The Wire Season 2 Episode 10: Storm Warnings

The Wire Season 2 Episode 10: Storm Warnings When Nick Sobotoka tells his uncle, union leader Frank Sobotka, that Frank's son, the irrepressible Ziggy, has gunned down two members of the Greek's smuggling and prostitution syndicate, Frank asks Nick, "Where were you? You're his cousin." And Nick responds, as if just becoming aware of the fact he's about to share, "But you're his father." Dysfunction runs through all of the relationships on The Wire, and Simon and company explores the dynamic of several interesting father / father surrogate and son pairings over the course of the series' five seasons. Detective Jimmy McNulty's tenuous grasp on paternal responsiblity was a central element in the writer's development of his character in Season 1. (The McNulty boys, for all intents and purposes, disappeared after Season 3.) In Season 4, the flinty exchanges between incarcerated Barksdale trigger man Wee-Bay and his thuggish son Namond (and Namond's ghetto fabulous mother, De'Londa) were comic highlights and one of a handful of representations of a complete family unit among the Barksdale crew. When Frank meets with the beaten Ziggy downtown, he clearly is staring into the face of his own failings. His attempt to boost his son's confidence that all will work out fall on deaf ears. "You're a Sobotka," Frank tells his son. "Fucked, is what I am." And there's no denying that.