Ep 1. Ebb Tide

The Wire season 2 episode 1, "Ebb Tide," begins as a cargo ship arrives at the Baltimore port, bringing with it a new set of characters and an entirely new angle on the show's focus. The season's main storyline revolves around the city's illegal drug trade being pushed to the side as the focus shifts to a complex and long-standing controversy over the port's union.

Frank Sobotka (Chris Bauer), a leader of the longshoremen's union in Baltimore, is called to meet with the Greek in an attempt to be offered a deal that would change his family's fortune. The Greek, a mysterious and powerful figure, is heavily involved in smuggling illegal drugs, and needs the help of the union to get his goods in and out of the port without being noticed. The connection between the Greeks and the union, however, goes deeper than simply smuggling drugs, and Frank Sobotka sees this as a chance to finally change the corrupt neighborhood he lives in.

Meanwhile, back in the familiar territories of the show, things are slowly but surely changing for the worse. McNulty (Dominic West) and his partner Bunk (Wendell Pierce) are investigating a murder scene that wouldn't typically be within their jurisdiction, but are trying to solve the case regardless. The case takes a turn for the worse when they find out that the victim was the driver for a member of the state legislature.

The new season of The Wire introduces new faces, new problems, and new layers of corruption within Baltimore. With the new focus on the longshoremen's union, it is clear that the city's problems go far beyond just drugs and violence in the streets. The end result promises to be a gritty, in-depth look into the many layers of corruption and dysfunction that shape the city of Baltimore.