TVSquad

(S04E03) "I love the first day, man. Everybody all friendly and shit." -- Namond Brice

The cast has grown so big that three episodes in an we're still catching our first glimpse this year of some major characters, (these HBO org charts really help keep everyone straight). Finally this week, one of the series' most compelling characters makes his fappearance: Omar Little (Michael K. Williams). I'll never forget his revenge on the Barksdale crew (both in and out of court) and I have to wonder what there is for him to do this year, where the focus is on Marlo's gang, with which Omar does not have any particular beef with (not yet) and political corruption on the level that doesn't interact with street characters like Omar. They'll find something, I'm sure.

Omar makes his own political statement when he pulls down a campaign poster of the mayor's that someone stuck on the abandoned building he stays in. In another darkly humorous and outstanding precredit sequence, we see Omar's reputation has, if it's even possible, grown even stronger since we last looked in on him.

Good to see Major "Bunny" Colvin again -- well he was a major prior to getting busted down to lieutenant in order to reduce his retirement pension pay as punishment for "Hamsterdam." He's no more a fan of Mayor Royce (or Carcetti) than anyone else seems to be. Now when we first see Bunny, he's in a situation not unlike Omar. He's in his bathrobe, pulls up the campaign signs stuck in his yard overnight, and seems without much direction. The Wire does that, draws parallels between characters of different classes on either side of the law. It's an exceptionally effective narrative technique. Both Omar and Bunny, find their new, easier lives vaguely dissatisfying and make decisions that put them back in the game.

Back on Bodie's corner, young Michael seems to be a much better worker than Namond who's look-out job he initially took as a job-share. However, looks like Namond just drifted away from it, to free more time for Xbox -- coming from a connected drug family, he doesn't need the job. As I feared, Marlo Stanfield's interested in Michael grows. Michael might go either way -- he hangs at the boxing ring part time and part time on the corner. Though as yet he's uncommitted to either path.

I have a quibble with the political scandal that Carcetti broke during the debate last week. Don't get me wrong, it's fun the see the mayor start run his campaign the way .. well the way Avon Barksdale used to run the streets, but no reason is offered for why the mayor didn't use those funds earmarked for witness protection in the first place. It's clear he can't use them now, by why not initially? But if anyone picked up on why the mayor never claimed the funds, perhaps you can let me know. However, the seeds of this scandal were well-planted in advance, when Carcetti long ago prepared for the inevitable -- the murder of yet another witness in a drug case was bound to occur.

Marlo's so far been portrayed as the big up-and-coming force on the drug scene, but this week a bigger one is introduced that effects the "New Dawn Co-Op" of drug lords Stringer and Proposition Joe organized: New York gangs are moving in. The co-op decides it needs to stand against this outside threat -- and wants Marlo to do so along, despite his previous rebuffing of Stringer. Marlo's never, so far as I can tell, been dealt a serious setback. That and his youth make him arrogant. Even though Bunk and McNulty remark that its quiet -- quiet everywhere -- the forces underneath are heating up, ready to explode. Bunk's dinner at the new McNulty household is great fun, especially his exchange with Beadie's kids.

Most importantly, the school season starts. Randy's really in his element here, switching uniform tops to hit every grade's lunch period to sell snacks out of his backpack. But Prez's class regularly erupts into mayhem. The final scene where Dukey tries to connect with a fellow outcast student -- to little too late, is heartbreaking. School is in.