In a way, singling out one episode is antithetical to The Wire, in which each season was really one twelve- or thirteen-hour story. But the penultimate episode encapsulated everything humane and heartbreaking about this sweeping Baltimore urban drama. In particular, it put a cap on the stories of four Baltimore teenagers, begun in The Wire's season 4 (the series' finest). In the last section of the episode, teen Michael (Tristan Wilds) breaks with the gang that's been using him by tenderly killing Snoop — who would have killed him otherwise — then goes on the run, saying a poignant goodbye to his little brother, Bug (whom he became a gangbanger to protect in the first place). The Wire gave urban crime a face, and here it put well-earned tears on all its fans' faces.
(HBO)