The WORST episodes of The Wire
Every episode of The Wire ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of The Wire!
Follows one single drug and homicide investigation throughout the length of an entire season. Centered on the drug culture of inner-city Baltimore, the series' storyline unfolds from the points of view of both the criminals lording the streets and the police officers determined to bring them down.
#1 - The Target
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 6/2/2002
Baltimore detective Jimmy McNulty gets assigned to a new task force.
#2 - The Detail
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 6/9/2002
McNulty feels the heat when a witness who testified against D'Angelo is killed.
#3 - Ebb Tide
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 6/1/2003
Det. McNulty—exiled to police-boat duty—makes a shocking discovery in the Baltimore harbor.
#4 - Old Cases
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 6/23/2002
Greggs and McNulty try to get Hardcase to turn informant.
#5 - The Buys
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 6/16/2002
The early-morning "field interviews" by Herc, Carver and Prez result in a minor riot.
#6 - Time After Time
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/19/2004
A wave of urban reform brings down the notorious Franklin Terrace public housing towers.
#7 - Refugees
Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/1/2006
A major case gets a new detective; Marlo is burned in poker; Colvin and Cutty get new jobs in the school system.
#8 - All Due Respect
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/26/2004
Omar continues his bold strikes on Barksdale stash houses, which are now heavily guarded.
#9 - Dead Soldiers
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/3/2004
Colvin feels the sting of Burrell and Rawls during a Comstat assessment of his district's felony numbers.
#10 - Boys of Summer
Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/10/2006
Four boys play out their summer; Royce and Carcetti hit the campaign trail.
#11 - More With Less
Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/6/2008
Budget cuts hit the police hard; corporate downsizing frustrates the staff of a local newspaper.
#12 - Hard Cases
Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 6/22/2003
Sobotka reprimands his nephew Nick for stealing the cameras and orders him to bring the cargo back.
#13 - Amsterdam
Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/10/2004
West Baltimore residents get some surprising straight talk at a community meeting from Major Colvin.
#14 - Collateral Damage
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 6/8/2003
Major Valchek gets back at Sobotka for the church gift fiasco and a feud begins.
#15 - The Pager
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 6/30/2002
McNulty's detail finally gets "clone" pagers to track Barksdale and his gang.
#16 - Hot Shots
Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 6/15/2003
Bunk and Freamon chase their crime scene, a container ship, to Philly.
#17 - Alliances
Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/8/2006
Burrell feels the heat from Royce; Marlo tries to enlist Michael; Dukie debunks Randy's 'special dead' theory.
#18 - Home Rooms
Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/24/2006
Royce takes extreme measures; the detail gets a new boss and agenda; Prez survives his first day at school.
#19 - Undertow
Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 6/29/2003
Ziggy loses his prized Camaro to drug dealers who aren't buying his alibis about not paying up.
#20 - Soft Eyes
Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/17/2006
Pearlman is on thin ice; Marlo plays Robin Hood; Prez preps for school; Carcetti drops a bombshell on Royce.
#21 - Corner Boys
Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/5/2006
Carcetti makes the rounds; Colvin uses corner logic in class; Daniels sees his stock rising.
#22 - Straight and True
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/17/2004
Frustrated in his reform efforts, Colvin delivers a message to the next level of corner management.
#23 - Unto Others
Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/29/2006
Royce and Carcetti make their peace; Prez has a good day; Greggs uses 'soft eyes' at a crime scene.
#24 - Know Your Place
Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/12/2006
Bubbles fingers a witness for Herc; Colvin offers an incentive; Andre turns to Proposition Joe for help.
#25 - The Wire
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 7/7/2002
McNulty and Greggs ask for a delay in a murder bust in order to preserve the wiretap.