1.09 – Game Day – The Wire Review

Posted by Samuel Walters

“Maybe we won.” – Herc

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“Game Day” picks up on a theme given prominence in the previous episode and makes it into an explicit narrative thread for this particular outing. Of course, The Wire continues its very high level of success, with characters and plot threads being skillfully interwoven into a cohesive episode. As the title suggests, much of the action is centered around a “game” of some kind. Sometimes it’s all in good fun. Others … it becomes a matter of life and death. In this respect, the episode provides a number of scenes to raise questions: To what extent do our lives revolve around playing some kind of game? To what extent are those games healthy or destructive to those around us.

The episode opens with Avon and Stringer recruiting a junior college basketball player to help win a game between the east and west side projects of Baltimore. The game itself is for little more than bragging rights (though Avon will ultimately lose some cash). But for the most part, it provides people with healthy distraction from their daily routines – something people can get together about and simply enjoy (as evidenced by the friendly banter between Herc and Carver, and a handful of Barksdale’s crew.

But there are more games afoot in this episode.

Bubbles is, perhaps, the most interesting element to the episode, starting off completely engrossed in The Game and ending the episode having made the choice to stop playing. His initial exploits involve stealing a stash from some small-time slingers. What he discovers, though, is that the drugs are so watered down that neither he, nor his buddy, can get high (another element of The Game). As a result, Bubbles decides to try and clean up his act by visiting his sister and seeking a chance to live at her place while he gets clean.

More specific to the episode is the Game Freamon plays with respect to the cash from Avon’s operation. Before he and Kima shakedown Shardene, a stripper at Orlando’s, Freamon has Prez and Sydnor do some old-fashioned legwork to follow the money trail, saying “you follow drugs you get drug addicts and drug dealers. You start following the money, you don’t know where … it’s going to take you.”

The money also manages to get Herc and Carver into a bit of hot water. After confiscating drug money from Wee-Bay, Herc suggests skimming a bit of the cash. Carver, though, rightly points out that a wire-tap will have pegged the exact amount of cash and turning in any amount less will be all-too-obvious. But both are noticeably shocked to learn that the amount they turn over to Lt. Daniels is, in fact, about $7,000 short — prompting Carver to immediately suspect Herc. As it turns out, the money was lost inside their car — but it’s an interesting reinforcement of the episode’s theme — namely the fact that the two chose NOT to participate in The Game, and yet ended up being suspected of doing just that.

Lastly, Omar strolls into the low rises, confiscates some more drugs from Barksdale, and uses it to parlay information from Barksdale’s cross-town rival – giving Omar an opportunity to gun down Barksdale. Once again, Omar seems to relish in his role in The Game. But, perhaps most interestingly, Omar’s attempts to kill Avon go awry, bringing to mind his famous quote: “You come at the King, you best not miss.” What will be the consequences of his ill-fated attempt to take down Avon?

Overall Grade: A-

For its consistent and exceptional use of theme, “Game Day” is another solid installment of The Wire. More importantly, its machinations provide a number of very important developments for both character and plot. Put simply, this installment is a prototypical episode of The Wire — creating a solid balance between complex characters, an intriguing story, and a deeper commentary about the world around us.

Topics: Crime, Mystery, TV Reviews
Filed under: The Wire - Season 1