kvrdave

With the exception of the reporter getting the prize (which was still great for the show and story) that was THE most satisfying series fainle I have ever seen.

Arpeggi

Wee-Bay!

Nth Power

I'm so thankful the show got a final season to wrap things up. Almost every past character had a cameo sometime during the season which was nice to see.

I was expecting McNulty and Lester to get it worse than they did, so I was a little surprised (but glad!) they escaped pretty much unscathed. Great finale for one of the best shows on TV.

movieking

I padded the PVR, but I didn't realize there was a longer running time until I actually watched it last night. I watched the last 30 minutes or so with a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, just waiting for the final credits music to start. Fantastic ending to a fantastic show.

I thought that McNulty was going to try to devise a way to blame all of the homeless killing hoopla on Scott, but I guess that would have been too hard to explain. And Scott finally gets a huge legit story from McNulty, but he can't run with it since it implicates him as a liar. So glad to see that Bubs was able to go upstairs with his sister.

I've seen every episode of this series, but I have to admit with all of the characters changing over the various seasons, I didn't always recognize who was who. Glad to see Mr Prezbo back, and seeming quite at home as a teacher.

bluetoast

No, he's in jail because he killed the car dealer and his associate.

Also, great to see Levy say "Evett's making brisket" again. First time was when he had to leave his meal to see to D'Angelo.

But a question about that...why was Levy so pleased with Herc...did he know about the phone # or was it something else?

Bunk saying "Giving a shit when it ain't your turn to give a shit" is also good to hear again.

BTW, do Herc's pals know he works for Levy and are cool with it? Or do they just assume he has some random desk job?

tbird2340

Loved it!

Loved seeing Bubs eating at the table.. I'm so glad they ended his story on a positive note.. Dookie.. Man, now that was sad.

I really hated the fact that Scott didn't get busted. So Gus went to the big wigs with a ton of evidence about Scott making things up etc and nothing happens? I really loved Gus's character!

Wee-Bay and Chris in the yard was awesome..

I thought it was funny how the street kids were talking about Omar and how he was a super bad ass and then Marlo was like "Don't you know who I am?".. So in then end.. I like to think that Omar really did win against Marlo because Marlo was ALL about street cred and them kids didn't even know who he was.. Even better they were talking about Omar.

Still, a ton of dirt was swept under the rug with all that happened and so many people know about it.. It's hard to believe that eventually the truth wouldn't come out..

This show was behind The Shield for me in my favorite TV ever.. It is now tied..

tbird2340

For some reason I thought Ziggy killed himself? Was a long time ago but I thought he committed suicide after he realized what he had done.

EDIT: Just looked it up.. You're right. Not sure why I thought that.

dvd182

Levy was having trouble putting together the dots on how the police were able to crack the code. Herc let him in on the bit about the department not having any money for a case like this.

Even if he did know about the number, he knows he stands to make even more with the cred he'll get with a kingpin getting completely off the hook. He comes out ahead anyway.

Great finale to a great show. Far and away the best show ever.

PaperStreetSoapCo

I feel like the ending with Marlo could be open for interpretation, since what I got from it is different from others on here. To me, he looked happy to know the guys on the corner didn't know who he was. It seemed almost as if he really didn't want to be involved in that life anymore, or at least the aspect of people knowing his name and that he was the kingpin of Baltimore. I thought about last episode when he was in jail and got angry after finding out Omar used his name on the streets. I initially thought his response was from worry that his street cred could be tarnished (which I'm sure is at least part of the reason if not all the reason if I'm inaccurate). But now I wonder if that anger perhaps stemmed from not wanting people to know he's at all associated with the game, let alone running it.

With the possibilities ahead with Levy and his connections, as well as how he took control of the drug trafficking in Baltimore (a more business-like side of him than previous seasons, much like Stringer as others on here have said), his future is looking pretty bright, no matter how unfair that may be. So when he went down to the corner, I feel he had to make sure he wasn't involved in the game anymore, especially by name.

dgmayor

Great ending to a great show. One thing I never connected until this last episode... Was Cheese Randy's father? Both had the last name of Wagstaff...

dvd182

Nothing was ever mentioned about them being connected, but I suppose it's possible.

I think Cheese's name initially was actually Flagstaff (or something like that, it written on the namecards on the photo bulletin board), but it got changed by the writers somewhere along the way.

jackepstein

David Simon confirmed that Cheese is Randy's father.

Regarding Marlo's future... It's pretty obvious that he isn't cut out for the business world, and his desire (hubris) to be known and feared by all will always trump Levy's advice on remaining clean. In other words, Marlo will return to the only thing he's ever known, and will end up in jail or dead. Marlo cannot change who he is.

dgmayor

That's what I took out of it as well.

BDB

I get the sense that Levy did leave the number in the rolodex so that Herc would take it.

And would know that Herc would give it to the cops who would wiretap it. Levy was all about the cash and the big pay days

LordofWar

It was a great ending to a great series. I felt bad for the 'Good' Kid who was looking for a job and at the end you see him shooting up H.

macnorton

Much like the Sopranos ending....the perfect end to a perfect show! Bring on the season 5 DVD!

uteotw

That may be a bit of an overstatement. People seemed to be split about 50/50, with tons of people hating the stupid "cut to black" artsy BS and others liking it. Unlike that, I don't see ANYONE talking about how much they hated The Wire finale. The Wire gave you a glimpse of almost everyone without overdoing it, while The Sopranos left you wondering (at least about Tony).

Re Scott the reporter, that's the part that makes no sense. I have no problem with "unhappy" endings, but these days writers/reporters get busted fairly frequently (see "Why They Lie," great article in today's Chicago Trib.) and easily, so the whole coverup/awards thing seems a stretch.

Birrman54

I though the explanation was pretty good, the real powers at the paper had been the one pushing Scott's work, and his 'coverage' of the homeless. Anything that would discredit that work would also embarrass them, and probably jeopardize their careers.

It's much easier for them to quietly stop reporting it, accept some awards, and move on.

slop101

I thought it was a lot more like the 6 Feet Under ending where you get a good deal of closure for all the main characters.

IIG

I'm with you, both were great finales. In many ways, the final season of The Wire felt like the final season of The Sopranos as well... Kudos to HBO for sending both shows out with a bang.

uteotw

I guess it does fit with the "sometimes a good coverup is necessary" theme, but a coverup could jeopardize a career too. That all those above him would rather cover it up and get awards than expose one liar seems a bit much. It made more sense in the McNulty storyline, since many careers and serious criminal charges were at stake. I worked as a reporter for about 5 years and it just didn't ring true.

I did really like the fact that both McNulty and Lester quit rather than be delegated to some non-police role for the rest of their careers. Good for Daniels, too.

If anyone' interested, here's a pretty darn good column on the Series Finale.

dvd182

I also liked the shot with the statues that mirrored the final scene of the series premiere. Great callback.

Jericho

Did McNulty quit? I kinda assumed he was willing to ride it out "on the boat" or wherever, much like Lester once did. Of course that was back when he thought Marlo would go down. Once he didn't that could change things.

I do realize he said he was former police when he went to Richmond. That could be taken literally or figuratively. But at the wake, it seemed Lester was really leaving, but McNulty was only symbolically leaving. I don't know, I could go either way on it I suppose.

macnorton

Wow a lot of people responded to my Sopranos comment...impressive.

Being from NJ (more specifically Sopranos Country), the ending of that show was perfect. Because it caused 25 million people across NJ to scream "what the fuck" at the TV all at the same time.

Anyways, I compare the two because they both make the excellent point of life goes on no matter what. Not sure about Six Feet Under...I have watched the 1st season and that is it. I heard the ending is great though.

macnorton

Not as in depth, but it sums up my feelings:

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/rant.aspx?id=20080307