Season synopsis
Contains spoilers for this season and earlier seasons.
Budget cuts leave Baltimore’s police short of overtime and The Baltimore Sun short of reporters, as managing editor Thomas Klebanow and editor James Whiting press staff to produce prominent stories with fewer resources. City editor Gus Haynes and reporter Alma Gutierrez try to protect careful reporting while Scott Templeton invents details to make his work stand out. After the department suspends its investigation of Marlo Stanfield, Jimmy McNulty is frustrated that the crew is beyond police reach. He stages a murder scene to suggest a serial killer targeting homeless people. Lester Freamon joins the scheme and diverts the resulting money into an illegal wiretap on Marlo. The ruse draws the Sun, City Hall and the whole department into a story that none of them can verify independently.
As the false serial-killer case expands, Templeton fabricates contact with the killer and gains acclaim, while Haynes investigates his reporting. The wiretap helps police arrest Marlo and his crew, but Levy recognizes the illegal surveillance and negotiates Marlo’s release; Chris is convicted for the vacant murders. Omar is killed by a child in a corner store, and Marlo briefly tries legitimate business before returning to a corner. Kima tells Daniels about McNulty and Freamon’s fraud, and Carcetti chooses a cover-up to protect his political future. Daniels refuses to accept the department’s demands, while McNulty and Freamon leave the police. Haynes is demoted and Templeton keeps his Pulitzer. Bubbles reunites with his sister at a family dinner; Michael becomes a stick-up robber, Randy remains in institutional care, and Dukie develops a heroin addiction. The final turns echo earlier lives without stopping Baltimore’s drug trade or its institutions from carrying on.