After watching last night's episode (#7) I was struck by how David Simon & Cormac McCarthy's worldviews seem have some basic similarities.

First, Llewylen Moss and Omar are two protagonists who are flawed and yet possessed of some sort of moral code. It's the violation of these codes that invites their doom. Moss's taking what was not his (the money) and his hesitation in aiding someone in need have dire consequences for him and his wife. Omar's decision to shoot someone who was not holding contraband or not/had not attacked him directly seems to violate his code of honor. The difference here, though, seems to be that Omar, unlike Llewylen, seems to be aware on some level of his own impending doom (at least that's how I see it).

Secondly, Ed Tom Bell and Bunk Morland are the sorts that are likeable but not the the types that we are drawn to right away as their presented as competent yet a bit dull. We don't really get excited by plodding characters. And yet, they are vital in the long run it's this sort of work that keeps the wolves at bay.

Finally, both assert that evil is relentless. The Anton Chiurghs and Marlos of the world do not quit. They are utterly without scruple, loyalty, or any internal moral brakes. They are pure hunger and ambition whose only other quality seems to be a cold sadism (e.g. Anton's forcing an innocent store clerk to decide his life on the flip of a coin, Marlo's wanting to actually witness Prop Joe's murder). Both the series and the film seem to be telling us that if we don't constantly go out and fight that we will be overtaken. It is a constant, exhausting, heartbreaking struggle which only seems to offer small moments of hope or redemption (Prezbo's efforts in the classroom, Namond's seeming redemption by Bunny Colvin).

In short, both works offer little comfort. They are less fable of redemption than exhortations for us to take up arms against a sea of trouble. A Hamlet-like delay or hesitation on our parts will destory us. Evil doesn't rest, so why should we?

Shawn,

I somewhat disagree with your view of McCarthty. Moss is not done in by his own moral failure - the very confusion surrounding his killing shows that violence can strike seemingly without reason. That violence is an inescapable natural force is a major theme in all of McCarthy's works.

Sheriff Bell, unlike Bunk, is not vital "in the long run." He is, in fact, irrelevant. His impotence underscores how man-made moral law is itself impotent to stop something like an Anton Chigurh, (or, to go back to another McCarthy book, a Judge Holden), each a demonstration of how human violence is permanent and in the end unstoppable.

That being said, I agree that what it boils down to is "a glimmer of hope," that, in the view of both Simon and McCarthy, being the best the world can hope for.