Explore the most impactful episodes of the critically acclaimed series ‘The Wire’, a show that redefined the crime drama genre.
What Are The 10 Best Episodes of ‘The Wire’?
When it comes to deciding the best TV shows of all time, you know The Wire is going to come up. It’s a beautiful deconstruction of the city of Baltimore and both the cops and criminals that inhabit its borders.
Every time I do a rewatch, I’m kind of stunned at the worldbuilding and the scope of the show. And how much I love the characters.
Today, I performed the incredibly hard task of trying to pick the 10 best episodes of the show all time.
Let’s dive in.
1. “Middle Ground” (Season 3, Episode 11)
The end of the third season sees the disintegration of the Barksdale empire as Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell basically decide they hate each other and are playing different games.
But Stringer should have realized you can’t leave that world behind, because he’s isolated and murdered by Omar Little and Brother Mouzone, is a moment that has been etched into television history. And McNulty is sad, because the case he’s been building is now worthless; he never got Stringer, even though he had him, because the streets got him first.
2. “Final Grades” (Season 4, Episode 13)
You’re going to see a lot of episodes from the fourth season on this list because I think it’s the best of the series.
The culmination of the Baltimore school system season sees Randy’s life ruined and his mother murdered because he talked to Carver and Namond as if he were a kid who would make it out of the system. Michael has basically become a hitman, and Dukie is on drugs and begging for money. It is an episode that will break you emotionally. And there’s no way to fix this world.
3. “-30-” (Season 5, Episode 10)
This show is endlessly rewatchable because the moral code it carries has never changed. And in the series finale, we see the cyclical nature of the problems plaguing the city of Baltimore. Cops will always have cases and bodies because the corners will just change hands.
The final montage, set to the Blind Boys of Alabama’s “Way Down in the Hole,” is a masterful and poignant summary of the show’s legacy.
4. “Bad Dreams” (Season 2, Episode 11)
The second season gets a bad wrap, but it has some great episodes in it that have stood the test of time.
As Frank Sobotka’s world crumbles around him, with his son Ziggy in prison and the FBI closing in, Frank makes a desperate play, but the Greek kills him anyway. The episode is a powerful exploration of loyalty and desperation. It features a tour-de-force performance by Chris Bauer as the doomed union leader.
5. “Cleaning Up” (Season 1, Episode 12)
So many characters you love in The Wire die that by the end, you get desensitized. But man, the murder of Wallace by his friends Bodie and Poot, on the orders of Stringer Bell, still shakes me to my core.
We finally fully understand in this moment that these kids are playing a life-or-death game out there, and there’s no way most of them make it out.
6. “Mission Accomplished” (Season 3, Episode 12)
There are not many moments to rejoice in The Wire, and as season three ends, we get maybe the only one we’ve been waiting for: Stringer Bell is dead, and the Barksdale era is effectively over.
Avon is left to face the consequences of his war with Marlo Stanfield and the relentless investigation by the Major Crimes Unit.
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The episode is a masterclass in tension and release, as the actual wire finally leads to Avon’s arrest.
7. “That’s Got His Own” (Season 4, Episode 12)
The fourth season is the most emotionally wrought for me, and as it comes to an end, we’re left with kids whose worlds are collapsing around them.
Randy’s cooperation with the police has dire consequences, Michael is further drawn into Marlo’s world of violence, Dukie faces the harsh realities of his home life, and Namond is pushed to his breaking point.
The sense of impending doom hangs heavy over them, and we know we’re lining up a tragic end to the season.
8. “The Cost” (Season 1, Episode 10)
Being a cop in Baltimore is very dangerous, and in this episode, a buy-bust operation goes horribly wrong, leaving Detective Kima Greggs fighting for her life.
This is really the first time in the series where you understood that a lot of people are going to die doing this work, and it’s usually the ones who deserve it the least. It’s a tense and emotionally charged hour that underscores the human toll of the drug war on both sides.
9. “Boys of Summer” (Season 4, Episode 1)
I think season four is my favorite, but I’d really have to think on that. This episode introduces us to the central focus of the Baltimore school system through the eyes of four new young characters who we can tell are doomed.
It stresses you out watching these kids, hoping for the best, and knowing life might get in their way and derail them from ever making it out of there.
But it’s on this list because it also has one of the best opening scenes of all time.
10. “All Prologue” (Season 2, Episode 6)
The courtroom appearance by Omar Little in this episode is one of the greatest moments in show history. It sort of sums the whole series up: everyone is just trying to get paid and have power.
But the reason it hit the list is the death of D’Angelo Barksdale in prison. We understand why he gets whacked and how they made it look like a suicide, but D’Angelo’s journey throughout the first two seasons carried a desire for something more than the drug game, and his murder serves as a reminder that he could have been something else.
Summing It All Up
Those were my favorite episodes of The Wire, and I think they stand tall today as powerful and nuanced tales of life in the Baltimore streets.
Maybe I missed a few you think are better than the rest?
Let me know what you think in the comments.
