The end of the Wire
I haven't seen the finale yet (even though it has leaked), so I couldn't reveal any details from it
even if I wanted to. But there will be discussion of the previous nine
episodes of season five after the jump (as well as the series's whole
run thus far) after the jump, so if you're waiting for any reason, you
probably shouldn't click.
In every one of
The Wire's five seasons, the penultimate episode
of the season has been the best episode of the season. I'd argue that
last Sunday's episode was the best of the
series, so I'm not
expecting Sunday's to top it. I do think the events that were set in
motion by the first few episodes of the season - and of the series -
will likely come to rest at what we assume to be their natural stopping
point.
The Wire has never been about throwing wild twists and
turns at you for its own sake, anyway. So it's tempting to predict some
of the things that might happen. We know there will be some sort of
fallout from McNulty's faux serial killer, but maybe the info Clay
Davis gave Lester will keep his head out of the noose. Carcetti will
probably embark on his gubernatorial campaign. Levy's knowledge
of the wiretap might spring Marlo, but it stands to reason that Bunk's
warrant on Chris Partlow is still valid. And having had his happy
ending, I'd guess we've seen the last of old Reginald, a/k/a Bubbles.
What's less easy to predict is what will happen to Michael. A lot of
people have been suggesting he'll operate outside of the game. Or it's
also possible that he takes over some territory in Marlo's absence.
It's clear he has more of a grip on morals than his former boss, but
maybe he can succeed where Stringer and Prop Joe failed - bringing a
new way of doing business to the streets.
And while we're all holding out hope, I think the end for Dukie
involves the needle. If that's the case, his character arc would be the
most tragic in the show's history - moreso than D'Angelo or the Sobotka
family. The scene in last week's episode where he asks Michael if he
remembers the day when they threw water balloons and "you bought me ice
cream from the truck" and Michael says he doesn't remember -
"heart-wrenching" doesn't even begin to cover it, particularly given
the context of where Dukie was going after he got out of the car. Dukie
was probably the smartest of the four kids, but he just never stood a
chance. Just brutal.
Then, of course, there's the most controversial plotline on the show - the turmoil at the
Baltimore Sun.
By now, even people who've never seen an episode may have heard the
criticisms of this - basically people in the news media believe
The Wire's creator and producer David Simon
is working out his grudges against his old bosses at the Sun
by portraying them as ineffectual, out of touch, and too focused on
things like attention-grabbing Pulitzer bait than real reporting.
Personally, I am in no position to judge the legitimacy of his claims,
but I am inclined to agree, as I often do, with
Alan Sepinwall when he says "
I wonder if there's really a problem here, or if
there just seems to be one because, for the first time, the subject
matter is one that the reviewers know as well as Simon."
But I would also add that his case against the media would be stronger
and feel less preachy this season if he hadn't talked about it so much.
An example that irked me: after Proposition Joe was executed by Marlo
and Chris, police beat reporter Alma Gutierrez presents Gus Haynes,
noble city editor and our point-of-view character at the newspaper,
with a couple of options. He can run a story on a fire, or a homicide
(the homicide being Joe's.) He elects to run with the fire, even though
he's already proven to be slightly aware of what's happening on the
streets of Baltimore (he identified a drug dealer who we hadn't been
introduced to on the show.) Read a certain way, it seems like it's a
nice tribute to Joe: he meant something to us viewers because we had
gotten to know him, but Joe never wanted his name to ring out through
Baltimore in the way that Avon Barksdale or Marlo Stanfield did. He
just wanted to make some money and keep a low profile (probably why
Vondas had such affection for the guy.) Later on, when the death of
larger-than-life folk hero Omar Little also received no newspaper
coverage, it seemed to be a sobering reminder of just how little what
happened at the street level really mattered to anyone besides the
streets themselves. Interesting points, one would think. But no,
they're just more fodder for Simon's criticisms,
as he said at USC recently:
He then recounted the many plot points taken from Simon's real-life
Baltimore experiences -- the corrupt mayor asking for cooked crime
stats, the elementary school test scores spawned from students being
taught the tests, the deaths of Prop Joe and Omar -- all indicators of
the city's real problems that never appeared in the Sun's pages, in
reality or on HBO. "Watching a TV drama to get the truth, that's the
real joke," Simon added.
Fair enough, but this unsubtle touch combined with the usual way
Wire
characters are treated when they go up against an institution means
that we all know in advance almost exactly how the situation between
Gus and Scott Templeton (the hotshot pet reporter who's pulling a
Stephen Glass) will end. There's no way Simon can let this end with Gus
on top given how he feels about the modern newspaper.
But again - surprise twists and turns aren't really the point. Simon
had a story to tell, and now he feels he's said all he needs to say
about Baltimore. His next project involves
the war in Iraq. Some cast members are doing some neat things. Michael K. Williams (Omar) will be in Ridley Scott's adaptation of
Blood Meridian. Lance Reddick (Dep. Daniels) looks like he's got a pretty fun part on
Lost. Amy Ryan, obviously, has a sunny outlook. And Dominic West (McNulty) will be in the new
Punisher
movie as Jigsaw. But hey - everyone who worked on this show can say
they've been involved with one of the best television shows off all
time. Let's give them a break.
