The Gods Will Not Save You: The Wire Revisited

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Willy and Jacob talk about Cutty's stint as a "custodian" (more like a truant officer) and how we are sometimes in disbelief that people don't understand how public schools get funding. World-class dumb guy, Lieutenant Marrimow, takes over the MCU causing Greggs and Freamon to leave in disgust while Herc gladly comes back in to resume living his action-hero fantasy of kicking ass and taking names.  Bubbles has a hard time convincing Sherrod that education is the way to go when he is living a life of squalor himself. Bodie acquiesces to Marlo's ultimatum and Chris and Snoop continue to try and recruit Michael. Proposition Joe, frustrated by Marlo's refusal to join the co-op, pulls a fast one on him and gets Omar to rob his poker game. Never a stranger to experimentation, Bunny teams up with the academic, Parenti to start studying at-risk youth at Tilghman Middle.

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WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Omar feels strange that he can walk down the street just to buy a box of cheerios, and a crew would voluntarily give up their package out of fear.  Marlo finally gives Bodie the Stanfield ultimatum, while keeping a watchful eye on Michael. Mayor Royce uses unethical tactics to get back at Carcetti after being humiliated at the debate. Bunk is surprised to find McNulty in a domesticated lifestyle, and going full dad mode. Joe makes a Proposition to Marlo to join the Co-Op in order to offset the tension with New Yorkers encroaching on their territory. Because of the election turmoil, and political pressure, Burell and Rawls get Lieutenant Marimow to come in and put a stop to the MCU's wiretapping. Colvin is displeased at his hotel security job when he's forced to look the other way when a guest beats up a prostitute. Prez is having a hard time getting used to his job as a middle-school teacher as his day ends with one student slashing another's face with a razor blade. 

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WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! We discuss how Herc accidentally walks in on the mayor and one of his female staffers engaging in extramarital oral sex. Marlo and his friends conduct cacophonous target practice in Leakin Park, and has a phone conversation with Old-Faced Andre that bewilders the MCU. He also tries to bribe his way into a web of trust with the local middle-schoolers but gets into an intense stare-down with Michael. Pearlman worries about the forthcoming subpoenas having political consequences, being so close to the election. We learn that Wee-Bey is Namond's father in a visitation scene where he talks about how he used to rub urine on his upper lip. Carcetti feels pretty hopeless that he can win the election at this point and Bubbles is really upset that it seems like Sherrod doesn't know how to read.

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WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Jacob and Willy are back from accomplishing their mission of finishing out Season 3, to discuss the Season 4 opener, "Boys of Summer." Season 4, which is about the education system and all the people that are subservient to it and who run it, is considered by many die-hard Wire fans to be the absolute best. This season is certainly co-creator Ed Burns' baby (after all it is the most Ed-ucational), seeing as how he drew on his experience of being a middle school and high school teacher to inform Roland Pryzbylewski's storyline. Topics of discussion include: how Snoop's conversation with a Hardware Barn associate regarding nail guns sets up the major themes for the rest of the season, Marlo's brutal plan of evading police presence by disposing of his victims in vacant rowhouses, whether Freamon or Pearlman's political maneuverings regarding high-profile subpoenas are strategically viable or moral, and how the introduction of the four kid characters represent how people of older ages seen earlier in the show could have possibly gotten to where they were now. Thank you to all who have been listening and supporting us so far. If you'd like to donate, please do so at anchor.fm/thegodswillnotsaveyou/support.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Mission Accomplished! Well, no, not really. As anybody who lived through the days of the Iraq War in the wake of September 11, that banner that then-president George W. Bush stood victoriously in front of represented anything but a "job well done." And with the end of this season, David Simon, Ed Burns, and co. complete their War on Terror allegory in spectacular fashion. The irony of the "Mission Accomplished" slogan is not lost in the creation of this show as the story is far from being over as there are a whole two more seasons. Willy and Jacob talk about a controversial scene where BunkNulty survey the now-dead Stringer Bell's upscale apartment, how the show pulls off some serious magic by getting us to feel sorry for Avon, what it must be like for people at home watching the news of Hamsterdam's fall, and how this all fares for the rest of the story and the ensuing reign of terror at the hands of the vicious Marlo Stanfield. Take notice of the classic line reading by the great Anwan Glover as Slim Charles about "fighting on that lie" and how it reveals some of the more base impulses of people in powerful leadership positions.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD Jacob and Willy go in deep on what many TV types consider to be the best TV episode. We talk about how Brother Mouzone may or may not have special levitating powers, all the mistakes Stringer made along the way to get himself shot twice in the chest, and how his swan song hangout session with Avon is really uncomfortably powerful. Other topics include how Joe Chappelle is on the VIP list of Wire directors for making cops glued to their computer screens must-see television, the influences Simon and Pelecanos got from old Sergio Leone western films, how Stringer Bell's community college must have failed him since he wasn't able to detect Clay Davis double-crossing him in a business deal, and how it becomes more apparent with repeated viewings that Carcetti is not nearly as idealistic as one might think when watching this show for the first time. 

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! In this episode, Willy and Jacob talk about how the MCU has to deal with the loss of Prez. There's also quite a bit of discussion about Brother Mouzone's return to Baltimore and using Lamar (the real-life Deandre McCullough) and his "visceral homophobia" to pinpoint Omar's location. The New Day Co-op leadership offers up an ultimatum to Stringer in an effort to reign in Avon and his murderously impulsive behavior. Bunny lets Carver know that he recognizes his talent, but that moving a dead body into another jurisdiction in an effort to stay out of trouble, goes against common sense. Burrell and Rawls get real ticked off when they find out about the whole Hamsterdam fiasco, but Burrell tries to spin it in a positive light while in the mayor's office. Cool Lester Smooth earns his nickname when he goes undercover and effortlessly sets a trap for Bernard and Squeak. Cutty has a soft opening for his gym, but soon faces the harsh reality of having to wrangle a lot of these kids who come from fractured domestic situations.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Prez accidentally shoots and kills a cop named Derrick Waggoner and feels really bad about it. McNulty goes out for late-night sex sessions in Washington D.C. and leaves his kids home alone, but Teresa D'Agostino eventually drops him when she finds out he is apolitical and didn't finish college. Avon is upset about his nephew's death but decides to suck it up in front of his sister. Cutty begins to break ground on his new venture, but not without going through a whole lot of bureaucratic red tape first. Omar and his grandmother almost fall victim to Stringer's violation of the Sunday truce, which convinces him he needs to finish the job with the Barksdales by himself. KimNulty enlists the help of Bubbles yet again. Carcetti learns that Gray is coming along in his mayoral candidacy and feels momentarily uncomfortable about going behind his back for his own political ambitions.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD Realizing the lifecycle of a typical burner phone, Lester Freamon and Prez know they're going to have to switch up the methods of tracking calls, which sends KimNulty on an expedition across state lines and to many different convenience stores. McNulty hits on Kima despite the fact that she's a lesbian and has just moved back in with her girlfriend. Carver starts to realize the problems of not having any authority figures in Hamsterdam and so forms a brain trust with Colvin to give some of the younger residents important duties. The Deacon does not approve of Bunny's creation but does approve of making an effort to help out Cutty in his quest for stability. Carcetti is starting to realize how to play the political game and that it's not only all about facts. McNulty talks to Brianna about her dead son. Avon tries to trap Marlo, which he responds to with deadly consequences, which in turn leads to Stringer telling Avon the secret of how he was the one that had his nephew's killing arranged in jail.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!  Omar starts doubting his stances after getting chewed out by Bunk and does the magic trick of making Dozerman's gun reappear. Cutty, instead of mowing down rival gangsters, temporarily puts his heart and soul into mowing down blades of grass in an effort to leave the Barksdale mentality behind for good. Stringer tries to take advantage of the free zones and encourages Bodie to set up shop. McNulty screws over Daniels to get the case focused back on Stringer. Avon is lulled into a false sense of security, thinking that Marlo has retreated away from the war. Bubbles witnesses what a true hellscape Hamsterdam can be and quickly realizes his old friend Johnny might be beyond saving. Carcetti again is up to some shady maneuvering, playing Burell and Royce against each other as he tries to bring attention to the issue of state witnesses getting murdered. Herc, the useful idiot does a double-take when he sees that Avon is free and riding around.