Maury Levy and Rhonda Pearlman discuss Marlo, Chris, and other illegal activities that could send both of them to prison without making a deal. (Season 5, Episode 10 "-30-")
As slimy as Levy is, you gotta hand it to him for not shitting his pants after that audio recording. He kept his cool, tried finding his leverage, and challenged a lot of good points, pointed out probable illegal wire taps, called out Pearlman on her partial bluff, etc. The guy is sharp as hell.
And what a fantastic job, the way his face changes as he's hearing that call and his body is frozen in position. It gets said often, but amazing acting.
It took me a while to realize that the Marlo case had a very good chance of falling apart in court, but Levy didn't want to run the risk of getting charged himself, so he made Marlo retire. All in the game
Quick question. Did levy know the whole situation? The illegal wire taps were funded by the diverted money from the fake homeless serial killer case on top of that the people that carcetti put in charge to run the city Rawls and what not. My question being did he know? And if he did why didn’t he challenge it? Was it purple you because of this scene and the fact he could would go to jail and not be a lawyer anymore?
I don't understand. It's sooooo fucking good. It has all the drama of any other high-drama TV show, but without the far fetched premises, with a underlying moral theme, and without any one dimensional characters. I mean, it's revolutionary in any show when *any* character shows complexity, but in the wire, even the fucking extras have realistic depth. It's amazing!
Also, she has a taped phone call. If he accused her of the proffer he would have no evidence other than his own word, which is now completely tarnished. His leverage doesn't really come from any kind of threat to Pearlman herself, and she knows it. It's because he already figured out the illegal wiretap. Politically, all that matters is clearing the dozens of murders and the drug bust. It's why she doesn't care if Marlo walks even though it's a huge injustice to the viewer. I haven't seen the full episodes in awhile so I'm not sure about the order of events, but it's possible that this leads to Levy lying to Marlo about the source of information which leads to Michael getting target/killing Snoop. I can't remember which happened first.
@@DLSacks na, Marlo ordered the hit on Michael right after they got arrested. This is way after that, when Levy had already spoken to Marlo a few times in jail.
Pearlman and Omar are the only ones on this series that ever made levy bat an eye. Its funny that it was the last two people youd think could do it. They both did it where levy was most comfortable the courtroom and his office
@40 Phil P he didn't plead it down, it was put on hold. He also has to guarantee chris does life at the minimum and both of marlos lieutenants do 20+ years. That's why she said if marlo tries to get back into the game she will turn in the dirty cops just to get the evidence admitted and take Marlo to trial.
Levy knew what he was saying to Omar was bullshit, though... he knows that he's complicit in the sham and that he profits off the drug game... he was just surprised that Omar knew that. He underestimated Omar's intelligence, but he was purposely feeding those lines to the jury in order to discredit Omar's testimony.
well it was loaded dirt upon loaded dirt. You had Levi's dirt upon the dirt of the illegal wiretap so it's basically a compromise between two dirty situations and both parties coveting the truth. Nothing got done clean
I actually admire Levy for his ability to instantly sum up the situation. He is constantly doing his homework. I don’t like his character, he is way too sleazy. But I admire him for his ability to navigate a difficult situation. The chess metaphor is alive and well.
I always interpreted Marlo's last scene as him getting caught then and there. There was a gunshot that alerted the police and he got knifed which drew blood and it fell on the floor. You can even hear the sirens in the background. Granted, that's if anybody does DNA analysis and the police department probably got cut funding again.
@@callmehanson9466 I don't think the BPD is doing DNA analysis on a small amount of blood, unless the bullet killed a bystander. Even with OK funding, I don't think police departments do DNA analyses when there's no body and no plaintiff- the slingers on the corner aren't about to file a police report claiming battery.
Crucial scene. The thing is, it's strongly suggested that Marlo *will* go back to the streets - he can't handle the legit life - which further suggests that the case would eventually go to trial. Perlman says if a few cops have to go to jail, so be it... and that means McNulty and Freamon.
Honestly tho... At the end of the day no one cares. How are any of these cops or lawyers gonna know what Marlo doing? As long as he doesn't kill too many people no one gonna know in the system.
@@geordiejones5618 Heh, well, that is possible. Certainly there was enough apathy and incompetence that it's plausible no one would ever know or care enough for anything to happen.
Marlo’s last scene already indicates that he’s headed straight back behind bars. He gets in a fight and gets shot, then stands on the corner with the gun on the ground as cops pull up. Not much way of talking yourself outta that when they know who you are.
This is really high level Game of Thrones politics right here. It is crazy how the full gamit of the show's pallete, from the streets, to the cops, to the lawyers to the politicians, ALL hinge and play an important role in these conversations. They are incredible. It really is all connected, and more than likely, accurate to the real world. One of the greatest pieces of American fiction of all time.
Thank you for that contribution. There were quite a few things I had to explore. I.e stet dockets and one party concent calls within the state of Maryland. These are the types of things that move fast in the show and if you miss it you've missed the explanation of that segment and outcome of the next.
I think the character of Rhonda is vastly underrated and the actress played it so damn real, didn’t even feel like she was fictional. And her story arc is amazing
@@V12509she may have not been as interesting as the rest of the amazing cast and we also saw way more of her personal life than I cared to know but she was a great contrast to Levy. States Attorney vs the Criminal defense attorney. This scene is her character at her best. I just wish we got more of her doing actual work instead of her life outside the job.
Watching this scene directly after the scene from Season 1 where McNulty and Pearlman demand Levy find Savino, it's so clear that Rhonda Pearlman, like everyone else in the show, grew a tough shell. All the things that Jimmy she wasn't about in the S1, she was about here. She wasn't concerned with "a career in the balance," she was concerned with the work. Incredible.
I was absurdly pissed with McNulty and Lester after this scene. They ragged on her as if she fucked up for letting Marlo walk, but she managed to make Levy crack and get a mass-murderer like Chris off the streets. Even though the game stays the same, there's no doubt that Slim Charles wouldn't drop bodies for no reason or cause any unnecessary violence.
@@skeith350 Slim isn't like Marlo. Slim is like a cross between Avon and Prop Joe, he'll only order hits if its absolutely necessary although there might be the occasional revenge hit.
anybody who's been saying that "Marlo won" needs to re-watch this scene. Yeah, he gets the money for selling the connect but he's got no more rep on the street, no "name" and he can't try to re-build anything on the street because if he does he goes down on charges that Pearlman discusses here. Basically, he gets "retired" like a race horse and put out to pasture. He gets away with murder....but that happens all the time.
Funny how Levy was laughing at Marlo for using a cellphone saying how he was going to get caught soon, and he ends up getting caught on a cellphone talking.
It’s the opposite. She was done if she didn’t face off against Levy. The scandal would have buried her career and she would have been disbarred. Even if she made it out alive, Carcetti made it clear she’d be done if she didn’t get the case settled out of court.
Clay Davis, Maurice Levy, Andy Krawsczyk, William Rawls, and The Greek are the top players of the game. The survive throughout the game while the pawns get replaced with other pawns.
Avon retains his place, as shown in his talk with Marlo. And Phelan was there in the beginning and retained the same place in the end too. I guess you could make an argument that he and the Greek are opposing players while others are pieces. Remember "The king stay the king"? I don't think it's a coincidence that we see Phelan at the end when the game resets.
Phelan wasn't replaced. He was there inthe beginning using McNulty like a chess piece, he was there in the end being fed information by a new pawn. That's why I think the players are likely Phelan and The Greek; both on opposite ends of the game.
Wouldn't it be funny if instead of a tape she busts out a rubber dildo and says, "Here's the paper weight you requested magpie boi"......and then Levy's rebuttal by placing Avon's new mixtape asking her to sign him to see def jam
Orlando was a straight dumb ass. An the acting of his idiotic actions was gold. He had the perfect set up to make money and stay clean but he managed to fuck that up.
@@poodymeiner3125 She copped a murder charge before the show as well, but got released because she was a juvenile. She wasn't even acting on the show, she was playing herself 😂
First time I saw Levy shaken. But he still held the line though and got Marlo to walk. Through the sweat and all. If you walked into court with your lawyer and Levy appeared opposite him you'd shit yourself.
This one scene showed the level of importance of each particular crime to the DA. Most important are the bodies lower down the trough is the drugs and even less important is the man that orchestrated all of it but never pulled the trigger nor touched any drugs. Lesson to all the kiddies when picking your position in a crime syndicate chose wisely. Bartlow and weebay most used shooters for each team were put under the jails for life. Drug handlers( lieutenants corner boys) 1-10 yrs. Bosses no time to a few years.
Only Stanfield walked, Avon got several years, who knows how much but it appears its very long (Daniels said something about max being 10 to life), and prop joe (can't forget him) was killed.
client walks away now, or the both of you don't walk at all. Perfect parting shot. Pearlman was a little timid in the early seasons but grew tremendously.
One of the most underrated powerful moments in this scene is how she didn’t stop at nothing getting justice for all those murderers in the vacant houses. Beyond brilliant.
This was easily one of the best scenes, if not the best scene, in the whole series. I wish we had a Wire reboot; Duquan the new Bubbles, Michael the new Omar (getting to see him kill Marlo) and the cops back on the case. Of course that will never happen and this show left off with a beautiful sense of finality to it, but its worth dreaming about
Naw,the wire gave up to much government information, police info too,so that why they took it off form HBO the want us to watch shows like The walking dead or Friends, FOH.
This was intense tbh. Pearlman threatening to burn down the entire house to get the rat and Levy was shitting bricks because he knew they were willing to take the hits.
She finally took McNulty's advice here; maybe if people stopped caring about their careers and cared about doing there jobs something could get done. She put herself up to bring down Marlo
Rhonda was amazing and strong, despite McNulty giving her shit. She stepped up in crucial moments, risking a great deal. She could have lost her position to an attorney of Bond's choice, but Bond saw loyalty in her and promoted her. She could have lost her position over Daniels telling the truth, which he wanted, but Daniels saw her fitness to be a judge and decided to keep silent. Finally, she could have seen 6 to 8 years by bribing Levy, they both could bluff and we know Levy would have won in the end. But she walked in without a hesitation, and spoke with grace. Dam, I'd marry this woman and have her tie me up every night.
Why didn't she just do a proper case against Levy, then get the traffickers after he's in court defending himself? They would have to get a different lawyer? I thought she kind of rushed this, Levy and Marlo walk away but they get all the pawns.....
@@Kruppt808 I think it was because the wiretaps that got them most of the proof was actually illegal. So instead of returning to status quo because invalid proof, she put herself in danger (hence Levy's comment about her attemtping to bribe an officer of the court) and kamikaze'd Levy. Also throughout the series, Major Crimes Unit has always been in danger of shutdown. Time is something they're constantly short of, so sometimes they're forced to take a shot like this. Oh man, it's been a long time since I watched The Wire.
This scene is very telling to me. Funny how this very tactic is being done daily in the judicial system and kids lives are played out like a game of chess.
Agreed. If you don't watch political news the last two seasons probably won't make much sense or you'll find them boring but it's very fitting how this kind of stuff plays out in the real world.
I don’t even remember this scene before I started watching. I’ve watched the show a few times and I’m glad my bad memory ass got to see this now, almost like it was new.
His own neck is on the line either way. What do you think would happen to him if he sold out a bunch of high-ranking criminals? Do you think Levy wouldn't have to sleep every night with a shotgun under his pillow? This man gets rich by defending some of the biggest criminals in Baltimore. The ones who benefit aren't the 16-year-old selling drugs on a corner, but the older, established criminals. He ensures that they can operate with relative impunity and thus the pain and suffering in the city can continue. He is not a nice man, but he is also a product of the system, which is the whole point of what The Wire was trying to say.
To be fair to Levy(who is undoubtedly a sleaze), 99% of people would do the same in those conditions Pearlman definitely had the advantage and knew how to use it.
I love how charatcters in the Wire evolve by Season 1 Rhonda woundn't even think of threatning Levy By Season 5 she's just like McNulty, willing to burn down the Department along with herself (going to prison), just to make a difference
This show was too real .. never will there be another . People are saying snowfall .. please they missed the meaning of this show . The Wire was in a league of its own .
I liked season 5 a LOT more on my rewatch of the series, and this scene in particular nails the "everybody is screwed more than they can imagine" black comedy that I found much more endearing the second time through.
After watching couple of random videos from The Wire, does anyone else get this feeling to watch every fucking season from the beginning ? I mean, i watched this show six times already but each year i come across some clip from it and i want more. So i go watch "best quotes" & "best scenes"and it always hits me - it's just a summary. Every second of this show is worth watching 100 times. Every line, every goddamn scene. Every fucking character, all the shit from The Wire. BEST SHOW EVER.
There's no way he stayed away from the game. A tiger doesn't change his stripes. Either jail, death by other drug dealers or death by cops. No way he goes legit.
He's got 10 million dollars and people investing it for him. If he's smart he stays retired. But since his name didn't mean any thing anymore he couldn't stay retired. But going back on the streets in Baltimore meant jail time he'd probably make a name for himself in Chicago or somewhere else.
Nah he more than likely a billionaire by now think about it he get to keep ALL HIS MONEY plus the 10 mil from selling the connect know how to money launder got off sure accounts got a pass port nigga up
Jerry DePasquale is/was played by Gary D'Addario the actual administrative Lieutenant when David Simon spent a year with the Homicide Department of the Baltimore Police Department I'm 1988.
agreed. both of them played this scene up like Emmy-winners. sadly, we'll never know how many shady dealings & undercover deals go down like this across the country everyday?
Despite everything i (or anyone else) can say about Season 5, this moment was incredible. Season 1 Ronnie would have NEVER even dreamed of stepping to Levy like this. It wasn't even in her character to question him; her career aspirations and such. But this... this moment. "Your client walks away now...or the both of you don't walk at all."
My question is, if Chris joins Barksdale inside, then what does that do between Chris and Marlo and more importantly any obligation Marlo has to Chris ..
My theory is Levy has Herc eventually take out Marlo. He definitely doesn’t trust him to keep his nose clean and out of trouble, he wanted power too much.
