I think I’ve watched the finale about 7 times in the last week and change.  The first time I watched it, I was blown away.  After a few more watchings to pick up nuance, that opinion isn’t changed.  It wasn’t a stirring, suspense-filled finale, but that’s not what the show’s ever given.  The endings have never been particularly unpredictable.  The fun was in seeing just how we got there, the expositions of the conflicts underlying all the decisions, all that fun stuff.  This was a finale built in that mold, and it was great TV.
So forget just recapping everything.  Let’s just go through and list the winners and losers.  Because, in the end, The Wire is all about the winners and losers.  I feel comfortable saying you’ll notice a pattern.
Rawls – Winner.  Absolute winner.  Good things happen when you’re concerned with little more than playing the game.  That also puts you in a position to know which of those rare moments an underling has when he can flip the game.
Daniels – Loser.  And you know what?  It’s his own damn fault.  He somehow thought that he could play the game all the way to the top and then change it, as if the game isn’t designed to prevent that.  Also funny–the dope boys know to launder their money, but a cop doesn’t.  Fool.
Pearlman – Winner.  Because she’s no longer wiht Jimmy McNulty.  Just keep it real.
Levy – Winner.  He cut that deal, and now his leak is no longer a concern.  That’s all gone away.  He’s the king once more.
Herc – Winner.  And for his presence on earth–even a fictional presence–we’re all losers.
Slim Charles – Winner.  Actually, let’s broaden that….
Slim Charles and the rest of America – WINNER!!!  I stood up in my house and clapped when Slim laid Cheese out.  I’ve been waiting all season for that.  The best part?  That scene was largely unnecessary.  The only reason for it was because David Simon knew we wanted to see Melvin Wagstaff get killed.  THank you, Simon.  And thank that little dude with the classic line, “this sentimental muthafucka cost us money.”
Marlo – Winner.  Yes, Marlo’s a big winner.  He got out the game with a golden parachute–kept his money, stayed out of jail, $10 million for the connect, and he’s out the game.  It was like he just got disbarred and sold his practice.  So what if he’s got nothing outside the game?  What did he really have in it?  Now, he can actually spend his money…assuming he has any idea what to get.
Chris – Loser.  Something to think about…you ever noticed the intimation that Wee-Bay and Cutty were snuggly in the joint?  Cutty referred to Bay as his “cut buddy.”  Hey man, I know what that meant when I was in college.  Well, Wee-Bay and Chris are hanging and…well, I’m just saying.  And Chris loses because of that whole life, no parole thing.
Michael – Loser.  Sad part?  The kid’s been losing his whole life in every way.  New Omar?  No, he’s a kid like Omar.  No way he makes it to live as long as Omar did.  Look at it that way, and he loses.
The Greeks – Winners.  Again.  Just posted up where they always were, and nobody gives a damn.  See-why-see-ell-eye-see-ay-ll.  Cyclical.
Freamon – Winner.  Know why?  Cuz he was always gonna be OK without the job.  Remember what he told Jimmy in season three.  Said he needed a life.  “A life, Jimmy.  Know what that is?  It’s the shit that happens while you’re waiting on moments that’ll never come.”  Lester was good without it.  He had his miniatures and his scripper.  What else is there, really?
McNulty – Winner.  That’s right.  The job was taking him to the grave, man.  See how much less drinking he did once he knew he was done for?  That’s victory.
Bubbles – WINNER!!!!  Finally let him in the house!
Gus – Loser.  Ugh, the copy desk?  Could someone in the writing game explain how foul that was?
Templeton – Winner.  Boo.
Kima – Who Cares?  Snitch.
Dukie – Loser.  Dude, he went straight to fiend status fast.  That was a classic fiend speech if I’ve ever heard one, all the way down to the convoluted story that ultimately led nowhere.  “Teacher must love yo black ass” is classic material.
Carcetti – Ugh.  I despise him.  He won governor?  Stuff like that makes me wonder if voter registration is little more than a jury duty trap.
The Game – and still Champeeeen!  Look, we all knew this.  THe winner in all of this was The Game.  The gods in these stories are the institutions, and we knew that from jump.  You thought McNulty would go down?  Noooooo….wasn’t no way to pull that off without taking everything down.
You thought Marlo’s people were gonna be spared because of tainted evidence?  How many people do you know that have gotten off because of stuff like that?  I guarantee you there are more that just never got to find out they were getting screwed.
The Game wasn’t going to lose.  Not to a reformed dirty cop or an editor or a kid that doesn’t think killing should be so arbitrary.  What we have to give Simon for this series is finding a way to do that without being whiny.  This is just how things go, folks.  Yeah, we can fight it, and we must fight it.  But don’t think for as econd this isn’t gonna be a monstrous fight.
Now the newspaper stuff?  Often whiny, yes.  Two-dimensional characters?  Yes.  But here’s the thing–the detachment of the papers from the rest of the plot was perfect.  The point was how detached the paper was from the life of the city.  None of the crucial elements of the story this season were in teh papers except, really, for the stuff that was made up.
And that’s so important because the papers, ostensibly, remain a voice of the people.  They are the ultimate check and balance for authority, really.  And when they’re looking at the wrong stuff–and doing so for the wrong reason–then what happens?
Simon attempted to show what gets reported and why.  He didn’t do a great job of that.  He did, however, do a good job of making the larger point, and the larger point was what was most important in driving Carcetti’s behaviors.  Then we got to everywhere from there, including ignored schools.
Yeah, schools.  See how we all forgot about that little problem?  That’s kinda how we forget things when they get off the front page in real life.  And if the schools slipped your mind, you have to acknowledge some of the effectiveness of the newspaper plot.  Even if it is the weakest thing Simon has given us.
I don’t wish for anything else from the story.  Am I curious?  Yeah.  But did I see everything I needed to see to wrap up that five-season narrative?  I did.
And I’m pleased.  More later, once I realize what I forgot.