The Wire 1x13: Sentencing

An excellent concluding episode to The Wire's first season. One suspects they weren't banking on having any more, considering how this wraps things up.

It's all handled in a believable, real-world style, in-keeping with the rest of the series -- which final episodes aren't necessarily, often finding some semi-plausible final piece of evidence that sees all the bad guys locked up and all the good guys exalted with amazing levels of praise. Not so here -- there are consequences for all involved, to one degree or another, and thankfully no magic final revelation that allows all the bad guys to be locked up for a respectable amount of time.

It also succeeds in rewarding the viewer in a way only The Wire does. They're tiny moments played to perfection, such as my personal favourite, the juxtaposition of freshly-promoted mole Carver and Pryzbylewski in the wake of a speech about what kind of police officer you should be -- subtly, and referencing earlier events, it shows the complete difference between the two officers, and how they've subverted our early expectations of them. Similarly, the episode pays off apparently minor scenes -- and even just lines -- from all the way back to episode one. But, importantly, it does this without battering you round the head with flashbacks or "remember when..." dialogue. That's why this is a "novel for TV", and has become so beloved.

And, like most of the very best stories, its full quality can't be appreciated until you've seen it through to the end. This perhaps explains the minor critical (and audience, in some cases) backlash, where some 'don't get it' after only one or two sample episodes. (I'm happy to admit that I shared this view, to an extent, and expressed it here, but I think I remained aware that The Wire was the sort of programme you couldn't adequately judge without seeing it all).

The announcer confirmed that the second season would begin in a few weeks. Considering each tells such a different story (or so I've heard) this seems a wise decision... but I'm looking forward to it already. The Wire hasn't become my Favourite TV Series Ever, but I can now see why it's so praised. Consider me a fan -- and a convert.