WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Willy and Jacob get right into discussing episode 2, which sees the ramifications of William Gant's execution as McNulty and Bunk try to tie it to the detail's goal of bringing down the Barksdale organization. Other material covered includes Jacob's David Simon "grand chicken conspiracy" and an in-depth discussion of some o…

WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD: We have reached our final episode of "The Gods Will Not Save You: The Wire Revisited," in which we discuss every episode of the hit original HBO series, "The Wire." We want to take this opportunity to thank anybody who has engaged with us and our project along the way. Whether you've listened to us from the beginning, came …

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Carcetti continues to do a complete 180 from what he campaigned on. He gets back into bed with Clay Davis and Nerese Campbell, in order to advance his position in the gubernatorial race. Freamon bluffs his way into blackmailing Davis and giving up the crucial nugget of information: the lawyers are part of the money trail. M…

WARNING, SPOILERS AHEAD! Clay Davis lies on the stand, humiliating Bond and eradicating any of his political ambitions. Carcetti okays the police to do whatever they want, leading McNulty to make requests that would have previously seemed outlandish. Gus continues to suspect that Templeton is a fraud when the Iraq war veteran that Scott interviewed…

WARNING, SPOILERS AHEAD! McNulty finally gets the serial killer story to blast off when he fakes a call to Templeton, does a soft kidnapping of a homeless man, and gets Carcetti's full support. But he soon starts to regret this when everybody in the department comes to him begging for OT and manpower to work their own cases. Freamon needs more time…

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! McNulty tries to out fake Templeton, by claiming that there's fake probable cause for wiretapping the Baltimore Sun because Templeton faked a call from the "serial killer." Without even waiting for approval, Freamon sets up a wiretap on Marlo's phone. Omar plays hide-and-seek in the utility closet at the same apartment comp…

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! With Proposition Joe out of the way, Marlo takes on the position of being Vondas and the Greeks' Baltimore drug connection, proving that loyalty never meant anything to them and that they were always primarily concerned with their bottom line. Dukie continues to be the victim of bullying even with Michael's protection and n…

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Kenard really ticks off Officer Colicchio by setting up a brown paper bag dog feces decoy, which causes him to assault a teacher and therefore forces Carver to grow as a person and as a cop. Proposition Joe tries to send out signals to Omar that he's upset about Butchie's death, but he doesn't take into consideration that M…

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Michael, fresh off a new wave of PTSD after he refused to kill a kid in a home invasion, plays hooky from dealing drugs, to go to Six Flags with Dukie and Bug, where they meet girls from Virginia with sidekick phones. Bunk is still mad at McNulty for creating a fake serial killer, so he enlists the help of Freamon to talk s…

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Dee-Dee makes her final appearance on the show as she tells her story in an NA meeting attended by Bubs. Bubs himself, is being pressured by Walon to tell his full story of how he got clean, thinking that it will be the only real way he could ever get true clarity. Clay Davis feels the walls closing in on him and lashes out…

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Willy and Jacob dive right into discussing what is easily the most controversial season of "The Wire" with its' premiere episode, "More With Less." Among the many things covered are how Tom McCarthy may or may not have been shamed into making an oscar-winning movie about good journalists because he played such a bad one in …

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! For this episode, we also get into some spoilers for another David Simon show, "The Deuce," so proceed with caution. Bubs feels guilty about accidentally killing Sherrod, so he confesses to his crimes before trying to hang himself, which causes Landsman to have a rare change of heart about the clearance rate. Bodie, feeling…

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! This might be the most depressing episode of "The Wire" ever because by the end of its running time Randy is destined to get sent back into the foster care system, Namond gets exposed for being a big softie, Dukie's family gets evicted, Michael becomes one of Marlo's henchmen, Bunny's pilot program is pretty much done for, …

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! The Boys of Summer decide to exact their revenge on Officer Walker by keying his car, dumping yellow paint on him, and stealing his ring, which makes Namond realize that Michael might be more involved with nefarious activities than he had previously thought. Bodie and McNulty have an awkward meetup where they both commisera…

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! URGENT MESSAGE! As we stated, we were going to donate all of our Anchor funds to Michael K. Williams' non-profit organization, "Making Kids Win" but were unable to. So, instead, we donated everything to his other non-profit organization "We Build The Block." You can either donate to us at anchor.fm/thegodswillnotsaveyou/sup…

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! In this week's episode, we address the tragic loss of the great Michael K. Williams. We make the announcement that all of our donations to our podcast, which can be made at anchor.fm/thegodswillnotsaveyou/support will now go to the incredible non-profit he co-founded to curb mass incarceration and gun violence among kids, "…

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Willy and Jacob are back to talk about how Robert Chew (R.I.P.) had a Looney Tunes-sized catalogue of vocal impressions from which to draw on when pulling a fast one on law enforcement. We also discuss Chris and Snoop's classic banter on Baltimore radio and how they find out if somebody is from New York, how Bunny is finall…

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Willy and Jacob talk about how truly messed up Chris' plan to frame Omar is, how Ronda's meeting with the new State's Attorney gives her conscience an awakening, how Namond continues to prove to all of us that he's just all talk, how Carcetti's meeting with Royce after the election is super cringe, and how the dirty politic…

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Willy and Jacob give their thoughts on the opening of the episode that sees the mayoral candidates at their respective church services and Carcetti and his family performing some truly atrocious dance moves. The mayoral race, by the way, has some potential last-minute game changers that keep everybody on their toes but the …

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! There is internal conflict at Mayor Royce's office, which means Burrell is unceremoniously shunned, while Rawls pulls a two-faced switcheroo. Prez stumbles on his disciplinary tendencies and Bunny rocks the boat with Parenti when he suggests a strategy that could be read as "tracking." Chris and Snoop make a job offer to Mi…

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Willy and Jacob talk about Cutty's stint as a "custodian" (more like a truant officer) and how we are sometimes in disbelief that people don't understand how public schools get funding. World-class dumb guy, Lieutenant Marrimow, takes over the MCU causing Greggs and Freamon to leave in disgust while Herc gladly comes back i…

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Omar feels strange that he can walk down the street just to buy a box of cheerios, and a crew would voluntarily give up their package out of fear. Marlo finally gives Bodie the Stanfield ultimatum, while keeping a watchful eye on Michael. Mayor Royce uses unethical tactics to get back at Carcetti after being humiliated at t…

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! We discuss how Herc accidentally walks in on the mayor and one of his female staffers engaging in extramarital oral sex. Marlo and his friends conduct cacophonous target practice in Leakin Park, and has a phone conversation with Old-Faced Andre that bewilders the MCU. He also tries to bribe his way into a web of trust with …

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Jacob and Willy are back from accomplishing their mission of finishing out Season 3, to discuss the Season 4 opener, "Boys of Summer." Season 4, which is about the education system and all the people that are subservient to it and who run it, is considered by many die-hard Wire fans to be the absolute best. This season is c…

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 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 pow…

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…

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 neph…

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 bac…

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 ta…

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 h…

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 …

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. Th…

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…

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 downrigh…

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 char…

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 disse…

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 …

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 continu…

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 l…

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…

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 s…

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 Sobo…

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…

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 escap…

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 g…

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 investigati…

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 a…

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 shod…

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Well, this is the episode that we've all been anxiously waiting for since the beginning of the season. The many instances of foreshadowing of Wallace's death pays off in a major tour de force way in a scene that is both agonizing and mesmerizing. Culminating in a brilliantly, written, acted, and directed scene that you can'…