Soft Eyes

In the episode “That’s Got His Own”, all of the characters that have developed soft eyes over the course of the season discover the limits of what having soft eyes can do for the disadvantaged. Soft eyes are important in decision making because it reduces the chance of making rash, uninformed decisions. The soft eyes of Bunny, Sgt. Carver, Cutty, and Prez. have all been for the good of those they were trying to help. Seeing the bigger picture, they each go from running constant surveillance on the kids, to filling the role of supervisors for the children’s well being. Unfortunately for Carver, his inability to offer the protection that he promises hurts those who he is attempting to help. Despite the failure in this incident, the idea of having soft eyes should not be abandoned altogether because it allows those who were once closed off to certain circumstances to become more empathetic.

Although Carver, Cutty, and Prez felt defeated as they were faced with the grim reality of failure, we can only hope that they do not entirely abandon soft eyes. Carver is not the only character who has problems with his case in the episode, though the results of his are certainly the worse. Cutty realizes that his attempts at trying to help Michael hasn’t kept him from falling into the life of a corner boy and he will never be successful without the help of outside forces and Michael himself. Pryzbylewski sees that forces outside his control are needed as well when he discovers that Duquan is being moved out of his class. Despite these failures, the episode distinctly depicts the idea that with the use of soft eyes and enough patience, the characters in The Wire can find success, though it may never be guaranteed or easy. For example; Bunny Colvin, though faced with a group of vigilante kids with patience and consistent supervision he breaks through to Namond and forms a bond with him, discovering that Namond is very much of victim of his circumstance, and, though he acts tough, he is only a kid who is being pressured by his parents into a life he does not really want. Lester Freeman also utilizes his soft eyes and patience to successfully obtain approval to uncover the bodies left in the vacant houses. Ultimately, it seems the theme of the episode is that soft eyes are a long-way of improving the world, not a short term one, and that some battles may be lost, while victory can ultimately be achieved.