Every Episode of "The Wire," Ranked

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Season: 5

Episode: 6

Episode quote: “If you have a problem with this, I understand completely.” — Freamon

Season: 5

Episode: 5

Episode quote: “Just ‘cause they’re in the street doesn’t mean that they lack opinions.” — Haynes

Season: 5

Episode: 3

Episode quote: “They're dead where it doesn't count.” — Fletcher

Season: 5

Episode: 2

Episode quote: “This ain't Aruba, bitch.” — Bunk

Season: 5

Episode: 7

Episode quote: “They don't teach it in law school.” — Pearlman

Season: 1

Episode: 5

Episode quote: “…a little slow, a little late” — Avon

Season: 1

Episode: 2

Episode quote: “You cannot lose if you don't play.” — Marla Daniels

Season: 5

Episode: 8

Episode quote: “A lie ain’t a side of a story. Its just a lie.” — Hanning

Season: 1

Episode: 6

Episode quote: “…and all the pieces matter” — Freamon

Season: 4

Episode: 5

Episode quote: “If you with us, you with us.” — Chris Partlow

Season: 2

Episode: 8

Episode quote: “How come they don't fly away?” — Ziggy

Season: 3

Episode: 5

Episode quote: “I had such fuckin' hopes for us.” — McNulty

Season: 2

Episode: 2

Episode quote: “They can chew you up, but they gotta spit you out.” — McNulty

Season: 1

Episode: 12

Episode quote: “This is me, yo, right here.” — Wallace

Season: 3

Episode: 1

Episode quote: “Don't matter how many times you get burnt, you just keep doin' the same.” — Bodie

Season: 4

Episode: 7

Episode quote: “Aw yeah. That golden rule.” — Bunk

Season: 3

Episode: 9

Episode quote: “…while you're waiting for moments that never come.” — Freamon

Season: 5

Episode: 1

Episode quote: “The bigger they lie, the more they believe.” — Bunk

Season: 4

Episode: 9

Episode quote: “Might as well dump 'em, get another.” — Proposition Joe

Season: 4

Episode: 4

Episode quote: “No one wins. One side just loses more slowly.” — Prez

Season: 2

Episode: 1

Episode quote: “Ain't never gonna be what it was.” — Little Big Roy

Season: 1

Episode: 3

Episode quote: “The King stay the King.” — D'Angelo

Season: 1

Episode: 9

Episode quote: “Maybe we won.” — Herc

Season: 2

Episode: 4

Episode quote: “If I hear music, I'm gonna dance.” — Greggs

Season: 3

Episode: 8

Episode quote: “Crawl, walk, and then run.” — Clay Davis

Season: 4

Episode: 12

Episode quote: “That all there is to it?” — Bubbles

Season: 3

Episode: 4

Episode quote: “Why you got to go and fuck with the program?” — Fruit

Season: 2

Episode: 7

Episode quote: “Don't worry, kid. You're still on the clock.” — Horseface

Season: 1

Episode: 11

Episode quote: “Dope on the damn table.” — Daniels

Season: 5

Episode: 4

Episode quote: “Buyer's market out there.” — Templeton

Season: 2

Episode: 10

Episode quote: “It pays to go with the union card every time.” — Ziggy

Season: 3

Episode: 10

Episode quote: “Call it a crisis of leadership.” — Proposition Joe

Season: 4

Episode: 10

Episode quote: “World goin' one way, people another.” — Poot

Season: 2

Episode: 9

Episode quote: “The world is a smaller place now.” — The Greek

Season: 3

Episode: 7

Episode quote: “Conscience do cost.” — Butchie

Season: 1

Episode: 7

Episode quote: “A man must have a code.” — Bunk

Season: 5

Episode: 9

Episode quote: “Deserve got nuthin' to do with it.” — Snoop

Season: 1

Episode: 1

Episode quote: “…when it's not your turn” — McNulty

Season: 4

Episode: 3

Episode quote: “I love the first day, man. Everybody all friendly an' shit.” — Namond Brice

Season: 4

Episode: 11

Episode quote: “You play in dirt, you get dirty.” — McNulty

Season: 3

Episode: 2

Episode quote: “There's never been a paper bag…” — Colvin

Season: 2

Episode: 5

Episode quote: “They used to make steel there, no?” — Spiros Vondas

Season: 1

Episode: 8

Episode quote: “Come at the king, you best not miss.” — Omar

Season: 4

Episode: 2

Episode quote: “I still wake up white in a city that ain't.” — Carcetti

Season: 3

Episode: 6

Episode quote: “Just a gangster, I suppose.” — Avon Barksdale

Season: 2

Episode: 3

Episode quote: “What they need is a union.” — Russell

Season: 2

Episode: 12

Episode quote: “Business. Always business.” — The Greek

Season: 4

Episode: 8

Episode quote: “We got our thing, but it's just part of the big thing.” — Zenobia

Season: 1

Episode: 10

Episode quote: “And then he dropped the bracelets…” — Greggs

Season: 3

Episode: 3

Episode quote: “The gods will not save you.” — Burrell

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 Stelios Kazatzidis’ rendition of “Ena Sidero Anameno,” 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

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