Burrell prefers working with dirty people in order to extort them for his benefit, presumably because it's easier than actually finding competent people and being competent yourself for the benefit of the city.
Oh! It was a metaphor. The shit being corruption etc and the shovel being honest police work. First time around I just thought he was commenting on Burrell's personal hygiene and the general cleanliness of his office.
Daniels was such an *imposing* character that it's hard to believe that the actor, Lance Riddick, initially auditioned for *Bubbles* character....just can't picture it....
Ozair Yahya It's a reference to being to proud to show the world you worked hard to get where you are, instead of dishonestly portraying you inherited your position in order to discourage others from working hard, so they can possibly rise to the same heights. A merit beats nepotism argument.
*Just as a refresher, this episode includes:* this scene, DAngelo to Avon "Let The Boy Be", Stringer asking Bodie if he's a soldier, Bodie and Poot killing wallace, Where's Wallace at the jail, and Daniels and McNulty calling off the swat team and arresting Avon Barksdale 1-on-1. that is a jam packed episode.
Yeah, Simon (nor anyone else for that matter) ever matched the writing and storytelling that he did on this show. Show Me a Hero was good, would probably the crowning achievement of many writer's careers, but it couldn't match up to The Wire.
I practiced law for twenty plus years. This show illustrated the world I lived in. I started watching it after I became disabled. I could only watch one episode at a time. It took me a day to recover. This show is absolutely realistic, and portrays the make-up and motivations of those who rise to power in our society, on both sides of the law. It is a profound indictment of our society.
This is exactly why I tell people The Wire is the greatest show I've ever seen. It's the best visual representation of what corruption is and why it's so hard to eradicate.
@@swanningabout You know exactly what that's an abbreviation for. If this was you asking "why use the abbreviation fam" the I would have to ask if you have an issue with all abbreviations in general or just the ones made in the last 15 yrs?
Burrell transitioned from a ‘frienemy’ to a straightforward enemy in this scene. He finally revealed his true colors and put his cards on the table. As soon Burrell flopped the folder on the desk, it left the realm of dread in Daniels mind, to seeing the monster for what it was and realizing he could deal with it. He called Burrells bluff and Burrell realized that Daniels was more formidable then he realized. All that sparring with McNolty and making difficult decisions on the wire pulled Daniels out of his ‘chain of command’ shell and prepared him for this moment with Burrell.
I think based on Daniels failing marriage and understanding that he had to a dick and not agreeable- he didn’t a fuck anymore. Daniels was corrupt and not a good person. Burrell fucked up because if Daniels caved it would mean he was guilty and that would open a massive fbi investigation which would hurt a lot of the department which do to politics at the time was a no go. Burrell fucked himself daniells continuing the investigation was better then an fbi investigation into police investigation. Daniels didn’t see Burrell as an enemy but Burrell basically made it so the investigation had to go forward.
I believe anyone who joins the police force and rises higher than the rank of "Detective" is almost always a scumbag, with some rare exceptions. Because past the rank of detective, it's not about real police work anymore and ALLLL about politics. And anybody who spends their career playing politics is a total fucking scumbag.
Lance has this high-end actorly skill where he slowly half-blinks to indicate he's choosing his words carefully. Adds an extra layer to his characters.
@@AB0VETHALAW I have. I'm not in the US, and I'm in a union job. We can have personal & professional disagreements with managers without being fired or disciplined. We had an argument about the seriousness of a safety breach in rules about 4 years ago.
Burrell was such a worm. He ended up getting screwed so hard by the system that he didn't even know what was happening. I actually felt sorry for him, which is shocking.
God damn is Daniels ever awesome. "You're trying to blackmail me for taking drug money on the small scale, because my investigation leads to you and your bosses taking money on the large scale? Which of us has more to lose, are you fucking serious? Don't think I can't defend myself at home as well - bitch." Lol.
+iandhr1 If any of those characters, Burrell or Clay fell, a magical net of epic proportions would cast out and drag half of Maryland's politicians into the Bay of Baltimore for the US Attorney to just shit all over them. I just love it when Clay or Burrell or whoever is reminded about certain crooked activities, its like they just shit out their entire life in their pants lol
Lester Diamond Are you the guy what’s his name Don Gately’s friend who did Nembutal or something and got murdered in a very bad way by that punk hitman?
shawn dimery... what show were you watching? daniels never turned scumbag. carcetti threw daniels under the bus when he didnt take the governors bailout from annapolis. he screwed the entire dept along with the schools. maybe you should pay attention to what you were watching.
starsky hutch I’m asking you the same thing. What show were YOU watching? Doing the right thing is not playing politics! Not accepting the Governors bailout was Daniels saying his soul isn’t for sale. Accepting the bailout would of been a quick fix but would be real bad in the long run. Carcetti went to the dark side after he became mayor. He wanted to be Governor.
This might be the most heart-breaking scene in retrospect. That thin little binder full of FBI field reports is what brought Daniels down in season 5. "Commissioner Valcheck" have to be the two most depressing words in the English language.
I don't know. While Valcheck is not a good character obviously.. I prefer him over Burrel. I usually prefer incompetency over a someone that will actively supress whatever the fuck you want to do.
Daniels and Slim Charles both say “do what you feel” either at the business end of Omar’s gun or Burrell’s Career ending “Firing Squad.” Everything fucking connects and I still learn new things to this day I love this show
Early on in season 1, Boadie says the same thing to the crew attempting to run them off the corners, right after the badass scene where he catches the baseball bat in slow-mo.
Holy shit, Slim is the Daniels of the Barksdale organization. They’re both cold, calculated bad asses with extreme integrity that rise through the ranks purely out of necessity and various chains of events making them reluctantly have to shoulder the weight of leadership and do what needs doing to the best of their ability.
Yeah the overlaps of the civil vs criminal world gets me everytime ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LuRr-19t7hc.html In the link above, Bunny Colvin pulls up in the passenger side with his #2 as driver checking in on herc and another cop posted up on a corner like how a gang lieutenant rolls by to see if the spot needs to re-up
Both of those characters showed what it meant to be middle management on both sides of the law. Both having to put up with shit from their superiors, both having to clean up the messes left by their subordinates, often with little thanks or recognition, but always loyal to the actual job.
i don't think he is good or bad, he just does what any politically astute person would do, he tries to end the case, cover up, but when it fails he says , well OK.eventually he threw clay Davis under the bus. as most politicians would do to survive, the higher you rise, the more you must know political manouvering
XMRxCARTERx 2 of the realest characters on the show, even the line at 2:01 "You do what u feel", like when Slim got caught slippin by Omar and just tells him "Just skip past the talkin bruh and do what u feel" nothing but realness
Frankie Faison has an amazing voice and inflection. "FBI field reports...if I start asking the right questions..." I have always loved the patience the show has as far as making sure to mix in the character beats while a scene is advancing the plot. Here, once Burrell produces that binder w/ the aforementioned FBI field reports Daniels has the look of taking a gut punch, showing vulnerability for the first time in the scene. And while Burrell continues, telling him how easily replaceable he is, Daniels continues to cast his eyes downward, ceding the power in the dynamic to Burrell. But really what's going on is that Daniels is deliberating if he's ready to burn this bridge for good. Burrell finishes his spiel, and at 1:57 the eyes come back up, and Daniels is ready with his response. (A lot of Michael Corleone in that glare, btw)
+Ryan Evans And the extreme close up of the side of Daniels face at the begining is almost like a precursor to Daniel's move at 1:57 . His face has this almost arrogant but beautiful glow to it as the camera zooms out, he knows what's coming and he knows which moves to make. I always loved the intro of the scene, the close up told me the scene was going to be important for Daniels the first time I saw it.
unno. sound dope tho donut? OK sorry for butchering ebonics lol, I figure he meant Burrell's of the mindset that showing effort in any of his endeavors would reek of desperation and he'd rather coast and look like everything he does is effortless and without strain, that he's "just that good at his job."
@Jason Voorheese it means that you'd rather not acknowledge simple but uncomfortable truths and get in with it than give your best and mend tge situation. Once and for all. It means mediocrity pays off, but pays in peanuts. Droppings more like.
This series is the freaking gold standard. The level of sophistication of the script, and the pitch perfect acting, are unmatched. I wonder why it was snubbed for awards for so long.
This is also a good illustration on how those in power will use any leverage they can get on you to do their bidding when they need to - usually when you’ve risen to a position of some power or influence yourself.
I did 11 years in the Baltimore Police Department on Patrol, Drugs, and the Academy. What would you say if I told you it was actually like this back then?
I’d believe you without a doubt. The creator of the show used to be a reporter in Baltimore during the 80s, where a lot of these stories and characters were created from. Question, which district did you work?
That was the thing... the Wire had so many incredibly well written, transformative scenes like this that you (or at least I) don't see them as they're happening. I catch them on the second or third viewing and just go slack jawed, and realize 'wow, that was amazing - Simon was a master at threading the needle between creating impactful scenes, but still making them look and feel believable. Like, that was amazing to watch, but yeah, it could definitely happen. Not over the top rubbish like Law and Order SVUWXYZ (et al) where those scenes just suck with bad dialog and sh!tty preachyness.
People argue a lot about what the metaphor means but that's the beauty of it - there's no one right answer. In only a few words it means so many things and tells us so much about the man speaking, the man he's speaking to, their police work, the series and our society all at once. One of the best pieces of dialogue in TV history and it's fitting that such a fine actor as Lance Reddick was chosen to deliver it. RIP.
This is a Las Vegas bout for the ages. It swings one way, then the other. Daniels opens with a jab. Burrell is slow and defensive until that all you trying to do. The middle rounds are back and forth. The file seems to give the bout to Burrell and Daniels is on the ropes left and rights until the bell. The Daniels steps out for the 11th and 12th. Judges score cards.
One of the great qualities of this show was making you feel as incredibly frustrated with all these political game playing jackoffs at the top as the main characters. Constantly stopping anything from actually getting done with their bullshit because only their career and amount of power matters not actual police work or helping the people they're supposed to be serving. And the worst part is, that's exactly what happens in real life.
