The Wire: it's all over now

Just finished watching the series finale, and while it wasn't as satisfying as prior seasons, it was still a nice capper to the best television show in the history of the medium. First, some of the scenes were downright hilarious: Carcetti's sputtering when he finds out about the serial killer ruse; McNulty and Daniels standing silently and grimly in the elevator; and the murder of Cheese -- of all of the heartbreaking deaths of this series -- was most pleasant in the context. Good for gravelly-voice Slim Charles.

Of course, the fact that the bad guys get rewarded, the good get punished, and nothing ever really changes in inner-city Baltimore (and the American city in general) were familiar motifs, most clumsily explored in the justice-free Sun plot. Omar lives on as Michael, Bubbles is redeemed only to be replaced by the bridge-burning Dukie (with a junk dealer, both literally and figuratively), and Marlo throws away every break he's been handed. It was funny to see Chris and Wee-Bay hanging out in prison, and Leander approaching the judge in the manner identical to Jimmy in the first episode of the series. It was also funny to see Kima confess to Jimmy and Lester -- an interesting parallel to the Stanfield crew trying to find out who the (fictional) snitch was.

I'll miss this show, but it ended at a good time. "I'm a free-born man of the USA ..."