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The Wire, Season 2, Episode 8 (Patreon)

Published:
2025-01-22 23:01:42
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

Duck and Cover

Files

Previews only

Wire2 8

Comments

Skinny_Obelix

I find it interesting how you are analyzing where we are in the season to anticipate story arcs, that's something I try to avoid doing at all cost when I watch shows or read books (not seeing how much I still have to go in a book on an e-reader has been great for me)

Kevin L

Ziggy is not only the stupidest guy on the show; he may in fact be the stupidest character in all of television 😅

Youtalkingtome
>>162159939

Oh for sure. It's one of the reasons we try not to even see how many episodes are in a season. It's kind of like watching a Law & Order episode where they are sure they have the killer in Act 1. You know better, because there is still 30 minutes of show left.

MrRuss50

Ziggy's character can be painful to watch but David Simon seems to like the actor alot because he's in his next two projects after The Wire. Generation Kill and Treme both by HBO. GK is an 8 episode mini series based on a book by a Rolling Stones writer, in which he's embedded with Recon marines during 2nd Gulf war. Treme is about New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Both are very well done.

John Sky

when ziggy asks the bird seller "why don't they fly away" and the answer is their wings are clipped, I feel like that line is about ziggy I love this season but ziggy is a character I actually hated so much, feel like there's nothing redeemable about him as a person, I guess he plays the bufoon to not be bullied non-stop by everyone, this actor keeps playing fuck-ups, in Generation Kill it's basically ziggy but in a warzone driving a humvee, his character there also tries to fight a bigger guy and gets the shit kicked out of him also I loved mcnulty actually being a stand up guy this episode

Nicholas Reed

So one of the main themes of this season is the search for purpose. The soft open is Jimmy feeling like he has lost his purpose on the boat, and the first scene after the title is Valcheck putting together a model of the window that will be the catalyst of the season, while Prysbylewski delivers what is effectively a soliloquy about how all of his screw ups were because he was grasping for a sense of purpose in the police department until the Barksdale case gave him one. In the unit, McNulty is the most visceral example of someone who is lost without purpose, but it is also the driving motivation behind Daniels and Greggs risking their relationships to join the detail. It's also clear that Carver has lost that drive working in the Southeast disctrict. Bunk is showing signs of depression at the thought of losing his job in the Homicide department. The loss of purpose is a theme that resonates particularly well when talking about the loss of blue collar jobs. The dock workers are in dire financial straights because they can work enough hours to get paid, but it is clear that they mostly care less about the money than the sense of community and purpose they gain from the work. Nicky is the main exception to this, as he has specific financial demands that he needs met, and the trust others put in him in his daily life leave him without the feeling that he needs more. Which brings us to Ziggy. Ziggy is quite possibly the character that represents this theme the best in the season. I don't believe that Ziggy, for all his posturing, actually believes he is a success. I think he is completely aware of how much he is failing, and that is what drives him to constantly look for new ways to find success. He thinks if he can just find the thing he is good at, he can find happiness and respect. This is why he throws the money out of the truck. It means nothing to him if he didn't earn it. It is no accident that happens in the same episode that Nick's father refuses a do-nothing job from Frank for effectively the same reason. Ziggy in this season is very similar to Pryzbylewski early in season one, only without quite so much power to do damage with impunity. Not just in his behavior, but also in his general incompetence. Prez found his competence over the course of season 1 in large part because Freamon and Daniels took the time to teach him how to do better. People are quick to point out that Ziggy is one of the most incompetent character in fiction, but they neglect the fact that competence isn't a character trait you are born with, it is a skill that you learn. Nobody in Ziggy's life is willing to take the time to teach him how to do better. Not even the people who ostensibly love him the most. If he tries to contribute to something that matters, they tell him to sit down and shut up. The only message he hears on repeat is "You are worthless. Don't even try" The duck thing, as dumb as it is, also results in the most positive feedback we see Ziggy receive in the entire show to this point. Is it any wonder that he would do anything, no matter how stupid, to receive a sense of belonging he can't find any other way?

Youtalkingtome
>>162206098

This is a really great analysis of the show, and Ziggy in particular. As we said, he is definitely a victim of the circumstances into which he was born. He was doomed to fail from the beginning for not being able to live up to his titanic father.

Youtalkingtome
>>162198677

We need to watch GK. I agree with you on the weight of the line about the chickens flying away. I took it more as a larger overarching problem of everyone on the show who just can't seem to escape their lot in life: the dock workers who can't just move on to another trade, the drug dealers who follow in the footsteps of the dealers they look up to as children, even the cops who lose their idealism and get ground up by the bureaucratic mess they work in.

prolifik5

I feel like some people exaggerate how much of Ziggy's behaviour is down to external factors vs. him just being vain, reckless, obstinate, and unserious. Nick tells him "don't talk" when they go the meet the Greeks, and he immediately starts babbling about cartoons and trying to order dessert. Nick tells him "don't spread any cash around" after they steal the cameras, and he immediately buys a $2,000 jacket that attracts the attention of several people (including his nemesis Maui). Hell, his first scene in the show involves him fucking up his job as a checker - which he absolutely has the intelligence to do properly - and then smirking because he knows he won't face any consequences. There are definitely some things going against Ziggy (many of which stem from Frank pawning off his parental duties to Nick), but he also brings a lot of trouble on himself unnecessarily, and then expects other people to bail him out. I'm sorry, but I can only have so much sympathy for a guy who starts lighting $100 bills on fire after narrowly escaping being murdered for fucking up a package.