Season synopsis
Contains spoilers for this season and earlier seasons.
The story follows West Baltimore eighth-graders Michael Lee, Namond Brice, Randy Wagstaff and Duquan “Dukie” Weems as school begins and their friendships meet pressures from home and the corners. Former officer Prez Pryzbylewski becomes a math teacher and tries to reach students whom classroom rules and test targets leave behind. Major Colvin helps run a pilot program for disruptive pupils, where he sees how the boys respond to different kinds of guidance. Outside school, Marlo Stanfield tightens his grip on the corners through Chris Partlow and Snoop, while Lester Freamon’s stripped-down Major Crimes detail investigates a trail of bodies hidden in vacant houses. Carcetti campaigns for mayor as police commanders manipulate crime statistics to satisfy political demands.
The boys’ paths split as their circumstances catch up with them. Namond, whose mother pushes him toward the street and whose father is imprisoned, responds to Colvin’s attention; Colvin and his wife eventually take him into their home. Randy tries to tell police what he knows about a murder, but the information leaks and an arson attack leaves his foster mother badly burned, sending him back to a group home. Michael refuses the adult help offered by Cutty and becomes a soldier for Marlo. Dukie leaves school and ends up on the corner with Poot and Michael, while Bubbles’s effort to help Sherrod ends in Sherrod’s death; Bubbles attempts suicide before accepting help. Bodie, unwilling to accept Marlo’s murders, is killed after turning to McNulty. Carcetti wins the election, then discovers the city’s school budget crisis.