TV Club

Week 4: How Does Omar Find So Many Perfect Observation Posts?

Dear Jeff,

Not just two—I’ve now heard from four potty-mouthed journalists who were slapped by bosses. Let’s see if Romenesko turns up more.

My wife, Hanna Rosin, chastises me for pooh-poohing your idea that Herc will take down Marlo: She observes that “one thing that happens predictably this season is that everyone switches places: McNulty trades with Bubbles (one addict up, another down); Kima becomes the baby-sitter; Lester goes dirty; Carver switches on a dime from protector to snitch.”

We haven’t talked about Omar’s return. First of all, was that Michael he saw when he was spying from the window? Second, how does Omar find so many perfect observation posts? Isn’t that a little convenient? (Remember how he also had a window on Marlo’s secret hideout?) And, finally, I want to call out Omar’s ambush of Slim Charles, which was a thrilling scene. (Partly because it was filmed as if by a security camera, as Fray poster Isonomist notes.) Slim Charles’ brush with death reminded me of a panel I moderated six months ago at a D.C. film festival. Anwan Glover, who plays Slim Charles and is a D.C. go-go star, was one of the panelists. He had that week finished filming Episode 4. He wouldn’t reveal anything about the season’s plot, but he did say that his character was still alive. Now that we’ve seen it, I realize he must have been mighty pleased to have gotten through the episode alive—especially when he learned what had happened to fellow cast member Robert Chew.

I’ve never been dissed by the Washington Post, because I was never good enough to get in the door for an interview. (And then Hanna worked there, so I could blame their lack of interest in me on their nepotism rules.)

Talk to you next week,
David