The end, of this sort, of a great series leaves me with a void.

I enjoyed the Wire and look forward to reruns.

Buster

The finale was another fantastic episode. I'm surprised to see critics consistently denigrate the quality of epic series' finales (Sopranos, Wire, even Seinfeld). Critics shouldn't expect a series finale episode to be so divergent from the essence of the series - this was another Wire-esque episode that was intended to satisfy the real fans simply by being itself.

The accompanying sounds, no music, to extended, fast moving images was very moving despite an apparent lack of clarity as to what it meant. Sorry you "couldn't tell" exactly what it represented, but that doesn't make it poor art.

As a fan of the most important and introspective look into the classic American city I have to say that it's only poetic and somewhat sweet that it never received the critical acclaim it deserved from its media peers.

(Expletive) da Emmy's!!!

Oh yeah. And The Sopranos could learn a thing or two about how to conclude a series.

Peace,
S!

I guess I am a nitwit- because the last scene of Bubbles for me was far from empty. I didn't hate the finale like you did, and found that there was a lot to recommend it. I also liked the city montages...I am sorry that I am so simple minded and I guess empty....

David,

I am wondering if you liked anything about the finale or was it all bad to you? Even the great scene where Slin took out Cheese? This whole season you seem to have been remiss to say anything whatsoever that is positive about the show- and when asking for thoughts about the finale- all you do is imply that we should all think it was awful and agree with you.

You say- now that it has aired- let's get specific about the flaws? So- we can't get specific about what some of us may have thought was good- the Dukie-Prezbo scene for example? Or did you just want this blog to be a place for people to speak only in negative terms about the finale?

The show was slightly disappointing. But that's what makes room for another show. I think series finales are bad on purpose. It is television's way of making sure there's always room for a new show at the top.

I'm sure Sopranos fans are still waiting for who is walking through the door after the bell 9 months later. Well 9 months from now, another show could tell us why McNulty's character seems so unfinished as well.

ok David, I'll keep this one short.

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh. My favorite show made fun of me and my professions..waaaaah. now I'm gonna get all upset and bash it. stop whining. that finale was amazing. suck it up and move on to your usual worthless coverage that contributes nothing to the greater good. Simon has more talent in his three hairs than you and the rest of the Sun combined.

Loved the end--ended the way it started. Except for Bubbles,basically all the good guys lose and the bad guys win. Everthing stays the same, the drugs, corruption, incompetence. Saddest scene--Daquan shooting up.

Have you not watched this series for five seasons? The poetry is always, ALWAYS in the penultimate episode, which, in this season, was in Episode 9. The Duke and Micheal scenes, the Michael and Bubs scenes, all heartbreaking. You may even remember the Stringer Bell death scene was NOT the final episode.

The LAST episode has always been about wrapping up the loose ends, and this episode did that beautfully, and with humor. And for a man like McNulty, losing the job IS the thing. That's the point they've made since the 1st Season. Sure he's happy, but you could sense the worried hesitation in those close-ups, a la Nick Sobotka in season 2's montage.
The worst thing that could happen to Jimmy, losing the ability to be good po-lice, happened. What, did you want to see him die in a car accident, plow straight through the windshield?

As for the Baltimore montage....I mean, don't you get it, Baltimore was the main character in this entire series. It was nice for the city to have a little screen time. An extended, loving montage of the Baltimore felt appropriate.

"A once great and epic series." You know, in television that you think a series was "once great and epic" is in itself a victory. That you cared so much about the direction of a show should provide it merit. How much did you opine when say, Law & Order or CSI or, hell, the Martin Lawrence show stopped being "once great and epic." Oh right, you never did and they never were. That's what makes the Wire, all five seasons, stand out.

Kudos to Simon for revolutionzing television, for making people career about urban life and all its multiple facets. You raised the bar, and that alone is worthy of praise.

I don't think you could be more wrong.

What did you not like? That Simon's portrayal of cycles - were brilliantly displayed??

Omar = Michael
Bubbles = Dukie
McNulty = Sydnor
Judge = Ronnie
Lawyer = Daniels
Bell/Barkdale = Marlo
Weebay = Chris
New Major = Carver
New Commish = Valchek

McNulty gave up what he loves the most - good po-lice work. There is nothing more valuable in that man's life, and now he must learn how to become a better man, a better person.

The sunrise/set montage was a display of a series of time...and cut between the "episode" and the last 20-25 min of "future" scenes of our characters. This was the best episode of the season, gave purpose to the shortened ten episode season, and may be, in retrospect, the best episode of the show.

You're not Pempleton, right?

Dan

Seems like you went into the finale looking for flaws rather than simply enjoying the final curtain being drawn on what is likely the best thing to ever be broadcast on television. Flawless? No. But focusing on the flaws in favor of sending off a great series with a little more respect seems, as others have mentioned, like the actions of an offended member of a dying industry reacting to a too-close-to-home portrayal of his reality than of an objective television critic.

Mike is the new Omar minus the Homosexuality. Dukie is Bubbles, The Co-op collectively controls the drug trade with Slim Charles providing muscle.
Barksdale is to return as kingpin upon release. Mr. Simon has brilliantly left the door open to a possible movie in a few years. Until then I will enjoy re-runs.

This article is a joke, right?

Have to back the sentiments of several others here .. what more did you expect, pal? Slin taking out Cheese to give the late great Joe his Props was worth tuning in alone. (Particularly as Cheese lay on the street jerking with reflex action as the elders barked about the sentimental fool costing them some money.) Bubs making it to the table .. how was that not understated, classy and poignant? While I'd agree that this final season dipped a bit off the realism scale in favor of dramatic story line, these last two episodes were beyond solid. Maybe you are a bit miffed at the diss on journalists .. but this show held its own until the final credits.

if you have to keep the devil in the way down in the whole, then this series finale is top-notch. the holes supposedly left open brought to light in the former the posting, does not equate to a failure on the show's part, rather a lacking of understanding of the viewer. "it's all in the game." (Omar)

This finale was the best i ever scene. The story showed how all the characters came to be. Michael became Omar, we learned how omar came about. We see how stringer got caught up with the real estate scam, [expletive deleted] the lawyer was the one settin [deleted] up to get paid, they running it on Marlo, Man look ar Dookie, he the new Bubs, Kima will be Daniels, Snyder is commish Burrell. Man David snyder wrote this to tell everyone that as long as the govt stay dirty, the streets will remain dirty. It was a cycle that wont stop until the politics go away. The greatest finale i have ever witnessed

Though the finale was generally watchable, it became many of the things the show's maverick template set out to react against in rote tv storytelling. The soup bowl of moral gray area that made the show so captivating was empty.

Critics have been accused of being too sensitive to this season because journalistic integrity made it's way into Simon's universe. Ultimately, though, as the Wire's complicated figures caught the same ossifying sickness of black and white character types that dominated the newsroom, it became clearer to me now more than ever how right many critics were. The epiphanies and exacting moral compasses and free passes were handed out like so many Clinton pardons in the finale. There was no need to telescope into a future where we're given conclusions to every character's life: Lester enjoys his toy hobby with his wife looking on, Cedric becomes a lawyer, Carchetti becomes the governor, etc. etc. etc. It should have stopped with Stanfield on the corner after he returned to his element and got in a tussle with the corner kids. This wouldn't have been a great ending but it would have been better and it just wouldn't have felt so needless.

Gman summed it up perfectly!

In my opinion, Season 1, 2, and 4 were absolutely incredible. Each of these seasons opened my eyes to a world I did not know. They offered a seemingly authentic portrayal of the drug trade, police work, the ports, the school systems, and city politics. The thought experiment of legalizing drugs and insider view of the newspaper business of Season 3 and 5, were not as original or interesting to me. As for the finale, I would not list it as one of my favorite episodes. Regardless, even during its weakest moments, the Wire has been one of the best shows on TV and the finale was no exception.

Your negativity seems to be out of place with almost everyone's else thoughts and reactions to the series finale. Could it have something to do with that the series is fundamentally bashing the Sun. (A paper which has gone dramatically downhill in the past 20 years). The newsroom scenes are certainly weaker but the bashing you're doing seems to be more of the Tribune Company line than anything else/=.

Zurawick has been hating on this whole season, and he has some valid complaints, but I thought the finale was excellent.

Maybe critics didn't like the fact that Simon pretty much torched journalists and editors.

The whole premise of the WIRE was to get to the truth and expose it. The other brilliant part of the WIRE was that it also showed how corrupt our institutions have become that it will sweep the truth under the rug due to the corrupt people that now run our institutions. Yes, it was fiction but you don't have to look that far to see many elements that played out in the WIRE are actual realities today.

GMan hit the nail on the head...I say the Sun should buyout David Zurawik and let him write for the paper...

...don't worry David. I'm only kidding but I don't understand why you were disappointed. The entire episode made perfect sense and fit the bill for why true Wire fans fell in love with this show. I love that Simon gave a salute to the people of Balitmore in the montage at the end. It's a clear reminder that even though this is T.V., there are still real people in the city who have to live the lives we got a glimpse of on-screen through actors every Sunday night....This final episode wasn't really about us- the fans, the writers, the actors- it's really about all the cities just like Baltimore that have to keep on existing in horrible conditions beyond a shows series finale. When you think about it, that's the biggest flaw...

If McNulty got what he "deserved" then he would be one lonely sinner. How many on this show get what they deserve? Valcheck the police chief? Marlo free? Clay Davis free and prospering? Dukie a drug addict? As snoop said, "deserve ain't got nothing to do with it".

Greek tragedy has an internal logic regulated with heaping portions of fate and divine intervention. Justice on the wire is a bit more elusive.

As a guy who used to live in Baltimore, I appreciated the Baltimore montages. It reminded me of the city that I left and the city that I hold close to my heart.

I can get that you've got an axe to grind with Simon, but the finale was the end and served as such.

Yeah, The Wire was a tv show, we know this from the presence of a catchphrase (Clay Davis) and from many of Omar's acts (which required some degree of suspension of disbelief), so to attack the show for cliche in McNulty's ending really reeks of trying to find something wrong with it.

But the finale, within the context of the show, was as close to flawless as you can get.

I'm not sure if you've watched any previous seasons of The Wire but they all end in a montage w/ music cutting across to little snapshots of all the various characters in their respective corners of the city. The 5th season finale had the added challenge of needing to find a thematically fulfilling montage to the entire series. The Wire finale succeeded in every sense for me and mine.

I watched with held breath worrying the pessimistic nature of the show would bring horrid nemesis to fan favorite characters like McNulty, Bubbles, Michael Lee, and Duquan. The Wire managed to leave the first two characters in as close to a happy place as they can realistically hope to be in. As for Michael and Duquan their endings were more tragic, but at the same time left me with hope.

As heartbreaking as it was to see Duquan fall into a heroin addiction almost taking the place of Bubbles in that bottom rung of society, the Bubbles ending left me with hope that even though the present and near future may be bleak there may be a distant light to the end of this tunnel. Maybe that's naivete and misplaced hope, but in the face of soul-crushing institutions that devalue the individual that kind of hope is all that keeps most of us going.

You're an idiot. Tell me they don't pay you to write.

I'm surprised you liked any of the five seasons at all, because clearly The Wire is not for you. It does not compromise for what the viewer wants. It tells it like it is. More importantly, it requires the viewer to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Let me help you.

If you'll remember, Marlo Stanfield tried to be a businessman. It didn't go so well. We last saw him in a suit beating some kid, getting his arm stabbed in the process, and smiling with glee that he was back on the streets. Now what did city assistant D.A. Miss Rhonda say would happen if there was even a whiff of Marlo on the streets after the November elections (whose results those of us paying attention had just been shown)? Yes, The case would be dragged back into court, and her words went something like " and Marlo Stanfield will go to jail, even if it means sending in a couple dirty cops along with him.

So, if you had been paying attention, you would realize you were complaining about a reality that doesn't exist when, in fact, these were a few last moments of happiness; a brief respite with their loved ones before both Lester Freeman and the beloved Jimmy McNulty end up cops behind bars, left with the horrible existance that must encompass.

That is the harsh reality of the world of David Simon. And the fact that you don't even get it, that it goes straight over your head is why I will always LOVE The Wire.

p.s. - I won't deeply address the criticism of the montage, but it must amuse David Simon to have never really shown the skyline in 5 seasons, finally pay an obvious homage to the city he loves, then have that same city's paper blast him for, of all things, a lack of imagination in showcasing said city as the curtain falls. Is your real name Scott Templeton?

As far as Finales go, this was not bad (lots better than the Sopranos family eating at a diner). Everyone got some of their "just deserts". Freeman and Mcnulty could not be prosecuted; the situation was too ominous, as Simon makes clear.
It was nice to see Cheeze get what was coming to him. And sad to see the new Bubbles being created: Dookie.
Marlo is, in the end, just another "playa". How quickly the power leaves the throne. He is no Stringa Bell either, just a "retired" gangsta.

Glad to see Daniels do the right thing. In real life he probably would have succumbed to the pressure.

David Simon's message: there is hope for America's inner cities. But miles to go before we sleep

great show, however, money talks and bs walks, as usual. find a mayor to clean up this corruption in any big city and we'll send him to bagdad.

I think it couldve been more i was expecting more. I think it was boring.

This critic review is awful. If you actually live in Bmore, like I do, you would know that the Wire has more buzz than it has ever had.
Is THIS reporter making this stuff up?

And the ending was perfect.

There was a new Bubbles - Duquan.
There was a new figurehead Commish.
There was a new McNulty going to the judge for some leeway.
There was a new Omar - Michael.

EVERYTHING is a cycle, and the series depicted that perfectly.

I'll miss the characters.. but the way this story was weaved was beautiful, and poetic, and artistic.

The city of Batimore WAS the star, and all of the politics and police, and street wars couldn't change Baltimore, it's all the same as it was... sad, but realistic and a very compelling view of what is wrong in our city.
BRAVO!

GMan put it very well. Baltimore was always the main character of the show. The city lived, breathed, died through the characters. Maybe the serial killer thing was wrapped up a little too neatly, but that's a quibble. The finale was excellent overall. Some people had happy endings...Bubs. Some make you want to cry...Daquan. Thank you Simon for a brilliant series.

I couldn't agree with you more, David. This last season was a total disappointment, and the finale (like the season's driving plotline) was preposterous, maudlin, and lazy. What a sad letdown for devoted fans of The Wire. From start to finish, this last season was shockingly inferior to what had come before. As you wrote yesterday, it seems that Simon's personal demons took over and the result was a huge blow to the series. His character assassination of the newspaper industry was so ham-handed that it did a disservice to all those with legitimate, rational critiques of what is going on in the newspaper world today. I could go on and on about the many ways in which this last season failed, but better to remember the brilliance of the earlier seasons and move on.

I thought it wrapped things up nicely in good HBO fashion,
favorite scene: Slim shooting Cheese
Most Heart wrenching scene: Dookie shooting up :( why dookie why??!!

Congrats you did a great job. It was really moving to see Bubbles make it with his family. I feel that things worked out as they should. And the comment that McNulty did not own up to his mistakes I feel was inacurate. When the police chief wanted him to accuse the homeless man of all the murders he refused admitting that he made some mistakes but would not accuse him of things he knew he did not do. It was all good, the pictures of Baltimore, the reflection of McNulty, all of it. Thanks David for a wonderful story.

Were we watching the same show? No poetry?? We see Daniels give his speech about the department training the new people to be as corrupt as the old, and then we see it happening: Sydnor goes into the judge, just like McNulty did in Season 1; Michael has become Omar right down to the hoodie; God bless him, Dukie has become Bubs, etc.

But what hasn't changed is Baltimore, hence the montage. Nothing has changed for this city, in part because of this cycle which we've witnessed.

That ending was as poetic as anything I've seen on television in awhile. This season was weaker, IMO, but it's so much better than anything else on television that I'm sad to know it's ending.

I think the montage was a little bit of "time passes" and a little bit of Baltimore Porn. As GMan wrote, why not give the city a little extra screen time? So many times the street scenes are tightly blocked so that it's tough to figure out where they're shot, so let's open it up a little bit.

The whole wrapup through the last few episodes has been setting us up for the passing of the torch: Bubbles rises from the depths, both figuratively and literally, and Duquan takes his place. (You have to appreciate the visual of the horse hanging over Dukie's head as he prepares to shoot the Horse into his arm.) McNulty leaves the force and the next thing we know, Sydnor is facing Phelan. Omar has passed into legend, but Michael is there to replace him. And so on. There are no real endings as such, it's just that this turn of the wheel is completed.

Yeah, we could have done without Simon wrestling with his newspaper demons, because that storyline just kind of dragged us down with the pedantry and the lack of shading. Perhaps David Simon didn't learn from Aaron Sorkin's Studio 60 example. On the other hand, though, he did learn from The Sopranos that you can't get so arty as to be incomprehensible.

To quote Marge Simpson, "It's an ending, and that's enough."

David,

You sound a little bitter about Simon & Co's critique of your profession. This was a fitting ending to what has been indisputably the greatest series on television to date. While you might quibble with particular elements of the ending, I thought that it was fantastic. It left me with the intellectual satisfaction of seeing that the lie had to be perpetuated in order to prevent implosion of the very system that the lie exposed. It's not unlike scientific resistance to new theories that upset the existing order of things, something written about in "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions." Yes, "the bigger the lie, the more they believe." In this case, not just big in terms of its audacity but big in terms of the breadth and scope of institutions that it touched.

The biggest punishment for Jimmy is in fact, having to live with himself and his lie while not having a case to chase. He realized how morally bankrupt he'd become, even with his twisted version of a "code" and the havoc that his negatively selfish behavior wrought. We are left to wonder whether he can continue to live with himself, despite your "soft ending."

I suspect that you're simply waiting for the "party line" from the other journalists who will bash the final season so that you can jump on that bandwagon.

Loved the last comment. GMan nailed it. The series was ultimately about Baltimore and the cycle of characters that runs thru the City. Generation to Generation. I was late to The Wire fan club, but I got to watch every episode in just a 3 month span. It was much like a great novel, where the final chapter never has the punch you want, because you are so drained by all that occured.

The finale wasn't perfect in my mind.
BUT... I respect the fact that they didn't leave much unsettled.

My favorite moments: Cheese getting taken out by Slim Charles; Michael taking on the role Omar left behind (rip n run); and showing the endless cycle of bullshit politics in a problematic city. Dukie shooting up was a rough one, but you saw it coming.

David Zurawok - I see you as an unsuccessful Scott Templeton. How are you going to focus on the unrealistic factor of the McNulty situation? None of that could come out to the public. That was obvious.

It all starts with cleaning up a quote Zuriwok... watch yourself!

There's a nice interview with David Simon in today's Salon ( www.salon.com) which puts a nice perspective on David Zurawik's small-minded criticisms of Simon and the show.

David-
You blew this review. Much like the political pundits predicting non-existent "momentum" in the Presidential campaign, your popular columns and radio appearances in advance of the show manipulated the expectations of viewers going into the last episode. I'd appreciate it if you'd leave the "previews" to the producers and do the "reviews" after we, the viewers, get to see for ourselves.
I happen to agree with several of those who have commented above and who have an understanding of the show and Simon's poetic and tight (whether you like the actual decisions or not) finish, that differs from your own.
Throughout the 5 years that we have watched Simon's novel explode onto the screen there has been a persistent symmetry. The symmetry was evident in how the series opened with a wake and closed in the same manner. The education of the police, politicans, gangsters, and thugs followed similar and balanced paths. Baltimore does have a heartbeat and cycle that starts, builds, falls and starts again. I could feel it in the Wire, and I could see it in montage of my city that McNulty ponders from the Caton Avenue ramp of I-95.
Ok, back to reality. Is Sheila Dixon really that smart, agile, and politcally manipulative? I had no idea....

Certainly The Wire is one of the best, if not the best, television series ever. Its final episode has the same emotional impact as the final episdoe of MASH.

It tells the truth about Baltimore, about the schools there, about the docks, the drug trade, and the crooked lawyers, politicians (yes, including M.O.M.) and real estate agents. The fact that David Zurawik wrote an asinine review of the final episode and season can be explained completely by looking at his pay check. The Baltimore Sun, once a great world newspaper but now a trash tabloid known universally by its initials (BS), is portrayed accurately in The Wire. Zurawik, apparently on orders from his corporate masters, had absolutely no qualms about selling out and attacking this great show. I now know where his loyalties lie, and will never again read one of his reviews.

When the Abell family sold out. the Sun was ordered to make 15% profit for its stockholders, regardless. That is why they now have front page ads, and why they have their advertisers review and approve news stories and reviews.

Do you really need money more than you need your soul, Mr.Zurawik?

Wow, David, you are pathetic. This was a stellar ending to one of them most important and realistic shows ever created. It showed your profession in a negative light, WAAAH, it showed all the professions in a negative light. The elevator scene with McNutty and Daniels was AMAZING, so hysterical. Baltimore was the main charachter of the show, the montage was fitting and in place.

I have to say, your comments come off as a bit elitist and downright angry. Settle down, big guy. At the end of the day, this is a scripted 'television show', not a documentary. Hands down, this has been one the best series ever and while this season may have been a tad far reaching, it never once insulted the viewer. I loved the final story arcs showing the next generation evolving - Michael the new Omar, Dukie the next Bubbles, etc.(oh, and who out there doesn't see McNulty ending up alone and drunk?) If you're looking for tragedy, it seems rather than a pithy, obvious final episode, Simon reminded us that the bad guys win a lot of the time and the same stories will play out day after day the same way. By the way, where was your indignation at obvious real-life character portrayals when it was outside of your sacred institution? Please tell me you don't think us so dense as to not understand the difference between real people and composite characters they are based on?

I think a point you gloss over is the reason that McNulty did not pay for his crimes was that justice was circumvented for political accomodation, i.e., so the mayor could become governor. That's the same reason Marlo Stansfield is back on the streets. I think that's also a central point of the series: the way institutions -- police, schools, City Hall and the media -- make accomodations and indulge in expediency and superficiality that work against the common good

I second lol ... and everyone else on here...waaa. waaa. waaa.

Wow,
Nothing makes me happier than to see so many people happy about this season and finale of the Wire. For what it's worth, the complexity, diversity, close to reality stories have not been matched in any other show I've seen. I'll admit the ending may have looked a little generic, but it gave closure to the entire story (for the most part). You don't always have to be left hanging. You don't always have to have the main characters die in order to end the show. That show is more about the cycles and their similarities between 3 or 4 different social and business cultures - and I feel complete with the ending I got yesterday.

The Wire is Art. The Wire is a Social Lesson. The Wire is a Cultural Lesson. The Wire is a Way-Over-Due Introduction to Social Similarities Other Shows (Like Sopranos) Ignore. The Wire Better Win an Award This Year!

I think it could have been better. I Love the wire it was my soaps, Poor Dookie I hade hopes for him. But Im glad micheal live. And Cheese need to die.

Some people thought the finale was boring because there were not some major defining moments. I think it was brilliant because life is boring, the bad guys win (and get awards) and the good guys lose. I think Marlo's ending was great because now he was back on the street but he's a nobody. I'm going to miss the Wire very much if for nothing else it didn't wrap up everything in a neat little package at the end.

Is it Ironic that the first news result on google about the Wire Finale is a negative piece from the Baltimore Sun? Sour Grapes Maybe?

"There was no poetry in this ending."

Give me a break... or are you one of those people who expects all poems to rhyme?

I disagree with every single thing the author said - did we see the same finale? I thought it was great. Put away that axe - no grinding necessary!

The Wire was a briliant episode that entangled so many aspects of the city. The one thing that I truly loved about the series finale is how it showed that a good person (Dukie) can go bad even when he truly tried to be a better person. Dukie wanted to go to school and simply live like a kid. He even tried to get a job. He is in an unfortunate situation that many young blacks go through. With no family or options he was forced to the streets. The only place he could find work was through a junkie. It's a sad but true depiction of young black male being a victim of the system. You could almost say that for Michael in sense. But back to the series in general I liked how slim played his role. He always was susupicious of Marlo and cheese. You noticed how he didn't take the job from Marlo due to uncertainty. I honestly thought from that point he would be the one to shoot Marlo, but it obviously ended up being cheese he shot. The family theme was huge also. Just think for second if Bubs didn't have his sister, or Mcnulty didn't have his wife. Being a black male I sincerely hope that we as a culture embrace the family aspect (Mother and Father). With that strong bond our potential is boundless. The kids on the corner were "Parentless" with only other desperate kids to emulate. What a vicious cycle....

David,

Surely your column is an early April Fool's joke. The last episode of The Wire was one of the best finales I've ever seen, rivaled only by the finale of Six Feet Under. Ok, so McNulty may not have gotten the punishment you think he deserved. But as one of the readers already commented, he basically *died* when he had to leave the department b/c police work was his life. I'd compare the impact of McNulty's departure to a pro athlete involuntarily retiring b/c of an injury. Kudos to David Simon & Co.
RIP Omar!

The Baltimore Sun has lost a lot of credibility the past few weeks. Not for their portrayal on the Wire but for their classless reviews of the most amazing episodes of the most amazing season of the most amazing show of all time. David Simon is king, and the king stay the king.

GMan stated it perfectly...I mean, McNutty DID die, they even had a wake for him. The scene with him on the steps at home was perfect because you can see the loss in his face. I really loved the finale, as I did the whole series.
In other words, Simon summed it up with a classic Vonnegut "So It Goes.."

What you saw last noight for any Wire fan, or storyteller was great. No real ending, but a cycle. As a Baltimorean, it was perfectly brilliant. This blog just shows how out of touch the Sun is from its citizenry.

Very Lame.

The message I got was"good guys didn't win" Yeah, what McNulty and Lester did was wrong, illegal, etc. But they were trying to rid the city of the true bad guys, the ones putting the evil dope on the street. They were trying to beat the sytem that was preventing them from doing their job. They nearly pulled it off.

Instead, Marlo walked and will probably be back in the game. Daniels falls back on being a lawyer, Pealrman is a judge, Carcetti is the Guv, Levy is still a slimeball. the list goes on.

But McNulty and Lester are no longer Baltimore Po-leece, the job they excelled at and the job that defined their lives. Simon's Baltimore is poorer without them.

It is very clear to me now why the Sun is in so much trouble.

Wow Scott I mean David.
I know its all right there in your notes.
let me check out that note pad again cause you got this one wrong as well.

I Liked the last episode alot, my brother and I were saying that "This show could go on forever" and it does.... Walk outside, look around, it happens what we saw in the show wasn't made up out of thin air. The wire happens around us all the time, hopefully this show has shown people to take notice. Search some of the archives at this site see if you don't see stories about police changing felonies to burglaries, or schools financing in trouble, politicians just looking to move forward.

I think you should have watched it at 11:00 o'clock too instead of just the 9:00 episode. If you would have, you wouldn't of posted such a hasty review about HBO's best show ever. It's almost like they left it open for additional episodes...but instead, you decide what happens...Do the East Side fellas go after Michael? Who was the dude with Michael? Whatever happened with Randy? ....Last we seen he was bullying some kid at a foster home. Glad to see they got Omar's killer...little [deleted] There are always going be unanswered questions because that's real life and that's what makes this show great. To you sir, I say "derserve aint got nuthun to do wit it"....you don't deserve to be shot...but hey...deserve aint got nuthin to do wit it...

The whole idea behind the Wire to me is that the cycle continues. Whether it be the drug trade, addiction or political corruption; Simon is painting a picture of an unbreakable cycle to show that the system does not change. The city is doomed to repeat itself; never progressing; never learning from prior shortcomings. He illustrates this by a perfectly symetrical "changing of the guard" in his characters.

Michael becomes Omar. It becomes very evident after watching the finale a 2nd time. He has the hood up and is quick with the joke ("that's just a knee") for Vincent. Then I think back to Snoop saying "you ain't one of us and you never will be." Michael can't be kingpin because he has too many questions for the game. He has a moral code just like Omar.

Sydnor becomes McNulty. There is a quick scene in the montage where he goes to Judge Phelan and gives the dirt on Marlo's wire tap in an attempt to save the case that they worked so hard on. He finishes by saying, "you did not hear it from me." This is verbatim what McNulty says to Phelan when he is trying get a subpoena signed by the judge to get on Barksdale/Bell. Classic. Sydnor and McNulty are both too smart and care too much not to "paint outside the lines" to get the collars they work so hard for.

Dukie becomes Bubbles. This doesn't really need explanation.

Valchek becomes Burrell. Valckek has to become commissioner. If Daniels became commissioner it hints that there is a hope for change. This is not the case. Only the shady old man who has mastered the political side of the game can become commish. The mayor (representing political structure) needs a puppet for his/her strings. Daniels could not do that.

Carver takes B. Colvin’s spot in the Western. Carver bought into Bunny's Hamsterdam. They are similar leaders. They are company men with independent streaks. Carver cares enough and will put the work in until he realizes "the game is rigged." He cannot play by the rules and make progress in the Western. In the end, the independent thinking that did Bunny in will cost Carver the same way down the line.

I could go on and on with these "changing of the guard" connections but I have to get back to work. This blog in The Sun rips the finale. I thought the finale was SIMPLY BRILLIANT. The more I think about it, the more I am starting to believe The Sun really took this season too personally. Maybe Templeton did write this blog;)

Hit a little too close to home, huh Scott?

The ending was fantastic -- way better than any other series finale I've seen. McNulty's and Daniel's end was a fitting depiction of middle age -- you give up trying to save the world and focus on friends, family, and doing what you need to do to take care of them.

When I saw that finale, I knew that many commentators would complain, because many had to have conditioned themselves to expect their last "fix" of this beautiful Baltimorean tragedy to be, well, somewhat disheartening, while leaving them with a sense of gratitude (for lessons learned, for meditations inspired, or whatever else)... you know... something "for thought," which they could expound upon on fora such as this.

Maybe, they were looking for a heavy touch, something that would drive some point home with force. Unfortunately for them, that series was far too complex not to deserve a simple finale! And too bad for them if they can't cope with the obvioualy deliberate sentimetal "indulgence" here and there!

I for one was very satisfied. The mistake would have been to try to make a heavy critical point. I think it was a nice touch to go out on a light, sentimental note.

In fact, one could still find some interesting points behind that "lightness." That things turned out relatively well for virtually all those with any power, who all sinned one way or another (even Daniels), only highlights what is "Baltimorean" about this tragedy. Don't take the Greek analogies too far: the point wasn't to simply reduce the heroes to some Antigone or some Creon. That we had to cheer for those sinners, all of them flawed characters from the start (to wit, Carcetti), makes us moral accomplices in a sense--and that is really what we always were!

Now by contrast, note how "lightly," in another sense, the sad fate of those without power, the kids, was peaked into ("innocent" ghetto kids, as opposed to seasoned downtown sinners or redeemed drug addicts). Seemed like just a scene or two, didn't it? As if to say, "well what could you REALLY expect, anyway?"

Well, to me, that is Baltimore in some nutshell: romantic possibilities and facts so hard we don't even pay much attention to their details anymore--both cohabitating somehow.

In sum, IMO: a great series that earned its mostly-feel-good ending, without ever losing its tragic dimension.

Perhaps it's just your honest opinion but it really seems as if you were put up to hacking this show this season. I have never felt more satisfied by a TV show over it's entire run, including it's conclusion, than I have with THE WIRE. Whatever's motivating your disgust, I am sorry that you were unable to enjoy and see it's greatness the way the rest of us did.

It's been fun reading all of the comments, and while I enjoyed watching the finale, I thought it was a little drawn out and maybe could have used a little more excitement or shocking development (to me, the most heartbreaking moment of any finale was Bode's death in season 4).

I've loved The Wire because of its characters. McNulty did plenty of wrong, but to leave him with a visible permanent stain of any sort (leaving the police is no such thing) would run counter to the personality and ultimate achievements portrayed over 60 episodes. My favorite scene was when Levy told Herc he was now mespacha. I enjoyed how effortlessly Simon illustrated charatcers' transitions to specific roles.

It is clear to me that as a representative of the B'more Sun you are defending your newspaper against Simon's portrayal.

Sadly, you do not reckon with the fact that people who really watch The Wire are less likely to be the kind of people who go along mainstream media opinion-makers, and as such a lot of the commenters have called you on your BS.

In fact, I would like to congragulate my fellow commenters on being (for the most part) far more eloquent and perceptive than the story author.

I didn't love everything about the final season or episode, but I loved the work as a whole. As a consequence of its brilliance, I am happy to say that the other dreck people call "television" is now dead to me, excepting athletic contests of course.

I am glad that this is the first time I read this blog. I have been a Wire fan for its entire history and I found the finale intelligent, complete and true and consistent to its message.

Duque shooting up was heartbreaking just as this show has been many times before (Wallace, Deangelo, Barksdale, etc.) and they led you to believe in the previews that he might pull it out by reconnecting with Presbo. I am going to miss this show.

Attack the comments, not the commenter. Regardless of what you think of the final episode, it's worth remembering that Zurawik has been a passionate promoter of the show from the start (not something that other critics necessarily were). And his critique during season 5 has been about the newsroom story line, whose one-dimensional characters haven't lived up to the high quality of the rest of the show. Much as I love The Wire, I think it missed an opportunity to really examine the role of the media by falling back on a simplistic story line rather than the multifaceted approach it’s taken with other groups (schools, city hall, police, unions, drug trade).

Of course this review wasn't a positive one. The last season spent too much of its time pointing out the flaws in the Sun's management to ever get a fair shake from a reviewer at the Sun.

Dude, you just need to let it go...your paper was just pawned...get over it and move on...you are embarrassing yourself now

Banishment was also common in classic drama and I would say that is an accurate way of looking at what happened to McNulty. Regardless, The Wire succeeded at levels never before reached on television and may be the piece of art that most accurately reflects this time and place. The final episode was well done.

Low ratings are newsworthy when it is for a shows renewal. Since the Wire was known to be retiring this season, it not much it terms of news. That The Sun and David Zurawik seem to be the only news source which is singularly obsessed with its ratings, never mind it has been one of bests shows in TV history, over all other qualities of week existence, is not only an insult to the show, its cast, and to is loyal fans and the Sun readers. Given this pattern, it was predictable what the headline of this weeks column would be, even though Zurawik has been beating this dead horse for weeks now. Who is this speaking to? The fans who enjoy the show and tune in or the ones who don't and simply haven't? Where is the entertainment news in that which is worthy of this Ahab like drive each week? It is also entirely irrelevant given that HBO airs the show on demand week in advance. Those number are are most counted towards it nelsons. We will never know how American Idol or The Sopranos would do in Nelson's, if they too were aired a week in advance to their most loyal viewers, who would be expected to watch it as soon as they were able. The motivations for this, sadly, speaks for itself. Since this series isn't about news, clearly, what it must be about is David Zurawik's opinion and personality, and should be judges on such should really retire, his personality in print is no better than what he comes across as on a guest on Mark Steiner Show radio. A middle aged petulant putz. This will be the last thing, thankfully, of his I will ever read or respond to.

"So, now that the finale of The Wire has aired, we can get specific about its flaws.'

Which seems to be the point of your while existence right now.

rarely in TV history has one reviewer single had a bigger axe to grind.

You dont even pretend to be unbiased as your intent is not measure the show fairly but to cut into it at every opportunity, gleefully. The premise of your opening line reveals this. Did David Simon steal your date at a party?

"now that the finale of The Wire has aired, we can get specific about its flaws.'"

What, you weren't specific before?
Are you implying now, you can talk freely about it, that is flaws you kept to yourself about the finale? Did you see it before us?

I doubt it. You couldn't wait to cut in

You had this season written off in December, when you had only seen episodes 1-7. You saw 8-10 like the rest of us.

But that hasn't stopped you from every opportunity to bash this season.

This article is completely disgraceful. What show were you watching. The finale may not have been the best episode, but it was quite good. For example: in episode 9, Marlo is mad because Omar called him out on the streets, and that maybe over time Marlo has lost street cred. If you watch and listen carefully the two kids that Marlo approaches are talking about Omar, which in my opinion made Marlo confront them. Perhaps you were too busy ripping on the show to notice that. Also, as far as McNulty and Freemon go, there is a scene in season 3 where Freemon asks McNulty "How do you think this will end? With a parade? You need to find a life outside of this." Classic Simon foreshadowing. If you watched this show carefully you would see the things that true fans see.

The Wire is the best television show I've ever seen, but nearly every criticism above rings true with me. The final season was, as the Wire usually is in one way or another, implausible. The non-actors severely handicap the viewer's experience. And Simon's newsroom story isn't the only "dated" storyline in The Wire's history. The lost/stolen video camera last seasion was horrible.

Worse yet was the pictures of clocks thing (ridiculous- at least almost as ridiculous as snoop squawking tropical bird calls in the middle of Baltimore). And Dukie... we've never seen him hit a joint, and... BLAM ... he's shooting up in an alley, because... BLAM... Michael dropped him off without giving him ten dollars of his 50 grand that he sent away with his baby brother. Totally plausible... Yes, David, spend two seasons making Michael Dukie's loving keeper, then he just drops him off in an alley.

And why all the homoeroticism? 40 percent of the characters were gay and the rest joked as if they were.

TV sucks... this show was far better than most, but Simon and his partner's age, lazyness and arrogance screwed this thing up.

The Wire is the best television show I've ever seen, but nearly every criticism above rings true with me. The final season was, as the Wire usually is in one way or another, implausible. The non-actors severely handicap the viewer's experience. And Simon's newsroom story isn't the only "dated" storyline in The Wire's history. The lost/stolen video camera last seasion was horrible.

Worse yet was the pictures of clocks thing (ridiculous- at least almost as ridiculous as snoop squawking tropical bird calls in the middle of Baltimore). And Dukie... we've never seen him hit a joint, and... BLAM ... he's shooting up in an alley, because... BLAM... Michael dropped him off without giving him ten dollars of his 50 grand that he sent away with his baby brother. Totally plausible... Yes, David, spend two seasons making Michael Dukie's loving keeper, then he just drops him off in an alley.

And why all the homoeroticism? 40 percent of the characters were gay and the rest joked as if they were.

TV sucks... this show was far better than most, but Simon and his partner's age, lazyness and arrogance screwed this thing up.

I just started with Wire, on DVDs. I have a question for anyone: at end of Season One, the last we knew of Omar he had been packed off to NYC. Then, in last episode he knocks off a small-time pusher, and it looks totally like he is in NY, and is learning how to practice his noble art of robbing drug dealers on what appears to be the far-west side of midtown... Hell's Kitchen, perhaps. But HBO summary pages say this is Omar having come back to Baltimore. It wasn't Omar in NY??