In the series’ final five episodes, which take place from November 2008 through Mardi Gras 2009, the promise of economic and cultural recovery — heightened by the historic election of a new president — is tempered by sobering economics, continued police corruption, and the ongoing specter of violence and crime. Still, the connection Treme’s protagonists have with their city keeps them committed to its future — and to building their own legacy in this most iconic of American cities.