The Wire Series Finale: Were All of the Strings Tied Together?

The Wire has long been one of the most underrated shows on television. HBO bestowed all of their love, promotional muscle and marketing money behind their oldest son, The Sopranos. In return, it was The Sopranos who received the slew of awards, nominations and of course, the high ratings. Everybody loved big brother, even when his performance slipped and he was merely a shell of his old self. Being first has its benefits. Meanwhile, The Wire toiled on in obscurity; little brother could just never get out of his older sibling's shadow no matter how clearly he outshined him. The Wire never shouted for attention and it never cried for acclaim-but it richly deserved both. The Wire series finale just aired and the show has reached its conclusion. Were all of the strings together and could fans of the show rest easy?

Realistically, how does one end a show such as The Wire that for so long has mastered the craft of being sustained? Year in and year out The Wire found a way to extend and weave together plot lines and character arcs that seemingly had nothing to do with each other. So what could the The Wire series finale possibly have done to live up to expectations?

Nothing that happened in The Wire series finale could have satisfied everybody. A lot of that sentiment is born from the selfishness and greed on the part of fans of the show...including me. It's the fact that the show was so good; the fact that the fans didn't want it to end, that The Wire series finale could never have matched our wildest hopes and dreams. Even it did, we weren't ready to part with it yet. The Wire was just too superior to its peers; it was great television and drama and excitement at a time when all other television is tired and rehashed. It's Michael Jordan walking away not after the sixth championship, but after the third. It's Muhammad Ali never returning to the ring after his premature banishment.