The Wire is an American television drama set and produced in Baltimore, Maryland. Created, produced, and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon, the series is broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States. The Wire premiered on June 2, 2002, with 50 episodes airing over the course of its first four seasons. The fifth and final season, which encompasses 10 episodes, premiered on January 6, 2008.
The plot of the first season centers on the ongoing struggles between police units and drug-dealing gangs on the west side of the city, and is told from both points of view. Subsequent seasons have focused on other facets of the city. The large cast consists mainly of character actors who are little known for their other roles. Simon has said that despite its presentation as a crime drama, the show is “really about the American city, and about how we live together. It’s about how institutions have an effect on individuals, and how…whether you’re a cop, a longshoreman, a drug dealer, a politician, a judge [or] lawyer, you are ultimately compromised and must contend with whatever institution you’ve committed to.
From the Wikipedia entry on The Wire.
The Wire is a show that is strangely addictive. I really enjoyed how the Barksdale investigation encompassed the first few seasons. This is something that never really happens in TV. The same investigation spanning three seasons? Anyway, the fifth season still uses elements from the first season. I think it’s a great show. I also enjoy how in the fifth season, Simon plans on featuring the media and how it impacts the city.
Rhonda has to make a deal with Levy. Things go as well as expected since they used illegal means in order to get Marlo. In the end, Marlo walks and sells his stake in the city. Even though he tries to get straight, he’s not able to fit in. He’ll always be a street punk. Michael Lee takes over the role of Omar and robs the drug dealers of the CO-op. McNulty and Lester leave the police force. Kima and Bunk continue working. Rhonda becomes a judge. Naresse becomes the acting mayor while Carcetti becomes the governor. Scott wins a Pullitzer, Gus is demoted. Fletcher becomes an editor. Dukie has become a junkie.
The season ended as well as could be expected for McNutty. There was no way out of his predicament. At least now, he’ll work on his family life, that he’s been neglecting. The show has come full circle. There is no need of anything further in this series. Simon set it up this way. This is the last we will hear of The Wire. I’ll miss the season long investigations and the multi series long cases, like the Barksdale case. The end result was good. I wasn’t disappointed by the last episode. It answered all of the questions. However it’s sad that McNulty’s investigative skills won’t be used anymore. I could see him starting over in the FBI or something like that. That could make an interesting series.
Warning: Spoilers ahead.
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Daniels tells Carcetti about the fake serial killer that McNulty fabricated. Bond is there with Rawls. Carcetti is told that the manpower was used to reign in the Marlo Stanfield case. Norman can’t help but laugh out loud. Rhonda says that the evidence against Marlo is probably tainted. The cops who did this have to go. Carcetti says that there is no way of it not becoming public if the detectives are fired or put in front of a grand jury.
Lester comes down to the courthouse to see a lawyer named Gary. He lost three times his salary in the last two years. Gary is done for. If he plays it clean he will probably walk if he comes clean right now. He has him make a phone call to Levy.
Daniels wants Lester and McNulty gone by the end of the day. Rhonda reins him in. She tells him that he can’t tell anyone. Rhonda will get fired. Steintorf warned them. If they go public, it will hurt them dearly. The weight won’t fall on Bond or Carcetti. It will fall on them. She pleads with him not to go public.
Fletcher is selling the Sun with Reggie. Bubbles is reading his story. It has a lot of details on his personal life. He isn’t sure he wants it published.
Carcetti tells Bond that if he goes public, his shop will end up looking dirty. They need to bury those guys softly and deeply, so far that no one will ever find them. Rawls isn’t happy about this. Steintorf takes him apart. He offers him Maryland State Police Superintendant when Carcetti becomes governor. Rawls agrees. Norman finds the situation funny.
Dukie goes to see Mr. Prez. Prez is teaching. The assistant principal tells him that he has to wait outside until Prez has finished teaching classes.
Lester tells Rhonda about Gary. He’s the leak at the courthouse. He is ready to give it up. Lester doesn’t know what has gone down at the mayor’s office.
Prez comes out to see Dukie. He wants to borrow some money from Prez. Dukie is trying to hustle Prez. Prez warns him but agrees to give him some money. The arabber put Dukie up to it.
McNulty has to refuse more manpower forcefully. Lester tells Rhonda and Daniels figured everything out. The shit has hit the fan. McNulty takes a lift down. Daniels is in it. They don’t exchange a word in the left. When he leaves, Daniels tells him “To be continued”.
Gus tells Fletcher that the story is beautiful. Fletcher still wants to make sure that Bubbles is good with the story.
McNulty and Lester are talking in a bar.
They have as much on them and they have on us.
Lester on the situation
Ruby comes to see Gus. It turns out that Scott has been fabricating stories. Ruby asks Gus to keep his name out of it.
Levy tells Marlo that there is no bail set for him or Chris. Levy figures that there is a lie in something there. This means that the cops broke the code almost immediately. This means that there was a wiretap somewhere, an illegal wiretap. Cheese is getting out. Marlo wants Cheese to hunt Mike down.
Scott is looking for some quotes. He finds a dead body. McNulty is having fun with his family again. He gets called for another case. It’s Templeton’s case. The reporter doesn’t know that they have undercover cops posing as vagrants. They invalidate Scott’s statement. McNulty comes home.
Bubbles shows the article to his sponsor. His sponsor says that the article has him down good. The good and the bad. It’s obvious that Fletcher likes him.
Gus argues with Scott and his boss about the story that they are planning on running. Gus is pissed to learn that they will run the story, even after the cops discount it.
Kima and Bunk get a copycat serial killer. He tells them that the bosses know that the serial killer is bullshit. McNulty comes to the precinct and Daniels is waiting for him with Rawls. They ask him for details on how he did this. Rawls tells him that down the road, everyone involved will not being doing any police work. They tell him to take care of this case ASAP. The longer it goes on, the longer the fallout will be.
Levy meets with Rhonda. He tries to tell her that he knows something from an inside source at the courthouse. Title III’s are supposed to be secret. Rhonda briefs Steintorf and Bond on the situation with Levy. Rhonda says that they do have some leverage on Levy.
McNulty finds a card in his dead vagrant’s effects. He thinks he’s got this down. He takes Bunk with him.
Alma comes to see Gus. She tells him that Scott’s pad is empty. Gus takes the report that Ruby gave him and takes the pad and goes to see his boss.
Rhonda goes to see Levy with the recording that they have of Gary selling information to Levy. She tells him on how this will go down. Partlow pleads to all of the murders. His lieutenants plead to the drugs. Marlo walks and retires. If there is a hint of him on the streets, this will come and bite him in the ass.
McNulty goes and finds the homeless card guy. He’s the one who killed the other vagrant. They find ribbons in his card box. He says that he killed his friend because of drinks. He confesses to killing every one of them. He’s a bit crazy. He says that he’s killed millions, and they all killed him. McNulty has a little talk with Scott. He tells him that this whole story is full of shit. They are both trapped in the same lie. McNulty knows why he did it himself. He can’t figure out why Templeton did it.
Levy briefs Marlo on the situation. He has to give up the life. Levy congratulates Herc on what he did. He invites Levy over for dinner. If Marlo takes the deal, every drug seller in Baltimore will have Levy’s card in their pocket. It’s a goldmine.
McNulty and Bunk tell Rawls and Daniels that the vagrant will confess to the last two murders. None of the others. McNulty says that he won’t paint the other murders on him. There is a press conference.
Scott has to excuse himself from work. He doesn’t feel too well. The lies are getting to him. He can’t live with them anymore.
Steintorf is talking with Daniels. Daniels won’t fudge the crime stats. He tells him that the stats will be clean.
McNulty and Lester are going to be buried in some backroom unit. They won’t be doing anymore police work. Rhonda said that she got what she could. Lester lost it when he started coloring around the law.
Marlo is talking with some drug kingpins. He’s selling it for 10 million.
Steintorf briefs Naresse on Daniels. Daniels won’t play ball. She says he will play along or resign. Naresse plans on being mayor.
Landsman is giving McNulty’s eulogy. It’s his going away party. Lester shows up with his wife. Lester retired with 32 years on the force. Landsman says that McNulty is a great detective, probably the best of the department.
Daniels’ ex-wife comes to show him the report that Nerese Campbell got from Burrell. He’s not going to bend over backwards for them. If he doesn’t go, his ex-wife’s career is on the line.
Lester tells McNulty that Marlo walked. Kima arrives. She tells them that she told Daniels. They don’t bear any ill will towards her. It needed doing. McNulty goes home. Lester goes to drink.
The drug kingpins come up with the money that Marlo wants. They pool their resources to buy out Marlo. Cheese get shot in the head by Slim Charles after he revealed his involvement in his uncle’s murder. Slim says that it was for Prop Joe.
McNulty and Beebe are on the stoop of her house.
Bubbles’ story is published in the Sun. He’s happy about it.
Alma is packing up her desk. She’s sent to the Carol County bureau. She is being sent away because she said something to the editor-in-chief about Scott’s empty notepad.
Daniels promotes Carver to lieutenant. Daniels is leaving for family reasons. At least that’s what the media is reporting. Herc is there to congratulate Carver.
Kima and Bunk are on a new case.
McNulty is looking for the vagrant that he left in Richmond. He’s told that he left a few days later.
Leander is asking for a warrant. The new commissioner doesn’t know real police work.
Levy is in showing Stanfield around his new business ventures. Stanfield leaves. Stanfield is walking on the street. Stanfield was uncomfortable in his new surroundings. He couldn’t adapt. He walks over to a corner. They try to pull a gun on him and he takes them out, even though he was unarmed and they had a gun and a switchblade. Marlo gets shot in the arm. He symbolically takes back a corner. It’s obvious that he can’t change.
Michael has become the new Omar. He steals Vinson drug dealer’s money. He’s a member of the of the CO-op.
McNulty has found the vagrant. He heads home.
Lester enjoys his retirement. Templeton wins a Pulitzer for his work on the Red Ribbon Killer.
Slim and the rest of the CO-op are with the Greeks. They talk with Spiros and The Greek listens in, never identifying himself. Carcetti becomes governor.
Gus has been demoted at the Sun. He smiles as Fletcher becomes editor at the Sun. Valchek becomes police commissioner, one of the most inept appointments in Baltimore City history. Carcetti obviously broke all of his promises when he became governor. A corrupt Nerese assumes the mayorship as city council president.
Dukie shoots up on junk. Rhonda becomes a judge. Daniels becomes a lawyer. Chris is in jail. Rawls becomes Maryland State Police Superintendant. Reggie comes up from the basement for dinner with his sister, thanks to the article that Fletcher wrote about him.
Omar’s killer is arrested.
The last minute is filled with images and locations where the show was filmed.
The music ends and we come back to McNulty and Larry.
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