My buddy swore I had to watch The Wire season 3 first, said it was the best starting point

I listened to him and started with season 3, and I was totally lost with all the characters and storylines. After 4 episodes I quit, then later started from season 1 and it all made sense. Has anyone else gotten bad advice on where to start a long series?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_laura1mo ago

The wild thing is, some people actually swear by starting season 3 first because it's got the most action right away. But that totally misses the point of how the show works. Every single character and storyline in season 3 only matters because of what happened in seasons 1 and 2. You really need that foundation to understand why Stringer Bell is doing what he's doing and who the hell Marlo even is. Honestly, it's like trying to read the third Harry Potter book first - you'd miss all the setup that makes the good parts hit harder.

adamgreen2mo ago

Did you read that article about how The Wire is actually designed to be watched in order because each season builds on the last? Honestly that's wild advice from your buddy, starting a dense show like that mid-way is just asking for confusion.

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oliviagrant2mo ago

This happened to a friend of mine actually. She started watching The Wire at season 3 because her boyfriend insisted the middle was better and she spent the whole time asking who everyone was. I told her to just start over from the beginning and she finally got it. The show really does build on itself season by season, so skipping ahead is like walking into a movie halfway through. If someone wants to enjoy it properly, tell them to just buckle down and start with episode one. It's worth the extra time for sure.