If you’re new to these recaps, you should start with my notes on previous seasons – on season one; season two; season three; and the longest post, on season four.
I’ve held off a bit on writing about season five of The Wire
They really haven’t, however: Season five just wasn’t that good. It’s a sad ending to what was otherwise such a phenomenal achievement in television.
There’s a laundry list of problems with season five, but I’ll limit myself to three. One is that the entire season feels rushed. The show adds another setting, the Baltimore Sun newsroom, and cast of characters, including old Homicide favorite Clark Johnson. Yet without shedding many characters from previous seasons, we’re left with the same sixty minutes per episode spread out over an ever-increasing number of subplots and characters, so the newsroom folks don’t get the development they need, and every one of them remains two-dimensional after the series finale – particularly the setting’s villain, Scott Templeton, whose motivations are never sufficiently explored. The increased character density means we also get less time with series stalwarts like Omar, McNulty, Marlo, and Carcetti, all of whom receive plot treatments far more superficial than what we’ve seen before. The explanations, if you could call them that, for McNulty falling off the wagon and into a ditch fell far short of the standards set as recently as season four for character development and background. Add to all of those issues the shorter season length, ten episodes instead of twelve or thirteen, and the need to tie up as many storylines as possible before signoff and you have a season that feels like a compliation rather than a coherent set of stories.
The second is co-creator David Simon’s proximity to the material. The Templeton storyline is Simon’s vengeance on a real-life coworker at the Sun, Jim Haner, whom Simon accused of fabricating quotes and events while also accusing the Sun‘s editors and management of protecting their star reporter. Templeton is a flawed character, but is more fleshed-out than the simpering managing editor Thomas Klebanow (who talks like a damned grief counselor) and executive editor James Whiting, both of whom are depicted as willfully blind to Templeton’s malfeasance because they only see the potential for awards and a Hail Mary play to save the newsroom. I have no problem with Simon wanting to use his platform to decry plagiarism and fabrications by reporters, but it watched as if no one edited him down from his pulpit.
And finally, the serial killer storyline, the one thing that ties just about everything together other than the Omar plot, was so implausible and so far out of left field that I found myself wishing I could skip through those scenes (I couldn’t, because the series is otherwise so tightly plotted that you can’t skip anything, ever, or risk becoming hopelessly lost) and get back to the routine street violence. The idea that straightlaced Lester would be so consumed with his desire to nab Marlo that he would engage in an illegal endeavor that would jeopardize not just his and McNulty’s careers but would jeopardize the case against Marlo and the careers of people like Cedric Daniels is too far gone for my suspension of disbelief to encompass it. Yeah, I caught the parallels between Templeton’s fabrications and McNulty’s, but that literary flourish doesn’t justify the departure from four seasons of severe realism.
There were literary flourishes within the season that did pay off for me as a viewer, however, especially the underlying conceit that the players may change, but the streets will remain the same until the structures that govern (or fail to govern) them fall. Avon Barksdale fell, to be replaced by Marlo, who will be replaced by someone, perhaps Slim Charles. Omar’s gone, but Michael has stepped right into the void. One addict, Bubbles, escapes the streets, only to be replaced by Dukwon, with their closure scenes airing back-to-back in the final episode just to hammer that point home. The government’s continued cycle of rewarding superficial stats over honest results, and politics over performance, was actually the funniest part of that final montage, one bit I won’t spoil in case any of you haven’t seen it; I’ll just say it took me a while to figure out who was going to fill that void because the choice was so unlikely (and, yet, so ultimately predictable). That self-referential aspect, the way loops always close and minor characters (like Lester’s girlfriend) resurface, remains one of the series’ most enduring qualities for me. Those closures also give the series as a whole that novelesque quality absent in most series – these massive story arcs and entrances and departures of characters mirror those of great Russian novels and require degrees of attention and skill absent in so much modern fiction in all media. I just wish the final season had played out differently.
* Because I know someone will ask, I’d rank season five as the worst, and four as the best – but you can’t really call season four the best without attaching it to the groundwork laid in season three, can you? Season three didn’t stand well on its own for me, but the 25 episodes in those two seasons combined, slightly longer in episodes than a standard network season (and about a season and a half in show minutes), beat any season of any other TV show I’ve ever seen, and it’s not that close. I still maintain that season two is unfairly maligned, however; it was different, but in a good way, and even seeds planted on the docks bloomed in the series’ final few episodes.
* One thing I’ve puzzled over far too much is which Wire actor was most deserving of some recognition from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, which completely whiffed on the series while wasting Outstanding Drama Series nominations on the likes of Joan of Arcadia, CSI, Boston Legal, and Heroes. (The Wire received just two Emmy nominations that I can find, both writing nods, one for S3E11, “Middle Ground,” and one for the series finale, “-30-.” It appears the Golden Globes can’t even say that much.) My answer was far from certain after four seasons, but season five clinched it: Andre Royo, for his portrayal of Bubbles. It probably didn’t help his cause with award committees that his subplot was always in the background, or that the character’s required range only became evident over multiple seasons, but his performance was the most compelling in a series full of compelling performances. Only Seth Gilliam as Carver saw his character develop that much over the full five years – but we all know the award shows love a good addiction storyline.
Agreed overall. I bought into the Serial Killer plot a little more than you did, but felt the stuff at the Newspaper just didn’t work. Some of the most black-and-white characters in teh show’s run were from The Sun. After four seasons of having every character been differing shades of gray, that was lost in that storyline.
Anyway, it was fun reading your thoughts over the 5 seasons. I don’t think Season 5 was off enough to make me reconsider this being the best TV series I have ever seen (I haven’t seen all that many, so it means less coming from me than it does coming from a lot of the others who have said it). I’m right there with you with Andre Royo as being the stand-out actor (at least as a character who was there every season – I’d put Idris Elba up there with him). Two of his last scenes – the monologue in the meeting and him eating the meal with his sister and child – were just spectacular.
It definitely does feel like S3-4 were almost companion seasons (which is more odd since they were made two years apart) and I think it all has to do with the politics aspect of the show. Season 1-2 was still mainly about cops going after bad guys, at least in the external sense. Obviously, The Wire showed this much more in depth and simply better than most other shows, but it was still primarily limited. Starting in S3, the show started to open up into the city at large (I guess you can say they did this with the unions in S2, but that storyline still had direct connection to the drug game and the detail). That really was the best example of what television, with its long-form capabilities, can truly do. I still hold me feeling that in terms of pure enjoyment and entertainment, I’ll take Season 1, but Seasons 3-4 are, artistically, about as close to perfect as the small-screen will ever give you.
Any plans on tackling another series? Love reading your recaps. Have you watched Breaking Bad? It’s one of the only shows that I’ve seen that’s even in the same ballpark as The Wire. Definitely recommend it.
Keith,
Your thoughts on season 5 are pretty much exactly what I expected. I also would mention that the Gus character was simply too “good” for my liking. Almost every major character in the show had both positive and negative character traits, but it was only positive with Gus.
Have you ever read any novels by Dennis Lehane or George Pelecanos? Both contributed as writers of important episodes of The Wire. Lehane wrote Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone.
Season 5 is definetely the worst of all the seasons, but i’ll still take the wire at it’s worst over most other tv at it’s best. Breaking Bad and Mad Men I think are the 2 best shows on tv right now, and Grantland just had an pretty good article http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7722573/andy-greenwald-don-draper-mad-men-twilight-golden-age-television about how Mad Men and Breaking Bad are the last 2 shows from Televisions golden age which started with the Sopranos and allowed creative directors to fully explore their ideas without the usual constraints of tv.
I hope you took note of the single most bothersome Wire moment.. it just feels so out of place.
Bringing Belzer in as Munch at the bar made the whole universe collapse, especially as Meldrick/Gus was walking in. A good 50% of the Wire cast was on Homicide at some point or another, and for Munch to bridge both universes bothered the hell out of me.
I enjoyed season five because I enjoyed spending more time in the world of the Wire, but I have to agree with everything you wrote here. I hardly recognized McNulty this season–it was like he had some kind of psychotic break that just happened to serve a plot point. The editors at the Sun were almost comically stupid (or willfully stupid). I think I got Templeton’s motivation more than you did: he was both ambitious and lazy. We see Templeton start to do good journalism, before the story doesn’t turn out the way he wants it to or he just loses interest. Then he chucks it all and thinks it’s just easier to make it all up.
For me, Bubbles’ story makes the entire fifth season though. His eventual triumph (as small as it is) is one of those few morsels of hope that Simon holds out (Namond being the other). And you’re right–Andre Royo really gets to show his acting abilities in the fifth season.
And finally, the fifth season did offer closure. I wasn’t left at the end of the series thinking that threads were left hanging. That’s a point in its favor.
Keith,
I have to piggyback Ben’s recommendation to watch Breaking Bad next. Up until my recent completion of Season 4 of Breaking Bad, I was convinced that no other series could touch The Wire. Whereas The Wire’s great accomplishment is the sheer number of compelling characters, Breaking Bad focuses on the internal struggles of one man. I found the series to be more intense, suspenseful, and unpredictable than The Wire’s, sometimes, slow-moving, calculated plot lines.
One thing about the final season feeling rushed from what I remember is HBO wasn’t going to give David Simon a fifth season to finish the story. He was going to write a book to finish it off. I can’t remember why HBO finally relented to the fifth season.
Totally agree with you Klaw. I think the first season is still my favorite. Though overall, the show just didn’t do it for me. I think it was overhyped; I still loved the series, and I definitely think it’s great, but I don’t feel it as much as other people do.
Thought I’d drop this bomb re: Nick’s link — Mad Men still the best show on TV; likely my favorite show of all time.
Straight laced Lester? He was a hump from the pawn shop division for a reason. He was Cool Lester Smooth for most of the run, but he also wasn’t afraid to be another McNulty type who wanted to prove he was the smartest guy in the room.
I was reading the Alan Sepinwall blog as I watched Season 5 and I think the one comment that helped most when watching it was describing this season as The Wire does Dr. Strangelove. There is a lot of absurd humor and satire involved with the season that makes the serial killer storyline seem less out of place. It’s still whacky, but you kind of need to watch the season with your head tilted.
My theory is that Season 5 existed so Simon could use 10 episodes to payoff the “evacuate” joke.
Can we have a conversation about how Omar’s death was so freaking brilliant? Here we have perhaps the most popular and beloved television character in history, and he dies instantly from a gunshot by a 9 year old.
What made this so brilliant for me was that every fan (and writer) invested so much emotion and care into Omar’s story line. And yet, when he died, he was just another statistic: A legend on the street, a body to the world.
@Aiden,
Very true. And if i remember correctly, they even mistagged him in the morgue and Bunk had to correct it.
@aiden,
Absolutely agree, that was one of the best (and worst) moments of the series…however, what made it absolutely perfect and the quintessential The Wire moment is that the kid who killed him (Kenard, who was 12, actually) is the same kid who, in Season 3 after the shootout where Tosha dies, can’t wait to play Omar.
http://youtu.be/sky95nS8XtQ?t=45s
I always agreed that the serial killer plot line was absurd and largely unbelievable. However, why doesn’t anyone ever say this about Major Colvin’s drug zone in Season 3? I understand the point Simon was intending to make about the benefits of focusing on legalization/prevention of drug v. the status quo, but seriously, what Major in a police department would pull a stunt like that?
I’d also like to point out that Season 3 was still my favorite season even with that issue about Major Colvin’s free zone. Sometimes suspending belief and looking for the underlying message is more important.
@Jibraun.
Thank You. I remembered Alan Sepinwall bringing up another example of a Wire character stretching the limits of reality of what a cop would do one other time when defending the serial killer story, but couldn’t for the life of me remember what it was. Thank you for bringing that up.
I think the free zone is more understandable and doable than the serial killer, but I definitely see McNulty being both daring and hasty enough to do it.
@Jibraun
We’re in agreement. I just wanted to point out the drug zone because critics and fans alike generally overlook that (but not the serial killer plotline).
Keith,
Great analysis of the series. I’ve enjoyed all your posts very much, likely because this is a series I try to push onto anyone who will listen and it’s always fun reading/hearing reactions through the eyes of a new viewer.
Not sure if you have the time or desire, but I’ve also enjoyed Simon’s current HBO series Treme. I would not put it on the same level as The Wire, nor should the two really be compared. But the music is outstanding, the writing and acting (including Wendell Pierce and Clarke Peters from The Wire) is strong, and it similarly tries to tell a real story that otherwise goes unnoticed about a struggling American city; this time post-Katrina New Orleans.
Glad you enjoyed The Wire so much!
Yes, have to chime in and recommend Breaking Bad as well. The transformation of Walter White is one of the great storylines in TV history, IMO. I can’t recommend Dexter anymore, as it seems to have lost its way and is getting more and more outlandish just to run out the string of Michael C. Hall’s contract, it seems. Was a very good show through Season 3. They should have ended it at 4. When I was done with The Wire I immediately plowed through the entire ‘Shield’ series. Completely different animal and requires a certain level of belief suspension. Vic Mackey is a great character though and the whole series didn’t kid itself by trying to be serious.
Keith, Glad you enjoyed The Wire as much as I did, and your analysis of each Season (best to my recollection, it’s been awhile) was pretty spot on. Much better than I could ever do. Writing is not my strong point.
Amen on the serial killer plot. When McNulty started that nonsense, I was literally screaming at my television.
I didn’t have a problem with Hamsterdam. I live in Australia and one state has a safe injecting centre who’s aim is to basically funnel heroin use there and reduce heroin related crime and health problems (overdoses, dirty needles etc). Isn’t that Hamsterdam? I also didn’t have a problem believing that a good cop about to retire could get fed up with basically having achieved nothing in his time and try something different. The only b.s part was how long they managed to keep the whole thing a secret before someone found out.
I also don’t have a problem with McNulty’s quick fall off the wagon. That’s just the nature of alcohol and the nature o f McNulty. A lot of the time, a lot of hard work and sobriety can be undone very quickly and the job brought out the worst in him.
Lester’s compliance with the serial killer scheme was bullshit, but I still actually liked the storyline.
All in all, I’d agree that it was the worst season (3, 4, 2, 1, 5) but it was still good and worthwhile.
@Duff
I think you underestimate the differences between Australian and American culture. Just because one Australian state has such a system doesn’t mean that an East Coast American state would have a police Major (with no government backing) do the same.
Season 3 was quite satisfying when considered as an arc from season 1 & 2. The fake serial killer story was terrible and lacked all credibility. I could take or leave the newsroom stories. Maybe if the serial killer story wasn’t in this season, the newsroom would have worked better. Neither McNulty nor Lester were credible based upon the first four seasons of character development. I wish they had just wrapped the series up in season 4.
I found nothing wrong with either the Hamsterdam nor the serial killer angle. Firstly, Mcnulty was desperate after discovering that the rules were the same old after being brought back as a detective and I don’t find it unbelievable that he would pull such a stunt. And Freeman has a host angering the department’s commanding officers. As for the whole Hamsterdam angle, I don’t get what people find so unbelievable about that. Have cops not broken the rules laws before to stop the violence? Its pretty simple-minded to think just because your a commanding officer doesn’t mean you only care about politics and not the people. Nothing wrong with the newspaper angle either. Believe it or not there are good guys like Gus in the world. And I seriously have to laugh at people complaining about cameo gag scenes that lasted a few seconds at best. Overall, I quite enjoyed season 5 and don’t really see what people complain about. Then again people out there complain about literally every show’s ending so I guess that’s just how it works with society like the endless cycle of the drug war.