I am something of an militant purist when it comes to starting a new series already several seasons into its run. I avoid spoilers completely, refuse to discuss the show with anyone farther along than myself and have been known to enter a hermit-like state until the last disc is on its way back to Netflix. The thought of disregarding chronology just to catch up with a show I’ve been meaning to get into has never crossed my mind. It actually offends me. But as I laid in a vegetative state on my parents’ living room last week for the longest stretch of time since I got my driver’s license back in 1999, their 46″ Bravia flickering at me coyly, I decided it was finally time to give in to The Wire. With only season four on demand, temptation got the best of me and my principles were abandoned. I watched all 13 episodes in one marathon sitting. I am in love.

After even less deliberation, I decided to watch this Sunday’s season premiere earlier this week to gauge if I should go ahead with five before fully catching up. Besides the frequent references to this “Stringer Bell” character, so far I feel up to speed enough to forge on. The seal is already broken anyways.

So this fifth and final season of the The Wire finds the spotlight now fixed on the media in the city of Baltimore - particularly at The Baltimore Sun (a fake one, not the real one). The Major Crimes unit, reunited at the end of last season, is disbanded once again to as part of the city’s ongoing budget cuts for law enforcement. Having killed off one of my favorite characters and recruited another into the ways of the thug, Marlo and company are still eluding the taps and cameras with their savvy and commendable rejection of cell phones. Dear Bubbles is on the up and up again… but for how long? Omar will likely somehow be involved with Marlo’s imminent (we hope?) demise, but he was a non-entity in the opener. It’s unclear after the first episode where the season is going to take us, but we’ve been guaranteed a lot of death and the return of drunk McNulty.

The Wire really is one of a kind in its ability to weave so many people and plots into one grand, complex, gloriously poignant and supremely entertaining story. Season four is a tough act to follow, but at least half of the Fayette Mafia Crew (what happened to “4eva,” boys?) is still involved with the story. For that, I’m grateful. Then again, most of the series before that remains a mystery to me, so I don’t exactly know what I’m talking about. I will continue to watch this season simultaneously with the first three on DVD and promise to catch up soon. Stay tuned for authoritative commentary by at least mid-season.