The show is undoubtedly an indictment of the war on drugs and calls it a wholesale failure, no question there. It condemns the violence on the streets and is honest about how violent the police are. And it is completely consistent on the theme that people turn to crime because the socio-economic system left them no other option. As the show spirals out into other fields, it shows how thorough the corruption of the whole government and how impossible it is to change anything. Anyone who actually tries reform either gets boxed out of the process (Bunny Coleman, Daniels) or conforms to the corrupt system (Littlefinger).
But while it condemns the war on drugs, there is still an element of "the police could be saved through reform." Especially season 5 which is the worst season for a lot of reasons. The case against copaganda is much stronger without McNulty's bullshit fake serial killer plot, in universe it confirms that with better allocated resources police can solve stuff like murders. Season 5 was saved by Marlo's crew and the Newspaper storyline.
I think the biggest argument against it being copaganda is that you always follow the people they're investigating. They are main characters as much as the cops (and are usually much more compelling characters). In every season at least one of the criminal characters chooses to reject the violence of the drug trade in some way. I don't know of any other "cop show" that actually gives a shit about the people on the other end of the table, especially not to the extent we see in season 4. Season 4 is the highmark for showing the school to prison pipeline and actually trying to offer an alternative.
And as for the police, we see at least two characters who go through the journey of "don't be a fucking cop anymore, it's awful." Prezbo is actually pretty based for killing a cop and then becoming a public school teacher.
I'm not making an argument either way I just wanna hear your thoughts.
To be fair, he did shoot a cop.
He also blinded a fourteen year old. And now he works with fourteen year olds.
It's a nuanced show for sure. Prezbo does show real growth, but they make it clear he can never reconcile blinding that kid. However, that is a very realistic scenario and he does basically the best thing he can do to try to make up for it.
Does he? The way I remember it, he kind of just forgets about it and no one ever talks about it again. Anyway, the idea of someone who'd do that to a child later working with children is pretty horrifying.
I'm thinking of the scene where the bring the kid in for questioning later and Prez can't look at him. Everyone in the room knows it and you realize that Prezbo basically set this kid into the life forever.
But you're right that in real life someone with that kind of history shouldn't be allowed to work with kids. I'll forgive it for the sake of being narrative fiction and because the season 4 arc is so powerful. Tbh that scene initial blinding feels out of character for Prez compared to the rest of the series. Every other scene, he's shown to be a bumbling and generally meek person.
He had already embarrassed himself in front of herc and carver by having a second accidental discharge by shooting the wall where he'd already had a reputation for accidentally shooting a car, so he wanted to feel like an emasculated and accepted part of the boys and so both went ahead and busted heads the western district way but also overcompensated and blinded a child by trying to flex. It probably got swept under the rug cause of Valchek. Also where Frank Sobotka in this thread? I'm not hearing his name in any of this!
Where is Frank Sobotka? In the friggin Chesapeake Bay.
But now that I've thought more about Prezbo, the show makes it very clear that THIS GUY SHOULD NOT HAVE A GUN. He immediately improves as a person when he's benched in the office with no gun. The fact that he blinds the kid with the butt of his pistol makes me think it's intentional. Same with him shooting the cop (which is played as a tragedy, sadly). I think the show is telling us that if you take an insecure person and put a gun and authority in their hand, they will hurt people.
And he did that on purpose. Wasn't trying to blind him on purpose, but it was a result of his brutality.