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Episode Recap: "-30-"
"-30-" indicates the end of a newspaper article, in the early stages of production. And this was the end of The Wire, with both bangs and whimpers and the lives of the characters mostly just going on... with not a few surprising and unsurprising twists.
Jimmy McNulty and Lester Freamon are made aware that their jig is up... their bosses at all but the immediate supervisory levels know about the fraud that they've been running on the department. Freamon learns just as he's reporting the last bit of useful investigation from the Clay Davis affair, the identity and the testimony of the leak in the Baltimore courthouse, who's been feeding confidential information to drug lord defense lawyer Levy and a number of his colleagues. Even as the false pretenses of the wiretap on Marlo and his gang make that bit of their investigation easy grounds for appeal by Levy, Levy learns that if he tries to pursue that route, he'll be hit with criminal charges that will put him away for years. Prosecutor Rhonda Pearlman is thus able to force Levy to take a deal that puts Marlo's lieutenants in jail for long stretches (Chris Partlow for life without parole), and Marlo to walk away without charges but also from the drug trade for fear of having prosecution reinstated against him.
And that's only one of the more complicated bargains and mutual backscratches with which most of the threads are wrapped up here. McNulty and Freamon are eventually allowed to quit the force, with Freamon retiring, but not before McNulty catches an actual pair of copycat murder cases. One was the homeless men he'd met previously, who is easily found to be the culprit. Despite pressure from his bosses, he refuses to try to pin the fabricated murders on the homeless man, who is clearly impaired and delusional.
At the Sun, the investigation of Templeton's stories turns up what Gus suspected, that Scott is a habitual fabricator who will "improve" or simply make up quotations and interiews on the smallest story or fact-checking assignment. Gus warns his senior editors about this, but they refuse to see anything but the potential Pulitzer awaiting them next year... which they get, as we see in the closing montage, while Gus continues to do what he can to get out a decent metro section. While Templeton is scared a few times, particularly when McNulty confronts him, he remains the senior editors' golden boy, at least for now; meanwhile, Alma, who sticks up for Gus in his attempts to expose Scott, is shipped off to the Sun's Carroll County bureau for her "troublemaking."
Dukie, having gone to live with the "arabers," turns up looking worse for wear at his old school, where he asks after "Mr. Presbo." Roland Pryzbylewski has grown into his job since Dukie knew him, and Dukie hopes to get some monetary help from him, ostensibly so that he can get a place and enroll in the City College GED program. Roland is dubious, but offers to give him the money he asks for, hoping that it's actually going for what Dukie says it's for. Instead, we learn by the end that it's likely going to drugs for Dukie and his colleagues, as the last we see of Dukie is him getting a fix.
Deputy Police Commissioner Daniels, having swept all the unsavory aspects of the Marlo bust and the false serial-murders case under the rug, finds that he can't countenance going further and enabling the systematic decay of the Baltimore Police Department, even if it means losing the promotion to commissioner he's been prepared for. But, he learns, if he doesn't go along with the faking of crime statistics, his ex-wife's political career and the legal career of his girlfriend will suffer for it, along with his own, as Narese Campbell, the probable next mayor, comes gunning for them. Daniels, as his ex-wife points out, has his law degree already, which makes his decision to quit the department easier than it might be otherwise; we see him later bringing a case before Pearlman, newly appointed to her first court as a judge. With the election of Carcetti to the governorship, and the silence-buying appointment of Rawls as head of the state police in the new administration, the path is cleared for, of all people, Stan Valchek to take the city commissioner's position, much to the disgust of all the veteran police in the series.
With Marlo forced to take a path into "legitimate" business, in a manner not altother unlike that of Stringer Bell and similarly advised by Levy, he arranges the "sale" of his franchise with the Greeks to a consortium of other drug lords; Cheese attempts to make a power play while the drug gang leaders are gathered, but while in the middle of a lecture about how little the past means (while holding a gun on one of his colleagues), Slim Charles takes the opportunity to take revenge on Cheese for betraying his uncle. Meanwhile, Marlo has to step away from his first meeting with high-powered, high-finance sharks to go down to a drug corner and reassure himself that he hasn't lost a step by picking a fight with the "soldiers" there.
And, at the store of Marlo's old "banker," during a drug money transaction, Michael and an associate invite themselves in and take the money; clearly, a new Omar is introducing himself to the game.
Further vignettes show us Kenard being busted, probably for the first of many times, and Judge Daniel Phelan, an ambiguous but easily irked figure, is given information he might well use to bedevil the guilty in the future.
And Bubbles, having allowed his story to be published in the paper, and generally having proved himself to be a good man to all those who matter to him, finally is allowed to rejoin his sister's family as a full-fledged member.
A great series; I'll agree with most commentators I read that it's one of the best in U.S. television history, and this was a good ending for it. Thanks to all of you who have come along with me as I've tried to keep up with simple synopses (difficult enough with this series!). Since the show itself so eloquently makes most of the points one might want to make about the subjects it tackles. Given a track record of many of the principals here, from Homicide through The Corner to The Wire, we can appreciate what remarkable work has already been done and wonder what they might do next.
For another take on The Wire's finale, read Cheers & Jeers.
For more on The Wire, please see our Online Video Guide.
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Mar 10, 2008 2:09 AM
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TO David Simon and everyone affiliated with The Wire:
You have been seriously wronged by your "peers" for not receiving the proper accolades from the Emmys, Golden Globes etc. It's an injustice. But as your own stories so vividly portray - the good guys don't always win, and the institutions continue to roll on anyway. For what it's worth, there are plenty of us out here who savored every single minute of your work - from the first minute to the last. Your stories hit home, you made us think, and re-think what we knew. You made us feel. You made us shake our heads in disgust. You made us laugh. It was a wonderful ride. I hope you all take comfort knowing just how much we appreciate every bit of what went into The Wire.
Thank you for bringing excellence to the screen.
As for the final episode... too many priceless moments to name them all. I loved McNulty's "wake," the fact that Michael became Omar, Marlo became Stringer, Dukie became Bubbles, and Sidnor became McNulty. I especially loved the choice to return to the Five Blind Boys' "Way Down In The Hole" to wrap up this masterpiece. Brilliant!
Now, I have to watch the final episode a few more times before the crying kicks in for real.
-30-
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Mar 10, 2008 4:45 AM
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Keefer, I could not have said it better myself. I litterally was thinking the same things that you were. Shame on those critics and the awards people for not giving this series its due.
I was surprised that Michael became the next Omar. I would have bet he would have become the new Avon/Marlo. But he was muscle. Although I really don't think Slim Charles or the rest of the drug consortium would have been gunning for him.
But then Dukie, seeing him from his Wire birth, it is sad to see that drug user would be his path in life. Just sad. I was hoping Presbo would have taken him in.
Oh, and Marlo will NEVER be a Stringer Bell. NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Mar 10, 2008 8:26 AM
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One of the most amazing series finales I have seen in a very long time. I still get teary eyed when I think about Dukie's fate, not because I didn't see it coming, but was really hoping I was wrong.
I was still getting over the shock of Omar being killed but watching Michael step into his shoes made was awesome.
Big thumbs up to producers, directors, writers and actors on an great series and a wonderful finale.
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Mar 10, 2008 9:03 AM
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Kudos on a difficult job overall in recapping this excellent series. The story-telling is so dense and rich, with such a multitude of distinct and layered characters, that I can't imagine being able to do it justice every week when, even after watching faithfully for five years, at times I still had trouble remembering who all the players were from week to week.
I thought the series finale was as near to perfect as I've ever seen, and completely in keeping with writing, the story, and the characterizations. If we learned nothing else it was that the more things change, the more they stay the same with, as Keefer pointed out, just a few examples of the new Omar, the new Stringer, the new Bubbles, and the new Barksdale/Stanfield. And the corners stay up and running - they always will.
I just have to hope that, as Gus predicted, the Sun will end up having to give back their Templeton-tainted Pulitzer.
I was a little confused about McNulty's ending, though. I thought Rhonda was telling him that while he'd never be a murder police again, he could stick around to retirement and pension, though he'd be buried in a desk job or back at the docks, or some equally mundane position. Did McNulty choose to quit the force entirely instead, or was he, in fact, fired? It would make sense for him to quit, IMO. He's a murder police through and through, and without the opportunity to work cases, his career was pretty much over.
Like Keefer, I especially appreciated the last montage airing over the strains of the original rendition of "Way Down in the Hole" used in season one.
Brilliant series, brilliant finale. TV in general is lesser now that it's done.
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Mar 10, 2008 9:09 AM
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alma didn't get sent to new carrollton - she got sent to the carroll county bureau which is in northern maryland, near the pennsylvania border. so if you're arguing that she and templeton will meet again at the washington post due to geographic proximity, you're off. carroll county isn't close enough to DC to make that a realistic argument.
all in all though - great, great finale.
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Mar 10, 2008 9:20 AM
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Thanks, Panthers...I thought I heard New Carrollton, but believe you're correct. Another reason to review the episode. And thank you, Pamela...from what I see, McNulty simply resigned, rather than be put in an even more out-of-the-way assignment than his harbor patrol duty...at his "wake," Landsman mentioned his 13 years in, and when he went to pick up the homeless man in Richmond, he mentioned to the shelter worker that he'd formerly been a police officer.
We can only hope Dukie manages to pull himself back together as Bubbles did.
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Mar 10, 2008 9:47 AM
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Now THAT's how you do a series finale!
So, Michael is the new Omar, Dukie is the new Bubbles, and Sydnor is the new McNulty. Marlo is trying to be the new Stringer Bell, but he can't stay out of the streets, so his case WILL be coming around again after the November elections. All the bad stuff can come out then, and Lester and McNulty have already left the department.
McNulty catches a real serial killer, but refuses to frame him as "the" serial killer. He also goes to Richmond and returns his spaced out "missing" homeless man to Baltimore. Kima is forgiven by Lester and McNulty. Daniels is commissioner for a hot minute, then retires to practice law rather than juke the stats for the mayor. Clueless Valcheck gets to be the new commissioner. Rhonda Pearlman gets a judgeship for bartering with Levy to save face for everybody. McNulty and Beadie have a happy home again. Bunk and Kima are partners and talking smack over dead bodies. Carver gets a promotion from sargeant to lieutenant. Herc moves up in Levy's eyes, for figuring out there was a wiretap, when he is the one that gave the cops Marlo's cell number. Carcetti gets the governorship, Rawls get to head the State Police, and scheming Narese Campbell will be the new mayor.
Kenard's little bad azz got arrested for killing Omar. The legend on the street is that Omar went down with guns blazing. Slim Charles blew Cheese away to avenge Prop Joe. It's business as usual for the Greek and the co-op. Chris is doing life with no parole for the murders in the vacants. Prezbo gets taken for $200 by Dukie, which he kind of expected. Dukie sounded like he was gonna get his life together, but it was all for some heroin.
Over at The Sun, Templeton continues to lie and fabricate, even after McNulty tells him he knows he's lying. Gus does his best to warn the bosses about Templeton's made up stories, but they don't believe him. Alma sticks up for Gus and gets exiled to the Carroll County bureau for her trouble. The story about Bubbles gets published, and Mike Fletcher, a young reporter, gets accolades for a real story. Bubbles gets to go upstairs and join his sister's family. Templeton and his bosses eventually win a prize, but hopefully it will get snatched back after his lies are uncovered.
This is THE best series finale I have ever seen. If you weren't satisfied with it, you weren't going to be satisfied with any ending. This was TV at its finest.
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Mar 10, 2008 9:59 AM
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I can't believe it's over. I loved the finale but will have to rewatch to catch all those little things I missed. Slim Charles taking cheese out was sweet.
Thanks for reviewing this season. I do believe it's time to get rid of my HBO for a while. I've stuck around for the Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Oz, and now the Wire. I enjoyed Big Love last season but not sure if it's enough to keep HBO. It's the end of an era...
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Mar 10, 2008 10:04 AM
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What a bunch of scummy low-lifes as the drug lords just walk away after Cheezy gets whacked as if it's just another day at the office. That made me feel ill since it's so realistic. The Finale was sad and unplifting especially for Bubbles finally allowed upstairs. That was very special. Why did Levy have to use a Jewish expression when accepting Herc as part of the family.....to make Levy a warm fuzzy Jewish guy taking his friend home for some matzo balls and chicken soup. He sure was no mensch....he was a greedy bum....a shonda!! (which to all my non-Jewish friends means "shameful". "Noches" means joy) OK I will not start a bilingual class just yet but this show was truly wonderful in every aspect of story telling for the small screen. I was not a fan at the beginning but got on the band/orchestra wagon a year later and so glad I did. HBO and television in general has lost a mighty slice of its heart. It went down magnificnetly.
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Mar 10, 2008 12:39 PM
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Watched this show from it's inception. This show was (sad to say) a part of my life. I tried my best to turn everyone I knew onto it. Hate to see it go, but if it must, I have to say the finale was the best I have ever seen. They tied it up with out it ever really ending. You could see how the cycle never ends. There will always be corrupt politicians and policemen, drug addicts, dope dealers and, caring unappreciated teachers. I'm from Oakland, Ca, I've seen this kind of thing in real life. I hope this show not only entertained but opened the eyes, of the uninformed. I work with a guy that has told me, he was very naive until he started watching this show (middle aged white guy). Now that he knows what goes on in the inner city he is a lot more sensitive to other peoples plights. Thanks to The Wire hopefully we all will be able to understand that there are others out there that need our help and know that the people in position are only out for themselves. They care nothing about the little man.
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Mar 10, 2008 3:28 PM
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Another great episode of the best TV drama that has ever been on TV. Of course, the only sad thing is that this is the final episode. I will miss my friends on the Wire.
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Mar 10, 2008 5:46 PM
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To EVERYONE involved with The Wire (Clearly one on the most underrated television shows EVER!!!) I am proud to say that I was one of those people (along with many others) putting together petitions after Season 3 to keep the show on the air and thank GOD it worked because Seasons 4&5 were some of the greatest writing and acting I have ever seen. I truly feel blessed to have been a fan of The Wire since the beginning. The finale was BEAUTIFUL! a complicated puzzle of story-lines and characters, that once put together, fit perfectly. The only thing I would change would have been that my beloved Omar would've survived but I understand why he had to go now to make room for Michael to take over (just like in the Godfather  Anyway GREAT work!! Again I am PROUD to be a fan and to have witnessed PERFECT TELEVISION which we do not see very often. Hopefully there is at least one EMMY finally given to this show (that should have been nominated every year!).
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Mar 10, 2008 9:17 PM
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drubin -
I agree with you. I AM one of those middle-aged-white-guys who can say with no hesitation that The Wire has changed how I think and feel - in both a political and social sense. I think that I understand a lot more than I did before, and sadly, feel a sense of helplessness because of just what The Wire showed: that the tragedies of "the game" will go on and on, no matter how much we wish it weren't true.
Also - is anyone else still reeling from some of the revelations of the finale? My thoughts have been consumed with the idea of poor Dukie shooting up in an alley somewhere. It affected me as if he were a real person and I should be reaching out to him! No television show has ever made me feel for the characters as though they were real people.
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Mar 11, 2008 1:12 AM
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