Wrapping Up "the Wire" On HBO

If you’ve been watching HBO’s The Wire loyally for six years now, I’m not about to ruin any of the surprises delivered with tonight’s expanded series finale.  But I would like to reassure the show’s fans that it ends properly and memorably, with some sense of closure and a major sense of the overwhelming nature of big-city politics, policies, police and street-level existence.

Coming to the finale, viewers are hungry for several things. Among them: What happens when Mayor Carcetti learns of McNulty’s serial-killer scam?  What’s the final resolution of the showdown between responsible news editor Gus and his fabricating star reporter? And what will we learn, in this final glimpse, of the fates of such fascinating supporting characters as detective Lester, drug dealer Marlo and recovering addict Bubbles?

All those answers are forthcoming, along with the final pieces of the opening-credits visual puzzle (each week, we glean the context of a few more images) and the series’ final, traditional season-ending musical montage.
What’s the song this year? All I’ll say is what I’ll say about the final episode of The Wire itself: It’s brilliant, and it’ll leave you very satisfied… yet hungry for more.