[rdiddly]

It's got some clumsy moments, but yeah absolutely essential to show the interconnectedness. Just one example: If you lose those livable-wage blue-collar jobs, you're absolutely gonna have yourself some thriving criminal enterprises including the drug trade. Does Wee-Bey go to work as a Barksdale soldier if he can easily get a good-paying job at the port or in some kind of manufacturing? It's been the story of every "de-industrializing" US city for the past 50 years.

[thirdsun]

This is also shown when one of the dock workers from season 2 re-appears as homeless person in season 5 (I think).