Mission Accomplished (S03E12)
Airdate: December 19th 2004
Written by: David Simon
Directed by: Ernest Dickerson
Running Time: 63 minutes
One of the most pressing questions facing creators of twenty-first century television drama is determining precisely how long their series should last. This question has gained particular significance in the cable and streaming era, where creative freedom ostensibly increases while the emphasis shifts from quantity to quality. David Simon, the mastermind behind The Wire—arguably the most critically lauded television series of the early twenty-first century—initially envisioned his Baltimore epic spanning five seasons, a vision ultimately realised between 2002 and 2008. Yet a compelling argument can be made that The Wire could have concluded with its third season without diminishing its standing among critics or fans, particularly given how the season finale Mission Accomplished so elegantly synthesises previous narrative threads into a coherent, thematically rich conclusion. The episode, written by David Simon from a story co-authored with Ed Burns and directed by Ernest Dickerson, originally aired on December 19, 2004, and functions as both a season coda and a potential series finale that addresses the show's central thesis about institutional dysfunction with remarkable completeness.
The episode opens with the devastating consequences of Stringer Bell's shocking demise, a moment that reframes everything that has come before. Beside his bullet-riddled corpse sits Jimmy McNulty, appearing utterly hollowed out—his expression capturing the essence of professional and personal defeat. Everything he had pursued for years—the grand prize of arresting Baltimore's most elusive drug lord and personal nemesis—has been snatched away moments before triumph. To compound his misery, even the homicide investigation that might have offered professional solace appears doomed; property developer Adam Krawczyk, the sole witness to the murder, proves unwilling to cooperate, his reticence undoubtedly influenced by his political contributions to city administration figures who would prefer burying any connection between narcotics trafficking and Baltimore's "polite society." When Bunk Moreland, investigating the murder, speculates that Omar Little might be responsible—a theory the audience knows to be correct—McNulty, despite his considerable talents, dismisses this possibility in conversation with his friend. This moment encapsulates McNulty's fundamental limitation: his brilliance is often undermined by his inability to see beyond his own preconceptions, even when evidence stares him in the face.
Some measure of consolation, albeit grim, arrives through Avon Barksdale's reaction to his friend's death. Avon appears profoundly affected by Stringer's demise and his own indirect role in it, responding with uncharacteristic passivity and fatalism. He publicly contemplates ending his war with Marlo Stanfield and even expresses scepticism about Stanfield's responsibility for Stringer's death—a vulnerability completely alien to the hardened drug kingpin we've known. Only when his lieutenant Slim Charles reminds him that "war once started must be ended" does Avon reluctantly re-engage. Yet before his troops can execute their planned strike, Major Crime Unit receives Stringer's final tip about the Barksdale Organisation's safehouse and weapons stash, courtesy of McNulty's connection with Major Colvin. Lieutenant Daniels and his team raid the location, arresting Avon and his men on weapons charges and parole violations, effectively dismantling his entire organisation. Marlo Stanfield appears genuinely stunned by this unexpected windfall, though his underlings like Snoop quickly claim credit for Stringer's demise and its aftermath—foreshadowing the seamless transition of power that will define the series' conclusion.
Another death—though symbolic—occurs with Major Colvin, whose bold Hamsterdam experiment publicly unravels, creating a political scandal of monumental proportions. Colvin pays the full price for his fiasco, suffering a humiliating demotion, forced early retirement on a reduced pension, and the loss of a lucrative security position at Johns Hopkins University. Deputy Commissioner Burrell, ever the political survivor, manages to save his own skin, while Carcetti, sensing opportunity, forces the closure of Hamsterdam by inviting television crews to document the "crisis." The subsequent police raid proves swift and brutal, despite Mayor Royce's clumsy attempts to recruit progressive experts to preserve the experiment—only to be advised that such a move would be politically untenable. Royce, desperate to secure his base before upcoming primaries, agrees to have Marla Daniels take Eunetta Perkins' city council seat, while her husband continues his affair with Rhonda Pearlman, demonstrating how personal and political betrayals intertwine in Baltimore's power structure.
In the episode's most surprising development, Jimmy McNulty attempts to use these seismic events to transform both his career and personal life. He voluntarily leaves Major Crime Unit to return to uniformed patrol duty in the Western District, seemingly finding genuine satisfaction in the work. He begins moderating his drinking and even visits Beadie Russell, suggesting they might begin a relationship as kindred spirits—one far healthier and more stable than McNulty's previous entanglements. This glimmer of personal redemption stands in stark contrast to the institutional failures surrounding him, suggesting that while systems may be broken beyond repair, individual transformation remains possible, however fragile.
As a season conclusion, Mission Accomplished succeeds precisely because it adheres to David Simon's unsentimental, gritty realism in depicting Baltimore. The city and its institutions remain fundamentally dysfunctional, with those who attempted to make a difference suffering defeat and paying heavy prices—Stringer with his life, Colvin with personal disgrace. The city at episode's end is demonstrably worse off than when the season began: Hamsterdam, despite Johnny Weeks' tragic heroin overdose representing one of its few failures, showed genuine promise in reducing street-level violence, yet is abandoned, allowing dealers to return to street corners now dominated by the more vicious and violent Marlo Stanfield. Yet the ending isn't entirely bleak; glimmers of hope emerge through Cutty's successful boxing gym and McNulty's apparent personal turnaround, suggesting that meaningful change, however limited, remains possible at the individual level even when institutions fail.
There exists a palpable sense of finality in Mission Accomplished that would have made it function admirably as a series finale. References to the unfortunate Frank Sobotka from the previous season create narrative closure while acknowledging the show's cyclical nature. This approach was partly pragmatic; Simon and his team were aware of HBO's reservations about continuing the series, a hesitation that would ultimately result in a two-year gap before the fourth season. Given the show's consistently low ratings during the early cable era—when HBO was not yet the powerhouse it would become—the cult status The Wire enjoys today developed primarily through social media and internet memes in subsequent years. The episode's structure suggests the creators prepared for potential cancellation while leaving enough narrative threads open should renewal occur—a testament to their professional foresight.
Mission Accomplished also functions as a product of its specific historical moment, with the entire third season serving as Simon's allegory for America's frustrating experiences in Iraq. The episode's title directly references George W. Bush's infamous "Mission Accomplished" banner, displayed prematurely before the actual carnage in Iraq intensified. Simon, a known critic of the War on Drugs, clearly drew parallels between America's jingoistic, militaristic policies and Baltimore's futile attempts at urban reform. The final raids ending the Hamsterdam experiment, accompanied by Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries"—an obvious nod to Apocalypse Now and the Vietnam War fiasco—can be viewed as commentary on the 2003 US invasion of Iraq: spectacular and superficially successful, yet ultimately achieving nothing while exacerbating underlying problems.
This dimension gains an inadvertently prophetic quality through the character of Carcetti, who emerges in this episode as a proto-Obama figure. His passionate, eloquent speech criticising Royce's Hamsterdam fiasco cements his unlikely but plausible political ascent, mirroring Obama's "Hope and Change" rhetoric that would later propel him to the White House. Carcetti's ability to capitalise on others' failures while promising reform without substance anticipates the post-Obama political landscape. As we now know, both in Simon's Baltimore and in the wider American context, flowery rhetoric rarely translates to meaningful institutional change—systems remain stubbornly dysfunctional regardless of who occupies positions of power.
Despite its many strengths, Mission Accomplished is far from perfect. Ernest Dickerson struggles at times with pacing, particularly in the final scenes which feel unnecessarily drawn out. The episode also includes questionable "fan service" in the form of two explicit nude scenes featuring Sonja Sohn (Kima Greggs) and Lance Reddick (Cedric Daniels)—moments that could have been easily excised without damaging the narrative. While some might argue these scenes humanise the characters, they feel gratuitous within the episode's otherwise restrained aesthetic. The inclusion of these scenes suggests a momentary lapse in Simon's otherwise rigorous commitment to realism—a rare misstep in an otherwise masterful conclusion.
What ultimately elevates Mission Accomplished beyond a mere season finale to potential series endpoint is its thematic completeness. The episode demonstrates how power structures perpetuate themselves regardless of individual actors: Avon's arrest merely creates space for Marlo's more brutal regime; Colvin's experiment fails not because it lacked merit but because it threatened established power dynamics; Carcetti's rise confirms that political success depends more on opportunism than genuine reform. This cyclical nature—where meaningful change remains elusive despite individual efforts—is the series' central thesis, articulated with devastating clarity in this episode.
The montage that closes the episode—showing Herc and Colicchio arresting young dealers, Gray campaigning for mayor, Carver and a contented McNulty at roll call, Hamsterdam reduced to rubble, Cutty training boxers, Crutchfield cutting Bunk's tie, Donette grieving lost men, and Omar discarding his weapons—functions as a perfect encapsulation of The Wire's worldview. Each image tells a micro-story of institutional failure and individual resilience, suggesting that while systems may be broken, life continues with its mixture of tragedy and hope.
In retrospect, while The Wire benefited from continuing through five seasons to explore schools, media, and politics with equal depth, Mission Accomplished stands as a remarkably self-contained conclusion that could have served as the series' endpoint without diminishing its artistic achievement. The episode's power lies in its refusal to offer easy answers or false hope while simultaneously acknowledging the persistent human capacity for resilience and connection.
RATING: 7/10 (+++)
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