Saturday, June 3, 2023

Uneasy lies the head

Watching the first season of The Wire, there are a number of characters to sympathize with on both sides of the law. But with Cedric Daniels, the lieutenant in charge of the Narcotics unit and the Barksdale detail, you just kind of have to shake your head, maybe give the occasional rueful chuckle. It's a  demanding assignment to begin with, and likely to fail. It would be nice if McNulty, who's overly impulsive but at least a good detective on balance, were his biggest problem in-house. But he's also got a trio of lunkheads who go down to the projects in the wee hours just to swing their dicks. As a result, one kid they assaulted winds up losing an eye. Not something you want to happen on your watch.

At least he has a nice house. I have a feeling his wife was in a good profession before she went into politics.

2 comments:

susan said...

We're delighted to hear you've been enjoying the series since in many ways it's one of the more honest portrayals of modern life in America. It discloses the drug war's failures and the abandonment of of America's underclass within a single police operation that lasts for a whole season. Nothing ever really seems to happen but the actors are so compelling and the story so well told that individual parts can wring your emotions dry.. as you noted with the kid losing an eye for no reason.

I'm not entirely sure but I'm fairly sure Daniel's wife was a lawyer
- probably a very successful one.

Ben said...

Yeah, in a lot of ways it feels like being a fly on the wall in the police station, in the projects, etc. Conflicts arise, of course, but there's an awareness that many people are somewhat conflict-avoidant, even in law enforcement and organized crime. Anyway, I've gotten to the point where Lester Freamon has finally started talking. He always looked interesting, and he doesn't disappoint when he opens up to McNulty.

Mrs. Daniels being a lawyer stands to reason. Seems like she'd have some big clients too.