WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Mission Accomplished! Well, no, not really. As anybody who lived through the days of the Iraq War in the wake of September 11, that banner that then-president George W. Bush stood victoriously in front of represented anything but a "job well done." And with the end of this season, David Simon, Ed Burns, and co. complete their War on Terror allegory in spectacular fashion. The irony of the "Mission Accomplished" slogan is not lost in the creation of this show as the...

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD Jacob and Willy go in deep on what many TV types consider to be the best TV episode. We talk about how Brother Mouzone may or may not have special levitating powers, all the mistakes Stringer made along the way to get himself shot twice in the chest, and how his swan song hangout session with Avon is really uncomfortably powerful. Other topics include how Joe Chappelle is on the VIP list of Wire directors for making cops glued to their computer screens must-see...

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! In this episode, Willy and Jacob talk about how the MCU has to deal with the loss of Prez. There's also quite a bit of discussion about Brother Mouzone's return to Baltimore and using Lamar (the real-life Deandre McCullough) and his "visceral homophobia" to pinpoint Omar's location. The New Day Co-op leadership offers up an ultimatum to Stringer in an effort to reign in Avon and his murderously impulsive behavior. Bunny lets Carver know that he recognizes his talent,...

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Prez accidentally shoots and kills a cop named Derrick Waggoner and feels really bad about it. McNulty goes out for late-night sex sessions in Washington D.C. and leaves his kids home alone, but Teresa D'Agostino eventually drops him when she finds out he is apolitical and didn't finish college. Avon is upset about his nephew's death but decides to suck it up in front of his sister. Cutty begins to break ground on his new venture, but not without going through a whole...

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD Realizing the lifecycle of a typical burner phone, Lester Freamon and Prez know they're going to have to switch up the methods of tracking calls, which sends KimNulty on an expedition across state lines and to many different convenience stores. McNulty hits on Kima despite the fact that she's a lesbian and has just moved back in with her girlfriend. Carver starts to realize the problems of not having any authority figures in Hamsterdam and so forms a brain trust with...

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!  Omar starts doubting his stances after getting chewed out by Bunk and does the magic trick of making Dozerman's gun reappear. Cutty, instead of mowing down rival gangsters, temporarily puts his heart and soul into mowing down blades of grass in an effort to leave the Barksdale mentality behind for good. Stringer tries to take advantage of the free zones and encourages Bodie to set up shop. McNulty screws over Daniels to get the case focused back on Stringer. Avon is...

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Marlo makes it clear that he doesn't want to be a team player, but because of a misunderstanding, Kima and McNulty (KimNulty) believe that he is now the head honcho of the Baltimore drug market, prompting them to urge Daniels to make the case about Stringer again. Jimmy fails to convince people that D'Angelo's death was a homicide, partially out of people's willingness to lighten the workload.   Avon doesn't want any part of Stringer's new business ventures to...

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! The long-standing friendship between Johnny and Bubbles starts to get cracks in their foundation as they no longer see eye-to-eye on performing capers that involve robbing contractors who find themselves in unsafe situations, painting buildings on rickety ladders with no supervision. Carcetti gets a crash course in how the city treats its' state witnesses. Cutty slaps a girl in his awkward return to Avon's crew. Shamrock doesn't realize that Robert's Rules of Order...

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Bunny checks in on the city's attitude towards crime in the neighborhoods when he attends a local town hall, Carcetti approaches Teresa D'Agostino to court her to become his campaign manager, Cutty starts to slip back into Avon's world, and McNulty learns of Stringer's developing plans while taking the heat from Freamon. The sound is a little rough for this one, folks. Sorry about that! If you'd like to donate go to www.anchor.fm/thegodswillnotsaveyou/support. ---...

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Another celebrated novelist, Dennis Lehane, makes his debut on the show as we witness the Comstat carnage continue. Bunny's unorthodox plan to get the statistics in his favor starts to take shape as his Lieutenant looks on in disbelief. Carcetti's Machiavellian tactics prove to be as successful as they are polarizing in the early stages of his grabs for power, making Burrell question who he can really trust. Bodie begins to realize how much of a threat Marlo is and...

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD On his debut episode in the writers' room, acclaimed novelist Richard Price is tasked with re-introducing Omar into the story, while also going deep into the world of dogfighting. McNulty continues to prove that he can never simply follow orders and goes off to investigate D'Angelo's "suicide." Burrell and Rawls are downright ornery in the Comstat meetings, and we get more insight into Cutty's state of mind as he tries to figure out his path. Thank you everybody for...

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Willy and Jacob are excited to be back to talk about Season 3 of "The Wire." Season 3 provides commentary on the crises of the post 9/11 era, like the war on terror, through the lens of drug reform and local political infighting. We talk about some of the things in this episode that hint at future disasters for all the characters in law enforcement, drugs, real estate development, and mayoral politics. To start with, we are introduced to Mayor Clarence Royce, who...

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD RIP Robert F. Colesberry who directed this great episode and who tragically died before the team began production on season 3. As a swan song of a person who spent decades honing his craft with incredible filmmakers, this work communicates why he was such a valuable asset to David Simon and Ed Burns and Willy and Jacob dissect some of the directorial decisions he made to benefit not only this episode, but the series as a whole. We wrap things up on the dock with "Port...

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD In the Season 2 penultimate episode, WIlly and Jacob talk about how George Pelecanos' fingerprints are all over this one; from major character deaths to music selection, this is one of the classic episodes that cemented his status as a heavy-hitter in the writing room. Other things that are discussed include some info about non-actor cameos, commentary on how Omar and Brother Mouzone are an odd couple but also more alike than they may realize. We hope you enjoy it, and...

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD Double G's duplicitous back-door-appliance-store dealings become the straw that breaks the camel's back and Ziggy goes full-on postal. The detail makes some broad discoveries about tracing this new form of communication called text messaging, which seems comical, 17 years later, when most children have iPads. Valchek continues to have a singular focus on the FBI's investigation and shows just how far he is willing to go to thwart good police work in order to settle a...

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD In this episode, we discuss the momentous first appearances of Howard "Bunny" Colvin and the real Jay Landsman, how Bodie can't catch a break after getting in a gun battle that leaves a 9-year old dead, how the show continues to subvert our expectations by riffing on typical cops-and-robbers tropes, how Jimmy has to spin a lustful encounter into an occupational hazard, the Baltimore bar scene's flagrant disregard for animal health and safety violations, the restaurant...

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD McNulty turns to drunken debauchery and promiscuity in a painful reaction at his failed attempts of rekindling romance with his wife, Elena. The detail makes the case to Pearlman for a wiretap citing the evidence of Nick's drug dealing. Seeing how McNulty is rapidly approaching rock bottom, Freamon and Bunk desperately plead with Daniels to get McNulty involved in the case, knowing that he isn't functional without good police work to keep him busy. Ziggy is pissed that...

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD Nick, who once promised Ziggy he wouldn't succumb to selling drugs, starts selling drugs. Prez and Kima continue to look forward to being temporarily able to mix work and hedonistic pleasure. Herc and Carver learn the hard way that tennis and law enforcement don't mix.  The detail has DNRs for Sobotka and Horseface, but are shocked to find out that human trafficking does not allow for a wire tap permit but drug-dealing does.  With his inability to read the room,...

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD Beadie Russell, once considered an outsider and an amateur, really starts to throw her weight around and helps the detail figure out that Sobotka's unexplained earnings are more likely from smuggled containers than from drugs. Bunk and Freamon struggle to convince Lieutenant Daniels that the murder investigation and the Sobotka racket are intertwined. Prez, Kima, and Sheryl take an awkward trip to a strip club off of a tip from Shardene in an effort to start looking...

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! We have officially ended #Docktober and we are now going into #NoCrossingThePicketLineNovember. Come celebrate with us by listening to our recap of this incredible episode, which features the grand entrance of M-E-T-H-O-D MAN as Cheese (Proposition Joe's nephew)! And he shows up to shake Ziggy down for his incompetence (duh!) with handling the package that he bought off of him, setting off tension with the eastside and Prop Joe.  An apologetic Carver joins the detail...

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Kima starts "dancing" again, causing her relationship with Sheryl to suffer. Frank chews out Nick for stealing and then flipping the cameras. In a bit of hardball with Burrell, Daniels agrees to lead the Sobotka detail, which also signifies the beginning of the end of his marriage with Marla. McNulty, who is unable to escape Rawls' unforgiving grip and is forced to stay in the marine unit, continues to go rogue and pursue the clues of the murder investigation of the...

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD Bunk and Lester keep running into dead ends and language barriers aboard the Atlantic Light in Philadelphia on the case with the dead women in the can. Jimmy can't help but go rogue with his own unofficial investigation into the sex trafficking victims but Bunk, Lester, and Beadie all wildly outpace him.  The Sobotka detail goes nowhere,  which prompts Valchek to lash out at Burell. Avon Barksdale gets his revenge on Tilghman. Nick and Ziggy Sobotka boost a bunch of...

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Valchek lashes out at Sobotka for beating him to the punch with the church window, and an epic pissing contest gets off to a roaring start. Avon Barksdale operates his organization from jail while doing his version of "looking out" for his nephew. Port Cop Beatrice Russell finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation as a result of McNulty lending an unfriendly hand to the investigation. 44:13- "The Wire" Universe 46:45- All The Pieces Matter 59:55- Geo...

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! The dismantled detail leaves The Wire's viewers confused and scattered in the second season premiere. With a brand spanking, new intro montage and a different version of the opening song, David Simon and Ed Burns expand their world-building outside of Franklin Terrace and into the docks of Baltimore where stagnating wages and advances in technology are erasing the middle-class workforce. Being pushed up against a wall, financially, Frank Sobotka from the Stevedore's...

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! We wrap up talking about the incredible first season by reading bizarre online reviews of The Reptile House in Druid Hill, where Wee-Bey killed Little Man. We also discuss how depressing of an episode this is since almost nothing goes right for the detail's investigation which should have resulted in a career case, the shoddy nature of Bubs' hard-fought battle for sobriety, D'Angelo's difficult decision to flip on his uncle, and all of his friends (haha, just kidding...