We Own this City HBO limited series by David Simon

[Augustus 3061]

1 hour ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Some additional thoughts: 

- Suiter had to stand up. He was a father and a husband. Gotta stay strong for your family. Suicide is the most selfish ending.

 

If it was indeed suicide, then he was doing what he absolutely thought was best for his family--if he got dragged down with the other guys, which he obviously feared, he'd be fired, possibly charged, etc.

It might not have been the most rational thought process, but I'd call his motives entirely unselfish.  He was trying to make sure his wife and kids were provided for.

[Davis Lane 5680]

I gotta say the back and forth with the timeline had me discombobulated at times.

Suiter was knew what was coming down and Hector's portrayal was spot on.

I was saying to myself "Don't do it." when I had the feeling what was going to happen.

Oh and Agent Jenkins....

 

[henrygandorf 29198]

18 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Not sure what Simon is trying to say after the finale. Every cop on the Gun Taskforce received hefty sentences. Even the cooperating witnesses got north of 7 years. 
 

I get it. His overarching message is : the war of drugs is lost and the system is broken. But, we’re talking about corrupt cops doing decades in prison. Isn’t that a victory?

i think this is asked and answered.  yes, the individual cops are dirty but getting rid of the "bad apples" doesn't fix the problem, because as you said, the system is broken. 

the same system that put these people in positions where they felt like they could rob criminals of their ill-gotten money and drugs, is also the system that values some qualities the same cops possess - they were good at bringing in bad guys, getting guns/drugs off the street, and so forth.  they also knew it was a dangerous job, therefore decided they were entitled to take advantage of overtime loopholes, sell drugs, whatever they needed to do to game the system.

the problem is that when you put these bad cops behind bars, a new class will come take their place and likely do a lot of the same shit, as long as the "war on drugs" mandate is in place.  you think any of the younger cops saw the sentences and learned their lesson?  shit, they all thought jenkins was a fucking hero and his speech was great and sounded just.

it also showed, to me, that it was very hard for cops to be "completely clean" in any of it.  if you worked with or close to the wayne jenkins of the world, you likely had to participate in some of it, even if it just meant turning a blind eye or failing to report certain infractions.  the framework of the job is dirty and sticks to you.  you come home at night, you can't wash it off.

 

[MaybeACoordinator 8350]

Loved it, but mainly want to put in yet another plug for 2018's Netflix miniseries 7 Seconds. It's basically the same plot-- how it is pretty much impossible to be a good cop. Way underrated.

[Mez2 4032]

finished last night, absolutely loved it. would liked a few more episodes but happy overall with how it played out. sucks for marlo, didnt know anything about his real life character, sean suiter, damn, that was a gut punch, especially for his boys. just goes to show how things can unravel quickly

[CooterBrown 18039]

It bugged me that Suiter didn’t just say something like “no officer found a gun when searching the car. Jenkins then specifically told me to go search the car knowing no gun was found. I easily found a gun that was impossible to miss. It was suspicious to me at the time but in the moment I didn’t act on that feeling.”

With everything they had on Jenkins, he would’ve most likely been fine with that explanation. In real life, I’d guess Suiter was a lot dirtier than portrayed on the show and him being a good cop was a dramatization to give the viewers someone to root for.

[demos 3012]

Watching that one can only conclude, what a truly fucked up police department and city government.

[HornOnTheBayou 8960]

Holy shit, that was an amazing finale!

You take one of the greatest dramas of all time (I say one of, because I still debate The Wire, Breaking Bad, and The Americans) and you add Jon F'n Bernthal. Fuck, that was an incredible ride. 

[Gourmand 7774]

Fuckin great show. ACAB always.

BBC did a great podcast series about this saga and the reporter scored a jailhouse interview with Wayne Jenkins.....

 

 

[Buzzrock 15014]

The Wire is awesome but this was just kinda depressing because it was real.

[TwiceHorn 31653]

On 5/10/2022 at 2:03 AM, Bama Chick said:

DUKIE!!!

He’s all grown up.

I’m loving all the old faces from “The Wire” popping up everywhere.

Ok this is funny.  I just watched and thought I recognized Dukie's character, but I thought it was Mike Lee.  I didn't recognize the actor as Dukie when I googled it.

[TwiceHorn 31653]

On 5/11/2022 at 10:26 PM, Augustus said:

Anti-social personality disorder is a huge advantage in organized crime.

Yeah, most of the big heads, Stringer, Avon, Prop Joe, flashed a little humanity every now and then.  Even Chris and maybe Snoop.

I don't think Marlo ever did.

[TwiceHorn 31653]

On 5/31/2022 at 4:25 PM, henrygandorf said:

i think this is asked and answered.  yes, the individual cops are dirty but getting rid of the "bad apples" doesn't fix the problem, because as you said, the system is broken. 

the same system that put these people in positions where they felt like they could rob criminals of their ill-gotten money and drugs, is also the system that values some qualities the same cops possess - they were good at bringing in bad guys, getting guns/drugs off the street, and so forth.  they also knew it was a dangerous job, therefore decided they were entitled to take advantage of overtime loopholes, sell drugs, whatever they needed to do to game the system.

the problem is that when you put these bad cops behind bars, a new class will come take their place and likely do a lot of the same shit, as long as the "war on drugs" mandate is in place.  you think any of the younger cops saw the sentences and learned their lesson?  shit, they all thought jenkins was a fucking hero and his speech was great and sounded just.

it also showed, to me, that it was very hard for cops to be "completely clean" in any of it.  if you worked with or close to the wayne jenkins of the world, you likely had to participate in some of it, even if it just meant turning a blind eye or failing to report certain infractions.  the framework of the job is dirty and sticks to you.  you come home at night, you can't wash it off.

 

Yeah it's kind of a master class in how everyone gets tainted in a corrupt police department:  it's not just the bad apples.  

I'd be interested in some sociological history of Baltimore and how it got so fucked up.  I can see a few parallels to Detroit in that it's not a southern city, but has some southern aspects.

[TwiceHorn 31653]

Also, was anyone else amused and transported back to 5th grade by the use of the word: 

Cruddy?

Extra amusing because it's coming from the milieu that made motherfucker and bitch essential daily vocabulary.

[billfromlaketravis 11565]

I’ve sat with it some, We Own This City is the best thing HBO had produced in the past 5 years.

[4th&Five 41623]

I’d choose Station Eleven but this was very good. 

[TommyGufano 6021]

I quite loved We Own This City, but among just miniseries I probably take Chernobyl and Watchmen over it and I believe they come in just under the 5 year limitation.

And then I wasn't as big a fan of Succession as most, but I think you'd get a lot of pushback there from others

[billfromlaketravis 11565]

5 hours ago, TommyGufano said:

I quite loved We Own This City, but among just miniseries I probably take Chernobyl and Watchmen over it and I believe they come in just under the 5 year limitation.

And then I wasn't as big a fan of Succession as most, but I think you'd get a lot of pushback there from others

Correct. All great shows. 

I just liked We Own This City more. Perfect storm of The Wire vibes + Bernthal. 

[Prepuce of Doom 21112]

Missed this when it was on but watched it over the past week and just finished it last night. 

The only terrible thing about this show (well, besides the fact that it's real, and still happening in every city in this country...) is that I have had that godawful Starship song "We Built This City" stuck in my head all week.