***DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN’T FINISHED SEASON 5 OF “THE WIRE” (SPOILERS AHEAD)***
    Now most viewers will tell you that HBO’s “The Wire” is a pretty cool show about the war on drugs, when if fact that is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what I now consider the greatest TV show ever produced. The truth is that eventhough some of the characters sell illegal drugs, that is only an aspect of the urban landscape that the series wants to present to the viewer. “The Wire” uses its 5 seasons to explore how the failure, amorality, and corruption within institutions eventually destory the essentially decent individuals involved with them, whether its the neighborhood, local government, work place, schools, family and friends..etc.
    “The Wire” shows how minor and insignificant the individual’s role in soceity is and how if someone has the balls to try and step outside of the chain of command, or rock the boat, or try to affect any kind of change it most often leaves them vulnerable and sometimes dead. So how do the characters of the show deal with this? Well look at the symbolism of the drunken sessions between McNulty and Bunk at the railroad yard. Here are two guys who can’t get their lives on track, who can’t find any direction in life without the daily routine of a job that they both excell at but at the same time is leaving them ruined and empty. You might even say that they’re just pawns in a game of chess, which leads us to season 1.
Season 1: The Drug Trade
    A favorite scene of mine from season 1 is when D’Angelo explains the rules of chess to Wallace and Bodie. D’Angelo even goes on to say that more or less that if you know how the game works you can take advantage of it and even conquer it. But what’s ironic about this scene is that the 3 players involved haven’t realized yet that the game they are a part of in real life is rigged. For no matter what strategy D’Aneglo, Wallace or Bodie use on the corner there is no Queen or piece strong enough to save them.
    People wonder why “The Wire” was snubbed at The Emmys, but its a no brainer because most people in America find this kind of fatalism very discomfiting. Our society is filled with self-centered and self-worshipping individuals who feel their income and items of leisure define who they are, and most of they are afraid to admit that their lives are usually over before they truly begin.
    “The Wire” should scare the shit out of every viewer. Here is a show where the institutions of mankind repeatedly destory the individual and where morality and justice just don’t seem to matter.
Season 2: The Docks
    To me season 2 is really where “The Wire” separates itself from all other so-called “cop shows”. It would have made perfect television sense for season 2 to pick up right where it left off with Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell and the drug trade of Baltimore. But instead the series immersed us into a new, confusing and dangerous world that viewers had never seen before. It makes sense though, because with any decent sized city it would be naive to think that all the crime and problems only happen in one area. Season 2 is about the death of the working class and it pretty much spells out that economics and hard times don’t care about the race of those involved.Â
    Chris Bauer turns in the series most powerful performance as Frank Sobotka, the treasurer for the International Brotherhood of Stevedores at the Baltimore docks. This character defines the term “Greek Tragedy” and the scene with him and his son Ziggy in jail right before Ziggy is about to begin a murder sentence is without a doubt the most powerful scene I’ve ever seen on television or maybe any other form of media.
Season 3: Politics and Reform
    Season 3 is mostly remember for Howard “Bunny” Colvin’s apeshit attempt to legalize or should we say ignore the drug problem in certain areas of Baltimore, but to me the most important moment of season 3 is the introduction of Marlo Stanfield. Because with Marlo now in the mix the friendship and partnership between Avon and Stringer is really put to the test. And what’s great about Marlo is how Jamie Hector portrays him. It would have been easy for Hector to make Marlo this over-the-top ruthless sociopath, just think Pacino in “Scarface”, but its Hector’s icy stare and his stoic unquestionable power that is present in every scene that he’s in that really solidifies the role of Marlo as a legitimate young kingpin. Â
    The problem with Stringer Bell is that he tried to change the game. Stringer saw the drug trade as a means to an end, while Avon saw it as the only means necessary. So while the end of Stringer Bell’s storyline was definitely a shocker, it only proved how “The Wire” doesn’t put anything or anyone above its narrative and that in this world that is constantly calling for change, the few individuals that actually attempt such things are always out-gunned and out-manned.
Season 4: Family and Education
    The film “City of God” might be the best dipiction of what its like for kids to grow up in less than ideal environments. Season 4 of “The Wire” is very close behind. You might wonder where people like Omar Little, Bubbles or Marlo Stanfield come from and the answer is just take a look at the family and friends they grew up with. Throw in a school system that has its head up its ass when it comes to dealing with kids from broken homes and you end up with generation after generation of criminals ready to hit the streets every 4 years.
    Mayor to be Tommy Carcetti wants better schools in Baltimore but in place is a system that the students manipulate to their own needs as they learn how to con and survive in their ultra-violent surroundings. But all hope isn’t lost as we see how Bunny Colvin takes it upon himself to save the life of one of the show’s troubled youths in Namond Brice. It fact the very last shot of season 4 sums up the series as a whole.
Season 5: The Media and Closure
    The problem with lying is that the more you do it the better you get at it. And the better you get at it the bigger the lies you’ll tell. So the question for season 5 was: How far can you go with a lie? I actually found season 5 kind of ridiculous and would have been satisfied had the series ended with season 4, but it was nice to see closure on the characers. What we see with McNulty is that he’s not a hero, but a guy you thought could have done better with the talent he had. We learn that he’s ultimately better off without a job that was killing him. Marlo obtains the lifestyle that Stringer Bell wanted and takes it for granted. Hell for Marlo Stanfield is a business meeting with a bunch of developers, for Stringer that was all he ever wanted. In the end “The Wire” reinforces that life is very cyclical; McNulty leaves Sydnor replaces him, Dukie replaces Bubbles, Michael becomes Omar. Life is really unfair. What kind of a world is it where Senator Clay Davis gets away with everything? Sheeeeeeeeittttt!!!  Â
    In the end what “The Wire” points out and what the rest of dramatic television relentlessly gets wrong is that life is truly tragic. Family and friends die. Your personal goals will never be reached. Basically, life is a shit sandwich. And eventhough its futile to rebel, its really the only alternative you have if you want to salvage anything that remotely resembles human dignity.Â
