The Wire’s Controversial Season 5: Time to Reconsider the Fake Serial Killer Plot

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Detective Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West) did a lot of stuff to piss off the bosses in The Wire. By far his biggest caper, faking a serial killer in Baltimore to squeeze money out of city hall, became the most divisive storyline of all five seasons of the show. I recently finished up my almost-annual re-watch of the show, available to stream on Max, and it’s time we stopped being so mad at McNulty’s fake serial killer.

It May Be Unrealistic, But What About Hamsterdam?

One of the most common complaints I’ve seen since The Wire wrapped up its final case 17 years ago is that the serial killer plotline is “unrealistic.” McNulty creating the criminal murdering homeless men is not something that could ever happen, the argument goes, and for a show so grounded in reality, it’s too far of a bridge for fans to cross. I honestly understand that argument, but why does it get such scrutiny when other stories don’t?

Take, for example, Hamsterdam. In Season 3, one of the most lauded seasons in the show’s run, Bunny Colven (Robert Wisdom) sets up the “Free Zone,” nicknamed “Hamsterdam” by the corner boys. Colven is tired of fighting the hopeless war on drugs and so he drives all the dealers to a deserted part of town, making life better for “civilians” without the slinging and violence in their neighborhoods. It’s a great idea, but it’s even more unrealistic than McNulty’s serial killer. There’s no way an open-air drug market on that scale could exist for a few days, much less weeks like it does on the show.

Season 3 is praised, while Season 5 is derided, yet both have completely unrealistic major storylines. Frankly, both seasons are excellent and among the best TV has ever offered, and neither plot ruins either. Both serve the purpose they intended; Hamsterdam highlighting the fruitless war on drugs, and the serial killer showing the police department is more interested in stats and public relations than actually fighting crime, including providing the money to do so. Sometimes we have to remember that for all its realism, The Wire is not a documentary and it’s meant to entertain as much as it is to inform.

Season 5 Is A Fantastic Finish To The Show

Fans of The Wire know that the show faced trials and tribulations while it was airing. It was never a ratings hit for HBO, and it seemed that after every season, the show’s future was in serious doubt. The fact that the show made it five seasons is a bit of a miracle. We should all be grateful that it did and that it ended as well as it did.

The montage in the finale as McNulty looks over Baltimore is one of the best closing scenes in television history, (and one of McNulty’s best moments) wrapping up storylines while it wordlessly highlights that the more things change, the more they stay the same. The corners are still the corners, the schools are the schools, and the police department is the police department. Take a rewatch of Season 5 on Max and tell me it’s not better than you remember.

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2025-03-16 01:11