You’d be hard-pressed to find too many real flaws in The Wire’s five seasons. Even at its worst, this is still great television. Season five isn’t on the same level as its four predecessors, but it’s still a thematically satisfying conclusion to the series that manages to wrap the story up rather nicely. That said, while season five is great in comparison to other television, there is a reason fans find it disappointing.
Likely stemming from David Simon working on the final season alone and a reduced episode count, season five doesn’t feel as thought out as everything that came before. As a result, The Wire’s plot twists can suddenly come off very strange, hurting what was otherwise a nearly flawless show in the process. The Wire still ends on a high note, but it seems all critically acclaimed series are destined to stumble a few times before crossing the finish line.
Herc Ruins Randy’s Life
What’s interesting about this moment is that it doesn’t hurt The WIre right away. Occurring near the end of the fourth season, Herc essentially gives out crucial information on Randy, jeopardizing his life and ensuring he’s trapped within the foster care system. With so much focus on the next generation, logic would dictate this would govern Randy’s arc come season five.
But Randy very quickly becomes a non-character, only appearing in one episode to resolve his lingering plotline. For as much as Herc ruins his life, setting up a potentially very enlightening story on the foster care system, season five instead pivots hard.
School’s Out For Season Five
On that same token, it’s perhaps worth mentioning the fundamental flaw at the center of season five. It’s not so much the lack of the school system, but the complete refusal to acknowledge this season happened at times. Now, this is something the series set a precedent for with season two, but season four intimately weaved everything important into the school plot.
If this plot couldn’t continue into season five (which is certainly reasonable,) then at the very least the kids should have remained primary characters. As is, only Dukie and Michael get to have complete characters arcs that span until the end of the series. Both Randy and Namond are tossed out of the picture pretty much as soon as season five starts.
McNulty Falls Off The Wagon
Season five is just as much a thesis statement on Jimmy McNulty as it is Baltimore. In that regard, it’s very important that McNulty falls off the wagon as hard as he does come the end of the series. After all his development, McNulty relapses and finds himself of Baltimore’s system in his own way —a slave to homicide.
McNulty’s development ramps up near the end of the season as his character is pushed to a breaking point, even alluding to potential suicide at a few points, but, for as nicely as this does wrap up McNulty’s arc, it admittedly feels like a step back to develop him so diligently over season four only to pull the rug underneath the audience’s feet.
McNulty Cheats On Beadie
It’s bad enough that McNulty falls off the wagon as hard as he does, but his cheating on Beadie really just sours his arc so close to the end of the series’ run. Not to the point where McNulty’s arc is ruined—if anything, him cheating on Beadie only makes sense—but it’s still disappointing to see a character grow fall back into bad habits.
But The Wire is a reflection of reality, and the McNultys of the world do relapse. They grow and they make the same mistakes so they can learn the same lessons. They learn a little bit more each time, but they’re still the same person. If nothing else, at least McNulty is cut from the most toxic thing in his life: the Baltimore Police Department.
McNulty Orchestrates A Fake Serial Killer
It’s never fun when a character we like to watch grow and develop betrays their new ideals, but that’s often just a part of good storytelling. McNulty’s rise and fall is one of The Wire’s most nuanced character arcs in the grand scheme of things, but season five should’ve just trusted that instead of inventing a serial killer plot for McNulty.
Now, to put things into perspective, the point of this plot is to stress that journalism is so far gone that newspapers will sensationalize anything even if it’s not rooted in fact (something that’s shockingly relevant today,) but to frame that around McNulty literally inventing a fake serial killer? That certainly stretches the series’ believability more than anything else.
Lester Goes Along With McNulty’s Serial Killer Scheme
Okay, fine, McNulty invents a serial killer. It’s messed up, but he is at the lowest point he’s ever been in the narrative. Not just that, the story is specifically focusing on the corruption within journalism by focusing on an explicit extreme. It’s not the most graceful plot point, but it’s not like David Simon was just seeing what stuck to paper.
Unfortunately, this is one idea that, while stickable, doesn’t actually abide by the rest of the character’s journey. There is no realistic way a detective with Lester Freamon’s reputation and ideals would help McNulty orchestrate a fake serial killer. Season five does a decent enough job keeping Lester in-character, but this is one of the only moments you can argue that someone acted out of character with no good justification in sight.
McNulty Kidnaps A Homeless Man
Look, we recognize that we’ve been harping about McNulty a lot, but it really can’t be stressed enough that The Wire’s biggest problems honestly all stem from the exact same plotline: the serial killer story arc. McNulty kidnapping the homeless man is just the last in a series of very, very bad decisions on McNulty’s part.
It’s also the only one that feels… weird. Like, too weird. It shows his desperation and how far gone McNulty is–while setting up the show for an excellent final scene loaded with meaning–but… come on, really? If nothing else, the material that comes out of McNulty kidnapping a homeless man is solid.
Scott Templeton Gets Away With Everything
It’s always frustrating when the bad guy gets away with it, but The Wire toes a line of realism where it can honestly go any which way at any given point. Scott Templeton getting away with covering a sensationalized, faked serial killer murder (one that he’s doctoring himself) is aggravating, but it makes sense.
Still, Scott himself is a blight in itself on The Wire. He’s one of the very few characters to contribute so little. He contributes, mind you, but not to the point where he was deserving of so much focus in the final season. He and Gus Haynes don’t even make particularly good foils past the surface level comparisons.
Dukie Becomes The New Bubbles
What a sad, sad end for Dukie. This is a hard topic to discuss. On one hand, it’s painful to see a character like Dukie end his arc so miserably–just another addict in Baltimore. On the other hand, it makes sense and it’s a very harsh reminder of what the system can do to children. Contrasted with Bubbles making good with his sister, and Dukie’s fate makes for a very sad ending.
Does it really hurt The Wire? It can, depending on your point of view. It could be argued that Dukie’s relationship with Prez was building to some sort of hope spot for the boy and that the final scene is really just adding insult to injury to an ending that’s already packed with a lot of high emotions.
Kima Rats Out McNulty & Lester
Kima was in the right to rat our McNulty and Lester, something they both recognize, but that she was even put in this position at all doesn’t speak too kindly to The Wire’s final season. The last major conflict the show deals with is whether or not Kima is going to tattle on McNulty–something that has very little to do with Baltimore as a setting or theme.
