The Wire series finale ending explained: What happens to the Baltimore Police Department?
The Wire (2002-2008) is a police procedural crime thriller that follows an interconnected web of government and illegal institutions in Baltimore, Maryland. It provides a microscopic view of the city's crime syndicates, government officials, and media houses, peeling back the layers to show a grim America.
Through seasons one to five, the Baltimore Police Department experiences various career trajectories and challenges in its attempt to crack down on the city's crimes. They fight major antagonists, sometimes within their department and mostly externally, from the Barksdale Organization to the Sobotkas at the Port of Baltimore and the Stanfield Organization.
Detective Jimmy McNulty and his partner Lester Freamon are forced to resign from the department after their extreme insubordination threatens multiple careers. The rest of the crew in The Wire grows and thrives in different areas of the Baltimore government, from the homicide unit to the Superintendent of the Maryland Police.
Disclaimer: Spoilers for The Wire Season 5 ahead. Reader discretion is advised.
Season 5 of The Wire: What happens to the Baltimore Police Department?
In the climax of The Wire season 4, McNulty decides to return to the Major Crimes Unit after the death of Bodie (JD Williams), a lowly drug dealer turned informant and friend. His death weighed on McNulty's conscience, and he wanted to get back to catching the bad guys. He vowed to approach his career without his baggage-- alcoholism and infidelity-- and do a better job as a police officer and partner to Beadie Russel (Amy Ryan).
But things don't go as planned. He turns to the bottle, resorts to infidelity, and sours things with Beadie. The city's continued lack of financial support for the homicide department pushes McNulty and Freamon (who initially agree with his plan) to do something irresponsible.
In his most daring insubordination in the history of The Wire, McNulty invents a fake serial killer targeting the homeless, feeding the media, specifically The Baltimore Sun, the central institution in season 5. He plants evidence, fakes injuries on murder victims, and builds a lie that convinces an entire city.
Things heat up with the rest of the police crew, too. Freamon is single-mindedly chasing Marlo Stanfield, leader of the Stanfield Organization, while also working with Sydnor on the Davis detail (Clayton "Clay" Davis is a corrupt politician who has played a major role in all five seasons of The Wire). He works with Carver, who gets him Marlo's burner phone number to wiretap.
In season 5 of The Wire, Herc, now a private investigator for Levy, Marlo's lawyer, has a more morally ambiguous plotline. It is revealed that he gave Marlo's contact information to Carver after obtaining it from Levy's office. These complicated internal dynamics between the original Baltimore Police Department crew fuel most of the season.
A copycat killer based on McNulty's lie emerges, further fuelling his horrific narrative. In the series finale of The Wire, his trickery comes to a head. Moreland cuts ties with McNulty and Freamon.
Season 5 of The Wire: The Baltimore Police Department goes its separate ways
McNulty leaves the department, escaping heavy punishment, and his end is left open. His storyline ends with his sobriety, patching things up with Beadie, and looking for a fresh start without his old, impulsive ways. Freamon chooses to retire from the force and settles with his partner, Shardene.
Daniels helps cover up McNulty's fake plot by nabbing the copycat killer and is promoted to Commissioner of Police. But, under the new Mayor Nerese Campbell, he is pressured to alter crime statistics. After refusing to succumb to corruption and political pressure, he switches lanes to become a criminal defense lawyer.
Before Daniels resigns, he appoints Carver as the new Lieutenant of Major Crimes. Rawls continues climbing the career ladder, and his fierce loyalty to Tommy Carcetti, the city's new Governor, earns him a promotion to Superintendent of Maryland Police. Greggs and Moreland continue in homicide. Life goes on in Baltimore.
While the city of Baltimore is widely considered The Wire's main character, Dominic West's Jimmy McNulty and his crew at the Baltimore police department carry the show's central storylines forward with intensity and moral ambiguity.
They go their separate ways at the end, leaving fans guessing what might come next for the department.
