WIRE, THE: FINAL GRADES {SEASON FOUR FINALE} (TV)
Summary
One in this dramatic series about the police and the criminals they target. This is the thirteenth and final episode of the series' fourth season, which focuses on the interactions between Baltimore's inner city educational system, the Stanfield drug trade, a tight mayoral race, and the MCU's ongoing war on dealers.
Bubbles turns himself in, claiming that he accidentally committed murder by poisoning Sherrod with cyanide. He begs to be put in prison and during the interrogation vomits on Landsman and Norris due to his withdrawal. After cleaning up, they find that Bubbles has hanged himself and rush to get him down; Bubbles barely survives. Greggs and Freamon investigate several clusters of bodies found in vacant houses in the West. Daniels knows that the Stanfields are likely behind the decomposed corpses and Burrell authorizes him to do what is necessary for the investigation. Freamon sends Greggs to go find Hauk. Bubbles talks to Landsman about Sherrod's death, and Bubbles is beside himself with guilt and regret. He again asks to be imprisoned. Landsman feels sympathy for Bubbles and plans to release him. Stewart tries to convince the co-op to pay for a new shipment of drugs to replace the one stolen by Little. The co-op declines until he threatens to cut off their supplies. Stanfield wishes to kill the one responsible for losing the stash, but Stewart is unwilling to do so, as his nephew Wagstaff was in charge.
Little and his crew split up the spoils of their robbery. Carver attempts to find a new guardian for Randy, although the Department of Social Services offers no help. Greggs asks Hauk to lend his assistance to the investigation; he states that he is still suspended, but she shames him into accompanying her. Policemen are told to inspect every vacant house in the city to uncover as many bodies as possible. Hauk shows Moreland and Greggs the street curb where where he and Dozerman pulled over Partlow and Pearson. They discover a puncture mark in the street where Hauk shot the railgun, but the nail is now gone. Wise is visited in the hospital by Colvin, who asks him about Namond. Broadus sees the police pulling out more bodies and is enraged anew by the killing of Little Kevin, believing the murder served no purpose. He kicks a nearby police car, which gets him arrested. Carcetti strategizes with his advisers, who note that the killings are taking attention away from Baltimore’s massive school deficit.
Little comes to Stewart and offers to sell the stolen shipment back to him. Slim Charles and Wagstaff become furious, but Stewart accepts Little's offer to sell it to him for a price of twenty cents on the dollar. Weems goes home and finds Lee having sexual relation, after which he gets Bug tucked into bed. McNulty asks Pearlman for her assistance in getting the charges against Broadus dropped. Weems tries to attend his first day in high school, but leaves after being intimidated by some older boys. Pryzbylewski’s class takes the statewide tests, as does Colvin’s. The major crimes unit ponders the evidence on Partlow and Pearson; they have no proper witness, but Moreland gets an idea. Colvin and Wise come to an agreement about Namond's future. Moreland visits Anderson's mother and she admits to having heard that Partlow and Pearson killed her son. Carver argues with a Department of Social Services representative about Randy being placed in a group home. He offers himself as a potential guardian for Randy but is told that he must pass a three-month screening process.
Moreland, Greggs, and Freamon find Partlow and Pearson and pull them over. Greggs finds a handgun in a hidden compartment in their van, leading to the pair's arrest. Stanfield and Stewart address Vondopoulos about the stolen shipment's details. Vondopoulos insists that the robbery was not a set-up on his part, and Stanfield takes him at his word. Stanfield is then informed of Partlow and Pearson's arrest; he orders that bond be posted for them and for Vondopoulos to be followed. Thanks to McNulty, Broadus is released, after which McNulty takes him to lunch. However, Metcalf observes Broadus getting into McNulty's car. Partlow and Pearson are processed, and the police obtain hair and blood samples from them. McNulty and Broadus eat in an arboretum. Noting that he feels “old,” Broadus says that he would never inform on a member of the Barksdale group, but believes that Stanfield must be taken down.
Colvin visits Brice in prison and asks him to give him custody of Namond, whom he believes is bright and will not survive on the streets. After being released from headquarters on bail, Partlow reports to Stanfield, who advises that he and Pearson lay low until things cool down. Colvin tells his colleagues that he fears Brice will return Namond to his mother. While working his corner with Carr and Spider, Broadus notices Partlow and Pearson in the shadows. He fires his gun at them, unwilling to leave his corner and challenging them to kill him. Hill sneaks up behind him and shoots him twice in the head, instantly killing him. Stanfield, Partlow, and Pearson visit Lee and give him the corner that Broadus ran. When asked by Pearson, Lee reveals that they killed Bug’s father for him. Carver informs McNulty about Broadus, leaving McNulty visibly upset. Carver is reprimanded by Mello for keeping Randy in the station overnight. Colvin and Parenti meet with Steintorf and Bennett to get their class funded, though the proposal is quickly rejected. Colvin is enraged that he was unable to make any progress, although Parenti believes that the research from their findings will help them to progress.
De’Londa visits her husband in prison, and he tells her that he backs Colvin's proposal. He tells her to let go of Namond, although she is reluctant to do so. Little gives Butchie his cut of the profits and they bid farewell. Wilson is angry that Carcetti opted not to accept the governor's funding for the school system, knowing that it would handicap his political future. McNulty finds Carr on his corner and asks who killed Broadus; Carr replies that Broadus was killed for speaking with the police. Weems visits Pryzbylewski and gives him a desk set as a present. A clearly touched Pryzbylewski encourages him to visit anytime. Colvin tells his class that the program is ending and they will be placed back in regular classrooms. McNulty tells Russell about the death of Broadus and says that he owes it to him to take down Stanfield. Carver is forced to bring Randy to a group home, and Randy says that he appreciates everything Carver tried to do for him.
McNulty requests that Daniels transfer him back to MCU, which Daniels does. Pryzbylewski resumes teaching his class, and despite his doubts, feels he is making progress with his students. Greggs and Walon go to visit Bubbles in rehab, though Greggs ultimately can't enter the unit. Lee successfully makes his first kill, shooting a drug dealer at Partlow's behest. Brice officially gives custody of Namond to Colvin, and they part on good terms. McNulty completes his transfer and is enthusiastically greeted by the rest of the major crimes squad. Hauk is put on trial by a police commission over the missing camera and falsified paperwork. Vondopoulos and Stewart are continually monitored by Stanfield. Parenti presents his findings to an assembly of academics, while Colvin walks out on the assembly. Daniels and Pearlman lunch with Carcetti as Burrell and Davis observe from a nearby table; Pryzbylewski is disappointed to find Weems dealing on a street corner with Lee instead of being in high school. Randy is brutally assaulted by the other boys in his group home and labeled as a snitch. Wise gets out of the hospital and resumes running his boxing gym, attended by his former nurse and now romantic partner. Lee reflects on tutoring Bug, but is awakened by Partlow and told to dispose of the gun used to shoot the drug dealer. Namond prepares for another day of school as he finishes breakfast at Colvin's house and glimpses Donut in his latest stolen car; they share a nod before Donut recklessly drives off.
This selection from the Alan Gerry Cable Collection has been made available by the Gerry Foundation, Inc.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: December 10, 2006 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:18:41
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:90588
- GENRE: Drama, police/private detective
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - Drama; TV - Drama, police/private detective; LGBT Collection - Drama
- SERIES RUN: HBO - TV series, 2002-2008
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- David Simon … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Nina Kostroff Noble … Executive Producer
- Joe Chappelle … Co-Executive Producer
- Ed Burns … Producer, Writer
- Karen L. Thorson … Producer
- Leslie Jacobowitz … Associate Producer
- Simon Egleton … Associate Producer
- Ernest Dickerson … Director
- Chris Collins … Writer
- Doreen Vail … Theme Music by
- Maurette Brown-Clark … Theme Music by
- J.B. Watkins … Theme Music by
- Dominic West … Cast, Jimmy McNulty
- John Doman … Cast, William Rawls
- Frankie Faison … Cast, Ervin Burrell
- Aidan Gillen … Cast, Tommy Carcetti
- Deirdre Lovejoy … Cast, Rhonda "Ronnie" Pearlman
- Clarke Peters … Cast, Lester Freamon
- Wendell Pierce … Cast, William "Bunk" Moreland
- Lance Reddick … Cast, Cedric Daniels
- Andre Royo … Cast, Reginald "Bubbles" Cousins
- Sonja Sohn … Cast, Shakima Greggs
- Jim True-Frost … Cast, Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski
- Robert Wisdom … Cast, Howard "Bunny" Colvin
- Seth Gilliam … Cast, Ellis Carver
- Domenick Lombardozzi … Cast, Thomas "Herc" Hauk
- Reg E. Cathey … Cast, Norman Wilson
- Chad L. Coleman … Cast, Dennis "Cutty" Wise
- Jamie Hector … Cast, Marlo Stanfield
- Glynn Turman … Cast, Clarence Royce
- J.D. Williams … Cast, Preston "Bodie" Broadus
- Michael K. Williams … Cast, Omar Little
- Corey Parker Robinson … Cast, Leander Sydnor
- Paul Ben-Victor … Cast, Spiros “Vondas” Vondopoulos
- Amy Ryan … Cast, Beatrice "Beadie" Russell
- Isaiah Whitlock Jr. … Cast, Clay Davis
- Jermaine Crawford … Cast, Duquan "Dukie" Weems
- Maestro Harrell … Cast, Randy Wagstaff
- Julito McCullum … Cast, Namond Brice
- Tristan Wilds … Cast, Michael Lee
- Gbenga Akinnagbe … Cast, Chris Partlow
- Hassan Johnson … Cast, Roland "Wee-Bey" Brice
- Jay Landsman … Cast, Dennis Mello
- Ed Norris … Cast, Edward Norris
- Delaney Williams … Cast, Jay Landsman
- Robert F. Chew … Cast, Joseph "Proposition Joe" Stewart
- Steve Earle … Cast, Walon
- Anwan Glover … Cast, Slim Charles
- Method Man … Cast, Calvin "Cheese" Wagstaff
- Kelli R. Brown … Cast, Kimmy
- Tray Chaney … Cast, Malik "Poot" Carr
- S. Robert Morgan … Cast, Butchie
- Ramon Rodriguez … Cast, Renaldo
- Stacie Davis … Cast, Miss Duquette
- Dan DeLuca … Cast, David Parenti
- Neal Huff … Cast, Michael Steintorf
- Dravon James … Cast, Grace Sampson
- Cleo Reginald Pizana … Cast, Coleman Parker
- Taylor King … Cast, Zenobia Dawson
- Jeffrey Lorenzo … Cast, Karim Williams
- Rakiya Orange … Cast, Charlene Young
- Felicia Pearson … Cast, Felicia "Snoop" Pearson
- Rico Sterling … Cast, Calvin
- Jason Wharton … Cast, Albert Stokes
- Keenon Brice … Cast, Aaron "Bug" Manigault
- Nathan Corbett … Cast, Donut
- Thuliso Dingwall … Cast, Kenard
- Destiny Jackson-Evans … Cast, Crystal Judkins
- Na'Dria Jennings … Cast, Chandra Porter
- Gary D'Addario … Cast, Gary DiPasquale
- Darrell Britt-Gibson … Cast, Darius "O-Dog" Hill
- Edward Green … Cast, Spider
- Sandi McCree … Cast, De'Londa Brice
- Kwame Patterson … Cast, "Monk" Metcalf
- Troj. Marquis Strickland … Cast, Ricardo "Fat-Face Rick" Hendrix
- Megan Anderson … Cast, Jen Carcetti
- Sheila Gaskins … Cast, Mrs. Anderson
- Michael Salconi … Cast, Michael Santangelo
- Karen Vicks … Cast, Jerilee "Gerry" Bennett
- Gregory L. Williams … Cast, Michael Crutchfield
- Duane Rawlings … Cast, Hungry Man
- Shenia Hatchett … Cast, Woman