitch. The biggest bitch in the whole wide world. You know the song. It was oddly comforting to see Nay getting scared, breaking down asking for help and actually getting it. Thanks Bunny. A minor relief to see one of the boys having some hope for his future. And I'm so glad Namond didn't cut off his ponytail. I literally went 'Noooo!' when he picked up the scissors.

Michael was the one kid who left me cold. But that was the idea. Mike had his walls up against everyone, even the viewer. I think they did an impressive writing job of showing the trauma of his molestation without ever really telling. Because realistically, Mike is never ever going to talk about that. Not when he can shoot people instead. But even Mike had his moments; his protectiveness of Randy and Bug, offering to wait with Cutty after he was shot. But Mike was doomed when he took up with Chris and Snoop.     

Dukie 
also managed to be completely heartbreaking in a much quieter way. The way he smiled at Prez while sitting contently at the computer. I really adored Prez this season. All his scenes with Dukie were so precious and the final moment when he witnessed Dukie dealing on the corner...*guh again* I love how in the final episodes several adult characters get their hearts smashed by kids; Carver by Randy, Prez by Dukie, Cutty by Michael, Bunny by Nay, Bubbles by Sherrod, McNulty by Bodie...

Bodie. Any part of my soul that wasn't crushed by Randy and Bubbles was crushed by Bodie in the final episode. Bodie has always had this salt-of-the-earth quality about him that I loved. He was my favourite character, but his death felt right for the story in a terrible way. Bodie in S4 is what those kids are going to be like five years down the line. Mike, Randy and Dukie probably won't live much longer. It was actually the two scenes before Bodie's death that got to me the most. Maybe I'm getting too sentimental here, but when Bodie exploded over Little Kevin's murder felt like part of it was surpressed rage over Wallace. He may be the kid who shot his own best friend, but Bodie had a deep set of principles about the game. Bodie believed in the rules and when that fell apart, so did his world. The scene with McNulty was so moving, so well acted. The lines "Are we still in the city?", "Don't ask me to live on my fucking knees", "I feel old." Bodie is maybe 20 and he's never lived out of Baltimore. And he's burnt out. And he knows he's still a pawn *cries* I loved McNulty calling him a soldier. It might have contributed to Bodie making that reckless last stand, but I felt proud and sad like I always did for Bodie. It was good to see one person NOT going quietly with Chris and Snoop (that had been creeping me out all season). I also loved McNulty throwing the death report across the room. Bodie getting a bullet in the head is definitely cause to throw things. *throws and cries*

Now excuse me while I curl up and whimper some more...
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