TVSquad

Well, well, well. How interesting to see the purchase of the nail gun we saw in the first episode of season four of The Wire come back around to bring everything together. "It's a tomb," says Freamon in "A New Day," and it all makes sense to me. Well, some of it makes sense anyway.

And then there's the teetering decision of whether Freamon will keep getting crap from the higher-ups about going out and looking for Marlo's bodies, using up manpower, and upping the murder rate of the city, or whether they'll do the right thing and actually do their jobs. Oh, the bodies that rolled in.

Another favorite quote came from Proposition Joe, when he says after a gun-toting Omar leaves his shop: "Omar to one side holding a spade, and maybe Marlo to the other with a shovel, and just at this moment, I manage to crawl out my own damn grave. No way do I crawl back in." What a position to be in. The tension between Omar and Marlo has been growing all season, to say the least, and it was inevitable that it would come to a head, with commando units in tow.

Bubbles has been interesting to watch all season with his makeshift home and shopping cart depot -- working with the cops (or trying to), looking after Sherrod in a fatherly way, and then the horrible revelation that he's inadvertently responsible for the death of his protege. The scene at the police station was heartbreaking, where Bubbles laments about trying to be a faux parent: "Like I ain't know who I am, right? Like I pretendin' I ain't been a dope fiend my whole damn life." Such a tragic story. Like some of the others, though, he's trying to do the right thing. The circumstances are just too overwhelming.

I wasn't exactly sure where Carcetti's heart was earlier in the season, but now it does seem like he has the city's best interests at heart. He's kind of a live wire at times, but he wants to do the right thing and clean up the city.

I'm still feeling for Namond. Some of his scenes were heartbreaking, like when he was connecting with Colvin, but still dealing with his psycho mother at home. The scene where he had the scissors in hand, contemplating cutting off his ponytail to avoid being targeted by the cops was tragic. If he cut it off, it meant that he was truly in the system. Instead, he gets the cornrows, like he's trying to fit into both worlds.

There's so much going on with the kids, and like Collin noted last week, it's been fascinating -- and sometimes tragic -- seeing how the different kids react to their circumstances. In some cases, they really have no other choice than a life of crime -- well, not an easy one anyway. Some accept the help they're given by certain adults in their lives, like Colvin and Prezbo, while others sink further into a life of crime.

And sometimes the adults can't help, though they'd like to -- like the storyline with Sgt. Carver trying to keep Randy Wagstaff out of the foster care system. Tragic! I kept thinking, "Just take him in!" You knew it wasn't going to end well for that poor kid in the group foster home.

I've missed having McNulty front and center, because I really like his character and real-life alter-ego Dominic West. We've had bits and pieces here and there of his relationship with Beadie, his new sober life, and his ex saying wistfully that if she knew he'd evolve into a grownup ... On the other hand, with so many TV characters who just can't get it together (thinking Rescue Me's Tommy Gavin), it's nice to see someone get it together and keep it together. We'll see how that goes in season five.

I look forward to your thoughts on season four of The Wire.