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Perhaps more than any other series, The Wire is difficult to evaluate episodically. The show’s much-vaunted “novelistic” quality means that it’s easier to understand the story on a season-by-season basis rather than in any self-contained hour. (Remember how hard it was just to keep track of individual characters in the first episode?) But The Wire is still a TV show, and television is, by its very nature, episodic: Whether or not you watched it weekly in 2006 or plowed through it on HBO Go, there are still 60 individual installments. Some of those are good, some of them are great, and some are just okay at best (looking at you, season five). But nothing is better than arguing about them, so here it is: every episode of The Wire, ranked.
"The Dickensian Aspect"
Season: 5
Episode: 6
Episode quote: “If you have a problem with this, I understand completely.” — Freamon
"React Quotes"
Season: 5
Episode: 5
Episode quote: “Just ‘cause they’re in the street doesn’t mean that they lack opinions.” — Haynes
"Not for Attribution"
Season: 5
Episode: 3
Episode quote: “They're dead where it doesn't count.” — Fletcher
"Clarifications"
Season: 5
Episode: 8
Episode quote: “A lie ain’t a side of a story. Its just a lie.” — Hanning
"Collateral Damage"
Season: 2
Episode: 2
Episode quote: “They can chew you up, but they gotta spit you out.” — McNulty
"Time After Time"
Season: 3
Episode: 1
Episode quote: “Don't matter how many times you get burnt, you just keep doin' the same.” — Bodie
"Slapstick"
Season: 3
Episode: 9
Episode quote: “…while you're waiting for moments that never come.” — Freamon
"More With Less"
Season: 5
Episode: 1
Episode quote: “The bigger they lie, the more they believe.” — Bunk
"Know Your Place"
Season: 4
Episode: 9
Episode quote: “Might as well dump 'em, get another.” — Proposition Joe
"Hamsterdam"
Season: 3
Episode: 4
Episode quote: “Why you got to go and fuck with the program?” — Fruit
"Backwash"
Season: 2
Episode: 7
Episode quote: “Don't worry, kid. You're still on the clock.” — Horseface
"Storm Warnings"
Season: 2
Episode: 10
Episode quote: “It pays to go with the union card every time.” — Ziggy
"Home Rooms"
Season: 4
Episode: 3
Episode quote: “I love the first day, man. Everybody all friendly an' shit.” — Namond Brice
"Soft Eyes"
Season: 4
Episode: 2
Episode quote: “I still wake up white in a city that ain't.” — Carcetti
"Corner Boys"
Season: 4
Episode: 8
Episode quote: “We got our thing, but it's just part of the big thing.” — Zenobia
"Old Cases"
Season: 1
Episode: 4
Episode quote: “Thin line 'tween heaven and here.” — Bubbles
By itself, “Old Cases” isn’t anything special. It’s a good episode of The Wire, made better mostly because it marks when the project of the first season begings to come into focus, and when first-time viewers often really start to learn characters’ names. The true reason for its greatness is one of the show’s most memorable moments: the immortal “fuck” scene. McNulty and Bunk case the site of a cold murder and develop a whole theory of the crime while saying nothing but varying intonations of the word fuck. It's a depressing indictment of the grinding nature of police work that's also hilarious and damned impressive. In short, it’s The Wire. — Eric Thurm
"–30–"
Season: 5
Episode: 10
Episode quote: “…the life of kings.” — H.L. Mencken
The series finale is one of the best episodes of The Wire, practically by default. The conclusion of the show doubles as its final thesis statement about the nature of institutions, the drug trade, and the way everything continues to grind along in Baltimore, same as it ever was (only slightly different). The buttons on the characters’ stories range from heartbreaking (Dukie shooting up with the junkyard man) to infuriating (Carcetti winning the governor’s mansion) to the rare simple moments of joy (Reginald walking up a flight of stairs to become part of his sister’s life). Though several characters enter new institutional roles with relatively clear endpoints (Michael becoming the new Omar is not going to turn out well), some of their futures are uncertain (McNulty and Beadie; Marlo snarling on the corner). All of them are given serious weight by the 60 hours that preceded them, giving us, at least, the chance to say goodbye. — Eric Thurm
"Margin of Error"
Season: 4
Episode: 6
Episode quote: “Don't try this shit at home.” — Normal Wilson
Because “Margin of Error” comes at the midpoint of a season of The Wire, it’s about watching narrative seeds starting to bloom. There’s the series’ most sustained argument for Randy’s innocence and the beginning of his bond with Carver, Omar finding himself in prison, and persistent tension at Cutty’s gym over his womanizing. And all of these stories converge on Election Day. “Margin of Error” is an inflection point for the series, depicting the Democratic primary in Baltimore, the culmination of the political storyline so far, and an announcement that the rest of the series will be, in part, an examination of how Carcetti is unable to use his newfound power to actually change anything. There is no new day.
The focus on the election, and the extent to which, really, almost everyone has at least an eye on the outcome, gives “Margin of Error” cohesion that most episodes of The Wire lack this early in a season. And that’s not even mentioning the actual election day sequence, which, set to “Move On Up,” forces us to see Election Day through the eyes of Cutty, the person on the show perhaps least invested in the outcome. — Eric Thurm
"Boys of Summer"
Season: 4
Episode: 1
Episode quote: “Lambs to the slaughter here.” — Marcia Donnelly
Season 4 of The Wire is rightfully regarded as the show's best, and "Boys of Summer" sets all the pieces in place. We see Bodie gather his crew for his independent organization (including Dukie, Namond, and the soon-to-be-murdered Lex), Snoop and Chris bagging up bodies in the row houses, and Carcetti begin to spin the wheels for his election campaign. But the episode is made truly great by the re-introduction of former fuck-up police officer Prez, now trying to land a job as a middle school teacher.
Season 4 is so successful largely because it does what no other drama has done before or since: capture the machinations of an inner-city public school with an unflinching gaze. (The scene in which a lecturer suggests disciplining kids with positive reinforcement is a darkly comedic foreshadowing of what's to come.) When Prez surveys his classroom with a hopeful eye, we already know better. This won't be easy. —Nathan Reese
"Mission Accomplished"
Season: 3
Episode: 12
Episode quote: “…we fight on that lie.” — Slim Charles
The title of the episode, as well as the quote from Slim Charles that sets the tone, are both not-so-subtle references to the Iraq War. Put them together, and you get David Simon's bleakly ironic worldview. Episode 12 of Season 3 begins as the dust settles around Stringer's death. Avon, after getting arrested, must deal with the guilt of selling out his best friend, meanwhile McNulty, holding Stringer's copy of The Wealth of Nations, wonders who the fuck he was chasing. On the other side of town, "Bunny" Colvin's Hamsterdam experiment is coming to an end, and he too must contend with the consequences. Stringer may be dead, but Jimmy, Bunny, and Avon are all left alive to mull their choices. Was it worth it? What's next? Was it all just futile from the beginning? —Nathan Reese
"All Prologue"
Season: 2
Episode: 6
Episode quote: “It don't matter that some fool say he different…” — D'Angelo
The Omar plot alone is enough to elevate “All Prologue”—the stickup boy finally gets his day in court, testifying against Bird and butting heads with Maury Levy over their respective roles leeching off the Baltimore drug trade. This produces one of the series’ best quotes: “I got the shotgun. You got the briefcase. It’s all in the game though, right?” But more importantly, “All Prologue” is the heart-wrenching conclusion of D’Angelo Barksdale’s story. After discussing The Great Gatsby’s argument that truly letting go of the past is impossible (a statement with which David Simon certainly agrees), D is strangled to death on Stringer’s orders, setting in motion the collapse of the Barksdale empire and removing one of the show’s most compelling original characters. Even more than Wallace’s death, perhaps, D’Angelo’s announced to the audience that no one was safe. — Eric Thurm
"Sentencing"
Season: 1
Episode: 13
Episode quote: “All in the game.” — Traditional West Baltimore
They say every man gets his day in court, but those words take on a whole new meaning in David Simon's Baltimore. "Sentencing" concludes the end of the The Wire's first season with Kima identifying Little Man—now dead—as her shooter. Instead, Wee-Bey takes the fall for essentially every murder committed by the Barskdale crew (both ones he did and did not commit), thereby receiving life in prison. D'Angelo also ends up in prison, receiving a 20-year sentence after his mother convinces him to back out on his deal as a State's Witness against the Barksdale gang.
Though later seasons would play up the cyclical nature of inner city violence, "Sentencing" is the first time we see just how bleak Simon's view of the system is. The wrong people go to jail, the kids stay on the street, and the drugs keep flowing.—Nathan Reese
"Middle Ground"
Season: 3
Episode: 11
Episode quote: “We ain't gotta dream no more, man.” — Stringer Bell
If the two greatest characters on The Wire are Stringer Bell and Omar Little, it only makes sense that the death of the former must come at the hands of the latter. But mostly, "Middle Ground" is about Stringer and Avon. With the upwardly-mobile Stringer convinced he can get out of the game with the help of slimy politician Clay Davis, he meets with Avon one last time on his balcony. The conversation is fraught with tension, love, and resentment: "Just dream with me," Avon implores of Stringer. Both know that something still has to go down, but for a moment the friends get to share a final moment—perhaps the most touching in the entire show's run. Later, when Omar and Brother Mouzone finally do him in, in the construction site that he hopes to be an investor, it's impossible not to think about that conversation and how things could just got gone a little bit differently. —Nathan Reese
"Bad Dreams"
Season: 2
Episode: 11
Episode quote: “I need to get clean.” — Sobotka
The penultimate episodes of The Wire seasons have a reputation for destruction—for being the real point in the narrative where the big fireworks go off. (They also gave crime novelist George Pelecanos, who penned all of them, a certain air of ruthlessness.) Even more than Wallace’s death in Season 1, the conclusion of “Bad Dreams” is the single most potent moment of despair The Wire ever pulled off and the show’s clearest claim to the mantle of Greek tragedy. Set to SteliosKazatzidis’ rendition of “EnaSideroAnameno,” the concluding sequence brings practically the entire season to a head. Frank Sobotka’s attempts to save his son and his way of life lead him to first attempt a plea agreement with the police, then negotiate with The Greek’s organization. Unbeknownst to him, The Greek has an FBI contact who will inform him about the meeting, sending Frank to certain death. A piece of paper being moved across an office has never been so exciting.
“Bad Dreams” culminates in a striking shot of Frank heading under a bridge to meet The Greek with only the faintest chance of saving Ziggy, his fate sealed. This is the most painful moment in the entire series, an inevitable train wreck that clarifies the season as being the tragedy of Frank Sobotka. There were a thousand things that could have gone differently, and no other way it could have happened. — Eric Thurm
"Final Grades"
Season: 4
Episode: 13
Episode quote: “If animal trapped call 410-844-6286.” — Baltimore, traditional
How do you choose the best episode of the best TV show of all time? Is it the episode with the most emotional dramatic arc ("Bad Dreams")? The one that finally wraps everything up ("-30-")? Or the one where the show's most interesting antagonist gets his due ("Middle Ground")? It has to be "Final Grades"—an episode that would have perfectly capped off the series, had it not been followed by the lackluster Season 5.
Following the events of "That's Got His Own," the final episode of Season 4 sees the kids in Prez's class graduating to the uncertainty of high school. Then you have Bubbles, whose attempt to murder his tormenter accidently kills the person he loves most in his life, Sherrod. But in an episode of impending doom and straight up tragedy, Omar Little's arc is an exhilarating high point. Having successfully successfully stolen an enormous amount of drugs, he sells them back to Prop Joe for a profit. This being The Wire, we know Omar will likely face repercussions, but it's a tiny glimmer of hope in an otherwise bleak world. Still, the success of one man with a code can't outweigh the systemic pressures of West Baltimore. And it's not Omar's proverbial walk into the sunset that sticks with us, but Prez's realization that despite all his efforts, Dukie is now dealing on a corner. —Nathan Reese