The Wire
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The Wire

The epigraph is a quote from the episode that appears at the end of the opening credits sequence.

Epigraph list[]

Season Episode Epigraph Attributed to
1 "The Target" …when it’s not your turn. McNulty
"The Detail" You cannot lose if you do not play. Marla Daniels
"The Buys" The king stay the king. D'Angelo
"Old Cases" It's a thin line 'tween heaven and here Bubbles
"The Pager" …a little slow, a little late. Avon Barksdale
"The Wire" …and all the pieces matter. Freamon
"One Arrest" A man must have a code. Bunk
"Lessons" Come at the king, you best not miss. Omar
"Game Day" Maybe we won. Herc
"The Cost" And then he dropped the bracelets… Greggs
"The Hunt" Dope on the damn table. Daniels
"Cleaning Up" This is me, yo, right here. Wallace
"Sentencing" All in the game... Traditional West Baltimore
2 "Ebb Tide" Ain't never gonna be what it was. Little Big Roy
"Collateral Damage" They can chew you up, but they gotta spit you out. McNulty
"Hot Shots" What they need is a union. Russell
"Hard Cases" If I hear music, I’m gonna dance. Greggs
"Undertow" They used to make steel there, no? Vondas
"All Prologue" It don’t matter that some fool say he different… D'Angelo
"Backwash" Don’t worry kid. You’re still on the clock. Horseface
"Duck and Cover" How come they don’t fly away? Ziggy
"Stray Rounds" The world is a smaller place now. The Greek
"Storm Warnings" It pays to go with the union card every time. Ziggy
"Bad Dreams" I need to get clean. Sobotka
"Port in a Storm" Business. Always business. The Greek
3 "Time After Time" Don't matter how many times you get burnt, you just keep doin' the same. Bodie
"All Due Respect" There's never been a paper bag. Colvin
"Dead Soldiers" The Gods will not save you. Burrell
"Amsterdam" Why you gotta go and fuck with the program? Fruit
"Straight and True" I had such fucking hopes for us. McNulty
"Homecoming" Just a gangster, I suppose. Avon Barksdale
"Back Burners" Conscience do cost. Butchie
"Moral Midgetry" Crawl, walk, and then run. R. Clayton Davis
"Slapstick" …while you’re waiting for moments that never come. Freamon
"Reformation" Call it a crisis of leadership. Proposition Joe
"Middle Ground" We ain't gotta dream no more, man. Stringer Bell
"Mission Accomplished" We fight on that lie. Slim Charles
4 "Boys of Summer" Lambs to the slaughter here. Marcia Donnelly
"Soft Eyes" I still wake up white in a city that ain't. Carcetti
"Home Rooms" I love the first day, man. Everybody all friendly an' shit Namond Brice
"Refugees" No one wins. One side just loses more slowly. Prez
"Alliances" If you with us, you with us. Chris Partlow
"Margin of Error" Don't try this shit at home. Norman Wilson
"Unto Others" Aw yeah. That golden rule. Bunk
"Corner Boys" We got our thing, but it’s just part of the big thing. Zenobia
"Know Your Place" Might as well dump 'em, get another. Proposition Joe
"Misgivings" World goin' one way, people another. Poot
"A New Day" You play in dirt, you get dirty McNulty
"That's Got His Own" That all there is to it? Bubbles
"Final Grades" If animal trapped call 410-844-6286 Baltimore, traditional
5 "More with Less" The bigger the lie, the more they believe. Bunk
"Unconfirmed Reports" This ain't Aruba, bitch. Bunk
"Not for Attribution" They're dead where it doesn't count. Fletcher
"Transitions" Buyer's market out there. Templeton
"React Quotes" Just 'cause they’re in the street doesn't mean that they lack opinions. Haynes
"The Dickensian Aspect" If you have a problem with this, I understand completely. Freamon
"Took" They don't teach it in law school. Pearlman
"Clarifications" A lie ain't a side of the story, it's just a lie. Terry Hanning
"Late Editions" Deserve got nuthin' to do with it. Snoop
"-30-" The Life of Kings H. L. Mencken

Characters[]

Character Number Epigraph Episode
James McNulty 4 ...when it's not your turn. 1.01 "The Target"
They can chew you up, but they gotta spit you out. 2.02 "Collateral Damage"
I had such fucking hopes for us. 3.05 "Straight and True"
You play in dirt, you get dirty 4.11 "A New Day"
William Moreland 4 A man must have a code. 1.07 "Lessons"
Aw yeah. That golden rule. 4.07 "Unto Others"
The bigger the lie, the more they believe. 5.1 "More with Less"
This ain't Aruba, bitch. 5.2 "Unconfirmed Reports"
Lester Freamon 3 …and all the pieces matter. 1.06 "The Wire"
…while you're waiting for moments that never come. 3.09 "Slapstick"
If you have a problem with this, I understand completely. 5.6 "The Dickensian Aspect"
D'Angelo Barksdale 2 The king stay the king. 1.03 "The Buys"
It don't matter that some fool say he different… 2.06 "All Prologue"
Bubbles 2 It's a thin line 'tween heaven and here 1.04 "Old Cases"
That all there is to it? 4.12 "That's Got His Own"
Avon Barksdale 2 ...a little slow, a little late. 1.05 "The Pager"
Just a gangster, I suppose. 3.06 "Homecoming"
Shakima Greggs 2 And then he dropped the bracelets… 1.10 "The Cost"
If I hear music, I’m gonna dance. 2.04 "Hard Cases"
Chester "Ziggy" Sobotka 2 How come they don’t fly away? 2.08 "Duck and Cover"
It pays to go with the union card every time. 2.10 "Storm Warnings"
The Greek 2 The world is a smaller place now. 2.09 "Stray Rounds"
Business. Always business. 2.12 "Port in a Storm"
Proposition Joe 2 Call it a crisis of leadership. 3.10 "Reformation"
Might as well dump 'em, get another. 4.09 "Know Your Place"
Marla Daniels 1 You cannot lose if you do not play. 1.02 "The Detail"
Omar Little 1 Come at the king, you best not miss. 1.08 "One Arrest"
Thomas "Herc" Hauk 1 Maybe we won. 1.09 "Game Day"
Cedric Daniels 1 Dope on the damn table. 1.11 "The Hunt"
Wallace 1 This is me, yo, right here. 1.12 "Cleaning Up"
[[|Roy Pelzman|Roy "Little Big Roy" Pelzman]] 1 Ain't never gonna be what it was. 2.01 "Ebb Tide"
Beadie Russell 1 What they need is a union. 2.03 "Hot Shots"
Spiros Vondopoulos 1 They used to make steel there, no? 2.05 "Undertow"
Thomas "Horseface" Pakusa 1 Don't worry kid. You're still on the clock. 2.07 "Backwash"
Frank Sobotka 1 I need to get clean. 2.11 "Bad Dreams"
Preston "Bodie" Broadus 1 Don't matter how many times you get burnt, you just keep doin' the same. 3.01 "Time After Time"
Howard "Bunny" Colvin 1 There's never been a paper bag. 3.02 "All Due Respect"
Ervin Burrell 1 The Gods will not save you. 3.03 "Dead Soldiers"
Fruit 1 Why you gotta go and fuck with the program? 3.04 "Amsterdam"
Butchie 1 Conscience do cost. 3.07 "Back Burners"
R. Clayton "Clay" Davis 1 Crawl, walk, and then run. 3.08 "Moral Midgetry"
Russell "Stringer" Bell 1 We ain't gotta dream no more, man. 3.11 "Middle Ground"
Slim Charles 1 We fight on that lie. 3.12 "Mission Accomplished"
Marcia Donnelly 1 Lambs to the slaughter here. 4.01 "Boys of Summer"
Thomas "Tommy" Carcetti 1 I still wake up white in a city that ain't. 4.02 "Soft Eyes"
Namond Brice 1 I love the first day, man. Everybody all friendly an' shit 4.03 "Home Rooms"
Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski 1 No one wins. One side just loses more slowly. 4.04 "Refugees"
Christopher "Chris" Partlow 1 If you with us, you with us. 4.05 "Alliances"
Norman Wilson 1 Don't try this shit at home. 4.06 "Margin of Error"
Zenobia Dawson 1 We got our thing, but it’s just part of the big thing. 4.08 "Corner Boys"
Malik "Poot" Carr 1 World goin' one way, people another. 4.10 "Misgivings"
Michael Fletcher 1 They're dead where it doesn't count. 5.3 "Not for Attribution"
Scott Templeton 1 Buyer's market out there. 5.4 "Transitions"
Gus Haynes 1 Just 'cause they’re in the street doesn't mean that they lack opinions. 5.5 "React Quotes"
Rhonda Pearlman 1 They don't teach it in law school. 5.7 "Took"
Terry Hanning 1 A lie ain't a side of the story, it's just a lie. 5.8 "Clarifications"
Felicia "Snoop" Pearson 1 Deserve got nuthin' to do with it. 5.9 "Late Editions"
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