[0:00] Season one of The Wire introduces a large 
cast of characters living in the city  
[0:04] of Baltimore. Homicide Detective 
Jimmy McNulty discovers that drug  
[0:08] dealer D’Angelo Barksdale is acquitted of 
murder and released back onto the streets,  
[0:12] thanks in large part to the machinations of 
drug kingpin Stringer Bell and his shady lawyer,  
[0:18] Maury Levy. D’Angelo returns to work for his 
uncle, Avon Barksdale, who, alongside Stringer,  
[0:23] runs West Baltimore’s corners, selling their 
dope. Avon is a much more classical kingpin,  
[0:28] using violence and intimidation to enforce his 
power, while Stringer is focused on building a  
[0:34] name for himself, taking business classes at night 
in an effort to turn their empire legitimate.
[0:39] Back on the street, D’Angelo is placed in charge 
of a low rise housing project known as “the  
[0:44] Pit”. Drug dealers under his employ include the 
teenagers Bodie, Poot, and Wallace. As D’Angelo  
[0:51] does his best to mentor his workers and make a 
name for himself in the Barksdale organization,  
[0:55] he also begins to grow disillusioned with his 
uncle’s more violent and cutthroat actions.
[1:00] Detective McNulty grows frustrated with 
the police department’s focus on making  
[1:04] easy cases against low level dealers to juice 
their numbers, instead of doing anything to  
[1:10] address the real problem of Avon Barksdale. 
And so, McNulty breaks the chain of command,  
[1:15] going behind the backs of Homicide’s Major 
Bill Rawls and Deputy Police Commissioner  
[1:20] Ervin Burrell to seek out the help of Judge Phelan 
to put pressure on the police department. And so,  
[1:26] despite Rawls and Burrell’s fury, a new police 
detail is formed to take down Avon Barksdale.
[1:31] The new detail is led by Lieutenant Cedric 
Daniels, who has a past of shady police work  
[1:37] but a determination to right his wrongs and 
fight back against a system that cares more  
[1:42] about politicking than actually helping the city. 
Working under Daniels and alongside McNulty are  
[1:47] the quietly intelligent seasoned veteran Lester 
Freamon, ace narcotics detective Kima Greggs,  
[1:53] whose girlfriend Cheryl constantly worries 
about the dangers of her job, impressive  
[1:57] rookie Leandor Sydnor, perpetual screw-up Roland 
“Prez” Pryzbylewski, who only has a job on the  
[2:02] police force thanks to his father-in-law Stan 
Valchek being a respected police commander,  
[2:07] and the best friends and partners Herc 
and Carver, who are used to the police  
[2:11] system as it is, which encourages simple 
dope charges and a use of excessive force.
[2:16] During a night in the field, Herc, Carver, and 
Prez take their excessive policing too far,  
[2:21] resulting in Prez blinding a teenager and 
being removed from field work. With the help  
[2:27] of assistant state’s attorney Rhonda Pearlman, 
who is also McNulty secret friend-with-benefits,  
[2:31] the detail is able to get the subpoenas 
necessary to place wiretaps on payphones  
[2:36] frequented by the Barksdale crew. Under Daniels 
and Freamon’s tutelage, Prez flourishes in the  
[2:42] office deciphering the criminal organizations 
various codes, helping the team build a very  
[2:47] sound case that could potentially put Avon 
and Stringer away for a very long time.
[2:52] McNulty and Kima quickly realize they are 
like minded detectives and form a bond as  
[2:57] they work the case against Avon. Kima uses 
her drug-addicted and homeless confidential  
[3:02] informant Bubbles to help gather intel on 
the Barksdale operation. While Bubbles takes  
[3:07] fellow addict Johnny under his wings to teach 
him all about life as a user on the streets,  
[3:11] he also dreams of a clean life off the 
streets and working for the police full time.
[3:16] Meanwhile, infamous stick-up man Omar Little 
begins robbing Avon’s crews to steal their  
[3:21] supply of drugs. In an act of revenge, Avon 
puts a bounty on Omar and his crew. When Wallace  
[3:27] spots Omar’s young boyfriend, Brandon, Avon’s 
crew torture and brutally murder Omar’s lover,  
[3:32] inciting a war between the two rivals. 
Upon seeing Brandon’s mutilated body,  
[3:37] Wallace becomes disillusioned with his place in 
the Barksdale organization and becomes resolved  
[3:42] to return to school and leave behind his life 
of crime. D’Angelo supports Wallace’s decision  
[3:48] and allows him to quit selling drugs, but when 
Wallace is picked up and questioned by the police,  
[3:52] Stringer and Avon grow suspicious. Despite 
making a deal with the police and moving out  
[3:58] of Baltimore to live with his grandmother in 
peace, Wallace grows bored of the simple life  
[4:02] and wishes to return home to rejoin the drug 
game. Stringer remains suspicious of Wallace  
[4:07] and orders his friends Bodie and Poot to 
murder him, which they tragically do. This  
[4:12] act devastates D’Angelo and inspires him 
to also leave behind his life of crime.
[4:17] McNulty and his homicide partner-slash-drinking 
buddy Bunk Moreland manage to turn Omar into their  
[4:23] informant to gather intel on the Barksdale 
organization. As the battle between Omar and  
[4:28] Avon erupts into further violence, Omar 
is forced to flee Baltimore to regroup.
[4:32] As Daniels’ detail gathers more and more evidence 
against the Barksdale organization, they start to  
[4:38] receive pressure from Burrell to act faster. This 
forces Daniels to send Kima undercover to perform  
[4:43] a buy-bust, but unfortunately the plan goes wrong, 
with Avon’s main soldier Wee-Bey opening fire on  
[4:49] Kima and nearly taking her life. The entire detail 
is left distraught over Kima’s near death, and the  
[4:55] police department pushes harder for Daniels’ team 
to make showy, newsworthy arrests. When Daniels  
[5:01] is given orders to raid Barksdale stash houses 
they’ve been monitoring, he realizes that Carver  
[5:06] has been a mole in the unit for Burrell and is 
forced to carry out the raids. The minor victory  
[5:11] is celebrated by the police higher-ups in the 
media, but Daniels knows that the raids have also  
[5:16] blown their wiretaps and cost them any chance of 
charging Avon or Stringer with anything serious,  
[5:22] along with ruining their chances at following 
the potential high ranking political connections,  
[5:26] like a corrupt senator named Clay Davis, that are 
tied to the Barksdale organization. Daniels and  
[5:32] McNulty try to take the Barksdales connections 
with political figures to the FBI, who are  
[5:36] only willing to pursue the case if the drug 
dealers are used as pawns and not the targets,  
[5:41] frustrating Daniels and McNulty and forcing 
them to abandon their planned FBI partnership.
[5:46] Ultimately, Avon and D’Angelo are arrested 
on minor charges, with Stringer completely  
[5:51] off the hook. The arrests are celebrated, 
but Daniels, McNulty and the rest of the  
[5:56] detail see this hollow victory as more of a 
defeat. Still distraught over Wallace’s death,  
[6:01] D’Angelo refuses to allow his family to help 
him and instead offers to cooperate with the  
[6:06] police and give up everything he has on Avon. 
Unfortunately, Avon’s sister and D’Angelo’s  
[6:12] mother, Brianna, remains loyal to Avon and 
convinces D’Angelo to keep quiet against his  
[6:17] better morals and judgment. And when Wee-Bey is 
arrested for Kima’s shooting and willingly takes  
[6:22] the blame for crimes he didn’t even commit, 
Avon’s charges are made even more minor,  
[6:27] resulting in being sentenced to seven years in 
prison, while D’Angelo is sentenced to twenty.
[6:32] As the season comes to a close, the detail is 
disbanded, with Daniels being passed over for  
[6:37] promotion due to his attempt to take the 
Barksdale case federal, while a spiteful  
[6:40] Rawls assigns McNulty to the dregs of the 
marine unit. Carver is promoted by Burrell  
[6:45] for his role as a snitch in Daniels’ unit, while 
Freamon’s valuable police work earns him a spot  
[6:50] as Bunk’s new partner in the homicide division. 
And the Barksdale organization remains in power,  
[6:55] just with a different leadership structure, 
as Poot takes over the Pit, Bodie is  
[7:00] promoted to the Towers, and the calculating 
businessman Stringer Bell oversees it all.
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video. Now lets get back to the recap.
[8:30] In season two of The Wire, Stringer Bell finally 
has the chance to run the Barksdale organization  
[8:35] exactly how he wants, with the imprisoned 
Avon’s more narrow minded thoughts pushed  
[8:41] aside for a more ambitious expansion. When 
the crew’s drug supply falls in quality,  
[8:46] Stringer makes a deal with East Baltimore’s 
rival gang leader Proposition Joe to sell his  
[8:51] product in exchange for giving up some of their 
most valuable corners. And when Stringer grows  
[8:56] concerned that D’Angelo will become a snitch 
in prison, Stringer goes behind Avon’s back  
[9:01] and secretly has him murdered, with his death 
staged as self-inflicted. Unaware of Stringer’s  
[9:06] moves behind his back, the imprisoned Avon 
orchestrates infamous hitman Brother Mouzone  
[9:11] to scare off Prop Joe’s crews. Wanting 
to repair his relationship with Prop Joe,  
[9:16] Stringer further betrays his partner Avon by 
making a deal with their rival, Omar Little. Lying  
[9:21] to Omar that Brother Mouzone was responsible 
for his lover Brandon’s torture and murder,  
[9:26] Stringer offers a truce between Omar and the 
Barksdale organization if Omar murders Brother  
[9:32] Mouzone. But when Omar attempts to kill his 
target, Mouzone reveals that Stringer is a liar,  
[9:37] leading to Omar sparing Mouzone and 
swearing his revenge against Stringer.
[9:42] Meanwhile, Major Stan Valchek finds himself 
in a petty battle with stevedore union leader  
[9:48] Frank Sobotka. Despite having no evidence of 
Frank being involved in any serious crimes,  
[9:53] Stan uses his position in the police force to 
form a new squad to investigate the stevedores  
[9:59] and take down Frank. Stan tasks his son-in-law, 
Prez, with assembling the unit, and Prez brings  
[10:04] along many of his old friends and colleagues, 
including Daniels, Freamon, Kima, Herc,  
[10:09] and Carver. Daniels, who has considered leaving 
the police force to pursue a career as a lawyer,  
[10:14] only agrees to join with the promise that this 
detail will be turned into a permanent Major  
[10:18] Crimes Unit under his command should they end 
the case in success. Daniels' commitment to good  
[10:24] police work over being more politically savvy 
causes a strain in his marriage to ambitious  
[10:29] councilwoman Marla, leading to the two getting 
a divorce. Meanwhile, McNulty, now working the  
[10:34] marine unit, finds a dead body in the harbor 
that he connects to a shipping container found  
[10:38] on the docks containing the bodies of several 
women who were being illegally trafficked  
[10:43] into the country. The patrolling officer, 
Beadie Russell, who discovered the bodies,  
[10:48] is pulled into the investigation and taken 
under the wing of Daniels and his unit, who  
[10:52] now must determine what if any connection Frank 
Sobotka has to the dead women found on his dock.
[10:58] Meanwhile, the good-intentioned Frank Sobotka is 
struggling in his role as union leader to secure  
[11:03] jobs and keep his men employed. His failing 
financial situation leads him to an uneasy  
[11:09] alliance with a mysterious man known only as “The 
Greek”, who does all of his communication via his  
[11:14] right hand man, Vondas. The Greek tasks Frank with 
helping smuggle illegal products into Baltimore,  
[11:19] including Proposition Joe’s drug supply. Frank’s 
wildcard son, Ziggy, and ambitious nephew, Nick,  
[11:26] begin working closer with Vondas and the Greek to 
make some money of their own. Ziggy’s embarrassing  
[11:31] recklessness eventually has him cast off by the 
Greek, but Nick proves himself a useful soldier  
[11:37] and quickly moves up the ranks. As Ziggy is 
forced to work on his own and grows more erratic,  
[11:43] he eventually snaps and murders one of the 
Greek’s associates, Glekas, for slighting  
[11:47] him. Feeling immediately remorseful, 
Ziggy turns himself over to the police.
[11:52] Daniels’ unit quickly realize that Frank is a 
minor player and therefore divert their attention  
[11:57] to taking down the Greek. Faced with a failed 
marriage and a dead-end position in the marine  
[12:02] unit, McNulty falls into a heavy drinking 
problem and hits rock bottom. Fortunately,  
[12:07] McNulty’s old pals Bunk and Freamon 
are able to convince their boss, Rawls,  
[12:12] to forgive McNulty and allow him to rejoin 
Daniels’ unit. As the team use wiretaps  
[12:17] and surveillance to definitively connect the 
Greek to drug smuggling and human trafficking,  
[12:22] Herc and Carver grow resentful that they are 
constantly relegated to grunt work, while  
[12:26] Valchek becomes furious that their attention has 
moved away from his rival, Frank. Valchek brings  
[12:31] in the FBI to take over the case, and demands 
his son-in-law Prez quit the detail. But Prez  
[12:37] stands up for his colleagues and their good police 
work, and punches his father-in-law in the face.
[12:42] With the FBI now involved, Daniels and his 
team are forced to act immediately against  
[12:47] the stevedores and the Greeks, leading to 
a massive coordinated raid. Although they  
[12:52] arrest Frank and Nick, a corrupt FBI 
agent informs the Greek of the raids,  
[12:57] giving the real targets the chance to destroy 
all evidence of their crimes and escape. Frank  
[13:02] agrees to work with the police to find and 
take down the Greek, in exchange for leniency  
[13:07] for Nick and Ziggy. Meanwhile, Nick convinces 
Vondas and the Greek that Frank can be trusted,  
[13:12] and the Greek prepares to use his connections 
to have Ziggy cleared of Glekas’ murder. And so,  
[13:17] Frank abandons his plan to become an 
informant, and agrees to make a deal  
[13:21] with the Greek. Unfortunately, the Greek learns 
of Frank’s involvement with the police, and  
[13:26] due to a lack of trust, is forced to have Frank 
murdered. Everyone is devastated by Frank’s death,  
[13:31] and the police agree to put Nick and his family 
into witness protection. Meanwhile, the Greek,  
[13:36] who it turns out isn't actually Greek, flees 
Baltimore to continue his empire elsewhere.
[13:41] Despite losing the Greek, Daniels’ detail is 
considered a success and officially made a  
[13:47] permanent Major Crimes Unit. The disgruntled 
Herc and Carver quit the unit to join a unit  
[13:51] in the western district, while Daniels is able to 
convince Valchek to allow Prez to keep his job.
[13:56] As the season comes to a close, McNulty 
considers pursuing a relationship with Beadie,  
[14:01] but realizing his own self-destructive 
tendencies, chooses to instead remain  
[14:05] fully dedicated to his police work. And 
that work would now see the Major Crimes  
[14:10] Unit fully dedicated to taking down their next 
target: the increasingly powerful Stringer Bell.
[14:15] In season three of The Wire, the Major Crimes 
Unit continues trying to build their case against  
[14:20] Stringer Bell, with little luck. The recently 
divorced Daniels begins openly dating Rhonda  
[14:25] Pearlman, creating some slight awkwardness around 
the office between them and Pearlman’s former  
[14:30] hookup partner, McNulty. As McNulty continues 
his drunken escapades with Bunk, he also begins  
[14:36] teaching Kima his philandering ways. Kima grows 
resentful of her partner Cheryl’s attention to  
[14:41] their newborn baby, and regrets ever even having 
the child, leading her to cheat on Cheryl using  
[14:47] McNulty’s cover stories, before ultimately 
ending their relationship. Prez has further  
[14:52] proved himself as a valued member of the team, 
but when he accidentally shoots and kills a fellow  
[14:57] detective in the field, he realizes that he is not 
meant to be a police officer and leaves the force.
[15:03] The long imprisoned Dennis “Cutty” Wise is finally 
released and forced to adjust to a new life as  
[15:09] a free man. Formerly a legendary enforcer for 
Avon, Cutty resists his old friend’s offer to set  
[15:15] him up with a job and instead decides to leave his 
life of crime behind him. Cutty takes a strenuous  
[15:21] landscaping job to make money, and opens a boxing 
gym to help train local kids in the community.
[15:26] The MCU’s efforts to take down Stringer 
are thwarted by his pivot into becoming  
[15:31] a legitimate businessman. With Avon in 
prison, Stringer is given full control  
[15:35] of their organization. He places the enforcer Slim 
Charles in charge of the day-to-day drug business,  
[15:41] while he devotes his time to investing his money 
with wealthy benefactors and politicians, like  
[15:46] the corrupt senator, Clay Davis. Stringer also 
forges an alliance with rival kingpin, Prop Joe,  
[15:52] and the two form the New Day Co-Op, in which 
every local drug leader that joins is a part of  
[15:57] a wide reaching alliance. Business thrives under 
Stringer’s leadership, but all of that is put in  
[16:03] jeopardy when Avon Barksdale is finally released 
from prison. Avon is a more classical gangster,  
[16:09] and resists Stringer’s business moves, 
alliances, and investments in favor of  
[16:13] muscling out their competition. Avon’s violent 
nature escalates when a new drug kingpin named  
[16:19] Marlo Stanfield hits the streets and starts 
stealing corners and refusing to join the  
[16:23] co-op. To make matters worse for Stringer, McNulty 
finally learns of D’Angelo’s death in prison and  
[16:29] realizes that the man was murdered. As McNulty 
starts planting doubt of D’Angelo’s death in the  
[16:35] minds of his girlfriend and mother, Stringer 
is forced to confess to Avon his part in his  
[16:40] nephew’s death. Avon accepts Stringer’s reasoning, 
but their relationship is irreparably damaged.
[16:45] Meanwhile, Herc and Carver join the Western 
district squad under the command of Major Bunny  
[16:50] Colvin. Bunny is nearing retirement, and with 
nothing to lose, devises a plan that he thinks  
[16:55] will create real change in Baltimore. Essentially 
legalizing drugs, Bunny’s plan moves drug dealers  
[17:01] off of public street corners and into a sanctioned 
area of vacant houses. This greatly reduces drug  
[17:07] related crimes in public areas, and gives his 
officers time to do more actual police work over  
[17:13] simple street rips. The designated free zone is 
dubbed Hamsterdam by the local dealers and users,  
[17:18] who are at first suspicious of the plan, but 
eventually take full advantage of it. Bubbles  
[17:23] tries to start up his own business in Hamsterdam, 
while his partner Johnny succumbs to his addiction  
[17:29] and overdoses. Bunny’s officers, who are sworn 
to secrecy from exposing the plan to higher ups  
[17:34] like Rawls and Burrell, are much more resistant 
to the idea. Under Bunny’s mentorship, Carver  
[17:40] grows into a respectable detective who cares more 
about protecting and serving than bashing heads,  
[17:45] but Herc is stuck in his old, problematic ways 
and leaks the details of Hamsterdam to the press.
[17:50] Meanwhile, city councilman Tommy Carcetti has 
aspirations to become the new mayor of Baltimore.  
[17:56] To unseat the current Mayor Royce, Carcetti 
begins enacting his plan to implement radical  
[18:01] change throughout the city. He puts pressure on 
the newly promoted Commissioner Burrell and Deputy  
[18:06] Commissioner Rawls to reduce crime at any cost. 
Upon the revelation of Hamsterdam making national  
[18:12] headlines, Carcetti capitalizes on the bad press 
to throw Mayor Royce under the bus. Bunny is  
[18:18] demoted and fired, receiving less pension than his 
contract promised. Hamsterdam is shut down, much  
[18:24] to the dismay of Bunny and Carver, and the dealers 
return to their corners, same as it ever was.
[18:30] When Stringer discovers that Clay Davis has been 
conning him and swindling him of large sums of  
[18:36] money, he angrily asks Avon to assassinate 
the senator, which Avon refuses. Meanwhile,  
[18:41] Avon grows closer to his enforcer, Slim Charles, 
and the two continue to escalate their war against  
[18:47] Marlo Stanfield. Fearing that Avon’s recklessness 
will destroy their empire, Stringer goes to Bunny  
[18:53] Colvin, infamous for creating Hamsterdam, 
and snitches on Avon in the hopes of having  
[18:58] him arrested. Stringer then further discusses the 
assassination of Clay Davis on a phone call with  
[19:04] one of his enforcers, in a rare act of his own 
recklessness that the MCU records on the wire,  
[19:09] giving them the evidence they needed 
to finally arrest Stringer Bell.
[19:13] But it’s not just the police that 
are after Stringer, as Omar Little  
[19:17] and Brother Mouzone forge an uneasy alliance 
after discovering that Stringer had tried to  
[19:22] manipulate them both into killing each 
other. To keep the peace with Mouzone,  
[19:26] Avon reluctantly gives his blessing to kill 
Stringer. And so, before the police can act,  
[19:31] Omar and Mouzone find Stringer and execute 
him. McNulty is devastated by the fact that  
[19:37] Stringer died before knowing that he had been 
caught. Avon’s crew assume that Marlo was behind  
[19:43] Stringer’s death, and they prepare for all out 
war. The MCU receives Stringer’s intel from Bunny,  
[19:48] and alongside the Western squad, raid the 
Barksdale compound. Avon and many of his soldiers,  
[19:54] including Poot, are arrested, leaving 
the streets open for Marlo’s taking.
[19:58] As the season comes to a close, Daniels 
is promoted to Major and given command  
[20:03] over the Western District. McNulty 
realizes that his self-destruction  
[20:07] nature can’t be fixed by policework 
and decides to make a real change. He  
[20:12] leaves the MCU to become a simple 
patrolling officer in the Western  
[20:15] district, gives up drinking, and begins 
a simple, domestic romance with Beadie.
[20:19] In season four of The Wire, Marlo Stanfield and 
his crew have completely taken over Baltimore’s  
[20:25] west side. Prop Joe finally convinces Marlo to 
join the Co-Op, while Bodie now reluctantly works  
[20:30] a corner selling Marlo’s supply, while Marlo’s 
enforcers, Chris and Snoop, murder anyone that  
[20:36] stands in their way, using a nail gun to hide 
their bodies in vacant houses that the police  
[20:40] never uncover. With a lack of dead bodies to pin 
on Marlo, the MCU is completely gutted by new  
[20:47] Deputy Commissioner Rawls. He installs Lieutenant 
Marimow as the new boss, who in turn completely  
[20:53] shuts down their Marlo Stanfield investigation 
in favor of returning to the basic street busts.  
[20:58] Frustrated by Marimow’s actions, Freamon 
and Kima transfer from the MCU to Homicide.
[21:04] Meanwhile, four teenagers from West Baltimore 
struggle to grow up in a system that  
[21:09] is rigged against them. Michael is the leader 
of the group, a natural fighter and protector  
[21:14] of his friends and younger brother, Bug. Randy is 
an optimistic foster kid with an entrepreneurial  
[21:19] spirit. Dukie is constantly bullied by other kids, 
due to his lack of hygiene, caused by abusive,  
[21:25] drug addicted parents who steal every single thing 
he owns. And then there’s Namond, an all-bark,  
[21:31] no-bite wannabe gangster, and the son of the 
incarcerated Wee-Bey. When Wee-Bey and his wife,  
[21:36] De’Londa, are cut off from the Barksdale money, 
Namond’s parents pressure him to follow in his  
[21:41] father’s footsteps and claim a corner for himself. 
The four friends frequent Cutty’s boxing gym,  
[21:47] where Michael proves himself to be a natural 
fighter. Despite Cutty’s efforts to train and  
[21:52] mentor Michael, the kid is resistant to any of 
Cutty’s offers, due to Cutty’s selfish behavior  
[21:57] of sleeping with the mother of every one of his 
students, and of Michael’s own past history of  
[22:03] sexual abuse at the hands of Bug’s now imprisoned 
father. Michael’s leadership qualities also  
[22:08] attracts the attention of Marlo Stanfield and his 
right hand man, Chris. At first, Michael resists  
[22:14] Marlo’s offer to join his crew, but when Bug’s 
father comes home from prison, Michael seeks out  
[22:19] Chris’ help in killing his abuser. The similarly 
abused Chris murders Bug’s father and takes  
[22:24] Michael under his wing, teaching him how to kill 
and never be abused again. Now officially working  
[22:30] for Marlo, Michael has enough money to buy his own 
apartment for himself, Bug, and Dukie to live in.
[22:36] When the four friends return to Edward Tilghman 
Middle School in the fall, their math teacher  
[22:40] is none other than Roland Pryzbylewski, whom 
they all nickname Mr. Prezbo. Prez wants to  
[22:46] make a real impact on his students’ lives, and 
becomes frustrated with having to constantly go  
[22:51] up against a school board that cares more 
about test scores and government funding  
[22:55] than ensuring that their students are actually 
learning anything. Throughout the school year,  
[22:59] Prez develops unconventional teaching 
methods that the kids engage with,  
[23:02] bankrolls Randy’s candy selling business, 
and takes Dukie under his wing, bonding over  
[23:08] their shared love of technology, and supplying 
him with fresh clothes and other necessities.
[23:12] Also attending Edward Tilghman is Sherrod, 
a young drug addict that Bubbles mentors,  
[23:18] but wants to help push away from a similar 
fate as Johnny. Sherrod quickly drops out  
[23:23] of school and falls back into his 
addiction, much to Bubbles’ dismay.
[23:27] The now retired Bunny Colvin takes a new job 
working as a researcher for the University of  
[23:32] Maryland’s study on repeat violent offenders. 
Bunny suggests the research be focused on kids  
[23:37] before they’re too far gone, leading them to 
forming their own class at Edward Tilghman,  
[23:42] featuring the most disruptive 
and at risk students. Namond is  
[23:46] one of the students selected for the 
class, and under Bunny’s mentorship,  
[23:49] his well-meaning and caring nature is nurtured 
out over his false, gangster bravado. Despite  
[23:55] the research study eventually being shut down 
for good, Bunny is able to convince Wee-Bey to  
[24:00] look out for his son’s best interest, resulting in 
Bunny becoming Namond’s official legal guardian.
[24:05] Carver continues to work in the Western district,  
[24:08] utilizing all of the skills imparted on 
him by his former boss, Bunny. Carver  
[24:13] makes a genuine connection to the kids in the 
district, hoping for the best for them, and  
[24:16] forms a friendship with Cutty over their 
shared concern for the kids’ welfare.
[24:20] Meanwhile, Herc is now working in Mayor Royce’s 
security detail, hoping it will lead to a swift  
[24:25] promotion. And when Herc accidentally catches 
Royce in the midst of an inappropriate sexual act,  
[24:31] the Mayor has Herc promoted to sergeant and sends 
him back to the MCU. Herc and Sydnor are the only  
[24:37] original detectives still at the MCU and they 
constantly clash with Marimow’s orders. Taking  
[24:43] matters into his own hands, Herc goes behind 
Marimow’s back and uses a police camera to spy  
[24:48] on Marlo and his crew, attributing any evidence he 
collects to a made-up informant. When Marlo finds  
[24:54] and steals the camera, Herc becomes desperate 
to get it back to save his career. First,  
[24:58] he interrogates Randy on a murder he suspected was 
connected to Marlo, then fails to properly protect  
[25:04] Randy, despite Carver’s insistence. When word gets 
back to Marlo that Randy spoke with the police,  
[25:10] the kid is labeled a snitch and violently harassed 
and attacked, forcing him back into a group home,  
[25:16] where he is brutally assaulted by the other 
kids, devastating Carver. Next, Kima entrusts  
[25:21] Bubbles to Herc as a CI. Bubbles promises 
to help Herc recover the camera, in exchange  
[25:26] for Herc arresting a violent man who constantly 
attacks and robs Bubbles. But Herc’s selfishness  
[25:32] leads to him frequently abandoning Bubbles in 
his times of need, prompting Bubbles to call  
[25:36] in a fake tip and having Herc mistakenly arrest 
an innocent and highly regarded black minister.
[25:42] With Herc proving to be of no help to him, Bubbles 
is forced to take matters against his attacker  
[25:47] into his own hands. He creates a mix of heroin and 
cyanide that he intends to have his attacker steal  
[25:53] from him and poison himself with. But when Bubbles 
and Sherrod reconcile, Sherrod unknowingly takes  
[25:59] the poison himself and dies. Bubbles is devastated 
by Sherrod’s death and finally hits rock bottom.
[26:06] Meanwhile, Omar and his new boyfriend, Renaldo, 
move on from robbing the now defunct Barksdale  
[26:11] crew to the thriving Stanfield crew. 
When Marlo seeks revenge against Omar,  
[26:16] Chris orchestrates framing him for robbing a 
store and murdering an innocent security guard.  
[26:21] When Omar finds himself in prison surrounded by 
dealers and gangsters he had previously robbed,  
[26:26] he realizes that it is only a matter of time 
before they all enact their revenge. Omar  
[26:32] seeks out the help of Detective Bunk Moreland, 
who trusts Omar’s story and goes against his  
[26:37] fellow detectives to prove the stick-up man’s 
innocence. In return, Omar swears to Bunk that  
[26:42] he will never murder again. Upon his release, Omar 
and Renaldo seek their own revenge against Marlo,  
[26:48] robbing Prop Joe’s entire shipment of heroin 
from the Greeks in a massive score. Omar sells  
[26:54] the drugs back to Prop Joe and gives a portion 
of his money to his father figure and mentor,  
[26:58] Butchie, then retires with Renaldo to Puerto Rico. 
Marlo and the other Co-Op leaders are furious  
[27:04] about the robbery, and plan their revenge to rid 
themselves of the infamous Omar Little for good.
[27:10] Elsewhere, Tommy Carcetti defeats Royce to 
become the new Mayor of Baltimore. Carcetti  
[27:15] wants to enact real change in the city, and 
wants to start with bolstering the police  
[27:19] department and cleaning up the streets. He 
promises significant raises to all officers  
[27:24] and promises a new day has arrived. Carcetti 
also takes a liking to Cedric Daniels and  
[27:30] his effort to focus on building cases for quality 
arrests over a simple stat based method. Carcetti  
[27:36] promotes Daniels to Commander of the Criminal 
Investigations Division, with an eye on one day  
[27:40] making him the police commissioner. In turn, 
Carcetti makes moves to fire the old school  
[27:45] Burrell as the current commissioner. Burrell uses 
his connections with corrupt Senator Clay Davis,  
[27:50] City Council President Nerese Campbell, and 
the influential black ministers to make his  
[27:55] firing difficult, then proves his usefulness 
to Carcetti by helping him navigate the public  
[28:00] scandal of Herc mistakenly arresting the 
black minister, leading to Herc’s firing.
[28:05] From his new position of power, 
Daniels removes Marimow from the  
[28:09] MCU and tasks Freamon with rebuilding the 
team to take down Marlo Standfield. And when  
[28:15] Freamon discovers Chris and Snoop’s methods 
of hiding bodies in vacants, the dead bodies  
[28:20] start quickly adding up. Jimmy McNulty becomes 
inspired by Carcetti’s promise of a new day,  
[28:25] and attempts to get closer to his old corner 
frenemy, Bodie, in the hopes of turning him  
[28:29] into an informant against Marlo. But when Marlo’s 
crew see Bodie talking with a police officer,  
[28:35] they murder him, and Michael is officially placed 
in charge of his corner. Prez is devastated to see  
[28:41] his protege Dukie fall in line to work the corner 
alongside Michael, while McNulty is devastated  
[28:47] by his hand in Bodie’s death, and finally rejoins 
the MCU to help take down Marlo once and for all.
[28:53] As the reformed MCU gain a renewed hope for the 
future, the newly elected Mayor Carcetti discovers  
[28:59] that Baltimore’s schools face a $54 million 
budget deficit. Carcetti’s right hand man,  
[29:05] Norman, encourages him to accept a 
bailout from the governor of Maryland,  
[29:09] but Carcetti doesn’t want to accept the money, as 
it might negatively impact his future aspirations  
[29:14] of running for governor himself. And so, Carcetti 
turns down the money for his own self interest,  
[29:20] putting the city of Baltimore in 
a worse predicament than ever.
[29:24] In season five of The Wire, Mayor Carcetti’s 
selfish aspirations to become the governor of  
[29:29] Maryland have turned him into the exact 
type of politician he promised to save  
[29:34] Baltimore from. With the city’s money going 
toward the schools, Carcetti is forced to  
[29:39] make drastic cuts to the police department, 
destroying morale and forcing the shut down  
[29:43] of the Major Crimes Unit and their case against 
Marlo Stanfield. Amidst the police budget cuts,  
[29:49] Carcetti is able to successfully 
remove Burrell as police commissioner,  
[29:53] naming Rawls as interim Commissioner and eying 
Daniels as his eventual permanent successor.
[29:58] Meanwhile, Marlo is taken fully under 
the wing of Prop Joe, who teaches him  
[30:03] how to put all of his newfound wealth to good 
use. Prop Joe introduces Marlo to the lawyer,  
[30:08] Maury Levy, and helps him launder his money 
in an offshore bank account. But Marlo grows  
[30:14] restless being just another member of the 
Co-Op and has his eyes on being crowned the  
[30:19] true king of Baltimore. Marlo discovers that 
Prop Joe buys his drug supply from the Greeks,  
[30:24] and secretly makes a deal using his 
newly laundered money to take over  
[30:28] as their new buyer. With no more use for 
Joe, Marlo convinces Joe’s nephew, Cheese,  
[30:33] to betray him, then has Chris murder him. Marlo 
then assumes full control of the Co-Op, where  
[30:39] he immediately disbands their regular meetings 
and raises the price of the supply for everyone.
[30:44] Despite his machinations to become the new head of 
Baltimore’s drug scene, Marlo hasn’t forgotten his  
[30:50] vendetta against Omar Little. Marlo tasks Chris 
and Snoop with luring the former stickup man out  
[30:56] of retirement and killing him. And so, Chris and 
Snoop find Omar’s mentor, Butchie, and torture  
[31:02] and murder him. Upon learning of Butchie’s death, 
Omar returns from his tropical retirement to enact  
[31:08] revenge of his own. But Omar is blinded by rage 
and becomes reckless, thinking he can take on the  
[31:14] entire Stanfield organization by himself. After a 
violent shootout that results in Omar breaking his  
[31:20] leg, the once legendary killer becomes crippled 
and desperate, hobbling through the streets of  
[31:25] Baltimore, murdering random Stanfield soldiers, 
and begging for Marlo himself to show his face.  
[31:31] But Omar never gets the confrontation 
he desires, as young corner kid Kenard  
[31:36] easily murders the unsuspecting Omar, giving a 
sad, abrupt ending to the once living legend.
[31:43] Meanwhile, Michael continues to train as 
a soldier under Chris and Snoop. At home,  
[31:48] he pays his friend Dukie to be his 
younger brother Bug’s primary caretaker,  
[31:52] while in the street he begins to voice his regrets 
over the violent acts he is forced to commit.
[31:58] As State’s Attorney Bond attempts to prosecute 
Senator Clay Davis, he convinces Carcetti to  
[32:04] give the resources of two detectives to look 
into Davis’ history of corruption. And so,  
[32:09] Lester Freamon and Leandor Sydnor remain as 
the only members of the MCU and are assigned  
[32:15] to follow Davis’ money trail. Lester and Sydnor 
uncover massive amounts of evidence that could  
[32:20] take the case federal, but Bond dismisses 
key evidence in order to keep the case local,  
[32:24] so that he can personally take down Clay 
Davis and use the victory for his own  
[32:29] political aspirations. Unfortunately, the smooth 
talking Clay Davis charms the local jury and  
[32:35] is acquitted of all crimes, frustrating 
everyone involved and humiliating Bond.
[32:39] Jimmy McNulty is devastated by the abandonment 
of the Stanfield case, and falls right back into  
[32:45] his alcoholism and infidelity. Desperate for a 
way to get the resources and attention needed to  
[32:51] take down Marlo, McNulty begins staging random 
homeless deaths and overdoses as the work of a  
[32:56] serial killer. McNulty hopes that the public 
attention of a supposed serial killer will  
[33:01] force Carcetti to give the police department 
the budget they require. Bunk is appalled by  
[33:06] his best friend and former partner’s actions, 
but when Lester learns of McNulty’s scheme,  
[33:11] he gladly joins in, similarly obsessed with 
bringing down Marlo. The two are forced to  
[33:16] escalate their staged murders when no one at 
first cares, resorting to placing bite marks  
[33:22] on the victims and faking the kidnapping 
and hostage situation of a homeless man,  
[33:26] when in actuality he was just dropped off by 
McNulty in a neighboring city. Eventually,  
[33:31] McNulty fakes a call from the killer to reporter 
Scott Templeton at the Baltimore Sun, landing the  
[33:37] story of the serial killer on the front page of 
the local paper. With his campaign for governor  
[33:42] imminent, Carcetti is forced to give the police 
department all of the resources necessary to  
[33:47] bring down this supposed serial killer as 
quickly as possible. McNulty and Lester are  
[33:52] ecstatic about their success, using their newfound 
resources to instead focus on taking down Marlo.
[33:58] At the Baltimore Sun, Desk Editor Gus Haynes is 
trying to do good and respectable journalism in  
[34:04] the face of massive budget cuts and bosses who 
would rather have sensationalized stories that are  
[34:09] more reader and award friendly. Gus begins growing 
suspicious of new Sun reporter Scott Templeton,  
[34:15] who secretly fabricates details and quotes 
to create better narratives. Scott becomes  
[34:20] obsessed with the attention he receives for 
being the reporter contacted by the killer,  
[34:25] and begins fabricating his own details to 
embellish his own importance. McNulty is  
[34:30] shocked and amused by Scott’s lies, 
but the further media attention only  
[34:34] helps to funnel more money into his 
secret Marlo Stanfield investigation.
[34:38] When Scott crafts a false story about a homeless 
veteran, the Sun editors love it and believe it  
[34:44] could win them all Pulitzers. Gus pushes back 
on the story, arguing against its fabrications,  
[34:49] but his bosses would rather win the Pulitzer than 
retract the false story. And so, Gus is demoted  
[34:56] while Scott is lauded and awarded. Meanwhile, 
fellow Sun reporter Mike Fletcher does a bit  
[35:01] of honest journalism and reports on the story of 
Bubbles, who has remained clean and sober while  
[35:07] living in his sister’s basement, though still 
beating himself up over the death of Sherrod. With  
[35:12] the help of his sponsor, Walon, Bubbles is finally 
able to forgive himself, as does his sister,  
[35:17] who allows him to leave the basement and finally 
rejoin the family he so desperately missed.
[35:23] As the lead on the serial killer case, McNulty 
secretly gives away some of his newfound resources  
[35:29] to his fellow detectives to allow them to work 
their own cases, while he and Lester continue to  
[35:35] work on bringing down Marlo. When Sydnor discovers 
the fake plot, he reluctantly becomes the third  
[35:41] member of the renegade team. When Kima is forced 
to neglect her real casework to focus on the  
[35:46] fake serial killer, a guilty McNulty divulges 
his secret plan to her, realizing that it has  
[35:52] spiraled out of his control. Kima is disgusted by 
McNulty’s actions, and joins Bunk in admonishing  
[35:53] her former partner. Meanwhile, Bunk forges ahead 
with some good old-fashioned, honest police work,  
[35:58] as he tries to connect the Stanfield organization 
to the many bodies found in the vacants. Bunk  
[36:03] eventually uses DNA evidence to tie the murdered 
body of Michael’s stepdad to Chris Partlow, but  
[36:09] McNulty pleads with him to hold off on any arrests 
until he and Lester can bring down Marlo too.
[36:15] The disgraced former cop Herc is now working as 
a private detective for the shady lawyer, Maury  
[36:21] Levy. Upon discovering that Marlo is Levy’s newest 
client, Herc steals Marlo’s cell phone number and  
[36:27] gives it to Carver, as retribution for his errors 
in dealing with the young Randy Wagstaff. Carver  
[36:33] gives the number to Lester, who then places 
an illegal wiretap on Marlo. Lester and Sydnor  
[36:38] eventually crack Marlo and his crew’s secret 
codes, leading them to raid the Stanfield crew  
[36:44] as they resupply their drugs from the Greeks. The 
raid is a massive success, celebrated extensively  
[36:50] in the media by Carcetti, leading to the arrests 
of Marlo, Chris, and Cheese. Lester claims the  
[36:56] information from the illegal wiretap actually came 
from a secret informant. Unsure of who snitched  
[37:02] on them, Marlo and Chris reluctantly conclude 
that it may have been Michael, and give Snoop  
[37:07] the order to murder him. But Michael has learned 
well from Chris and Snoop and sees his imminent  
[37:12] death coming. Instead, Michael murders Snoop 
and flees with Bug and Dukie. Michael places his  
[37:18] little brother in the care of their aunt before 
sharing an emotional goodbye with his best friend.
[37:23] Herc becomes bitter over not joining in the 
success for his part in Marlo’s arrest, and tips  
[37:29] off Levy that a wiretap may have been involved. 
An act that finally and fully sells Herc’s morals  
[37:35] to the devil. With this knowledge, Levy threatens 
attorney Rhonda Pearlman that he could have the  
[37:40] entire case against Marlo dismissed. Fortunately, 
Lester supplies Rhonda with information that Levy  
[37:46] was paying an informant inside the courthouse 
to illegally obtain sealed documents. Using this  
[37:52] as leverage, Levy and Pearlman negotiate a life 
sentence for Chris, the release of Cheese on bond,  
[37:57] and the release of Marlo on the condition of 
him getting out of the drug game for good.
[38:02] Feeling convicted over her knowledge about the 
fake serial killer, Kima informs Daniels about  
[38:07] McNulty and Lester’s lies. A furious Daniels 
brings this revelation to Rawls and Carcetti,  
[38:13] who are despondent over how to proceed. 
Admitting the serial killer to be a  
[38:17] hoax from within their own police department 
would bring embarrassment to the entire city,  
[38:21] and would ruin their very public victory against 
the Stanfield organization. Carcetti reluctantly  
[38:27] decides to keep the hoax quiet, and Daniels goes 
along with the lie in order to protect his love,  
[38:32] Pearlman, from any career consequences of 
her own. McNulty stays a detective for the  
[38:37] duration of the serial killer case, with 
the intent of letting the story die down  
[38:42] in the public eye before he is quietly fired. 
Unfortunately, a real copycat killer emerges,  
[38:48] killing two new homeless victims. McNulty 
quickly catches the new killer, and Rawls  
[38:53] does his best to tie all of the fake killings to 
the mentally unwell copycat killer in the media.
[38:59] In the end, Carcetti is elected Governor of 
Maryland, bringing along Rawls as the new  
[39:04] Superintendent of State Police. Carver follows in 
Daniels’ footsteps, overcoming an early career of  
[39:10] bad police work to become a highly respectable 
Lieutenant. Daniels becomes fed up with the  
[39:15] state of the Baltimore police department and 
retires with dignity, becoming a defense lawyer  
[39:20] and sharing the courtroom with his love, the new 
judge Rhonda Pearlman. Detective Sydnor becomes  
[39:26] the new McNulty, complaining to Judge Phelan about 
the higher ups obstructing his investigations.  
[39:31] Michael becomes the new Omar, becoming a highly 
skilled and feared stickup man. Dukie becomes the  
[39:38] new Bubbles, forced onto the streets and falling 
into drug use with a group of homeless addicts,  
[39:43] robbing people who care about him most, like Mr. 
Prezbo, to fuel his addiction. Marlo is a free  
[39:49] man, but now stuck in stuffy meetings with wealthy 
businessmen and losing the prominence and power of  
[39:55] his name on the street corners. Slim Charles 
murders Cheese for his betrayal of Prop Joe,  
[40:00] and works with the reformed Co-Op to take 
over the drug supply from the Greeks. Kima  
[40:05] reconciles and bonds with her young son, 
while officially becoming Bunk’s new partner  
[40:10] in homicide. Lester peacefully retires, while 
the fired McNulty resolves to clean himself  
[40:15] up for good. He returns the fake kidnapped 
homeless man to the streets he’s used to,  
[40:20] reconciles with Beadie, and admires the 
city of Baltimore, the place he calls home.