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If you have not watched the final episode of The Wire, you may want to stop reading this post. I am not going to give away many spoilers, but I will make some references to events in this final episode. If you want to know nothing about this season or episode, stop reading now. For the only time on this blog, I am going to employ the MORE tag on this blog.

I thought the episode was a much better end to a television series when compared to the lackluster and somewhat bewildering ending of The Sopranos. The Wire has always neatly closed various threads woven during the season, and they did the same thing with their final episode. As some characters move onto new lives–McNulty and Freamon retire from the force, Bubbles is well on the way to recover and redemption–we see the vicious cycle of inner city life continue its churning–Duquan succumbs to the existence Sherrod and Bubbles eked out, Michael takes up the mantle once held by Omar, and the Greeks take on new business partners. In many ways, the ending was both somewhat expected yet poignant.

One thing that has rankled me about the final season has been the Baltimore Sun’s coverage of this final season. In David Zurawick’s post on the Critical Mass blog, he completes what has been his incessant harping on how unsatisfying the fifth season has been when compared to the other seasons. (I left a comment on that post this morning, but apparently the comment system employed by the various Sun-blogs does something strange when one previews a comment. I have yet to see the comment, yet I know I submitted it successfully.)

I think there is much that Zurawick misses about the final episode.   Zurawick complains that McNulty should be consumed by guilt considering what he did to get resources allotted to the Police Department, yet we saw how the guilt of his actions chewed at him as the season went along. Although he undertook his “case” with the altruistic purpose of helping his comrade in arms, he sees what effect the lie he is perpetuating has on him and those around him.

For one, he completely misses the story that the final episode strikingly brings across–the great machinery of city life continues to churn away, eating some whole while allowing others to escape its flywheels with small blemishes. The machinery in action is shown in how the political realities dictate what happens when the Mayor and others learn of the deception that was undertaken by McNulty and others. Instead of doing what is morally correct, the leaders decide that it is best to cover up this deception in the face of the political backlash that would result.

As for the storyline revolving around the Sun, I think that Zurawick has been lulled into a false sense of what this element is about. Sure, it is about the decline of the American newspaper in the face of competition from the 24-hour newscycle, the decline of advertising revenue, and competition from alternative media outlets. At the same time, the bigger issue is what the modern newspaper neglects to cover. While the coverage of two major stories at the paper is shown–one story seen in the vein of a Jayson Blair-type reporter while the other is a traditional piece of good reporting–there are so many other things missed. In the pursuit of journalistic recognition and a hoped-for increase in readership, other stories get discarded–stories about the crisis in the school system, “juking the stats,” and other more relevant and important stories.

Finally, the biggest problem I have had with Zurawick’s criticism is what I think his performance as a critical lapdog for his corporate masters. He has posted and reported on the show’s “dismal ratings” (his words). For a show that everyone knows is in its final season, the ratings argument seems to be a red herring at best. Tim Goodman, television critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, has pointed out this inconsistency quite well on his blog:

(By the way, it’s just sad to read the Baltimore Sun TV critic write story after story about how bad the ratings are for “The Wire,” and saying it could have something to do with a less than compelling newspaper storyline. It’s almost like you can see management’s puppet strings. “The Wire” has never been about ratings. And every critic knows that ratings are no indication of quality. Besides, in this final season, ratings are of no importance at all. The series is done, in the can, over. Its legacy is not mega-viewers. It’s quality content, well-told over five seasons. Period.)

Goodman said it quite well, and I have to agree: Zurawick appears to be doing his corporate bidding in an attempt to discredit a damn good television show because of the poor image it presents of the Sun.

In the end, I am going to miss The Wire. It was always fun to try and figure out where the detectives were drinking in my hometown. I enjoyed The Wire as much as I enjoyed Homicide when I was in college. Both shows may not have presented a flattering image of Baltimore, but the stories they told of my hometown were powerful ones. The final montage the show gave us was, in essence, a tribute to the city that served as its locale and inspiration. I think it was also an inward reflection on the people that can make this city better–its own citizens–in the face of the institutions that hold it back.