016. Final Grades (The Wire)

"This game is rigged, man"

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 10th December 2006
EPISODE NUMBER: Season 4, Episode 13
WRITTEN BY: David Simon

The season 4 finale to The Wire clocks in at a 72 minute running time, second only to the season 5 finale as the longest episode. That gives you a sense of just how large the show's ensemble has grown, and how complex the storylines have become, that it takes over an hour to wrap everything up satisfactorily.

One thing to love about this episode is that it features Omar at his most audacious. After stealing a stash from Marlo as an act of revenge, he quickly realizes he has no use for the merchandise, so decides to sell it back to Prop Joe, the guy he stole it from. It's a classic Omar move that only he would have the chutzpah to pull off. The entire scene is hilarious, not least for Cheese's livid reaction.

McNulty and Bodie's last conversation is an outstanding scene. It's amazing how far he's come from the little punk on the corner in season 1. You can tell that McNulty kind of respects Bodie, and it's Bodie's death that motivates McNulty to get back to real policework. Bodie goes out on a high note, defiantly standing his ground and going down fighting.

If McNulty and Bodie seemed on odd pairing, there's another great and extremely underrated scene between and even more unlikely couple. It's the scene where Colvin convinces Wee-Bey to let him adopt his son, talking about how the two of them come from the same world, and that's not where Namond belongs. It's a great scene, detailing the brutality of Baltimore street life and humanizing the so-called "bad guys".

There are many other plots I haven't mentioned: Bubbles' suicide attempt, Carver's attempts to get Randy on the adoption list, the reappearance of the Greek, and Michael becoming a killer. The small scene where Marlo notices the ring Michael has, assuming he took it from Omar, is great. The ring had changed hands many times across the season, representing the circular nature of life. And now, a new generation of drug dealers are being born, repeating that process too.

The musical montage (Paul Weller's "I Walk On Gilded Splinters"), a trademark of The Wire, wraps up the season and starts setting up the next one. Few shows can do finales as effectively as The Wire can.