User Reviews

Standing at an hour and twenty its one of the longer "The Wire" episodes. But it doesn't feel like 80 minutes, it feels like 800. You'd think a week had gone by since you started the episode. Not a single moment of that time disappointed, filled with heartbreak, happiness, and the wires trademark disappointment. I can't wait to watch the new season!

"The Wire" truly is a masterpiece. S4 was a great focus on the children and if they could fall into the depths of the streets, or rise to the prowess of education. I really couldn't believe Michael, the kid with strongest leadership abilities, would turn to a stone cold killer. Dukie, the intellectual, turning to a deprive corner boy; and Namond If you asked me at the start of this season, Namond would probably be the last one I though would make it. I think this idea plays into "The Wire" 's philosophy of earners and deservers. Moving on to Bodie's character, I thought he was the most meaningful during these last couple episodes with him. Bodie was one of the few that actually learned from the instances like Hamsterdam's entrapment, and he recognizes Marlo's disarray. So he dies like a true soldier, in a dark and gloomy shootout. Carver's arc up to this point is amazing and I love his perseverance with Randy's scenarios; yet he is still destroyed by what he has done to him and his foster mother. Without a doubt one of the best hour's of "The Wire" and pivotal for solidifying Season 4's greatness.

The Barksdale empire has fallen and again lives are changed. McNulty retreats from himself (and bosses) into a street job. Prez prepares for his first day as a teacher within an inner-city school. Slim Charles works for Prop Joe. Bodie is an independent with a bad corner. Daniels is a major. Marlow continues to spread out across West Baltimore with a ruthless and efficient system of keeping off the police department's radar. The city eases itself out of its summer period into the Democratic primary for Mayor and a group of friends prepare for a pointless new year back in school.

After season 3 (S3) it is a long (too long) wait for me to get S4. I came to it with a great deal of expectation but also the worry that it could not match S3, which I was the strongest so far. I was correct because it didn't match it – it exceeded it. S4 differs slightly from the previous seasons because we do not have the narrative focal point around which all things sort of move – namely the case being run by major crimes. Without this though what we get are many threads all moving within the same 13 hours of television, touching one another where required but not necessarily being driven by one central device. It is very hard to pull this ensemble approach off while also delivering a compelling story because by virtue of the approach it is easy for the viewer to have "favourite" bits and lesser bits (or characters) however The Wire makes it look easy.

Others may disagree but for me there was no character or thread that did not engage me – not one. I may not like the characters (for example Herc's thread is painful because he uncaringly does so much damage due to him being a c**k) but I was interested nonetheless. These threads all come together into the bigger story where politics, budgets, education, crime, parental failures, systematic failures, powerless individuals and option-less youth are all key parts of it. For those who are still unconvinced by the regular claim that The Wire is like "a great novel", then S4 is the one that will convince you because it is sprawling in its scope. Keeping with the novel metaphor, S4 is a page-turner – I did not want to rip through it but was unable to "put it down". Each episode only moves the overall story on a step or two, but it does it with every character and it does it in convincing and real ways. There are no big dramatic flourishes or illogical jumps to move things forward for the sake of the audience and the pace is consistent. Those who appreciated the "big" moments of S3 might feel their loss a bit because of the consistent pace but for me this was not an issue – there are still shocking and memorable moments here, just the brilliant script does not make them more important than the minor details you might miss. So instead of building to an event, each scene in the season is important and there is plenty to see. Yes major characters die but this is no less gripping than watching the Michael go from "responsible kid" to stone killer while Namond's posturing and bravado is devastatingly stripped away in one brutal scene that represents an epiphany to him. These are in the detail but they are brilliantly done and are just two examples.

The direction continues to be very strong and I love the framing and colour of the external shots but it is the quality of the performances that is most noticeable here. The Wire has always been an ensemble piece but in S3, West and Elba did dominate – not so here because the cast has nobody really dominating any scene. Indeed the cast is turned on its head and West is now barely in it and True-Frost is suddenly the closest to a "main" character. Credit to the makers for ensuring that the appeal of the show is not down to popularity of a character but the quality of the product and credit to the cast for proving them right. True-Frost delivers when asked and makes for a good adult "lead" but it is the four new children who impressed me the most. Harrell's Randy is the most engaged and painful but Crawford's Dukie is very close as it is essentially a long pained wail with moments of hope made just as painful as they are instantly crushed. McCullum is really good as Namond and easily steps up for the demands on him in later episodes. Wilds's Michael is very good; he has the least engaging character but he works it perfectly to make a difficult narrative arch convincing. Gillen is much better than S3 while the regulars (Royo, Peters, Pierce, Sohn, Gilliam, Williams etc etc) are all excellent as normal. Hector is a great cold force and prevents much sympathy – he is supported well by charismatic turns from Pearson and Akinnagbe, not brilliant characters but good presence both.

What I think I'm getting at here is that yet again The Wire delivers near perfectly across the board. The script is informed and guided by reality and each character is respected as a character. Their narrative arches are rarely less than convincing and I cared about each and every character – nobody was sacrificed as a "device" to make something happen for the sake of it happening. Thirteen hours rushes by with not a second wasted or dragging. It is an astonishing piece of work that is easily the best piece of television I have seen and the only downside is that I now have to wait for S5 when, like all good things, The Wire comes to an end.

This final episode was incredibly well written and really just made me think. It was all wrapped up that this was the best episode ever when the kid, Donut, who steals cars was seen in the distance by Namond. The two share a glance to show that although Namond, who is now supposedly off the streets and living with Howard "Bunny" Colvin, still shows potential to go back to where he came from. Also, McNulty can't cut a break can he? Everything gets worse and worse for him throughout the seasons. Randy Wagstaff can't get lucky either I guess. I sure hope they come back with the same cast and characters like those kids in the next season!

Well the episode got off to a fairly dark start to say the very least, and I'd like to start by saying that throughout this show, Andre Royo's performance is among the best I've seen in television. He's simply outstanding and it's a disgrace he wasn't even nominated for the role. After that pretty harrowing start, the episode did not maintain that same vigour. The breaking into the vacants is well underway. By the end of this episode, the police really don't have much more a case on Marlo than they did at the beginning. It was great to see one of the Greeks return and I had been waiting for that moment because the show would've been very foolish to not reintroduce them. I'm hoping and suspecting they will be a big part of season 5. Omar has somehow survived yet another season and it's just looking like that guy is not gonna die. Anyone with brains would shoot him on sight but he is still walking miraculously. Seeing Carver try and fail desperately to stop Randy getting into social services was nice to see because under that rock hard exterior, he's actually pretty good police. In all honesty though, this episode didn't feel much like a finale, and not all that much really happened. It was a shame to finally see Bodie meet his end, and like many moments in this series, it was rather abrupt and unceremonious. The closing few moments set up the next season very nicely as McNulty inevitably rejoins the detail and Michael has turned into a cold blooded soldier. I feel like timing is one of this show's worst traits, because the shot of Chris' SUV driving off into the night would've been a perfect place to leave it, and the following scene of Namond was rather unnecessary. This episode was very cluttered at the end of the day, but it did have a lot of good moments

Mid 7

The Wire has grabbed me more and more as time goes by. I remember after the first season I really liked it but more out of appreciation than out of love. That mindset has been changed for quite some time now. It has proved that with it's writing style there really has not been any other television show out there that compares with it, simply because of how the enormous cast and story lines are given real meaning and satisfaction by the seasons' end in a huge way. In the past, I have taken notice that because there are so many story lines, not all episodes have completely drawn me in, and not all story lines have. That pretty much changed here in the fourth season.

I think a reason that I am now in love with the show isn't just because of a great season, but because like what I always say with various things, time is needed. Time is needed to adjust to these characters, to these story lines, and the end result like I said before is a complete satisfaction. But don't take that to mean that the writers tie up everything nicely, because they don't. There is a true realism and fierce determination in the writing. These writers are trying to tell an honest story. They aren't here to get fans' opinions and try to satisfy fans that way. That is why I am surprised it lasted as long as it did.

Season 4 has the best episodes of the show (which is a hard feat simply because the last or so episodes of season 3 were also pretty incredible and top-notch). What is most impressive in this season are the new faces, especially the four boys. Dookie, Randy, Naymond, and Michael hold the show's most hard-hitting moments. But like we have come to expect from The Wire, these moments do not feel forced or manipulative in any ways. If I was to show you the boys' first scene in the season, one would not believe how they end up in the end. Perhaps the only one that has the best chance at happiness is Naymond, simply because of his surroundings. However, the last smile he gave at the end took some of that hope away. Also, now that Michael is long gone, what a shame it seems as if he is dragging down Dookie with him...

Well, enough with spoilers. It seems as if each season has the death of a character who has been here from the start of the show and who is pretty significant (Season 1- Wallace, Season 2 had DAngelo, Season 3 had Stringer). Here, we have another, and like always, it is unpredictable and pretty hard-hitting.

I can't stress enough what a great season this was. Seasons 2 and 3 got a 9 from me, but finally Season 4 gets a perfect score of 10. It is one of the best TV seasons I have ever seen (if not the best). From what I have heard Season 5 is regarded as the worst, but I really hope it's not a dip in quality (like Twin Peaks in the middle of Season 2).

Many fans of the show state that season four is the zenith of THE WIRE I'm in a minority of viewers when I state isn't in fact the greatest show in the history of television . The slow , patient narrative character driven narrative means I find it a television show that's easier to respect to enjoy . My respect however is reinforced after watching season four . The style may not be to my liking but congratulations to David Simon for producing a show where each season is different from one another . Season one revolves around the projects , season two around the docklands , season three around politics both in city hall and the streets and now season four revolves around street kids who've got the choice between bettering themselves through education or becoming caught up in the nihilism of life in the projects

From the opening scene of this season we know things are different - we're introduced to a new character that'll have you scratching your head wondering if the character is male or female ! There's other differences too . McNulty is a peripheral figure and when he does fleetingly appears he's in uniform while detective Prezbylewski has now left the force , works in the school and is now effectively the lead character It's Prez story strand that carries the season as he realises from the start that he's in a tough inner projects school and he might have bitten off more than he can chew summed up when an act of spontaneous violence leaves a kid with a mutilated face . This story strand is never as melodramatic as DANGEROUS MINDS or as feel good as STAND AND DELIVER but remains compelling in its own subtle understated way helped in no small part by Jim True Frost's performance

If there's a problem with the season it's that the school strand and new characters means the rest of the subplots have a seen it all before feel . We're back on the campaign trail with the slimy politicians , Bubbles finds himself between a rock and a hard place , Omar's miraculous luck still holds and police solve cases by searching . It's well written and acted but not as compelling as the main subplot with Prez . There's also a couple of incidents that could have been developed more , namely Herc arresting a minister and a character snitching on his rivals that leads to his death in the final episode

All in all a very enjoyable season with both strengths and weaknesses but mainly strengths . It's easy to see why so many people consider season 4 of THE WIRE to be its finest