I'm Satisfied

It's done.

The greatest television series in history is finished and all I can say is,

"I'm satisfied."

Last week's episode of The Wire was so powerful and gut-wrenching I wondered if I would feel let down this week. After all, with so many storylines reaching their climax it seemed like this week's episode could only weakly follow up.

Thankfully, I was wrong.

Watching characters reach destinies that could almost be said to be pre-ordained was strangely satisfying. I mean, typically if a story is predictable it's easier to lose interest. But, with The Wire, knowing where the story is headed is part of the overall enjoyment. It's a unique pay-off for staying committed to a show that is frustrating, angering, saddening and just plain difficult to bear.

It's kind of like David Simon is patting you on the back and saying "You get it."

So even though watching Dukie start down the horrible road of drug addiction made my stomach queasy, watching Bubbles sit down to his first dinner with his family in years made it worth it.

Even though I know Omar's ending was ignoble, I still rejoiced to see Michael using his superior intellect to carve out some sort of life for himself. Even if robbing drug dealers will probably only end in his death, the truth is, all life ends in death.

Only the journey matters.

That's what watching The Wire has been, a journey. I started late, only joining the cult in Season Four and then hastily watching all of the past seasons in a single crazy weekend. It's a journey that's opened my eyes to new realities and reinforced my previous beliefs about the failures of America.

We are all connected in this world. The decisions we make reverberate throughout other people's lives even when we don't realize it. That child we mentor, that donation we make to charity, it all makes a difference. Conversely, when we game the system, when we abdicate responsibility in our homes or neighborhoods, it makes a difference.

I love The Wire for reaffirming the connectivity of our lives. For reminding us that despite the barriers of class and race, we still need each other. The show didn't paint a rosy picture of our relationships, but it did show us that those relationships still exist no matter what we may have fooled ourselves into thinking.

For that, I'm satisfied.