Refugees

“You want it to be one way, but it’s the other way.” - Marlo

Another fine episode – though I have to say, my least favorite of the four to date. There were some great scenes in “Refugees” (written by “Mystic River” author Dennis Lehane) – no doubt –but there was a slight touch of pedantry to it. The episode had a bit of a didactic tinge as if the writers we’re saying, “ We want you to know how bad it is in Baltimore.” The scenes with Ms. Donnelly, Cutty with the truant van, as well as Michael taking care of his brother all possessed this in small, though tangible amounts. Don’t get me wrong, “Refugees” was fantastic, but by the end I thought it was trying to teach me a lesson. Haven’t gotten that feeling too much with this show.



Poker. The Mayor bilks his business connections in Texas Hold ‘em while Marlo gets schooled in Omaha. I saw on some website that Omaha is gaining in popularity. I wonder if Omaha is randomly placed here or if that’s really the game of choice for the Marlos of the world. Will it be another fad that started in the inner city?

The dialogue in the poker game is instructive on the importance of material tastes and the subtle distinctions that are made about what a certain car says about you in this world. The genial older gentleman lauds Town Cars. “A man look quiet and content in one,” he says just as he cleans out Marlo for all he’s got. “You youngins all into Lexus and Hum-V-Fucking-eight shit.” Yeah, but Town Cars ain’t what the game is about, though I’d see Marlo in one before Barksdale. Imagine a Town Car with $10,000 dollar rims….

If “Refugees” advanced the plot in one important way it was witnessing Marlo descend into the greed and tit-for-tat violence that he previously managed to be above. So far, he’s been the model of restraint and effective brutal leadership. He keeps his troops in order, doesn’t get caught up in messy reprisals and can smell out a trap miles away. Swiping the two lollipops and provoking the security guard who is later doused in quick lime, initially seems out of character. You see that his weakness is pride.

“I ain’t one for sentiment,” he says later. True. He’s never been showy and petulant the way Barksdale was; he’s always been a big picture guy. He’s a bit like Meryl Streep’s character in “The Devil Wears Prada.” He’s so powerful, he knows he’s the king of the underworld that he doesn’t have to raise his voice to make a point. He’s icy and confident and appears to never drop his guard. And he’s got plenty of people to do his dirty work.
In ten episodes, “Refugees” could be looked at as the one where Marlo started to become undone.

I did like the scene where Prop Joe is trying to woo him to the co-op using the allegory of the pigeons. “They always got a place to fly back to where they know food is at,” Joe says. “But no one fucks with me now right,” Marlo says correctly.

The two best scenes were Andre with Marlo in the rim shop and Omar and Marlo getting acquainted over a .45 at the poker game. Great, great dialogue in that one. Really brilliant. If I were teaching a screenwriting class I’d show those two scenes over and over again. “Omar ain’t no terrorist,” Marlo quips, “he’s just another nigger with a gun.”

Lastly, if it’s Sunday morning why is Prez watching college football? Was it too hard to get the copyright to broadcast a snippet from a Ravens game? This scene kinda reminded me of that one in “Slackers” where a guy wants to stay inside all day while his girlfriend begs him to go on a walk with him. “It’s a beautiful day,” she says. Prez doesn’t quite say, “Fuck that nature shit,” but comes close.