Watching The Wire for the second time after a year
And oh god, there's so much stuff I hadn't noticed the first time around, and a few foreshadows that send shivers down my spine. It's truly an amazing show.
The 2nd season is brilliant, but it's hard to appreciate it on the first watch because it seems to abandon so many of the characters they made you care about in the first. But on a re-watch, you really care about the dock crew. And after 3 or 4 re-watches, you almost feel bad for Ziggy.
Ziggy as a character almost requires a second time through. The first time, you're like "who is this guy and why is he so annoying". But once you see how it ends and how all of his posturing and braggadocio comes from the fact that he is essentially in control of nothing in his life, he turns into a tragic figure. When you know what's coming, the whole complexion of the scenes with the dockworkers changes and gives them a tinge of sadness that makes them all the richer.
Scott Templeton in season 5 is one of the few characters that has almost zero redeeming qualities or even much of a backstory.. honestly one of the main reasons that season takes a dip for me. But still fantastic compared to every other show.
For me the best season is the 4th. The school/kids stories are just heartbreaking and the kids are just a perfect cast.
Such a perfect show, I'm currently rewatching it for the third time to show it to my girlfriend and I've never enjoyed so much crushing her soul
Yeah it takes a few episodes to click and see how rich and true to life the stories are. Until you start picking up on the characters and the pacing it's hard to get into. Not everyone's cup of tea but I have yet to find a show as engrossing as the wire.
S1 gets better if you stick it out. Stringer Bell is a great character. I was underwhelmed by TW, stopped watching 3/4 through S2. It had been over-hyped for me which is a shame because its obviously a good show.