Natural police - The Wire season 03 episode 09
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- čas přidán 7. 02. 2015
- - You know something, Lester, I do believe there aren't five swingin' dicks in this entire department who can do what we do.
I'm not sayin' like all chest out and shit.
It's just, you think about it.
There's maybe, what, 3,000 sworns, right ? 100 or so are bosses, so not a fucking clue there. A few more hundred is sergeants and lieutenants and most of them wanna be bosses one day so they're just as fucked. Then there's 600 or 700 fuckin' housecats, you know. Deskmen and in the patrol division, there's probably a little bit of talent there, but the way the city is right now, that's 1500 guys chasin' calls and clearin' corners. I mean, nobody's knowing his post, nobody's building nothing, right ? And C.I.D. is the same.
Catching calls, chasing quick clearances keeping everything in the shallow end, I mean who is it out there that can do what we do with a case ? How many are there really ? Don Worden, Ed Burns, Gary Childs out in the county. John O'Neil and Steve Cleary over at Woodlawn oh, they bring it in, but there's not many.
There's not many.
We're good at this, Lester.
In this town, we're as good as it gets.
- Natural police.
- Fuck yes, natural police.
- Tell me something, Jimmy. How exactly do you think it all ends ?
- What do you mean?
- A parade? A gold watch? A shining Jimmy-McNulty-day moment when you bring in a case so sweet that everybody gets together and says: "Oh shit, he was right all along. We shoulda listened to the man." The job will not save you, Jimmy.
It won't make you whole, it won't fill your ass up.
- I dunno. A good case
- ends. They all end.
The handcuffs go click and it's over and the next morning it's just you in the room with yourself.
- Until the next case.
- Boy, you need something outside of this here.
- Like what ? Dollhouse miniatures ?
- A life, a life, Jimmy, you know what that is ? It's the shit that happens while you're waiting for moments that never come. - Zábava
"A life ... it's the shit that happens while you're waiting for moments that never come."
Damn.
This qoute is def in my Arsenal i love saying it
Incredible line. That one really stays with me.
Best line about life I've ever heard. I'm using that shit...
Tv or not ... that line is some of the realest sh*t ever spoken.
That is a rip off from John Lennon; ‘life is what happens while you were making other plans’ or some such
And the irony of lester and prez actually doing police work (testing the camera) while mcnutty talks himself up. Damn I love this masterpiece.
Perfection.
Mcnulty is talking them up. He’s including the team
Lol including getting key evidence of McNulty being a narcissistic egotistical piece of shit.
@@akshaynatu1084 Thirteen years and four months in the pawn shop unit.
@@theundergroundlairofthesqu9261 one of my favorite lines from the wire, I love that they repeat it again in the 4th season
Lester was like the Obi Wan of The Wire
Best comment ever
Obi Wan created Darth Vader training and indulging Anakin, rs.
Fuck that, he was Gandalf
@@RaulGalhardi Shit, does that mean Sydnor is gonna go evil at some point?
“You WILL listen to me, motherfucker.”
Ed Burns wrote himself into this scene as “natural police” lol
Right!!! I love that 😆😆
What Lester said at the end is probably one of the truest shit I ever heard.
He tells Jimmy the same thing Beadie tells Jimmy at the end of Season 5
Prez didn't say a word, but the way he sit there listening while doing his work, and look at them from time to time, makes this scene perfectly real and impressive.
And I wonder if Lester's snap back at Jimmy didn't have something to do with Prez being there. Like, McNulty doesn't specifically exclude Prez from what he's saying about good police, but Prez is probably aware that he has a reputation for being a joke/fuck-up and while Prez has skills, he's basically a "house cat" in terms of what he does for the unit (and the shot lingers on Prez for that part of the speech) - he's not setting the investigative strategy or doing traditional police things in the street. And McNulty addresses everything he says directly to Lester, by name. So the whole spiel is actually pretty insensitive, and disrespectful to Prez. Lester can be just as vain as McNulty in his own way, so I think under different circumstances he might indulge McNulty in his attempted circle jerk... but not when McNulty is implicitly (and probably unintentionally) dissing his protege.
This is one of my favorite scenes in television history, but I don't know if it's something anybody would submit for awards consideration. There is no grand drama, no high stakes action, no flashy acting, no big plot movement. But what it is is an essential character moment, and a relatable one. The shot composition is interesting and adds meaning but it's not distracting. The writing is perfect. The acting is on-point. And it's real.
I don't have a film degree or anything so maybe I'm talking out of my ass, but to me this is a master class.
@@RTukka dang when a youtube comment is better written than most college essays
@@xemtube The comment sections for The Wire are my favorite thing on CZcams.
@@RTukka reminds me when stringer wanted Slim knock off Clay Davis and Avon walked in and deaded it. Slim didn’t say nothing and listened the same way Prez did, like they both knew their place in a way
@@binsturdy3830 Nice comparison
"Life. It's the shit that happens while you're waiting for moments that never come"
That's dark, Lester. Dark, but true.
It can be dark.
It can also be beautiful if you take it to heart and figure out how to enjoy where you actually find yourself.
I love how Jimmy is bonding and Lester just wakes his ass up real quick... like stop getting yourself off lol
But what's cool is that Lester is really just trying to help him, not degrade him.
His bonding is just side effect, really he's just stroking his own ego and expecting Lester to stroke it back. Jimmy's good but he's egocentric as fuck.
I never do that with more than one other person in the room - people get all upset n shyt
Anyone else bummed that when McNulty’s naming the names of the few police he respects he neglects the Bunk?
Where’s the love Jimmy? Where’s the motherfuckin love?
You want some love? Come over here and sit on my lap.
ahh, lester knew bunk. mcnulty didnt have to mention him. its already known to the both of them
Bunk is one of the guys he names as part of CID, just chasing clearances. He's smart and good at it, but he doesn't do what Jimmy considers REAL police work. Sometimes he works with the detail, but it's just following Lester's or Jimmy's plans.
@@GunleaverI mean I don’t know in season 5 bunk is doing real police work which eventually leads to him catching Chris on a legit murder charge which leads to him subsequently pleading guilty to all the vacant murders all while Jimmy is doing his bs serial killer antics. I’d say taking down the most ruthless killer on the streets is far superior police work then inventing one.
@@Jake-nd4gxYes, but that's a more objective, detached opinion. I am talking about MCNULTY'S thought process, particularly in a moment when he is riding high on his own ego. Remember, too, that Bunk was hunting Chris with a mentality in direct opposition to what he saw Jimmy doing.
Lester read him like a 2000 page novel. So much of Jimmy's ego went into how he did his police work (whether he admitted it or not). And it's crazy that Jimmy brushed Lester off in this moment, but he found out the hard way that Lester was right: "The job will not save you."
@@akshaynatu1084 Exactly, That's like when people say "money can't buy happiness"
WELL SHITm IT WON'T HURT TO HAVE MONEY. Just like a job won't save you on it's own, but it'll be a big part of it.
I think Lester used to be McNulty in his early years. Then he found a life, and saw that this ain't all there is to it.
I mean Jimmy did listen to him and start a relationship but then he went back to his old bad habits.
@@Taospark Exactly
I think it's the whole theme of the show.
Lester’s quote at the end while Jimmy is looking at a picture of beadie on the fridge is some great foreshadowing 🔥
Never noticed. when he shouts out good police, he says "Ed Burns." Series co-creator shouts himself out. LOL. I wonder if the other names were real police too.
Don Worden was a real murder police in the 1980s-1990s in Baltimore.
A couple I know really were. Jay Landsman is a real guy...who was chapped that the larger actor (Delaney Williams
) depicted him. I'm certain he's not the only one.
@@manuginobilisbaldspot424 Not police, but the real life "omar" (the person that was the inspiration for omar's character) played the black deacon that helps cutty and bunny throughout the 3rd and 4th season.
During a talk between slim charles and avon, avon asks "What about Eggy Mule?" and Slim replies something to the effect of "he went and cleaned his whole ack up" Eggy Mule was a real life criminal in baltimore in the 80's or 90's, sometimes around there.
@@manuginobilisbaldspot424 the real jay landsman plays colvin's second in command from season 3 onwards. skinny guy with glasses lol
@@fawrun that's not Jay Landsman. The real Landsman left,Baltimore City PD after 20+ years and became a Baltimore County,police for last 20.
I like that mcnulty shouts out Ed burns, the former detective that was pretty much co-showrunner with David Simon and helped make the cop side of the show so realistic
A life..the shit that happens while waiting for moments that never come. ...
Now there's a line
Finally! Im starting to grow mushrooms out my ass!
@@josephzanes7334 now there's an image
@@johnmurdoch3083 the floor is yours senator
He’s paraphrasing John Lennon: “Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.”
Inspiring at first, depressing at last.
That's The Wire baby.... that's why I love this show.
Give me a big spoonful of cynicism and hope all mixed up.
Lester's advice can be applied to anyone who thinks if they could just achieve one more career milestone, they will be satisfied. Depressing or not, it is true and an important piece of wisdom.
@@QeepingItReal yep. Strive to aim high early. Reach a peak around 35/40 and then begin having a real fucking life. Otherwise you'll be dead before you live
@@QeepingItReal yep. Strive to aim high early. Reach a peak around 35/40 and then begin having a real fucking life. Otherwise you'll be dead before you live
I find Lester’s words at the end very motivating. We all wait for moments that never come, while our actual lives flow and pass us by. It’s an invitation to stop just chasing ghosts and finding what’s good in the lives we have.
Ed Burns gets a shout out!
0:24 - Check out Prez' eyes shift when the term "house cats" comes up.
Jimmy crapping where he eats.
Jimmy has never cared about being liked. He only cares about being acknowledged as a great cop.
Lester kept it real. Jimmy needed that.
Jimmy is headed towards a break down. Buildin' up his importance so as not to deal with reality.
Funny. Lester just listens for a straight minute. He reads McNulty's true reasoning behind all this speach.
What an intelligent and wise fucking man. The best character of the show, IMO.
This was the best scene. It’s so true about every single job that is a service to other human beings. The job keeps going. It never culminates.
Basically summarizing the life of a careerist, they have nothing but the job, it is quite sad. I love how the camera focuses on Beadie's photo while Lester is telling McNulty what the deal is.
I never noticed that detail! Great catch
@@akshaynatu1084 2 out of 3 gets you pretty far. A job that you don't hate can be adequate for being fulfilled if you have the other two
At least it's a career that matters (sometimes). We need people who are obsessed with their career when that means they're doing surgery or catching serial killers. Not everyone has an important job but there certainly are some and the people who end up in them probably became the way they were incentivised to be. The sad thing is how our society creates these situations.
Unbelievable how well written and acted every single scene in The Wire is!
Loved how they added “Ed Burns” to that list. 😊
"- A life, a life, Jimmy, you know what that is ? It's the shit that happens while you're waiting for moments that never come."
Yup.
If HBO was to rebroadcast this series how many of us would watch it ?
If I didn’t already have it on blu Ray, or if I had hbo, I would
i would every night best show ever
Rebroadcast? Nah, I'm good; have seen the series, end to end, at least three times lol.
Now, if they started the show again, accounting for time? Count me in.
How long did Michael keep things going as a rip-and-run? What type of detective did Carver turn into? Did Marlo Stanfield really leave the game or did he get got coming back? What type of leader did Slim Charles become (with his integrity, on top of getting schooled by Barksdale/Bell and Prop Joe)? Did Cutty ever find a champion that he was able to save from the streets? How did the Baltimore ecosystem deal with ecstasy, lean and meth epidemics? What heroes/villains have emerged over the intervening 10 years of life?
i watched it twice on HBO GO
@ludlow 889 like deadwood or true detective season 1
This dude was really feeling himself.......this scene is actually really sad. An addict getting high on his own success. Everyone knows it too....
I wish they did more with Gary Childs out in the county, he was my favorite character.
They would have but Gary didn't have the makings of a varsity shinebox
charles schwab over here
watch ya fat fuckin' mouth
Stupidah facking Gary!
Whatever happened to Gary Childs. THE NATURAL POLICE type
Deepest quote ever
Lester is probably speaking from experience all those years as a homicide detective and then in pawn shop unit.
I like the parallel with Jimmy looking Beadie on the photo, exactly at the same time when Lester says "A life". I immediately knew there was going to be something between Beadie and Jimmy.
I thought this was a bit sad for Prez, sitting there taking offense as a "house cat," only to kill an undercover officer later in the episode out on a rare run with McNulty.
In my opinion, Prez was good at puzzles and was a good investigator because of it. But he couldn't be trusted to carry a gun. I suppose there aren't any roles for "cop but no gun" on a police force. (Even if the deskbound types don't go out.)
I love it when McNulty goes off on one of his verbal tangents .
I just noticed when Lester says his ending line, the camera pans on a picture of Beady on the fridge, Jimmy's life outside of police work
And this was what made Lester Lester. Alot of people feel Lester was superior at policing but I think him and Jimmy were closer to equals. The difference is Lester understood the after and Jimmy lived for the present.
The irony of Lester warning jimmy and then later on both ending their careers chasing the big one only for him to walk away without a scratch and them both out of the force.
I always assumed Lester lost it when he was ordered to stop looking for bodies in the vacants. It was too much for him to cover up crimes which is essentially what Landsman ordered him to do. He couldn’t stand the hypocrisy anymore
Lester, the designated adult every time.
Gotta hand it to Dominic West here. He nailed that "still drunk but about to be hungover in the morning" behavior. I dare say he may have had a few before this scene, and experienced the real suffering that comes with that early sun.
Jimmy names Ed Burns...Ed Burns being the show's co-writer and a former Baltimore cop...
That "life" line is one of my favourite quotes ever! Not just in this series, but ev-ver!
Never noticed this before, but that's a picture of Beadie Russell next to Kima's photo at 2:23, right? Right as Lester answers his own question about what life is.
its quite obvious tbh
Wasn't obvious to me. Nicely caught!
good catch
You may not have noticed it but it was intended for you too, because he later goes to see her. Theres also a seen where he chases a squad car down thinking it was her but it turned out not to be and whoever was in the car kind of teases him about having her on his mind
I always loved this speech. I think Freeman either always knew or realized in the pawn shop that he can do real good work but also that there's more.
He has multiple moments where he is willing to give it all up which Jimmy could never have done at this point. It's probably part of what kept him on the straight and narrow for season 4.
A good case “ends’”
i think one of the most important points of this scene is that it shows mcnulty as another addict. hes addicted to himself and and clearing cases, they talk about it the same as any other high. he's always craving the next one, to fill a hole in his soul.
We’re all addicted to something
This scene is a masterpiece
For Natural Police, it was no different from the pushers... the game is the game.
Why the Wire is the best thing ever done.
Shoutout to Ed Burns
It’s a line that I wish I heard a long time ago, I work, I pay my taxes, I have a house, and I’m doing alright. But happy? I dunno. Hits hard at least to me. My life isn’t my job and it shouldn’t define me.
That last line by Lester hit way harder than it should.
That was some real life shit
Jimmy McNulty was the Michael Bluth of this show: self-righteous, arrogant, and full of himself.
Another great little detail observation: when Lester tells Jimmy he needs a life outside the job, Jimmy is looking at Beadie's photo on the fridge.
"A life..."
This is the The Wire. The Wire isn't cops and criminals. It's life. For all these character, the structure of society and so on
Life....it's the shit that happens while you're waiting for moments that never come.....
Lester F.
0:52 - "Who is there out there can do what we can do with a case? How many are there, really? Don Warden, *ED BURNS*, Gary Childs out in the county..." - Nicely done there, nicely done! :)
One of the best scenes ever
Damn man, before becoming king, Prince Charles really went and put some miles on his soul! 😅
"The job will not save you..." When it's all over, you better have a family that likes you looking back at you, because no one will remember your name.
Who cares if someone remembers your name or not, you’re dead.
Maximize your happiness while you’re on this earth because this is it. You can love your job, but eventually the job ends and you better have something else.
@@kevinc8955 I’m not saying when you die, I’m saying when you leave the job.
They are talking about addiction. As a person who has delt with it myself and my family basically my whole life.
Lester words ring incredibly true.
One of my favorite scenes. Really hammered home a lot. I made the same face as Jimmy made the first time I saw this ep.
Good scene. Gosh I love the wire
When Jimmy mentions the names of the policemen who "bring it in" he says the name Ed Burns, who is a co-writer of the show. Just noticed that.
Thank you so much Lester. I watched the episode and i decided to marry. She turned my life into shit. Thank you so fucking much!!
🤣🤣 he almost got me too til I saw your comment thanks friend
This scene is weird to me because later on Lester is talking about how all he needs is that one good case and "boy I could die happy"
Always easier to solve someone else's problems lol
@@dylanhom58 aint that the truth
But Lester already has an outside life, hobbies, a great woman. He knows what life 2:24 is about.
Jimmy talking himself up, while the other two are actually working, getting full of himself before Lester starts bringing him down. Jimmy looks in the fridge presumably for a drink, and while Lester is still banging on, Jimmy has already realised what a life could be, by looking at the photo of Beadie. He's an arrogant prick but still diminishes the power of Lester's rebuke by seeing the conclusion early.
party pooper lester
1:00 Writer/creator Ed Burns gets an in name only cameo
Jimmy was at full blown ego in season 3. Lester saw this and as his friend and coworker he tried to reason with him. Rawls also seen it and still respected Jimmy and gave him many chances.
In the end it was for the best that Jimmy was no longer a cop after what he did, and I'm sure he lived a happier life being a PI or something instead.
I got the last 18 seconds of this saved on my phone for a reason
John P. O'Neill- Former Baltimore Fbi guy- and the one who got canned before 9/11
Lester’s very enlightened. Most men that age think that work is the end-all and be-all of life.
But was it Lester's exile in the Pawn Shop unit for 13 years (and 4 months) that gave him this perspective?
Lester is the police version of fucking Yoda
COVID-19 and all that came with it (good and bad) really puts this into perspective
Prezbo took Lesters advise to heart.
That quote at the end was as stone cold as the truth can come
just realized Ed Burns gave himself a subtle shout out lol
Tooting his horn as well as Lester with Pres sitting right there.
Jimmy and Beadie.
We never see it but this is probably ALL Jimmy talks about when he’s on break. 😂
It’s never “I saw Unforgiven last night, that’s a great movie.”
It’s “Lemme tell ya something ELSE wrong with the police department!”
It’s funny hearing McNulty reveling in being one of the best of a bunch of bad options. 🤷🏻♂️🙄🤦🏻♂️
I feel like McNulty is mistaking smarts with tenacity and at 1:50 he tries to defend himself with the hypothetical career defining good case. Tenacity exists no matter how menial the task though. A worker with tenacity can make 50 Big Macs in 5 minutes which everyone mocks, but no one wants to do. You hear the sirens in the back at 1:50 while he starts talking about the "good case", yet every cop in this scene doesn't do a damn thing about it. It's funny because this whole conversation is about McNulty and the select "natural police" being head and shoulders above everyone in the department, yet he's on his ass wasting time and talking himself up while trusting whatever beat cop has his siren on to take care of the problem in the distance. It can even be the "good case" he's talking about, but it fades away by 2:10 while Lester tells him that he "needs something out of this here".
Kind of foreshadowing considering Jimmy and Lester are the two who end up outsmarting just about everyone in Baltimore in season five with the homeless serial killer hoax until Jimmy fucks up by telling Kima what they’re doing
Jimmy knew lester was right all he had was the job.
....and hotties to bang at night - any average bloke would give his left nut for a life like that - smart and handsome and drunk whilst getting away with it (all messed up)
TheStrober is what you’d think until you realize that you’ll get literally zero fulfillment out of that kind of life. What everyone keeps trying to tell Jimmy throughout the series is that he should try to find something/somebody that will give him a purpose outside of the job and fucking women. Because a good case and a one-night-stand only last so long.
@@nomongosinthaworld until the next one comes along to replace those two things - again and again
@@TheSchemer1 that may be cool in your 20s but in your mid 30s and early 40s no one thinks getting drunk and having a one night stand most nights is a fulfilling life
The gods, nor job will save you. Lester and Burrell sort of agree.
I was wondering if McNulty was going to put that half&half back in the damn fridge.
This scene is to "The Wire" what the Carmela / Dr. Krakower scene is to "The Sopranos."
Hows that working out for you
"Basically, I'm natural police."
"You me you're a depressed detective, prone to anger, serially unfaithful. Is that your definition of natural police?"
charles schwab over here
So that's it, then. No theory, no speculation just stupid fuckin' shineboxes.
IDK, This scene is excellent, one of the greater scenes in The Wire, but the scene with Dr. Krakower might be the greatest scene in the history of television. It doesn't just implicate Tony Soprano, it's a reality-check for the audience, too.
RIP Omar little
Does anyone notice ed burns name mentioned(the creator of the show) (ex Baltimore p.d) as natural police
"Ed Burns"😎
That line about life…nothing more true has ever been written.
1:01 Ed Burns, as in one of the lead writers on the show?
Its kind of sad that McNulty can name all of the "good" police on one hand it seems.
"the job will not save you"
this is true for everyone
Huh. I never caught the Ed Burns shoutout before.
I'm McNulty with this Truck Driving Shit
Lol same thing for Labor Organizers
And this pretty much how it ends
13 years?
and 4 months.
Just think if their was no McNulty.......................There would be no wire
Ya tell that to Rustin Cohle.
One of those 600 to 700 housecats used to be Lester, at least Daniels initially called him one: Lester Freamon? A cuddly housecat. Can't help but wonder if McNulty doesn't make the same mistake here