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The Wire
S3.E11
All episodesAll
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Middle Ground

  • Episode aired Dec 12, 2004
  • TV-MA
  • 59m
IMDb RATING
9.6/10
8.8K
YOUR RATING
Michael Potts and Michael Kenneth Williams in The Wire (2002)
CrimeDramaThriller

The wire begins to yield information about the Barksdale organization. Stringer and Avon reminisce on how far they have come. McNulty finds the way to a key piece of the puzzle in an unlikel... Read allThe wire begins to yield information about the Barksdale organization. Stringer and Avon reminisce on how far they have come. McNulty finds the way to a key piece of the puzzle in an unlikely place. Awaiting his fate, Colvin works behind the scenes to shape the outcome of Amsterd... Read allThe wire begins to yield information about the Barksdale organization. Stringer and Avon reminisce on how far they have come. McNulty finds the way to a key piece of the puzzle in an unlikely place. Awaiting his fate, Colvin works behind the scenes to shape the outcome of Amsterdam, while protecting his men from possible repercussions.

  • Director
    • Joe Chappelle
  • Writers
    • David Simon
    • George Pelecanos
    • William F. Zorzi
  • Stars
    • Dominic West
    • John Doman
    • Idris Elba
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    9.6/10
    8.8K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Joe Chappelle
    • Writers
      • David Simon
      • George Pelecanos
      • William F. Zorzi
    • Stars
      • Dominic West
      • John Doman
      • Idris Elba
    • 19User reviews
    • 5Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos21

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    Top cast54

    Edit
    Dominic West
    Dominic West
    • Detective James 'Jimmy' McNulty
    John Doman
    John Doman
    • Deputy Commissioner for Operations William A. Rawls
    Idris Elba
    Idris Elba
    • Russell 'Stringer' Bell
    Frankie Faison
    Frankie Faison
    • Acting Commissioner Ervin H. Burrell
    Aidan Gillen
    Aidan Gillen
    • Councilman Thomas 'Tommy' Carcetti
    Wood Harris
    Wood Harris
    • Avon Barksdale
    Deirdre Lovejoy
    Deirdre Lovejoy
    • A.S.A. Rhonda Pearlman
    Clarke Peters
    Clarke Peters
    • Detective Lester Freamon
    Wendell Pierce
    Wendell Pierce
    • Detective William 'Bunk' Moreland
    • (credit only)
    Lance Reddick
    Lance Reddick
    • Lieutenant Cedric Daniels
    Andre Royo
    Andre Royo
    • Reginald 'Bubbles' Cousins
    Sonja Sohn
    Sonja Sohn
    • Detective Shakima 'Kima' Greggs
    Jim True-Frost
    Jim True-Frost
    • Detective Roland 'Prez' Pryzbylewski
    • (credit only)
    Robert Wisdom
    Robert Wisdom
    • Major Howard 'Bunny' Colvin
    Seth Gilliam
    Seth Gilliam
    • Sergeant Ellis Carver
    • (credit only)
    Domenick Lombardozzi
    Domenick Lombardozzi
    • Detective Thomas 'Herc' Hauk
    • (credit only)
    J.D. Williams
    J.D. Williams
    • Preston 'Bodie' Broadus
    • (as JD Williams)
    Michael Kenneth Williams
    Michael Kenneth Williams
    • Omar Little
    • (as Michael K. Williams)
    • Director
      • Joe Chappelle
    • Writers
      • David Simon
      • George Pelecanos
      • William F. Zorzi
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews19

    9.68.7K
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    10

    Featured reviews

    10ansharora-12638

    Game done changed man, for real this time

    Great great episode with a satisfactory end. Omar Little is people favorite character for a reason. Stringer Bell's character was brilliant and suave to perfection. Man, I love this show.
    10lachlanbaxter-64542

    This is what great TV is all about

    This is it right here. TV like this is what makes The Wire one of the greatest TV shows ever made.

    I knew after season 2 that this show was some of the best TV I'd ever seen but it just gets better and better and better and never lets up til the series finale.

    10/10
    9itsmadmadmadabtin

    no way this happened !

    This show always finds a way to mess with your head, make you question whats right and whats wrong, question the good guys and bad guys, and at the end, you just dont know what to hope for. Hope for justice to happen? What justice? The thing that happened in this episode, was that justice ? Everything is so complicatedly connected that for judging, you should consider every damn part, which makes the justice just, hard to happen, if not impossible.

    I have to give it to the writer for being brave enough to do this, i was not expecting this for a player like that, but it's all in the game man, and the game is unpredictable. Heartbreaking stuff.
    10cuddlesatusc

    The Writers did it

    I can't believe they actually did it. The complexity of Stringer and his want of changing the game is all tackled in this episode. There's a scene when the two men Avon and Stringer are having a good time and it's one of the most heartbreaking. Again, the payoff in this episode is extremely high and the writers have really outdone themselves. 10/10, I wish I could unwatch this episode to experience it new again.
    10wkhan-35155

    We aint gotta dream no more man

    It starts with a face off between the 2 coolest characters. Then there's the balcony scene, which is probably the greatest scene of all time. It's structured perfectly and there's so much symbolism.

    And it all leads to the ending.

    The ending of this episode had been built up for 3 seasons and is the greatest climax in the history of television.

    This is the best hour in all of television, the finale of Six Feet Under gives it a run for it's money though.

    Related interests

    James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Sharon Angela, Max Casella, Dan Grimaldi, Joe Perrino, Donna Pescow, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Tony Sirico, and Michael Drayer in The Sopranos (1999)
    Crime
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      When Omar asks if Brother Mouzine killed Dante, Mouzone responds "He's resting." This is very similar to the exchange between Mouzone and Omar in Bad Dreams (2003) when Mouzone, after Omar has shot him, asked if Omar killed his man, Lamar. Omar responded with "Nah, he's just resting."
    • Goofs
      When Stringer Bell is shot the camera angle behind the staircase shows that his body falls in such a manner that only his legs are showing from that angle. When his killers are leaving the said camera angle shows that his entire body can now be seen.
    • Quotes

      Stringer Bell: We ain't gotta dream no more, man. We got real shit. Real estate we can touch.

    • Connections
      Featured in The 57th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (2005)
    • Soundtracks
      White Tee
      (uncredited)

      Written and Performed by Dem Franchize Boyz

    Top picks

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 12, 2004 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Production companies
      • Blown Deadline Productions
      • Home Box Office (HBO)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 59m
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 4:3

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