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The Worst Episodes of The Wire

Every episode of The Wire ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of The Wire!

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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 Worst Episode
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    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 1 Episode 1 - The Target
    7.8/10(11147 votes)

    #2 - The Target

    S1:E1

    "... when it's not your turn." - McNulty. Baltimore homicide detective Jimmy McNulty gets into hot water and winds up assigned to a detail of narcotics outcasts charged with investigating drug lord Avon Barksdale and his powerful operation in Franklin Terrace. Meanwhile, Avon's nephew D'Angelo is fresh off beating a murder rap, but he finds himself demoted upon his return to the gang.

    Director:Clark Johnson
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. The Wire Season 3 Episode 1 - Time After Time
    7.9/10(6008 votes)

    #3 - Time After Time

    S3:E1

    "Don't matter how many times you get burnt, you just keep doin' the same." -- Bodie A wave of urban reform brings down the notorious Franklin Terrace public housing towers, forcing the Barksdale drug crew to find a new home. Stringer Bell uses a new sales strategy as he awaits Avon's return. McNulty and the Detail look to make a case against Stringer with a wiretap on a drug ring run by Proposition Joe.

    Director:Ed Bianchi
    Writer:Unknown

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

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

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

    #6 - 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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  7. The Wire Season 5 Episode 1 - More with Less
    8.0/10(5261 votes)

    #7 - More with Less

    S5:E1

    "The bigger the lie, the more they believe." - Bunk Moreland. McNulty and the detail continue to stake out Marlo and his crew. Recently promoted Sergeant Carver is met with complaints concerning unpaid overtime. Meanwhile, Haynes deals with cutbacks, but is still able to expose a politician's connection to a drug dealer; and Joe, Marlo, Fatface Rick meet to divide up the drug trade across Baltimore.

    Director:Joe Chappelle
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. The Wire Season 1 Episode 2 - The Detail
    8.1/10(8968 votes)

    #8 - The Detail

    S1:E2

    "You cannot lose if you do not play." - Marla Daniels. McNulty feels the heat when a witness who testified against D'Angelo is found murdered. Meanwhile, Greggs is given the lay of the land regarding Avon Barksdale's key players, and Herc, Carver and Prez find big-time trouble at the towers.

    Director:Clark Johnson
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. The Wire Season 1 Episode 3 - The Buys
    8.1/10(8388 votes)

    #9 - The Buys

    S1:E3

    "The king stay the king." - D'Angelo. The early-morning 'field interviews' by Herc, Carver and Prez result in a minor riot, a boy losing an eye and some bad publicity for the department. On the other side of the law, D'Angelo teaches Wallace and Bodie how to play the game (chess) and later impresses Bell with his 'take' from the low-rises.

    Director:Peter Medak
    Writer:Unknown

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

    #10 - 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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  11. The Wire Season 5 Episode 2 - Unconfirmed Reports
    8.1/10(5046 votes)

    #11 - Unconfirmed Reports

    S5:E2

    "This ain't Aruba, bitch." - Bunk Moreland Freamon keeps a look out for Marlo, who is putting together a deal with Avon Barksdale. Davis goes to Burrell for help, but finds that the commissioner's hands are tied. Whiting puts together a series on broad strokes.

    Director:Ernest R. Dickerson
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. The Wire Season 1 Episode 4 - Old Cases
    8.2/10(8088 votes)

    #12 - Old Cases

    S1:E4

    "It's a thin line 'tween heaven and here." - Bubbles. Greggs and McNulty try to get Hardcase to turn informant as arraignment begins for those caught in the raid. Barksdale places a bounty on the head of rival gang leader Omar. Meanwhile, McNulty takes Bubbles on a cultural field trip, and Herc and Carver try to track down Bodie.

    Director:Clement Virgo
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. The Wire Season 1 Episode 5 - The Pager
    8.2/10(7746 votes)

    #13 - The Pager

    S1:E5

    "..a little slow, a little late." - Avon Barksdale. McNulty's detail finally gets 'clone' pagers to track Barksdale and his gang, but nobody can crack the codes used by the callers. Meanwhile, Bell instructs D'Angelo on how to school his lookouts while simultaneously flushing out a possible snitch. Later, Carver and Herc find Bodie, but their interrogation doesn't turn up results.

    Directors:Peter Medak, Clark Johnson
    Writer:Unknown

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

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

    #15 - 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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  16. The Wire Season 3 Episode 2 - All Due Respect
    8.3/10(5772 votes)

    #16 - All Due Respect

    S3:E2

    "There's never been a paper bag." -- Colvin Omar continues his bold strikes on Barksdale stash houses, now heavily guarded. Under orders from Stringer Bell, Bodie faces a critical test against Marlo, a fierce young dealer with lucrative corners. As the wire on Proposition Joe continues to yield little, McNulty launches his own reinvestigation of last year's prison suicide of D'Angelo Barksdale.

    Director:Steve Shill
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. The Wire Season 3 Episode 3 - Dead Soldiers
    8.3/10(5744 votes)

    #17 - Dead Soldiers

    S3:E3

    "The gods will not save you." -- Burrell Colvin feels the sting of Burrell and Rawls during a Comstat assessment of his district's felony numbers; a blown wiretap forces Daniels's detail to turn to a new target; Proposition Joe cautions Stringer Bell that the police have been tapping phones. Carcetti continues to curry favor in Mayor Royce's inner circle.

    Directors:Rob Baieu, Rob Bailey
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. The Wire Season 3 Episode 4 - Amsterdam
    8.3/10(5710 votes)

    #18 - Amsterdam

    S3:E4

    "Why you got to go and fuck with the program?" -- Fruit West Baltimore residents get surprising straight talk at a community meeting from Major Colvin. Bubbles finds gainful employment; Stringer lunches uptown; and Bunk dangles the promise of immunity to a group of corner boys, in exchange for help. Greggs learns how Marlo takes care of business as Bubbles instructs her on the next big thing: disposable cell phones.

    Director:Ernest R. Dickerson
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. The Wire Season 4 Episode 1 - Boys of Summer
    8.3/10(5779 votes)

    #19 - Boys of Summer

    S4:E1

    "Lambs to the slaughter here." - Marcia Donnelly Four West Baltimore boys wrestle with what to do with the rest of their summer vacation as the new fall school year approaches. Bodie deals with his corner running slower than usual so he decides to take on a runner. Marlo believes he has finally solved the problem that Stringer could never figure out. Freamon, Greggs, and Sydnor go to Pearlman to see if she will issue City Hall subpoenas. Meanwhile, the mayoral race heats up as Mayor Royce and his primary challenger, Tommy Carcetti each hit campaign trail. Prez begins preparing for his new career in higher education, while McNulty ends up turning down a promotion.

    Director:Joe Chappelle
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. The Wire Season 4 Episode 4 - Refugees
    8.3/10(5337 votes)

    #20 - Refugees

    S4:E4

    "No one wins. One side just loses more slowly." - Prez Freamon and Greggs move to Homicide, while Herc and Dozerman join Marimow in the lackluster Major Crimes Unit. Cutty gets a "custodial" job at Tilghman School picking up truants, but struggles to make progress while trying to mentor Michael. Bubbles works to get Sherrod back in school as an 8th grader. Burrell finds a way to sabotage the state-witness murder investigation before the election, impacting Greggs. Prez's struggles as a teacher continue while Bodie finds himself working for a new "company". Meanwhile, Colvin pitches his pilot program to the middle school and Carcetti meets with a constituency when he knows that they won't support him regardless of what he says. Randy is faced with a dilemma after being busted for his candy scam and Proposition Joe plays Marlo in a high-stakes heist.

    Director:Jim McKay
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. The Wire Season 5 Episode 6 - The Dickensian Aspect
    8.3/10(4949 votes)

    #21 - The Dickensian Aspect

    S5:E6

    "If you have a problem with this. I understand completely." - Freamon Marlo's crew goes on full alert after Omar's mysterious disappearance. Meanwhile, Carcetti concentrates on the plight of the homeless, while Bunk has an interview with a witness connected with the row-house case, and Templeton looks to a follow up to his recent front page story.

    Director:Seith Mann
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. The Wire Season 1 Episode 7 - One Arrest
    8.4/10(7429 votes)

    #22 - One Arrest

    S1:E7

    "A man must have a code." - Bunk. Tipped off by the wire, Greggs, Herc, Carver and Freamon make a bust, but the incident makes Avon and Stringer suspicious, leading them to close shop in the Pit. Meanwhile, Bunk and McNulty look for another witness in the Gant slaying and hunt a suspect known as 'Mr. Bird.'

    Director:Joe Chappelle
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. The Wire Season 1 Episode 8 - Lessons
    8.4/10(7419 votes)

    #23 - Lessons

    S1:E8

    "Come at the king, you best not miss." - Omar. An unlikely source gives McNulty the tag of a car driven by Stringer Bell. Meanwhile, Greggs and Carver bust a congressional aide carrying dirty cash, but are forced to let him go. Omar earns his 'loose cannon' moniker.

    Director:Gloria Muzio
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. The Wire Season 4 Episode 2 - Soft Eyes
    8.4/10(5457 votes)

    #24 - Soft Eyes

    S4:E2

    "I still wake up white in a city that ain't." - Carcetti In the hopes of possibly saving her job, Pearlman and Freamon continue arguing over the subpoenas, as the election draws closer. Carcetti drops a bombshell on Royce during their televised debate, while Herc makes a shocking discovery about the Mayor himself. Marlo decides to help the young kids in their preparation for school. Namond gets some advice from his father. Bubbles decides to assist his business apprentice in getting an education, while Cutty continues his two jobs; landscaping and boxing mentor.

    Director:Christine Moore
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. The Wire Season 4 Episode 5 - Alliances
    8.4/10(5319 votes)

    #25 - Alliances

    S4:E5

    "If you with us, you with us." - Chris Partlow Commissioner Burrell loses Royce's support; Chris Partlow tries to recruit Michael to become a soldier in Marlo's unit; Dukie shows Randy and the boys that the missing are really dead; Odell Watkins drops his support for Royce and considers an offer from Councilman Carcetti.

    Director:David Platt
    Writer:Unknown

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Worst Episodes Summary

"Ebb Tide" is the worst rated episode of "The Wire". 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 scored 0.2 points lower than the second lowest rated, "The Target".