The Wire | Season 2 Review | Well that was...different

The Wire is a HBO American crime drama TV series created by author and former police reporter David Simon. It premiered in 2002, and ended in 2008, with 60 episodes spread over 5 seasons.

So as I mentioned in my review of the previous season, I was a of fan of the first series of The Wire. This police crime drama, novel for the way it depicts drug gangs and the cops out to get them simultaneously, was gritty, felt realistic, and had great entertaining characters. I had heard quite a few things about the second season, namely that it is a bit of an oddball in the run of the show for being drastically different from the first. I do wonder if that reputation has come about because during the initial run of the show, I can see how the second season seems like you’re watching a completely different show, but in retrospect, looking back at the entire show, each season focuses on a different aspect of the city of Baltimore, so I wonder if it’s a case of the second season did the same thing that the rest of them did, only it did it first, so people were more shocked. I still haven’t seen the rest of The Wire, so what do I know?

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[poodymeiner]

Frank Sobotka is quite possibly the best tragic hero ever portrayed on the small screen. That actor killed it

[TheValhalla]

Frank Sobotka is the most underrated character in the entire series.

[booleaninfernusstudios]

You know its a masterpiece when its becoming your favorite season with each passing rewatch.
The Greek is my favorite villain. No ego, strictly business. Always business.

[rswindol]

Season 2 is one of my favorites. McNulty's quest to give rawls as many murders as possible is genius.

[jewymchoser]

Ziggy was fantastic. His sorrow when admitting shooting the kid was the show at it's most human.

[dogvsraptor]

Season one: Cops and Robbers
Season two: death of the working class
Season three: government
Season four: education
Season five: the media

All layers of the best show ever produced for American television, second goes to The Sopranos.

[AMFROMTHEHAHB]

All I could say the whole season two is “This all started over a window” 😂😂

[forcemajeur.]

The entire storyline overall wouldn't have been possible without Season 2. They had to introduce the Greeks somehow and how the drugs were getting into Baltimore. I can see how watching it week by week as if was coming out may have been confusing, but in the grand picture it was essential for the overall message.

[rustykuntz]

Season 2 is my favorite, after getting over the shock of the change in tone and narrative it’s amazing, especially w subsequent watches.

[meneerlagerwaard]

"Each season focuses on a different aspect of Balti ore, season 2 was just the first to do so, [hence it gets a bad rap]"- That is literally the BEST take on s2's place in the storyline I've heard so far. This will ring more and more true as the show goes along, with the last season definitely being the icing on the cake when you look at it this way.

[jamesmarshall]

The way to think about The Wire, which we didn't know in real time in it's first two seasons is that it's about the city of Baltimore and the decay of Baltimore, not the characters in the drug trade or police department. The characters in The Wire are a symptom of the problems of Baltimore's institutions and once you know that then everything makes more sense.

[gsc]

Could care less what people say about season 2. It’s incredible. The more you watch it, the better it is.

[Jman]

Rest in peace Michael K Williams. Great actor. Loved you as Omar in the "The Wire" and Chalk White in "Broadwalk Empire".

[CrimzinEclipse]

Ironically, the jarring plot turn from Season 1 to Season 2, made the audience accustomed to sudden theme shifts for future seasons, and was crucial for smoothing out the intro to the city bureaucracy, education and media themes of the future seasons.
So, the least favorite part of the Wire for many fans was actually one of the most important aspects for making the rest of the show work.

[billybaugus]

Season 2 is highly underrated. And of you wonder what it has to do with the big picture remember all the pieces matter

[Mvenven]

Brother Mouzone, is not a contrivance but based on members of the Nation of Islam. They would walk and dress much in the same manner that he does. Many of these men were considered dangerous hitters. They add a bit of color to his character like with Avon but he is not an unrealistic description

[nicolasfurger]

I’ve seen the show front to back seven times and I still see something new every time. Amazing show.

[philchia]

The second season is essential for the rest of the series you just don’t know it when you first watch it.

[RobinMarks]

I had binged watched The Sopranos three times straight through. At this time, I was into immersive, dark, and deep subjects. Then, I heard some critic say that The Wire was so raw and real, it was as dark as it comes. I watched, and it was. I distinctly remember taking my kid to see Black Panther. When I realized that Wallace was supposed to be a bad guy, I couldn't get into the movie. I just kept thinking, poor Wallace, poor, poor Wallace. The saddest part of The Wire, was Wallace.
The system killed Wallace.
Poor Wallace.

[marcppparis]

What season 2 highlights that the show is about the systems. It establishes this isn’t gonna just be Stringer/Avon vs Freeman/McNulty . In that respect it’s critical to the overall success of the show. You appreciate it more in hindsight than at first watch