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The Best Episodes of The Wire Season 2

Every episode of The Wire Season 2 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of The Wire Season 2!

Binge this in 11h 50m•Peaking at 9.2/10

Told from the points of view of both the Baltimore homicide and narcotics detectives and their targets, the series captures a universe in which the national war on drugs has become a permanent, self-sustaining bureaucracy,

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    The Wire Season 2 Episode 1 - Ebb Tide
    7.6/10(7010 votes)

    #1 - Ebb Tide

    S2:E1

    'Ain't never gonna be what it was.' -- Little Big Roy Det. Jimmy McNulty--exiled to police-boat duty--makes a shocking discovery in the Baltimore harbor. Bodie drives to Philly to make a connection for the Barksdale crew and Stringer Bell takes the train to New York to feel out the crew's reticent suppliers.

    Directors:Ed Bianchi, Steve Shill
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. The Wire Season 2 Episode 2 - Collateral Damage
    8.0/10(6488 votes)

    #2 - Collateral Damage

    S2:E2

    'They can chew you up, but they gotta spit you out.' -- McNulty Major Valchek gets back at Sobotka for the church gift fiasco, and a feud begins. Valchek ups the ante by asking Deputy Commissioner Burrell for a detail to go after Sobotka. Avon Barksdale continues to run his empire from a prison cell--counseling his nephew D'Angelo and going after a guard who is harassing the organization's convicted hit-man Wee-Bey.

    Director:Ed Bianchi
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. The Wire Season 2 Episode 3 - Hot Shots
    8.0/10(6293 votes)

    #3 - Hot Shots

    S2:E3

    'What they need is a union.' -- Russell Bunk and Freamon chase their crime scene, a container ship, to Philly. Lt. Cedric Daniels--disgusted with his exile to the evidence control unit--makes it known that he's leaving. On orders from Barksdale, Bell finds a way to set up the correctional officer who's been harassing Wee-Bey. McNulty pursues the identity of the Jane Doe found floating in the harbor.

    Director:Elodie Keene
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. The Wire Season 2 Episode 4 - Hard Cases
    8.0/10(6192 votes)

    #4 - Hard Cases

    S2:E4

    'If I hear the music, I'm gonna dance.' -- Greggs Sobotka reprimands his nephew Nick for stealing the cameras and orders him to bring the cargo back--too late. McNulty is on a self-assigned moral mission to identify his floater, but his old partner, Bunk, says they have a more pressing matter at hand: to find Omar so he can testify against a Barksdale trigger man in one of last year's murders.

    Director:Elodie Keene
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. The Wire Season 2 Episode 5 - Undertow
    8.1/10(6067 votes)

    #5 - Undertow

    S2:E5

    'They used to make steel there, no?' -- Spiros Vondas Ziggy loses his prized Camaro to drug dealers. Unable to dump the homicide investigation on other agencies, Rawls measures Bunk for the blame, if the cases go unsolved. Homicide detectives hand out grand jury summonses to stevedores involved in the homicide case, and port cop Beadie Russell talks to an old boyfriend to find out how cargo disappears from the docks.

    Director:Steve Shill
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. The Wire Season 2 Episode 6 - All Prologue
    8.8/10(6938 votes)

    #6 - All Prologue

    S2:E6

    'It don't matter that some fool say he different...' -- D'Angelo Trying to let go of police work and return to his marriage, McNulty gives up on identifying his Jane Doe. In their investigation of Sobotka, the detectives discover a pattern in the computer and explain the connection to Daniels, but he still won't take the murders. Sobotka tries to play the political game on behalf of his union.

    Director:Steve Shill
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. The Wire Season 2 Episode 7 - Backwash
    8.2/10(5975 votes)

    #7 - Backwash

    S2:E7

    'Don't worry, kid. You're still on the clock.' -- Horseface Russell tells Sobotka the investigation is over, but, in fact, a port computer is cloned, and when a container goes missing, the detectives follow. Simultaneously, Greggs and Prez tap into a circuit of Russian prostitutes. With two sets of evidence, the detail goes to Pearlman. Neither crime merits wiretap--but a drug connect could give the case legs.

    Director:Thomas J. Wright
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. The Wire Season 2 Episode 8 - Duck and Cover
    8.3/10(6036 votes)

    #8 - Duck and Cover

    S2:E8

    'How come they don't fly away?' -- Ziggy McNulty is back to his old self, on a drunken binge. Urged by fellow stevedores to fight Maui, Ziggy is again humiliated. Worried about McNulty, Bunk tries to get Daniels and Rawls to take him on. After some labor, the wiretap is up--just in time to catch another disappearing can. Sobotka meets with The Greek and Vondas, and they decide to change up.

    Director:Dan Attias
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. The Wire Season 2 Episode 9 - Stray Rounds
    8.5/10(6086 votes)

    #9 - Stray Rounds

    S2:E9

    'The world is a smaller place now.' -- The Greek Bodie's effort to improve sales ends disastrously, forcing Bell to rethink his strategy. Ziggy pulls Johnny Fifty into a new caper that should make the Greeks pay off big. McNulty, undercover and outnumbered in the brothel, awaits 'rescue.' Daniels and Pearlman stay cool as Valcheck fumes over the change of targets--and Burrell pulls the rug out from under him.

    Director:Tim Van Patten
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. The Wire Season 2 Episode 10 - Storm Warnings
    9.0/10(6860 votes)

    #10 - Storm Warnings

    S2:E10

    'It pays to go with the union card every time.' -- Ziggy The Detail uses satellite technology to its advantage. Bodie is unhappy that Proposition Joe's people are slinging on his turf, but business flows--until a new face arrives. Stringer Bell looks to an unlikely solution to the problem. Valcheck visits the FBI in an attempt to get real results on the docks. Ziggy's deal with Double-G goes bad in a big way.

    Director:Rob Bailey
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. The Wire Season 2 Episode 11 - Bad Dreams
    9.2/10(7490 votes)

    #11 - Bad Dreams

    S2:E11

    'I need to get clean' -- Sobotka With the clock ticking, the Detail makes a desperate move, and Daniels reams out Landsman for dropping the ball. Nick's deceit is in the open as Sobotka is overwhelmed by bad news. The Greeks ease out of an encounter with the Detail, and Omar's suspicions are validated. The Detail hopes to find Vondas's boss, and Nick hopes to repair relations with the Greeks.

    Director:Ernest R. Dickerson
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. The Wire Season 2 Episode 12 - Port in a Storm
    9.0/10(6947 votes)

    #12 - Port in a Storm

    S2:E12

    'Business. Always business.' -- The Greek The Detail has a setback, while Russell and Bunk revisit Philly to look for evidence. Brother Mouzone talks with Stringer Bell about their agreement, leaving Bell to contend with a dissatisfied Avon Barksdale. Bubbles and Johnny pull another caper and McNulty and Greggs return to the Westside, where they discover new connections.

    Director:Robert F. Colesberry
    Writer:Unknown

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Season 2 Ratings Summary

"Ebb Tide" is the best rated episode of "The Wire" season 2. It scored 7.6/10 based on 7010 votes. Directed by Ed Bianchi, Steve Shill and written by Unknown, it aired on 6/1/2003. This episode is rated 0.4 points higher than the second-best, "Collateral Damage".