The Wire - Season 3 Television Review

Although I've enjoyed the past two season of this show quite a bit, a part of me couldn't help but wonder why the series has received as many of its accolades as it has. Don't get me wrong, my reviews certainly show that the first two seasons were great, but I don't think it was until I started this season that I saw what a true treasure this show is. Without going into details, this is the season all about "Hamsterdam," which remains the subject of a lot of debate even today. I recall discussing it quite a bit in college (which was taught by the brother of a former police commissioner of Baltimore). The premise behind Hamsterdam is really fascinating and the ways this show analyzes it is really well done.

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Where to Find It: This is available on HBO Max, where the entire series is available to subscribers, however one can also rent/purchase each season/episode on Amazon Video.

General Information 
Season three of The Wire was originally released on HBO on 19 December 2004. Although the writing for this show has boasted David Simon and Ed Burns, it was fascinating to know that the season also added another Baltimore Sun reporter, William Zorzi. Unlike Simon and Burns, Zorzi's journalistic focus was on Baltimore's politics, which is likely why this season analyzes a bit more of the city's political machine as compared to the previous two. It holds an incredible 98 Metascore on Metacritic, with an additional 100% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes. Season three was nominated for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series at the 2005 Emmy Awards.

The Story

Baltimore is hit by a wave of violence as the homicide rate sky-rockets, which causes the Baltimore Police Department to face increasingly harsher calls to bring the killing under control. Despite Stringer Bell's (Idris Elba) relative control over the drug trade, a new drug dealer named "Marlo Stanfield" (Jamie Hector) causes constant problems by carving out his own territory in West Baltimore. Major Bunny Colvin (Robert Wisdom) devises a highly unorthodox strategy to slow down the murders, however there are plenty of politicians and hustlers more than willing to take advantage of the carnage loose on Baltimore's streets. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Daniels (Lance Reddick) and his squad of detectives doggedly pursue the remnants of the Barksdale Outfit.

As much as I enjoyed the stories of the first two seasons, season three is thus far indisputably the greatest. All of the loose ends from season one are finally addressed, while new problems are also appropriately handled by the end. The introduction of Hamsterdam (I'm going to avoid discussing what this actually is to avoid spoilers) is an incredible addition to the show as it presents a unique quandary to the show's characters in which it is properly analyzed in a realistic way. If I had one small gripe about the main conflict of this season, it would be that the showrunners (e.g. David Simon) potentially presents a slightly too-rosy view at the end of the season. I think this can easily be overlooked though, as it doesn't really impact the drama or story of what's happening.

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This derelict neighborhood is essentially the backdrop for most of the season

A fascinating element that this season touches on is the multi-layered problems that corrupt the show's version of Baltimore from the top down. We get to see every slimy facet, from the high-level players like city councilman, Tommy Carcetti (Aiden Gillen), and state senator Clay Davis (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), to the police bosses like Commissioner Burrell and his second-in-command, Rawls (John Doman). Even the ground floor is clearly corrupt as majors and lieutenants try to fudge numbers to pass the blame, while Herc (Domenick Lombardozzi) and Carver (Seth Gilliam) continue to be the most incompetent duo they can be. It's a tragic tale that still has a lot to say about modern-day Baltimore.

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Tommy Carcetti has his own special plans for Baltimore

Special Effects/Atmosphere
Like the previous seasons, the restrained use of diegetic music really enhances the immersion of each episode. I believe this season slightly breaks their self-imposed rule by including a truly stellar end-of-the-season montage with Solomon Burke's "Fast Train," but I was too blown away to care. Beyond music, the realistic approach to everything genuinely makes the show feel as though it were actually real.

One artistic effect I particularly enjoyed was a particular scene in the episode "Back Burners" in which the viewer sees Bubbles' (Andre Royo) perspective on Hamsterdam. There's some interesting camerawork that helps the viewer understand exactly how Bubbles feels about it without him even having to say anything.

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The video quality is rough, but Bubbles sees some pretty dark stuff

The Acting

I've always liked Robert Wisdom despite the fact that I haven't seen him in much. His common-sense and old-school demeanor works perfectly for Major Colvin. Even with superb writing, anyone trying to pitch the idea of Hamsterdam in a realistic setting has to have charisma, and Wisdom succeeds at this where I imagine many would not have.

I've spoken about Idris Elba before in previous seasons but this is undeniably his season of the series. Stringer Bell has come a long way since being Avon Barksdale's (Wood Harris) cagey second-in-command. Before this season, one could argue that Elba's performance has been relatively one-note as Bell's restrained behavior never goes to any major extremes. That all changes this season as Bell deals with a lot of problems that gives Elba a reason to show his quality as an actor.

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Elba's Stringer Bell has clearly met his match with Whitlock Jr.'s Clay Davis

Lastly, I may have been a little too generous in my season one review when I talked about accents. As much as I like McNulty, there are times Dominic West betrays his English background, and the same applies to Aiden Gillen as his accent always feels just slightly off. I really like Gillen's performance beyond that, and he's in some powerful scenes, but these small criticisms are frankly the greatest problems I could find with this season.

The Best of the Best: Major Colvin explaining the source of his success to Burrell and Rawls.

The Worst of the Worst: Aiden Gillen making Tommy Carcetti into an Irishman.

Calhooey Score: 10/10 - outstanding

Would I Recommend?

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Lieutenant Mello knows what's up!

Before I finished this season I would've argued that the Wire was good but overrated. That opinion changed by the time Solomon Burke's "Fast Train" hit its final notes. This is arguably one of the best television seasons the medium has to offer and I encourage people to check it out, even if they're not interested in the regular source material. I'd even argue that you could skip the first two seasons if you feel so inclined, but I think you'd be missing out if you did. 
-------------------------------------------------Spoiler Comments-----------------------------------------------------

• I think one of the most tragic things about this season is how upset the city council was over the homicide rate potentially approaching 300, when it going over that number has now become the new normal since 2015. 2019 saw the highest homicide rate with 348 deaths. The streets of Baltimore are more dangerous now than they were even when David Simon was working the crime beat.
• Despite all of the signs being there, I didn't see the death of Stringer Bell coming until it actually happened.
• The dichotomy of Stringer Bell and Avon Barksdale really represents the main challenge of organized crime in America. Gangs need to be organized enough to be able to work together and maximize their strengths on the streets. Just like Stringer though, if they become too organized, they have to worry about becoming too predictable. This means they have to be disorganized and volatile too, however Barksdale shows that being too violent and bloodthirsty can lead to plummeting profits and constant problems.
• As much as I like Omar Little, I think he might be the most unrealistic part of this show. Nobody hated as much as this guy would continue to be able to walk around as freely as he does. He might be good, but I find it hard to believe that all of Baltimore Police Department (nor the many west side gangs) is okay with what he does.
• Apparently, Tommy Carcetti is based on real-life former Baltimore mayor and Maryland governor, Martin O'Malley.
• I don't buy McNulty's cheerful act at the end of this season for a second. He's too addicted to the action and too much of a screw-up to be content walking a beat.
• I'm ashamed to say that I didn't even mention Cutty (Chad Coleman) in my review. He did a phenomenal job as he always does. He's consistently good in whatever role he plays.

----------------------------------------------------References--------------------------------------------------
(1) Wikipedia. (n.d.). The Wire season three cover image. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wire_(season_3).

(2) PopTurf. (n.d.). Hamsterdam image. Retrieved from: https://popturf.com/locations/television/the-wire/hamsterdam.

(3) Birss, T. (2015, December 14). Tommy Carcetti image. Hardwood and Hollywood. Retrieved from: https://www.hardwoodandhollywood.com/pop-culture-spin/2015/12/14/revisiting-the-wire-characters-part-5-tommy-carcetti/.

(4) Protomanhasballs. (2007, March 27). The Wire - Bubbles in Hamsterdam [video]. YouTube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9tuxxkgFME.

(5) Wikipedia. (n.d.). Stringer Bell and Clay Davis image. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_Midgetry.

(6) Wampoholic. (n.d.). Lieutenant Mello gif. Retrieved from: https://fmchubs.wordpress.com/2013/10/08/watching-the-wire-making-gifs-out-of-dramatic/.