The Baltimore PD contends with budgetary problems, as Marlo appears to be scheming towards more influence in the city drug trade.
This is a very strong introduction to series five that sets the scene well and makes great character introductions.
The end of series four hinted that Carcetti's promises would herald nothing more than a false dawn and the implications of this are brilliantly shown in several scenes. Characters throughout the command chain deal with the fallout of the schools' fiscal deficit in a plausible portrayal, recognisable to me from my own observations of publicly funded organisations.
We see how numerous characters have developed since they were last encountered and there are some very interesting re-introductions, particularly the likes of McNulty, Daniels, Carver, Herc, and the top brass of the BPD. All actors are on great form as ever. I particularly enjoyed Wendell Pierce and Delaney Williams in the incredibly humorous opening scene. I cannot recall ever laughing so much at the whirring noise of a photocopier.
The Baltimore Sun and its characters are integrated seamlessly into the show's narrative. Considering all the public interest at stake throughout various storylines of The Wire, it feels that the press should take an interest and feature heavily in aspects of its narrative. Gus Haynes is the standout new face on the show for me and he is played believably and charismatically by Clark Johnson.
Visually, the show has lost none of its powers of cinematic storytelling. The streets of Baltimore are used fantastically well, as are the interiors depicting various departments. I love the shot compositions and camera movement inside the Baltimore Sun newsroom.