[0:00] So, a while back I released a video
[0:02] called The Sopranos's Ultimate Analysis
[0:04] Redux. And if you're familiar with it,
[0:06] then the concept here is exactly the
[0:08] same, except this video is for The Wire,
[0:10] as I promised I was going to do. So,
[0:12] just to explain, I tend to use still
[0:15] images in my videos rather than video
[0:17] clips due to copyright issues, and HBO
[0:19] in particular have often been really
[0:21] difficult when it comes to copyright.
[0:22] There was a period though where it
[0:24] seemed I could put short clips here and
[0:26] there in my videos and get away with it.
[0:28] So, I started to put more and more video
[0:31] footage in my videos. It was all going
[0:33] well, but then all of a sudden, one
[0:35] after another, the videos where I used
[0:37] clips from HBO shows started to get hit
[0:39] with copyright claims. So, I had to cut
[0:41] and trim segments of my videos out,
[0:44] which ended up making my videos skip and
[0:46] jump awkwardly. It caused me a lot of
[0:48] grief after all the research and work
[0:50] that went into videos for me to have to
[0:52] bastardize those videos, sometimes
[0:55] resulting in incomprehensible messes.
[0:57] But more recently, I won my first
[0:59] copyright appeal with HBO. And since
[1:02] then, I've been having much better luck
[1:04] with using video clips. And you may have
[1:06] noticed more and more actual footage
[1:08] from shows in my recent videos. But
[1:11] [ __ ] what about all those videos I had
[1:13] to chop up? I wouldn't have had to do it
[1:15] had I known how to appeal it back then.
[1:17] So, what I thought I'd do, and I've done
[1:19] this for the Sopranos already, was to
[1:21] take those videos that I had to cut
[1:23] wherever I actually had the original
[1:25] files and re-upload them into one
[1:28] massive video. And that's what this is.
[1:30] Some of my best wire videos are in this
[1:32] one, like Avon versus Stringer, who was
[1:34] right, and why did Canard kill. And the
[1:37] versions in this video are uncut,
[1:39] available to watch in the entirety. I've
[1:42] split this video into chapters, so you
[1:43] can jump to whichever video you want to
[1:45] see. So, let's go. I hope you have a
[1:47] good time with this video.
[1:52] [Laughter]
[1:55] >> The Wire is a critically acclaimed
[1:57] American television series created by
[1:59] David Simon. The show aired on HBO from
[2:02] 2002 to 2008, spanning five seasons with
[2:05] a total of 60 episodes. Centered around
[2:08] the city's drug trade, it's known for
[2:10] its realistic portrayal of various
[2:12] aspects of Baltimore, Maryland. And it's
[2:14] known for its multifaceted narrative
[2:16] structure, which takes a look at the
[2:18] likes of the city's educational system,
[2:21] print media, political system, among
[2:23] other institutions and bureaucracies.
[2:25] Omar Little is one of the most iconic
[2:28] characters from the wire. Portrayed by
[2:29] Michael K. Williams, Omar is a complex
[2:32] and compelling figure known for his
[2:33] strict moral code and distinct
[2:35] appearance. often walking around the
[2:37] streets of Baltimore with his sword of
[2:40] shotgun and bandana. A robber of drug
[2:42] dealers, Omar is a thorn in the side of
[2:44] the likes of Avon Barksdale, Stringer
[2:47] Bell, Proposition Joe, and Marlo
[2:48] Stanfield. His various exploits and the
[2:51] embellished retelling of them from the
[2:54] hoppers and street dealers of Baltimore
[2:56] makes Omar a legendary figure, a
[2:58] mythical one even, whose reputation
[3:00] precedes him to the extent that he can
[3:02] rock up to a stash house and have the
[3:04] good dope handed over to him without a
[3:06] hint of resistance. Oh, indeed. Many
[3:09] of's more wild and unbelievable stunts
[3:12] are actually based on real events, such
[3:15] as when he jumps out of a building four
[3:17] floors high. In fact, in real life,
[3:19] Donnie Andrews, who is based off, jumped
[3:22] from a higher point. In any case, Ma
[3:25] retires after a successful heist in
[3:27] season 4. But when his mentor, Butie, is
[3:29] tortured to death as bait to bring him
[3:31] back by Marlo's goons, Omar returns and
[3:34] goes on rampage against the Stanfill
[3:37] organization. He even has a kill list of
[3:39] who he's going to punish, foregoing the
[3:41] promise he made to Detective Bunk Mand
[3:43] about not dropping any more bodies. And
[3:46] so Omar begins his crusade of revenge,
[3:49] murdering Stanfield goons, destroying
[3:51] vials and blowing up cars. He declares
[3:54] to the streets of Baltimore that Marlo
[3:56] is not a man for this town, that he's a
[3:58] coward who's too afraid to fight him.
[4:01] It's adrenaline rushing stuff. And then
[4:03] Omar takes a break from his bravado to
[4:05] get some cigarettes from the store. And
[4:08] then in the most shocking,
[4:10] unceremonious, and anticlimatic fashion,
[4:13] Omar is shot dead by the kid Canard of
[4:16] all people. And you'd be forgiven
[4:18] watching the scene thinking, "Who the
[4:20] heck is Canard?" But there he is looking
[4:23] as shocked as anyone that he's somehow
[4:25] managed to take out the most legendary
[4:27] character in the show. This death is the
[4:30] most infuriating of the entire show. We
[4:32] were robbed of Omar's revenge. Omar
[4:35] versus Marlo on the fiery streets of
[4:37] Baltimore. We wanted it one way, but
[4:39] it's the other way. Yes, it was probably
[4:42] going to end in a flurry of bullets for
[4:44] Omar anyway, but surely he'd go out all
[4:47] guns blazing, but to get punked by a
[4:50] kid, I must be losing my [ __ ]
[4:52] mind. But once you get over it, you
[4:54] realize how perfect it is for the staple
[4:57] character of the show, the most iconic
[4:59] one, to be taken out by a nothing
[5:01] character. Omar is a wild card of the
[5:04] show. He's like a romanticized wild west
[5:07] character. The wire even uses wild west
[5:10] imagery in the show like when Omar and
[5:12] brother Muzon have a face off. He is
[5:14] like Jesse James, like wild Bill
[5:17] Hancock. And like those legendary larger
[5:19] than-l life men, he too was shot in the
[5:22] back of the head by lesser men, men who
[5:24] were fascinated but ultimately
[5:26] disappointed in these men who had huge
[5:29] reputations. the assassination of my
[5:31] little by the coward Canard. You see, it
[5:34] isn't just a random character the
[5:36] showrunners picked to kill. It was
[5:39] precisely the perfect character because
[5:41] Canard has development sprinkled
[5:43] throughout the show whose climax was him
[5:46] taking out. In his first scene back in
[5:48] season 2 or three, we see Canard with a
[5:51] bunch of other kids in the aftermath of
[5:53] a shooting in which was involved in and
[5:55] a person died. Canard is playing a game
[5:57] of cops and hoppers with the other young
[5:59] ones and they're fighting over who gets
[6:01] to be the next Arma. Canard wanting to
[6:03] mimic his hero.
[6:06] >> No, my turn to be Omar.
[6:08] >> No,
[6:10] >> Bunk is disgusted and relays this to
[6:13] Omar who seems affected by it. Struck by
[6:16] the fact that the violence he is
[6:17] involved in ripples out to places he
[6:20] wasn't aware of. So obviously Canard
[6:22] looked up to Omar and over the course of
[6:24] the show he develops into a cold, hard,
[6:27] sociopathic and rather scary Hopper. For
[6:29] someone so young to retain no childhood
[6:32] sense of wonder or zeal and instead act
[6:35] like a stonehard gangster is just as sad
[6:38] as it is terrifying. Just before he
[6:40] kills Omar, you can see he's about to
[6:42] set fire to a cat pouring flammable
[6:45] liquid on it. In his final scene when
[6:47] he's arrested and being taken away, he
[6:49] has that same blank expressionless look
[6:51] on his face that he has throughout the
[6:53] show. There's something quite unsettling
[6:55] about this kid. No code, no loyalty, and
[6:58] damn sure no respect, as Bunny Culvin
[7:00] says, of the new era of gangsters. And
[7:03] Canard is a perfect illustration. But
[7:05] anyway, in season 5, a limping Omar, a
[7:08] shadow of his former self, threatens
[7:10] Michael and a bunch of other hoppers and
[7:11] then hobbles away. As he ambles off,
[7:14] Canard is audibly shocked, saying,
[7:17] >> "That's Omar. Dad can't be as a
[7:21] motherfucker."
[7:22] >> It's a case of meeting your heroes up
[7:24] close and personal. Omar must have
[7:26] looked pathetic compared to whatever
[7:28] image Canad had conjured up in his head
[7:30] of him. It's the Dickinson aspect. He
[7:32] must feel disgusted, betrayed even. He
[7:34] doesn't run with the rest of the kids
[7:36] when Omar approaches, showing he is no
[7:37] longer afraid. And a few minutes later,
[7:39] he shoots Omar dead. Maybe Canard wanted
[7:42] to know if it was even possible. Surely
[7:44] at the last minute, Omar would whip out
[7:46] his shotgun and blast Canard away. I
[7:48] mean, Omar saw him walk in and dismissed
[7:50] him. But no, Ma goes down as any man
[7:53] would. The circle is complete. Ma is
[7:56] killed by a product of his own making,
[7:58] by the only person who didn't think
[8:01] hobbling around on his own was a trap.
[8:02] He saw it for what it was, that the
[8:05] emperor has no clothes on. So, it looks
[8:07] like a completely random anticlimatic
[8:09] death, but it's actually a case of being
[8:12] killed by one of the ripple effects of
[8:13] his own violence that Bunk was talking
[8:16] about. Ma even saw Canard walk in, sees
[8:19] that it's just a kid, and dismisses it.
[8:22] It harks back to a scene where Omar is
[8:24] scoping Marlo, sees Michael, another
[8:26] character who would eventually shoot at
[8:28] Omar, and actually ends up becoming the
[8:29] next Omar. And says, "He just a kid."
[8:32] These old-timers like Omar and Prop Joe
[8:34] didn't see that as Slim Child would say,
[8:37] the game was getting more fierce, the
[8:39] thugs were getting younger, and your own
[8:41] family could betray you. Ultimately, I
[8:44] think if you asked Canard why he did it,
[8:46] even he wouldn't be able to articulate
[8:48] it. There's a few muddy reasons swimming
[8:51] in his head. Maybe he wanted to be the
[8:53] one to take out the legend. Maybe he
[8:55] wanted Marlo's bounty. Maybe he wanted
[8:56] to increase his rep, but no reason
[8:58] concrete enough to justify the murder of
[9:00] a man. It's simply senseless. The kind
[9:03] of senseless violence that Bunk saw Omar
[9:05] breeding through the example he was
[9:07] setting on the streets. Apparently, the
[9:10] shock on Canard's face wasn't even
[9:12] acting. According to the book, All the
[9:14] Pieces Matter, Theliso Dingual was
[9:17] genuinely traumatized by the scene and
[9:19] started crying uncontrollably soon
[9:21] after. And really, a key reason that
[9:24] Canard murdered a man might be because
[9:26] he was simply curious to see what would
[9:28] happen. as curious as to see what would
[9:30] happen when you douse a cat in chemicals
[9:32] and set a match. Maybe that's why he
[9:35] didn't take credit. Maybe his story was
[9:37] lost among many people's stories. Maybe
[9:39] he was scared of the cops, of Omar's
[9:41] people, of even going back to Marlo and
[9:42] getting popped by the Stanfields because
[9:44] they'd rather it was known that they
[9:46] killed Omar instead of some random kid.
[9:49] Maybe pulling a trigger is easy enough,
[9:51] but witnessing what it did and looking
[9:53] at the dead body put the kid into shock.
[9:55] Or maybe Canard didn't say anything
[9:57] because he's a humble [ __ ] with
[9:58] a big ass dick. You know, I wonder what
[10:01] happened to Canard. He looks like he's
[10:04] between 8 to 12 years old. I imagine
[10:07] he'd be in a juvenile detention center,
[10:09] but wouldn't face as much jail time as
[10:10] an adult. I doubt he'd be respected as
[10:13] the guy who took out Omar when he's
[10:14] released, and instead he'd probably
[10:16] think of himself as invincible, and he
[10:19] gets himself killed. Dead or prison for
[10:21] life, he's got that written all over
[10:23] him. One of the themes of The Wire is
[10:25] the endless cycles, which is best
[10:28] represented by characters turning into
[10:30] other characters. We've discussed some
[10:32] of these on the channel already, but you
[10:34] have the likes of Michael becoming Omar
[10:35] and Dookie becoming Bubbles. Who would
[10:38] Canard turn into, I wonder. Bodhi,
[10:40] maybe?
[10:42] I don't quite see it. Bodhi still had a
[10:44] heart. There was potential in him.
[10:46] Whereas Canard comes off as a straightup
[10:47] psycho. Marlo, I don't know. He's got
[10:51] that coldness, but it takes intelligence
[10:53] and charisma to make it to the top. And
[10:55] there's nothing to suggest Canard had
[10:57] any of that. He's not important enough
[10:59] to become the new Omar. And plus, even
[11:01] Marlo had a soft side with his birds,
[11:03] whereas Canard is burning cats. However,
[11:06] he does punk Neon by stealing from him
[11:08] and then convincing him the cops raided
[11:10] his house. And for such a young kid,
[11:12] that does show he does have some
[11:13] cunning. He's also skilled enough to
[11:15] work a corner at such a young age. But
[11:17] in all honesty, he'd probably be dumb
[11:20] and angry, have an undiagnosed
[11:22] personality disorder, and would get into
[11:24] some kind of trouble along the way. And
[11:26] there is such a dumb and angry character
[11:29] in the show who got put away. Bird,
[11:32] remember him who got jailed after Omar's
[11:34] testimony in season 2. I mean, a canard
[11:38] is a type of bird and bird's name is
[11:40] Bird. Get it? Maybe it's the show's way
[11:43] of telling us Canard will basically be
[11:45] the next bird. Both of these characters
[11:48] appear disturbed and have a never back
[11:50] down attitude, but one that is
[11:51] irritating, loud, and cocky. Both took a
[11:54] beating for running their mouths. Bird
[11:56] in the interrogation room when he
[11:58] insults Ka and Canard when he is
[12:00] plummeted by Michael. Both have made
[12:02] homophobic slurs. They have unlikable,
[12:05] abrasive personalities and look like
[12:07] they would never amount to more than
[12:08] muscle. This would also be poetic on
[12:11] another level as much sent Bird to
[12:13] prison and the future Bird got revenge
[12:16] by taking Ma out. In many ways, the
[12:19] story of Canard is a sad one. I know
[12:22] people think he's a little [ __ ] but as
[12:24] with the rest of the street characters,
[12:25] you wonder how different their lives
[12:27] would be if their environment was
[12:29] different, if they were born in a
[12:30] different street code. Only Neon was so
[12:32] lucky. But Canard is a boy who has
[12:35] internalized the message and ethics of
[12:37] the street that he doesn't know anything
[12:38] else. We never see him at school, for
[12:40] instance. Kan's development is a subtle
[12:43] one, but he goes from being a boy
[12:44] playing poo poo games with his friends
[12:46] to slowly becoming harder, colder, and
[12:48] more violent. And clearly Omar, or the
[12:51] image he envisioned of Omar in his head,
[12:54] was an inspiration to him. I don't mean
[12:56] to raid on the parade and completely
[12:58] nullify all the points I just made, but
[13:00] apparently this arc of Canard was not
[13:02] intentional. Apparently, David Simon
[13:05] didn't even realize that the kid was the
[13:07] same actor who was playing as Ma in the
[13:09] earlier season until the actor told him
[13:11] he was a good actor and they gave him
[13:13] the role of Canard. And you'll notice
[13:15] that his gimpy line was delivered
[13:17] offcreen. Maybe it was Adardin to give
[13:20] his killing of more context after the
[13:22] fact. But even still, it still works. We
[13:25] can chalk it up to being a happy
[13:26] accident if that is the case. So, what
[13:28] do you make of Canard killing? Do you
[13:32] like how this went down? Would you
[13:33] rather it was different? Let me know in
[13:35] the comments section below. Subscribe to
[13:37] the channel and thanks for watching.
[13:40] >> I don't want to be a product of my
[13:42] environment. I want my environment to be
[13:45] a product of me.
[13:48] >> It's like you can change up, right? You
[13:50] can say you somebody new. You can give
[13:52] yourself a whole new story.
[13:54] But what came first is who you really
[13:57] are. And what happened before is what
[14:00] really happened. And it don't matter
[14:01] that some fool say different because the
[14:03] only thing that make you different is
[14:04] what you really do or what you really go
[14:06] through. Like you know like all them
[14:09] books in his library. Now he fronting
[14:11] with all them books. But if we pull one
[14:13] down off the shelf and none of the pages
[14:15] ever been open. He got all them books
[14:17] and he ain't read one of them. Gatsby,
[14:20] he was who he was and he did what he
[14:23] did. And cuz he wasn't ready to get real
[14:27] with the story.
[14:31] >> That [ __ ] caught up to him.
[14:33] >> The [ __ ] was I chasing?
[14:40] >> It's two endings for a guy like me.
[14:42] Highprofile guy. Dead or in a game. Big
[14:46] percent of the time.
[14:49] The thing is, you only got to [ __ ] up
[14:51] once. Be a little slow. Be a little
[14:54] late. Just once. And how you ain't going
[14:57] to never be slow,
[15:00] never be late. It's life.
[15:06] Yeah.
[15:08] Scares me.
[15:11] All the pieces matter.
[15:18] [Laughter]
[15:21] So, this is a video I've been wanting to
[15:24] make for quite a while now, and I've
[15:26] actually avoided making it because I
[15:28] didn't want to screw it up, and I really
[15:30] wanted to think it through because it is
[15:32] really one of the more grand,
[15:34] discussible aspects of The Wire. Who was
[15:36] right, Stringer or Avon? Who had the
[15:39] right philosophy? It's a bit like who
[15:41] whacked Tony at the end of the Sopranos,
[15:43] a video idea I delayed making for a long
[15:45] time before getting round to it because
[15:47] it's such a huge topic with so many
[15:48] facets. And I'm sure that I'm going to
[15:51] forget to mention something in this
[15:52] video. Oh, and if you're wondering what
[15:54] that weird intro was, I just thought it
[15:56] was interesting how Stringer could be
[15:58] summed up by both D'Angelo's speech in
[16:00] prison and Costello's monologue in The
[16:03] Departed and the similarity in
[16:05] philosophy between Tony Soprano and Avon
[16:07] Barksdale in that both seem to accept
[16:10] that one day they're going to go down
[16:12] one way or another. I do plan to expand
[16:14] on these points in future videos. It
[16:16] might also be worth checking out my
[16:18] video, why did Avon get mad at Stringer
[16:21] over brother Muzon in jail before
[16:23] watching this video as that video is
[16:25] something of a precursor. Anyway, as we
[16:27] know in the wire, the Barkstdale
[16:29] organization is run by Avon Barkstdale
[16:31] with Stringer Bell, his childhood friend
[16:33] as his number two. Avon has charisma,
[16:36] swagger, street smart, and a degree of
[16:38] honor. And Stringer has intelligence,
[16:40] pragmatism, and a keen sense for
[16:42] business and entrepreneurship. and
[16:44] together they make a great partnership.
[16:47] But then Avon is sent to prison at the
[16:49] end of season 1, leaving Stringer in
[16:51] charge while he looks to find a new
[16:53] wholesaler for his supply after he loses
[16:55] his own. On the outside, Stringer is
[16:58] approached by East Side rival
[17:00] Proposition Joe for a deal that sees the
[17:02] Barkstdale's buy from Joe in exchange
[17:04] for territory, setting the stage for
[17:06] what eventually becomes the New Day
[17:08] co-op. An alliance between the rival
[17:11] drug dealers, where they favor diplomacy
[17:13] over violence and turf warfare. Only one
[17:16] heavy hitter wants no part in the co-op,
[17:18] Marlo. And when Avon is released from
[17:21] prison, he and Marlo go to war over
[17:23] corners, bringing heat from the cops and
[17:25] frustration from the co-op. Avon's
[17:28] beefing threatens to destroy everything
[17:30] Stringer work towards. So he comes up
[17:32] with a plan to send Avon back to jail
[17:34] for a while so he can streamline things
[17:36] in the streets. Meanwhile, Avon also in
[17:40] a manner of speaking betrays Stringer by
[17:42] giving him up to brother Muzon. Mone who
[17:44] wants revenge against Stringer for
[17:46] setting on him. Stringer's Machavelian
[17:49] web of deceit comes back to bite him
[17:51] when he is killed by both Omar and
[17:53] Muzon. His attempts at reforming the
[17:55] game cut short and tipping the cops
[17:58] against Avon essentially ends the
[18:00] Barkstdale organization with a whole
[18:02] bunch of guys being sent down. Stringer
[18:05] and Avon both wanted different things
[18:07] from the game. String saw it as a means
[18:09] to an end, a stepping stone. Whereas for
[18:12] Avon, the game was all-encompassing. You
[18:15] got to think about what we got in this
[18:16] game for, man. Huh? Was it the rep? Was
[18:20] it so our names could ring out on some
[18:22] [ __ ] ghetto street corners, man? Nah,
[18:24] man. There's games beyond the [ __ ]
[18:26] game.
[18:28] And so is posited one of the great
[18:31] questions of the show. Who was in the
[18:34] right between Stringer and Avon? The
[18:36] angle I'm approaching this question is
[18:38] not who was the better gangster, who was
[18:40] the better man, who could have won the
[18:42] war with Marlo or anything like that.
[18:44] The specific thing I wanted to discuss
[18:46] was their vision for the future, their
[18:48] ideas, their direction for the game. For
[18:51] sure, Stringer lost his way towards the
[18:53] end, and it's easy to argue he lost
[18:56] because he's dead. Whereas, at least
[18:58] Avon is still alive even if he is in
[19:01] prison. David Simon, the creator of the
[19:03] show, has emphasized the point that
[19:05] because of the systems in place, reform
[19:07] in Baltimore is practically impossible.
[19:10] Agents of change are punished and spat
[19:12] out by the system. So Stringer failed at
[19:15] face value. He failed to change the
[19:17] game. And Avon knew that the game stays
[19:20] the game always. But where is Avon? He's
[19:23] behind a cell. Not exactly a great
[19:25] victory, is it? His nephew is dead. His
[19:28] sister doesn't speak to him. And it's
[19:29] implied money is drying up. The
[19:32] honorbound gangster code of silence may
[19:34] eventually become tiring as it did for
[19:37] Weebe. And Avon might just find himself
[19:40] years down the line on a cold winter's
[19:42] night during a prison lockdown thinking
[19:45] just what did I do all this for? What
[19:47] was the point? Family. Well, like
[19:50] Michael Corleó before him, it was the
[19:52] life itself that destroyed his family.
[19:55] And even he himself seems to acknowledge
[19:57] that Stringer was right when he talks to
[19:59] Slim Charles saying
[20:01] >> that [ __ ] String was right about this
[20:02] [ __ ] man. That [ __ ] was right. [ __ ]
[20:06] Marlo. [ __ ] this [ __ ] war. All this
[20:10] beef over a couple of [ __ ] corners.
[20:13] >> But then again, maybe he was in an
[20:14] emotional state and would revert back to
[20:17] his usual self after a while. So, we're
[20:19] back to square one. I think a narrative
[20:22] has taken a hold among wire fans where
[20:25] we look at Stringer and point and laugh
[20:27] at how dumb he was, how out of his depth
[20:30] he was. And whilst I agree in spirit, I
[20:32] think it's a bit unfair. As is the
[20:35] constant praise Avon gets as some kind
[20:37] of honorable gangster just because he's
[20:39] so charismatic with people conveniently
[20:42] sideststepping the fact that it was he
[20:43] who okayed the Brandon hit being done
[20:45] the way it was. His murdering of
[20:48] multiple inmates just on the possibility
[20:50] it might reduce his sentence and a whole
[20:53] lot of other things. In fact, it might
[20:55] be time for a why you're wrong about
[20:57] Avon Barkstdale video. Still though,
[20:59] hindsight is a beautiful thing, and it
[21:01] was cringe-worthy listening to Stringer
[21:04] trying to talk economic analogies to a
[21:06] drug kingpin, or his you a student of
[21:09] history lecture to Marlo when Marlo
[21:11] looks like he's holding himself back
[21:12] from trying to eat Stringer's face.
[21:14] Getting rain made by Clay Davis was
[21:17] embarrassing and is often used as the
[21:19] example as to why Stringer was never cut
[21:21] out for the legitimate world. But let's
[21:23] take a step back here. Even Caretti was
[21:26] scammed by Davis. This was a learning
[21:28] experience for Stringer, which would
[21:30] make him a better businessman. Most
[21:32] businesses lose money in their first
[21:34] year. He was smarter than most other
[21:36] guys in the room, but not as smart as he
[21:38] thought he was, which was one of his key
[21:40] flaws represented by his A minus test
[21:43] score, but smart. He was smart enough to
[21:46] play a part in gathering the gangs who
[21:48] have been fighting for years and unite
[21:50] them until Avon came back with his I
[21:52] want my corners mantra. His pragmatism
[21:55] also kept the bark stales afloat during
[21:57] season 2 while Avon struggled to find a
[22:00] wholesaler. So I don't think we should
[22:02] dismiss Stringer. Plus he had the harder
[22:05] task. He had to sell foreign ideas.
[22:08] Ideas his own people didn't buy as shown
[22:10] when P sees the muscles shaking his head
[22:13] during Stringer's speech. It takes more
[22:15] than one person and a lot of time to
[22:17] change company culture and spearhead
[22:20] revolutionary ideas. He stepped out of
[22:22] his comfort zone. Avon, on the other
[22:25] hand, was preaching the status quo.
[22:27] Westside, [ __ ] yeah. And also, Stringer
[22:30] may have had the ideas, but he lacked
[22:32] the skills to communicate them to his
[22:34] people. So, his people never fully knew
[22:37] the benefits of the new ways because he
[22:39] couldn't [ __ ] sell it. When Poot, for
[22:41] example, brings up that they're going to
[22:43] look like some punkass [ __ ] which is
[22:45] a legitimate criticism. Even a low-level
[22:47] guy like Poot understood a vital element
[22:50] of the game was street rep. Stringer
[22:52] resorts to his hoodlike nature and
[22:54] starts screaming at Poot, undermining
[22:56] him instead of addressing his criticism.
[22:59] He does this throughout the show,
[23:01] bringing the business mentality to the
[23:03] streets and the street mentality to the
[23:05] business.
[23:06] >> Forgive me, but you still showing a
[23:08] little bit of that street corner
[23:10] mentality
[23:11] >> with disastrous results. A key example
[23:13] being when he wanted to whack a state
[23:15] senator. How could he not see that was a
[23:18] bad idea? Ironically, for a businessman,
[23:20] he took things too personally. Cochetti
[23:23] recognized that the game is the game,
[23:25] that she it happens. He didn't try to
[23:28] whack Clay. He didn't try to send him to
[23:30] prison, and he ended up one of the
[23:31] winners of the show. I think it would be
[23:34] an interesting question, this video, to
[23:37] pose before you saw season 3 play out.
[23:40] Hindsight is a beautiful thing and we
[23:42] laugh at Stringer now, but how many of
[23:44] us bought his vision and were along with
[23:47] Stringer frustrated initially when Avon
[23:49] came back and started to mess things up
[23:51] when he got out. I think the first time
[23:54] you watch The Wire, you think Stringer
[23:56] is right. The second time you watch it,
[23:58] you side with Avon and think he was
[24:00] right. And the third time you realize
[24:03] they were both right and both wrong. In
[24:06] other words, they had the perfect
[24:08] complimentary system of doing things
[24:10] with both men's strengths being the
[24:12] backbone of the organization. But once
[24:15] they were apart, their flaws came to the
[24:17] forefront. Avon was correct in that
[24:20] street rep counts. It means something
[24:22] and has tangible value. But he
[24:24] romanticized the streets too much, which
[24:26] held him back. Stringer, as we know, was
[24:29] so focused on taking the organization
[24:31] legit that he went into a world way past
[24:34] where his ability was at. Avon screwed
[24:37] up the new ways and stopped the
[24:38] Barkstdale progressing by bringing the
[24:40] bodies and heat. And Stringer messed
[24:43] with the old ways and destroyed the
[24:45] Barkstdale from the inside by going
[24:47] against the values of the game, breaking
[24:49] the Sunday truce, snitching on Avon, all
[24:52] of that kind of stuff. A combination of
[24:54] both may have been the best thing, but
[24:56] the fractures between the two were
[24:58] present all the way back in season 1, as
[25:00] I mentioned in the other video on
[25:02] Stringer and Avon. But in a perfect
[25:04] world, the Barkstdale could have moved
[25:06] forward with Stringer's ideals, which
[25:08] would be kept in check by Avon's respect
[25:10] for the game and his getting rid of bad
[25:12] apples like Marlo, which was really
[25:14] where the crux of Avon's issues was. As
[25:18] he says, there's always going to be a
[25:20] Marlo. No Marlo, no game. All it takes
[25:23] is for one guy, one Marlo to screw up
[25:26] the New Day co-op and screw it up
[25:28] royally. Avon knew that, which is why I
[25:30] think both men were right. Stringer's
[25:33] vision was one without police and
[25:35] violence. But when there's someone who
[25:36] doesn't want to conform, when there's a
[25:38] thug like Marlo, then you have to go the
[25:40] Avon route with your grenades and AKs.
[25:43] Stringer made key mistakes a fully
[25:45] streetwise undistracted gangster
[25:48] wouldn't make. The man issue not being
[25:50] alarmed at the huge amount of money
[25:52] pimping ass Orlando was able to front.
[25:55] Something Avon noticed as soon as he was
[25:57] told the legit world was not one he
[26:00] could thrive in and understand be
[26:02] accepted in as he always dreamed of. He
[26:04] lacked the respect for the game and his
[26:06] huge ego was a barrier to success. Like
[26:09] why didn't he just go to Levy about Klay
[26:12] Davis like he did in the end? Ask him if
[26:14] this plan looked legit to him. He must
[26:16] have thought to himself after a crash
[26:18] course in a community college that he
[26:20] could do it all himself, be a gamecher
[26:22] all on his own. Stringer had one foot in
[26:25] both worlds and didn't fully fit in
[26:27] either. As summed up perfectly by Avon.
[26:29] >> You know what the difference is between
[26:30] me and you? I bleed red, you bleed
[26:34] green. What you been building for us?
[26:36] Huh? You know what I look at you these
[26:38] days? You know what I see? I see a man
[26:40] without a country.
[26:42] Not hard enough for this right here. and
[26:44] maybe, just maybe, not smart enough for
[26:48] them out there.
[26:48] >> Avon's street instinct always trumped
[26:51] Stringer's education. He was right about
[26:54] so many things every step of the way.
[26:56] Stringer was bamboozled by the
[26:58] legitimate world, which had even more
[27:00] corruption. At least the underworld
[27:02] knows what it is, and he didn't have the
[27:05] knowhow how to deal with it. and Avon.
[27:08] He might be narrow-minded and started
[27:10] attracting the cops again, which pulled
[27:12] Daniel's detail away from Kintel
[27:14] Williamson and back onto him, but he
[27:17] knew the game was the game. He's just a
[27:19] gangster, I suppose. He read Marlo when
[27:22] no one else could. When the co-op
[27:24] thought they could evolve him and bring
[27:26] him in, a fatal mistake for the likes of
[27:28] Prop Joe. I'm paraphrasing a quote from
[27:30] Omar, but when you run with the wolves,
[27:32] you have to be a wolf, not a suitwearing
[27:35] businessman trying to lecture an animal
[27:37] like Marlo about market business cycles.
[27:39] Avon knew his place. He stayed in his
[27:42] lane. Didn't play those away games. He
[27:45] knows he doesn't understand that world
[27:47] and would get outclassed. So, he doesn't
[27:49] even attempt to get a foothold in it.
[27:51] And that might make him less ambitious.
[27:53] It might make him narrow-minded. But it
[27:55] does make him smarter on a level.
[27:56] Humble. Even a humble [ __ ] with
[27:59] a big ass head. Plus, he doesn't trust
[28:01] the co-op. Doesn't trust Prop Joe, who
[28:04] may be using the co-op Charlie Luchiano
[28:06] style to actually solidify power for
[28:09] himself and weaken the Barkstdale, like
[28:11] when he threatens to kick Stringer out
[28:12] of the co-op after he has consolidated
[28:15] that power. But then again, Avon's
[28:18] soldier mentality is self-destructive.
[28:20] It's anarchctic and outdated and leads
[28:23] to an endless cycle of violence and
[28:25] chaos. If Avon was in prison for 20
[28:27] years, not a peep, and came out at a
[28:29] time when the co-op was thriving and the
[28:32] new ways of doing things had settled in,
[28:34] he would be seen as a dinosaur, a guy
[28:36] like Fe Lammana from the Sopranos. And
[28:39] let's not forget the co-op worked in
[28:41] real life with the Italian American
[28:43] Mafia Commission making the mob more
[28:45] organized and therefore more powerful.
[28:47] just constantly waring, stagnating on
[28:50] the same level and not evolving can't
[28:52] last forever. Maybe on some deeper
[28:55] level, Avon knew that, knew that you
[28:58] can't wear the crown forever and
[28:59] accepted that. Hence me adding the how
[29:02] you never going to be too slow speech at
[29:04] the beginning of this video. I mean, he
[29:06] seems content in prison and for
[29:07] Stringer, you'd imagine prison would be
[29:10] absolute torture. He would see himself
[29:12] as being wasted in the can. But
[29:14] wholesaling, investing into legit
[29:17] business, becoming the bank, becoming
[29:19] untouchable by the Feds was a viable
[29:22] long-term plan that Avon didn't
[29:23] consider. And that means somewhere down
[29:25] the line, he would be left behind.
[29:28] Stringer was right that the game doesn't
[29:29] have to be about territory and wearing
[29:31] the crown. But Avon was also right that
[29:34] the game can't be made legit because
[29:36] that's the nature of the game. It's
[29:38] illegitimate drug dealing and not
[29:39] everyone is going to play by the rules.
[29:42] There is something to admire in
[29:44] Stringer's idealistic vision, but it
[29:46] relies on everyone being on board and
[29:48] only takes one person to screw it up.
[29:51] The co-op did outlast everyone, though,
[29:53] so you could argue Stringer won. Let's
[29:55] give Prop Joe credit as well there. But
[29:57] the co-op lost beyond season 5, and the
[30:00] gangsters had transformed into
[30:02] businessmen so well, they couldn't quite
[30:03] work out why Mara wouldn't come on board
[30:05] and chose not to revert back to the old
[30:07] ways and kill him, thinking he'd come
[30:09] around, which I've discussed in another
[30:12] video. In a way, they got so far above
[30:14] the game that they lost respect for it.
[30:16] If Stringer had lived, if he hadn't
[30:19] tangled himself with Muzon and if he
[30:21] hadn't clashed with his environment, he
[30:24] would probably have gone on to be a
[30:25] success. But that's the point. He didn't
[30:28] live. He got got to in the end. The
[30:30] streets got to him. His business acumen
[30:32] was only successful relative to his
[30:34] environment and his circumstances. If
[30:36] Stringer was born in a middle-ass
[30:38] suburban family, he would probably be
[30:40] some kind of highlevel property
[30:42] developer by now. And this is one of the
[30:44] key main points of the show, especially
[30:46] with season 4 with the kids and how they
[30:48] will end up. Randy, Michael, Neon, and
[30:51] the like. What if Stringer was adopted
[30:53] by a rich family instead of living life
[30:55] on the streets of Baltimore? He'd be a
[30:57] completely different person. I always
[30:59] thought that Avon knew that Stringer's
[31:01] plan would collapse. Little comments he
[31:04] makes. We take care of business string
[31:06] as Stringer walks in. He says it like
[31:08] he's talking to a child, like he's
[31:10] waiting for the moment where Stringer
[31:11] screws up and he'd be validated.
[31:14] >> That [ __ ] took our money, man.
[31:15] >> I seen it coming.
[31:16] >> You a [ __ ] businessman. You want to
[31:18] handle it like that. You don't want to
[31:19] get all gangster wild with it and [ __ ]
[31:21] right?
[31:21] >> They saw your ghetto ass coming from
[31:23] miles away, [ __ ]
[31:25] You got a [ __ ] beef with them. That
[31:28] [ __ ] is on you.
[31:30] >> And he can then lay it on Stringer. As
[31:32] he does so with the man without a
[31:34] country speech, one of the best
[31:35] summaries of Stringer. Heck, Avon should
[31:37] be doing my job. Once Stringer moved
[31:40] away from the streets, he lost who he
[31:42] actually was because he could never
[31:44] fully be a legitimate businessman. The
[31:46] tricks of the trade, the games, and the
[31:48] politics were all things he was a novice
[31:50] with. This is an entirely different
[31:52] game, and he was maybe, just maybe, not
[31:55] smart enough for them out there. He was
[31:57] too much of a gangster to be a good
[31:59] businessman, and too much of a
[32:00] businessman to be a good gangster,
[32:01] mixing the two worlds. You can
[32:03] legitimately blame Stringer for Avon's
[32:06] and the whole of the Barkstdale's
[32:07] downfall. Stringer was also
[32:09] narrow-minded in his own way, but you
[32:11] can't fully blame Avon on Stringer's
[32:14] downfall. He tried to save him to reason
[32:17] with man. It was Stringer who screwed
[32:19] things up with his scheming. So all in
[32:21] all, Avon comes out looking better. He
[32:24] played the game the way it's always been
[32:26] played the way he signed up to play it.
[32:28] He knew the rules, understood the
[32:29] consequences, and worked within the
[32:32] established framework. He didn't try to
[32:34] change or pretend he was something he
[32:36] wasn't. And that was just a straightup
[32:39] gangster. For better or worse, Stringer
[32:41] was intelligent and educated. He also
[32:43] knew the game but tried to be something
[32:45] he wasn't and didn't fully understand
[32:48] the streets. Avon, for example, would
[32:50] never have called the hit on D'Angelo.
[32:52] It goes against his entire ethos. He was
[32:55] a soldier who became a leader. He was
[32:57] hard, loyal, and with heart. Stringer
[33:00] ran the game as a business, cruel and
[33:02] uncompromising. Wallace and D'Angelo
[33:04] might flip. Who cares who they are? Who
[33:07] cares how young they are, how human they
[33:08] are? They got to go. And the two worked
[33:11] well together. And from a purely
[33:13] business point of view, killing D'Angelo
[33:15] was the correct move. Although, of
[33:16] course, it requires the family and human
[33:18] element to be ignored. Avon and Stringer
[33:21] ended up stepping on each other's feet,
[33:23] dooming each other. Stringer got Avon
[33:25] out of the way to fix the business. Avon
[33:28] got Stringer out of the way to protect
[33:29] his rep. There's something ironic about
[33:32] String killing D'Angelo being business
[33:34] over family and Avon returning the favor
[33:37] by letting Muzone take out Stringer,
[33:39] which was also business over family.
[33:43] Stringer wasn't a weakling. He'd made
[33:45] his bones. He didn't avoid taking part
[33:47] in the Barkstdale Stanfield war out of
[33:49] weakness or anything. He just didn't
[33:51] believe that was the way forward.
[33:53] Likewise, Aan wasn't just a rough and
[33:56] tumble individual, a red-blooded maniac
[33:58] who lunged for his pistol at the first
[34:00] chance. He was intelligent and had a
[34:02] heart. The fact that we are even
[34:04] discussing who won between them
[34:06] showcases that they were idealistically
[34:08] at war with each other. They had drifted
[34:10] apart and no longer saw eye to eye. And
[34:12] that's the real failing. There's a
[34:15] tragedy here. A story of two brothers
[34:17] who came up together to create an
[34:19] empire. And they were eventually the
[34:21] cause for each other's downfall. Losing
[34:23] each other while they chased their
[34:26] dreams. They didn't lose because of
[34:28] Marlo. [ __ ] Marlo. They didn't lose
[34:30] because of the police. [ __ ] the police.
[34:33] They lost because of each other. One of
[34:36] the primary drug kingpins in the show is
[34:39] Avon Barkstdale, boss of the Barkstdale
[34:41] organization, who ends up going to
[34:42] prison at the end of season 1, leaving
[34:44] his second in command, Stringer Bell, in
[34:46] charge. In season two, Barkstdale rival
[34:50] Proposition Joe, who runs the drug trade
[34:52] of East Side Baltimore, approaches
[34:54] Stringer with, well, a proposition,
[34:57] seeing as though Avon's drug supply is
[34:59] cut off and Joe has the best dope in the
[35:01] city. As he lacks territory, he and
[35:04] Stringer come to a deal where he offers
[35:05] Stringer a portion of the product in
[35:07] exchange for the right to deal in some
[35:09] Barkstdale control towers in what is a
[35:12] pretty unprecedented move between the
[35:14] two rival factions. In season 3, Joe
[35:17] extends his share of supply to many of
[35:19] the other drug dealers of Baltimore,
[35:21] forming what becomes known as the New
[35:23] Day Co-op, an alliance between all the
[35:26] dealers where they limit violence.
[35:28] Instead, bringing grievances to the
[35:29] co-op so they can be sorted in a
[35:31] diplomatic fashion. Violence and killing
[35:34] brings the police. So, by limiting
[35:36] violence, the Baltimore drug scene
[35:38] avoids unnecessary attention from the
[35:40] cops. But there's one big problem. The
[35:43] drug dealer, Marlo Stanfield, relentless
[35:46] in his quest to become the king of
[35:47] Baltimore. Both ruthless and merciless
[35:50] in his methods, has no interest in
[35:52] reducing the violence on the streets as
[35:54] he takes Barkstdale Corners by force.
[35:57] Joe approaches him to join the co-op,
[35:59] but he couldn't care less and refuses.
[36:01] When Avon is released from prison, the
[36:04] violence escalates and erupts into an
[36:06] allout war between Avon and Marlo.
[36:08] Eventually, Marlo gets lucky with
[36:11] Stringer selling out Avon to the cops
[36:13] just as the Barkstdale had the drop on
[36:15] Marlo. With Avon out of the way, Marlo
[36:18] eats up more and more territory. It
[36:20] takes a long while and a little help
[36:22] from Omar for Prop Joe to get Marlo to
[36:24] join the co-op. But his methods still
[36:26] remain unruly and rash. As Joe says, "It
[36:30] ain't easy civilizing this
[36:31] motherfucker." But Marlo had higher
[36:34] goals. And after he learns all that is
[36:36] needed to learn from Joe, including
[36:38] learning where Joe gets his drug supply,
[36:41] he kills the old-timer and begins
[36:43] running the co-op, raising prices, and
[36:45] even essentially disbanding the co-op
[36:47] meets. When it's all said and done,
[36:49] Marlo is bought in on conspiracy charges
[36:51] and is given an ultimatum by his lawyer
[36:54] to give up the crown and leave the game,
[36:56] allowing the more civilized members of
[36:58] the co-op to go back to business as
[37:01] usual. However, the question for today's
[37:03] video is why did the co-op not just kill
[37:07] Marlo somewhere along the way? He was a
[37:09] problem for them for so long with all
[37:11] the violence in season 3, the refusal to
[37:14] join the co-op, his brutal methods in
[37:16] season 4, his killing of Joe, and his
[37:19] dictator-like rule of the co-op. These
[37:21] guys are gangsters. They are killers
[37:23] themselves. So, why not just band
[37:25] together and take Marlo out? Seems
[37:28] logical. if the burdensome individual
[37:30] won't come around to the new civilized
[37:32] way of doing things. So, let's discuss.
[37:35] Of course, it's important to note at
[37:38] what point in the timeline of the show
[37:39] are we talking about? Are we talking
[37:41] about when Mara first appeared on the
[37:43] scene and went to war with Avon? Are we
[37:46] talking about towards the end where he
[37:47] ran the co-op and had the connect? Well,
[37:50] let's discuss all the possible
[37:52] scenarios. So, first of all, if we start
[37:54] with when Marlo was up and coming and
[37:57] even when he became an established
[37:59] powerhouse after the fall of the
[38:00] Barkstdale, the co-op quite simply
[38:03] underestimated and misunderstood Marlo.
[38:06] Sure, it's easy in hindsight with what
[38:08] we know how Marlo turned out to say that
[38:11] Joe should have got someone to put a
[38:13] bullet in Marlo and be done with it. But
[38:15] in the beginning, he came off as one of
[38:17] many unruly drug dealers, and there were
[38:19] a lot of them. And remember how it took
[38:21] quite a bit of convincing throughout
[38:23] season 2 and three for something like
[38:24] the co-op to become a reality. The co-op
[38:27] simply underestimated his ambition and
[38:29] completely misunderstood his nature. Joe
[38:32] thought he was all business and money
[38:34] orientated like him and the others. But
[38:37] Marlo was about rep power and being the
[38:39] king. Funny enough, you can make the
[38:42] argument that the only man who truly had
[38:44] Marlo worked out, who recognized him for
[38:47] what he was, was his nemesis, Avon.
[38:50] Perhaps that's why he was so unmovable
[38:52] when it came to waring with Marlo and
[38:54] didn't listen to Stringer's please. He
[38:57] knew Stringer and Joe's business and
[38:59] diplomacy strategy would not work with a
[39:01] guy like Marlo. He's not that kind of
[39:03] animal. But they just couldn't see it.
[39:05] And even if the co-op were on board with
[39:07] killing Marlo, who's to say another
[39:09] gangster unwilling to join the co-op
[39:11] wouldn't take his place. As Avon says,
[39:14] there's always going to be a Marlo. No
[39:16] Marlo, no game. One reason, the most
[39:20] obvious of which is that it would always
[39:22] be beneficial from the co-op's
[39:24] perspective for Marlo to be a part of
[39:26] the crew. He could be an asset. He had
[39:28] terrific muscle. He had the power to
[39:30] clean up the streets to make people
[39:32] disappear. So Joe obviously wanted the
[39:34] boy on his team. Mara proved his worth
[39:37] as a co-op member when he ran off them
[39:39] New York boys. Joe thought he could
[39:41] civilize him, but he and the co-op were
[39:43] blinded, not seeing Mana for what he
[39:46] was, preferring to live in a fantasy
[39:48] world with wanting this new peaceful
[39:50] order. They wanted it one way, but it's
[39:53] another way. You know, it's interesting.
[39:55] The cunning proposition Joe may have in
[39:58] his Machavelian sneaky way actually on
[40:00] some level been pleased with the
[40:02] violence between Marlo and Avon as he
[40:05] used it to undermine the Barkstdale and
[40:08] Stringer Bell even threatening to kick
[40:10] Stringer out of the cult because he
[40:12] couldn't reign in Avon with the street
[40:13] violence and the result of this was that
[40:16] Stringer gutted the Barkstdale
[40:18] organization from the inside even
[40:20] setting up Avon to go back into the can.
[40:23] This may have been an objective of Prop
[40:25] Joe all along, who was Avon's great
[40:28] rival. And with that, Marlo was nothing
[40:30] more than a tool for Joe, but like a
[40:33] Frankenstein grew beyond Joe's control.
[40:37] Of course, another reason for not
[40:38] straight up killing Marlo is that it
[40:39] goes against the entire ethos of the
[40:41] co-op, with cooperation and peace being
[40:44] the name of the game. Killing Marlo
[40:46] would disprove the co-op, show that its
[40:49] goals were nothing more than wishful
[40:50] thinking. If after everything they still
[40:53] had to resort to violence. And anyway,
[40:55] if the co-op jump in and aid the
[40:58] Barkstdale in killing Marlo, who takes
[41:00] over his territories after he goes down?
[41:03] Avon. Why would Joe want that? Avon
[41:06] shares more in common with Marlo than he
[41:08] does with the co-op. He could
[41:09] potentially be just as much of a
[41:11] nuisance for them as Marlo is. The co-op
[41:14] had an attitude of sheer and she like,
[41:17] but this seems to only apply when it
[41:19] came to business and product and was not
[41:21] extended to violence. When it came to
[41:23] action and internal violence, it seems
[41:25] the co-op had a more of a deal with it
[41:28] yourself policy. And the only time they
[41:30] banded together was with an outside
[41:33] threat, the New York boys. After all,
[41:35] Marlo was entitled to his corners as
[41:37] much as Avon. And it's noted the
[41:39] violence ramps up when Avon comes home.
[41:42] and he's much of a cause for it as the
[41:44] boy Marlo. If anything, Avon is
[41:46] encroaching on corners which now belong
[41:48] to Marlo and he is causing unnecessary
[41:51] beef. So, it's Avon who Joe wants
[41:53] Stringer to get to calm down and adopt
[41:55] the new ways. The whole point of the
[41:57] co-op is to avoid violence. Violence
[42:00] brings the cops. One of the first
[42:02] casualties in the war was a child and
[42:04] the co-op went quiet after that. The Aan
[42:06] Marlo conflict brings a lot of heat to
[42:08] the co-op. So why would they want to get
[42:10] wrapped up in all of that? Make it even
[42:12] worse by declaring war on Marlo. War
[42:15] uses money and resources. And who said
[42:17] they even have that? Maybe their best
[42:20] guys caught a nickel or went away and
[42:21] cleaned their whole act up. A point is
[42:24] made in season 3 that good muscle is
[42:26] hard to come by. Even Avon had to
[42:28] outsource in season 2 with brother
[42:29] Muzon. And ultimately the Avon Maro beef
[42:32] wasn't the co-op's fight. It was a war
[42:35] that was being fought on outdated
[42:37] principles. Looking at it from their
[42:38] perspective, there was plenty of
[42:40] territory for everyone, and Marlo was a
[42:42] problem for only a few members of the
[42:44] co-op anyway. If everyone had to band
[42:46] together just to sort out a problem for
[42:48] a few, it would have forcibly stepped up
[42:51] everyone's obligations and set a
[42:53] precedent for the future. The east side
[42:55] already had a problem with Walmart and
[42:58] couldn't afford to fight two wars
[42:59] simultaneously. And by the time Marlo
[43:01] did become a problem for the entire
[43:03] co-op, it was too late. He was already
[43:05] too powerful. Who wants to be the one to
[43:08] step up to risk their territory and make
[43:10] an enemy out of Marlo who might win the
[43:12] war with Avon and hold a subsequent
[43:15] grudge against you? If Avon Barkell
[43:18] cannot win this war, what makes the
[43:19] co-op members think they can? At the
[43:21] time of the making of this video, there
[43:23] is a war going on between two nations,
[43:25] one of whom is part of NATO. And yet
[43:27] none of the NATO nations, much like the
[43:29] co-op, have stepped up and said they'll
[43:31] be the ones to join the fight, opting
[43:32] instead to stay out of it or make
[43:35] symbolic or small contributions. And by
[43:38] the end of the show, when Marlo had
[43:40] killed Proposition Joe, a man who the
[43:42] co-op respected, it appears they were
[43:44] quite simply too scared of him. There's
[43:46] even a scene while Joe was still alive
[43:49] where the co-op are discussing different
[43:50] theories as to how Marlo is disappearing
[43:53] bodies. And the different ideas and the
[43:55] lack of answers is of course going to
[43:57] make Marlo seem even more scary than he
[43:59] is. The streets might even believe that
[44:02] he had Stringer Bell killed. Marlo and
[44:04] his muscle was something else completely
[44:06] ruthless. Marlo being de facto dictator
[44:09] of the co-op may have been favorable
[44:12] rather than going to war with him. After
[44:14] all, the co-op were comfortable and not
[44:16] hurting. Not until Marlo raised the
[44:18] price of the brick. Many of these guys
[44:20] were not even fighters like Avon. They
[44:22] may have been hitters back in the day,
[44:24] but were now businessorientated,
[44:26] focusing on investing and laundering.
[44:29] Remember when Rick and Hungry Man are
[44:31] discussing making their dirty money
[44:33] legitimate, and Marlo gets irritated and
[44:35] tells them to shut the [ __ ] up? He's
[44:37] just made different to them. Marlo's
[44:39] people, by contrast to the co-op, was
[44:42] sharp and battleh hardened, having
[44:44] experience in warfare. While the co-op
[44:46] underlings hadn't tasted war in a while,
[44:49] that's part of the reason why East Side
[44:51] had to reach out to Marlo in the first
[44:53] place with the New York boys. This guy
[44:55] is just too ruthless, and no one wants
[44:58] to be the one caught in his crosshairs
[45:00] if they decide to fight him. The game
[45:02] still the game just got more fierce and
[45:04] the co-op were not hard enough to take
[45:06] on Marlo. He was the natural evolution
[45:09] of the violence of Baltimore. The
[45:11] endgame where codes and ethics didn't
[45:13] matter. You just had to be more ruthless
[45:15] than the man next to you to succeed.
[45:18] Plus, after he takes out Joe, you can't
[45:20] kill him. He was the only one with the
[45:22] Greek connect in the end. Sure, the
[45:24] Greeks would probably reach out to other
[45:26] gangsters in the events of Marlo's
[45:28] death, but the co-op didn't know that.
[45:30] They were in a position where they were
[45:31] firmly on Marlo's tit, as without him,
[45:34] they'd have no supply. So, there you
[45:36] have it. My take on why the co-op chose
[45:39] not to try and kill Marlo, which
[45:41] initially seems quite an obvious thing
[45:43] to do. One of the most elusive and
[45:46] mysterious characters of the show is the
[45:48] Greek. If there is such thing as the
[45:51] ultimate kingpin, the gangster who
[45:53] towers above all others, it's probably
[45:55] this guy, a quiet and unassuming old
[45:58] man. The Greek is in fact ruthless in
[46:01] his quest to make more money,
[46:02] representing muscular, unrestrained
[46:04] capitalism on steroids. Those who get in
[46:07] his way are swiftly eliminated. And the
[46:09] signature move of his organization is to
[46:12] leave murder victims headless and
[46:14] handless to make identification near
[46:17] impossible. The Greeks operations
[46:19] include importing sex workers, drugs,
[46:22] and stolen goods through the Baltimore
[46:24] docks through his man Spiros Vondas. and
[46:27] he is the main wholesaler of drugs in
[46:29] East Baltimore, allowing drug kingpin
[46:31] proposition Joe to have the finest dope
[46:33] in town and thus exert opportunistic
[46:36] power over the likes of the Barkstdale
[46:38] who have weaker product. The Greek is
[46:40] off radar to the cops for much of the
[46:42] season 2 dock investigations right up
[46:44] until the latter stages of the season.
[46:46] And he's so powerful he even has a
[46:48] relationship with the FBI as the agent
[46:50] Coutris sends him tips as he did so when
[46:53] Frank Sabotka was going to testify
[46:55] against him. It's thought that this
[46:57] quidd pro crow relationship involves the
[46:59] Greeks supplying the feds with valuable
[47:01] information, perhaps terrorism. And
[47:03] there's even insinuations that the
[47:05] Greeks help move weapons and chemicals
[47:07] for shady organizations involved in
[47:10] international warfare and espionage. He
[47:12] is quite simply untouchable and
[47:14] completely out of the reach of the likes
[47:16] of Baltimore's finest like McNalty. And
[47:18] the icing on the cake is that after we
[47:21] learn so little facts about him over the
[47:23] course of the season, he drops the
[47:25] bombshell that he isn't even Greek. The
[47:28] cops never stood a chance. The Greeks
[47:31] are ghosts. They operate in the shadows.
[47:33] Completely the opposite from the streets
[47:35] where reputation is everything. Compare
[47:38] Marlo's my name is my name with Vonda's
[47:42] my name is not my name. When the heat
[47:44] gets too hot, the Greeks simply leave
[47:46] Baltimore in the nick of time. Though
[47:48] much of their business interests remain
[47:50] intact, Prop Joe still gets his drugs
[47:53] with Vombas telling him there will be
[47:54] new people providing the re-ups. And the
[47:56] final episode of the season shows a
[47:58] fresh stock of women being unloaded. By
[48:01] the time season 5 rolls around and Marlo
[48:04] gets up and prop Joe's wholesaler
[48:06] business, we see that the Greeks have
[48:08] returned to Baltimore and reestablished
[48:10] their operations from the same
[48:12] restaurant they did so in season 2.
[48:14] Vondas is in season 4 talking to Joe and
[48:17] Marlo. And in season 5, the gang is back
[48:19] in the diner. Marlo goes through their
[48:22] man Sergey who is in prison. And
[48:23] presumably he gives Maro information on
[48:26] how to contact the Greeks. Either that
[48:28] or he told him the location of the
[48:30] restaurant where they operate. But why
[48:32] did the Greeks come back in the first
[48:34] place? And why on earth, after the huge
[48:37] investigation of season two, did they
[48:40] set up shop in the exact same place they
[48:42] did before when the cops know full well
[48:45] that this was their place of business?
[48:47] Aren't their faces plastered into every
[48:49] police database in Baltimore? Aren't
[48:52] Interpol after them now that they've
[48:54] left the US? Of course, perhaps the most
[48:56] asked question regarding the Greek,
[48:58] aside from what ethnicity and
[48:59] nationality he actually is, is why he
[49:02] chose Marlo over Proposition Joe. But
[49:04] this is something we've already talked
[49:06] extensively about in another video. So,
[49:08] be sure to check it out. And while you
[49:10] do so, hit that subscribe button. But
[49:12] with the Greeks coming back to the exact
[49:14] same place and how odd this is, could we
[49:17] simply chalk it up to poor writing? The
[49:20] wire may be an unbelievably good show,
[49:22] but that doesn't necessarily mean it's
[49:24] immune to subpar writing. Maybe the
[49:27] writers just didn't think too hard about
[49:29] where the Greeks were and just needed
[49:31] them in the show for the Marlo and Prop
[49:33] Joe storyline. But in universe, it's
[49:35] always worth going back to the
[49:37] implication that the Greek is an asset.
[49:40] As he's feeding the Fed's info on
[49:41] criminal activity, he knows they'll look
[49:43] the other way and knows he cannot be got
[49:46] to. If he is somehow arrested because
[49:48] Bey recognizes him and puts him in
[49:50] cuffs, he'll be out of the jail cell in
[49:52] no time with one quick call. When the
[49:54] Colombians didn't pay for their
[49:56] chemicals, the Greek grasped on them to
[49:58] Agent Cowros and the Feds fan cocaine in
[50:01] the shipment. And on two separate
[50:03] occasions, Cowros gives the Greek a
[50:05] heads up when the heat's getting too
[50:06] hot. It's a similar relationship that
[50:09] Whitey Bular had with the Boston police.
[50:11] He feeds them info that helps eliminate
[50:13] his rivals while they look the other way
[50:15] from his crimes. Although some fans
[50:18] might want to speculate that the Greek
[50:19] is not necessarily an asset in the
[50:22] classic sense, but that Calcross is
[50:24] actually corrupt, a part of the Greeks
[50:27] organization in the sense that maybe
[50:28] they've known each other a long time.
[50:30] They stayed in contact but grew up
[50:32] different lives and now they help each
[50:34] other out. Anyway, by season 5, the feds
[50:37] have moved on from the port and from the
[50:39] drug cases. They're more focused on
[50:41] political corruption and terrorism by
[50:43] the time season 5 rolls around. So, if
[50:45] anything, having the Greek in their
[50:48] corner works in their favor, but it also
[50:50] speaks to how unbothered they would be,
[50:53] how his movements and that of the
[50:55] comingings and goings of the restaurant
[50:56] wouldn't be tracked. And then there's
[50:58] the Baltimore PD so strapped of cash in
[51:01] season 5 that the major crimes unit is
[51:03] literally ordered to be shut down. And
[51:06] even evidence- wise, there's hardly
[51:07] anything on the Greek. The wire shows us
[51:09] that people are human and the systems in
[51:12] place are inadequate. Nobody from season
[51:15] 2 was in command anymore at a department
[51:17] level. And people forget, remember how
[51:19] Avon was released from jail and none of
[51:21] the primary characters even knew? And
[51:23] they only found out after Herk
[51:25] off-handedly recognized him. In the same
[51:27] way, people have moved on from the
[51:30] Greek. It's been years. So, he can
[51:32] quietly slip back into his diner and
[51:34] remain under radar with a new identity
[51:36] as he does. The dusty photo of him the
[51:39] cops had long forgotten. Many names,
[51:42] many passports. If someone had the money
[51:44] and manpower to go after the Greeks
[51:46] again, the entire case would need to be
[51:48] rebuilt, and they'd need a new witness
[51:51] now that Frank Sabotka was dead. Nikki
[51:53] could provide info, but nobody's looking
[51:55] for the Greek anymore. Those who were
[51:57] involved, like Daniels, know that there
[52:00] was a leak in the FBI, and chances are
[52:02] if they managed to get a major case
[52:04] going against the Greek, the government
[52:06] would shut it down for quote unquote
[52:08] national security reasons. That's how
[52:11] high we got to in the food chain with
[52:13] the Greek. The fact is when all the
[52:15] parameters are considered, the Greeks
[52:17] are perfectly safe coming and going.
[52:19] They've literally got the Department of
[52:21] Homeland Security on their side. It's
[52:23] also worth adding that there is a scene
[52:25] where Herk and Carver are watching the
[52:26] diner and they miss Bondas leaving. So,
[52:29] the cops might not even know that the
[52:31] diner is a place the Greeks frequent.
[52:34] And the fact is, the Greeks had business
[52:36] in Baltimore that never stopped. They
[52:38] need to be there. As late as the season
[52:40] five montage, we see the Greek and
[52:42] Spyros at the diner talking business
[52:44] with Slim Charles and Fatfaced Rick. So,
[52:47] the question isn't really why they came
[52:48] back. Whether in person or through
[52:51] intermediaries, the Greeks never left.
[52:54] And the showrunners could have chosen
[52:55] different characters to exchange with
[52:57] Marlo and the like in season 5, but that
[52:59] wouldn't have made for good television.
[53:01] Their organization is international, and
[53:04] they have shops set up all over. When
[53:06] things get hot, they simply pack up and
[53:08] leave as they would have planned and
[53:10] return later. One thing I have
[53:13] considered is that it isn't a case that
[53:15] the Greeks left in season 2, then
[53:17] quietly came back and do their business
[53:20] in the diner as they do. It may be that
[53:23] instead they only come in when they need
[53:25] to. That there is a system in place to
[53:27] call them. It's like when Marlo leaves
[53:29] the bartender, the case full of cash, he
[53:32] would have gotten word to the Greeks.
[53:34] Then they come in to talk to this guy
[53:36] who's giving them money. And again later
[53:38] when Marlo gives the co-op the connect,
[53:41] Slim and Rick would know what to do to
[53:43] get in touch with the Greeks. And then
[53:45] they would come in from wherever they
[53:47] are to the diner to discuss the import
[53:49] of dope. For sure in season 4 when we
[53:52] see Vondas, it looks like Prop Joe
[53:54] called in a favor and asked him to come
[53:55] in so he could sort out the Marlo
[53:57] situation. So maybe we're overthinking
[53:59] it and they came in when they needed to
[54:01] but left Baltimore straight after. Yes,
[54:04] perhaps it was unwise to go back to the
[54:06] same diner, but as mentioned, the Greek
[54:09] knew he was untouchable and after being
[54:11] a clean front for years, it's unlikely
[54:13] the diner would still be monitored. Omar
[54:16] Little is one of the most memorable and
[54:18] iconic characters in The Wire. Portrayed
[54:20] by Michael K. Williams, Omar is a
[54:23] notorious stickup man in Baltimore who
[54:25] specializes in robbing drug dealers.
[54:27] Unlike many other characters involved in
[54:29] the drug trade, Ma operates by a strict
[54:32] moral code. He doesn't harm innocent
[54:34] people and only targets those within the
[54:36] drug world. This code earns him a
[54:39] reputation for a sort of ethical
[54:41] criminality, setting him apart from the
[54:43] other violent characters in the series.
[54:45] Add this to the fact that he sells drugs
[54:48] undercutting the market value and
[54:50] sometimes even gives them away. He gains
[54:52] a reputation among hoppers who don't
[54:54] divulge information to those who want
[54:56] Omar dead. Omar is a street legend whose
[55:00] name alone instills fear in the
[55:02] drugdeing community. He is known for his
[55:04] boldness, often walking the streets with
[55:06] a shotgun and whistling the farmer in
[55:09] the Dell as a form of psychological
[55:11] warfare. And throughout the course of
[55:12] the show, he gets the better of the
[55:13] show's biggest drug kingpins like Avon,
[55:16] Stringer, Prop Joe, and Marlo. His
[55:19] ability to outsmart and outgun his
[55:21] opponents makes him a formidable and
[55:23] respected figure. Omar is known for
[55:26] delivering some of the most memorable
[55:27] lines in the series, such as, "A man got
[55:30] to have a code, and you come at the
[55:31] king, you best not miss." His scenes
[55:34] often blend tension, humor, and drama,
[55:36] making him a standout character. The
[55:39] fact that the show is about
[55:40] institutions, including the drug trade,
[55:42] and then you have this larger than-l
[55:44] life character walking around with a
[55:46] shotgun, robbing said drug dealers,
[55:48] makes him a wild card of the show. An
[55:51] unpredictable character who impacts the
[55:53] show's narrative significantly. Whether
[55:55] it be testifying to send Bird to prison,
[55:58] robbing the co-op, or going on a revenge
[56:00] spree against Marlo after his friend and
[56:02] mentor Butch, is killed. Speaking of the
[56:05] revenge spree, in one of the most
[56:08] shocking moments of the show, while Omar
[56:10] is on a rampage against Maro's
[56:12] organization, he is unceremoniously
[56:14] killed by the kid Canard. The dynamics
[56:17] of Canard and the reason why he killed
[56:19] him is very interesting and something
[56:20] which we can discuss in a future video.
[56:22] But what I wanted to talk about today
[56:24] was a very curious scene. After when
[56:26] Omar's body is at the morg, this fell
[56:28] looks a bit beused at a name tag. So he
[56:31] unzips the body bag to reveal and then
[56:34] takes a look at the name tag of the guy
[56:36] next to him, which is name tag. The guy
[56:38] unzips this body bag and it turns out to
[56:41] be a white guy not having died of a
[56:43] gunshot. So our man switches the name
[56:46] tags and zips up the body bags, ending
[56:49] the episode. And that's the last we see
[56:51] of Omar Little. And even then, the age
[56:53] of the name tag is clearly wrong, as it
[56:55] would have to mean Omar was in his 40s.
[56:58] It's a very interesting scene. quiet
[57:00] without words but profound and powerful.
[57:02] So what's the meaning behind it? Well,
[57:05] the scene is multifaceted and there are
[57:07] several takeaways. Of course, one simple
[57:09] one is that look, the institutions in
[57:11] Baltimore are so defunct that they even
[57:13] get the names of dead bodies wrong. What
[57:16] else are they getting wrong? It speaks
[57:18] to the broken infrastructure and
[57:20] systems. Maybe a low paid temp worker
[57:23] made the error. But in terms of this
[57:25] specific incident, it might amuse you to
[57:27] learn that when I first watched this
[57:29] scene. I thought the man knew who Omar
[57:31] was. Maybe he had family in Baltimore
[57:33] neighborhoods and is aware of Omar's
[57:35] reputation. So he knew that the name tag
[57:37] was wrong and switched it. But the point
[57:39] being that Omar's legend lives on. He is
[57:41] remembered. Even this guy knows who he
[57:43] is. But it's actually the opposite
[57:46] because firstly, there is nothing to
[57:48] indicate the man knew who Omar was. In
[57:50] fact, it says AA on the tag, indicating
[57:53] African-American. Plus, the name Omar is
[57:56] associated more with black people than
[57:58] white people. And as a black man, he'd
[58:00] know this. So, he just wanted to double
[58:02] check the tags were correct and then was
[58:04] vindicated in his decision. Secondly,
[58:07] the thing to note is not that he
[58:08] corrected the tags, but that they were
[58:10] wrong in the first place. And the reason
[58:13] is that Omar is just another black hood
[58:15] that was gunned down on the streets of
[58:17] Baltimore. He'll be remembered. Sure.
[58:20] Marlo's final scene where the two corner
[58:22] boys are theorizing badass ways in which
[58:24] Elmo must have checked out proves this.
[58:26] But his legend lives on only within his
[58:29] own world. He was a legend, a myth of
[58:31] his world. But outside of it, he was a
[58:33] nobody. Just another dead guy in
[58:36] Baltimore. [ __ ] Another meaningless
[58:39] statistic for the likes of Caretti and
[58:41] then Narice to use as a political
[58:44] pingpong in the Game of Thrones that
[58:46] occurs at the capital. Indeed, it's such
[58:49] a brilliant scene because it perfectly
[58:51] contextualizes
[58:53] Omar Little as a character. We've been
[58:55] following him for five seasons. He has
[58:57] some of the best scenes, the best lines,
[58:59] the best story lines. He takes on and
[59:01] beats the very best. But when you zone
[59:03] out of the streets, when you expand your
[59:06] scope a little, all of a sudden Omar
[59:08] just isn't that important and
[59:10] significant. And this scene is perfectly
[59:13] bookended by another in the newsroom
[59:15] when they are discussing which stories
[59:17] to put in the paper. And his story, the
[59:20] murder of a 34 year old black man, which
[59:22] is what it is to the newspaper guys, is
[59:25] dumped from the paper and replaced by a
[59:27] fatal housefire story. So Omar the
[59:29] legend's death wasn't even significant
[59:31] enough to warrant a small piece in the
[59:33] papers. It's a similar situation to
[59:36] Proposition Joe's death. a huge
[59:38] character, not just in terms of girth,
[59:40] but in terms of his importance in the
[59:42] story. He was the only drug kingpin to
[59:44] appear in every season. But there's no
[59:46] room for his passing in the paper
[59:48] either. Heck, if Omar's body had been
[59:50] lying next to some other black guys, the
[59:52] tag might have never been corrected.
[59:54] Omar's death sent shock waves throughout
[59:57] the streets, but as this series shows
[59:59] us, there is a huge divide between the
[60:01] streets and the rest of society. It all
[60:04] really went back to the whole thing
[60:06] about staying in your lane, staying
[60:08] within your own established world and
[60:10] environment. Within that, you can
[60:12] achieve success, you can achieve to a
[60:15] point, achieve legend, but try and move
[60:17] out or worse, try to change the game and
[60:20] you'll get chewed up. String a bell
[60:22] comes to mind who tried to revolutionize
[60:24] the game and also get into bed with the
[60:26] likes of downtown Clay Davis.
[60:28] Shenanigans which embarrassed him as he
[60:30] wasn't made for it. Instead, he could
[60:32] have focused on the Barksdale war and
[60:34] increased his own rep on the street, but
[60:36] alas, he is remembered as someone who
[60:38] died as a coward. Then there's Marlo,
[60:41] who is completely in his element as a
[60:43] drug kingpin, but feels alien and
[60:45] weirded out by Levy's business,
[60:47] shindigs, and fancy suit parties. Being
[60:50] on a related note, the death of Ma is a
[60:52] slap in the face to fans who may have
[60:55] envisioned him going down all guns
[60:57] blazing on the war path. Marlo's
[60:59] beheaded face in his hand or something.
[61:02] But not only is he killed by a child,
[61:04] he's not important enough to even make
[61:05] the news. He's a legend to us, a king on
[61:08] the streets. But back in the real world,
[61:09] he's nothing. He's like Bod. His death
[61:12] hits so hard. But again, he's just
[61:14] another dead body gunned down on the
[61:16] streets. Aside from you, me, his
[61:18] grandmother, and the cops who made an
[61:20] effort to know the community, a point
[61:22] Bunny Culvin stresses to his cops. And
[61:24] they gave a [ __ ] when it wasn't their
[61:26] turn to give a [ __ ] I.e. McNalty, who
[61:28] really cares? In fact, that's what this
[61:31] guy at the morg did. He gave a [ __ ] when
[61:33] it wasn't his turn. He made an effort,
[61:35] and as a result, we don't get a scene
[61:37] where everyone props up to Omar's
[61:39] funeral, and there's a middle-aged white
[61:41] guy in the coffin, sparking rumors that
[61:43] Omar is still alive as some kind of
[61:45] zombie. The newspaper thing also speaks
[61:48] to their ineffectiveness that they
[61:50] hadn't done their due diligence to work
[61:53] out the importance of who these guys are
[61:55] who have died. It's the result of them
[61:57] stripping down for profit margins. A
[62:00] good example of this is when Gus is
[62:01] looking for information on Daniels and
[62:04] Scott Templeton doesn't know, but Tigs
[62:06] blurts out Daniels's entire career
[62:09] history. And Tigs is someone who is
[62:11] clearing his desk because he's lost his
[62:13] job after the papers buyout. The paper
[62:15] is losing this invaluable institutional
[62:18] knowledge to make money shortterm, but
[62:20] long-term it will damage the paper. Omar
[62:23] Little started this episode on a feared
[62:25] crusade. He ended up being a misplaced
[62:28] statistic. Shocked by the same kid who
[62:31] once idolized him and role-played him in
[62:33] a game of cops and robbers, but was
[62:35] dumbfounded when he saw the realm was
[62:38] this dude limping around the city. And
[62:40] then Michael, who started off as a brave
[62:42] young, happy kid who could have had a
[62:44] great life, ends up replacing as
[62:47] Baltimore's stickup man. It's all just a
[62:49] cynical cycle. The game is rigged. Yo,
[62:52] it's like when Omar talks to Bunk and he
[62:54] tells him that Tasha, who got shot,
[62:56] wasn't a taxpayer and was in the game
[62:58] and therefore her death doesn't mean
[62:59] anything to anyone in Bunk's world. He
[63:02] was wrong for including Bunk in that
[63:04] sphere. But the point being made here by
[63:06] Omar was right and was proven by his own
[63:09] death. There is so much
[63:11] compartmentalization in the show, so
[63:13] much of institutions not being aware of
[63:15] the effects they have on other
[63:17] institutions. Avon is Westside's biggest
[63:20] drug dealer in season 1, but aside from
[63:22] McNalty, the cops don't know who he is.
[63:25] Carver runs the DEU in season 3 and
[63:27] doesn't know who the waring parties are,
[63:29] which shows us nothing has changed. Avon
[63:32] is released from prison in season 3, and
[63:34] none of our main cop characters know.
[63:36] They only find out because Herk
[63:38] half-heartedly recognizes him as he
[63:40] drives past. Rhonda is one of the lead
[63:42] investigators of the Stanfield case. And
[63:44] when Chris Partlo in the flesh walks up
[63:46] to her and asks her for directions to
[63:48] the clerk's office, she doesn't even
[63:50] recognize him. And then there's the myth
[63:52] of Omar Little, which means nothing to
[63:55] the likes of the coroner or the
[63:57] newspaper people. At the end of the day,
[64:00] the king and the porn go back into the
[64:02] same box because the game is the game
[64:05] and that's the only thing that doesn't
[64:07] change. Saying that though, at least on
[64:10] a level, Omar lives on as Marlo's final
[64:12] scene shows, even if it's only on the
[64:14] streets of Baltimore. And that's because
[64:16] Omar was more than just the man himself.
[64:19] Think Batman. You can kill a man, but
[64:21] you can't kill a symbol. Marlo was just
[64:24] a man. But Omar, a guy who walked up to
[64:26] stash houses and without even having to
[64:28] blink would have the goods handed over
[64:30] to him, developed into a legend whose
[64:33] name on the streets at least will ring
[64:35] out. Oh, no doubt. Today I wanted to
[64:39] talk a little about Cedric Daniels
[64:41] played by the late Lance Reic. Daniels
[64:44] is a prominent character in the show who
[64:46] starts off as a shift commander who
[64:47] takes the Barksdale detail taking charge
[64:50] of a ragtag bunch of cops in a basement
[64:52] looking to take down Westside
[64:54] Baltimore's biggest drunk kingpin. The
[64:56] case ends up a success, but since
[64:58] Daniels defied Deputy Commissioner
[65:00] Burell repeatedly in order to get what
[65:02] he needed for the case, he is assigned
[65:05] to evidence control in season 2 as
[65:07] punishment. The dead-end nature of his
[65:10] work even tempts him to leave the police
[65:12] force and become a lawyer, but he's
[65:14] given a second chance to run a new
[65:16] detail investigating the ports when the
[65:18] influential Major Val wants to settle a
[65:21] personal beef. And Daniels uses the
[65:24] situation to get Burell to promise him a
[65:26] permanent major case unit if his
[65:28] investigation is a success. Daniels
[65:31] eventually becomes commander of a
[65:32] district in season 4 and his competence
[65:35] and honesty turns the head of Caretti
[65:37] who eventually becomes mayor. Daniels
[65:40] becomes a colonel and Burell becomes
[65:42] suspicious and anxious fearing that
[65:44] Careti is grooming Daniels to replace
[65:46] him. Cedric is moved by Careti talking
[65:49] about a new day, a new era where proper
[65:52] police work is done, where juking the
[65:54] stats are a thing of the past and
[65:56] corruption and career ladder climbing
[65:58] are kept to a minimum. But Kquetti has
[66:01] his own story which involves him being
[66:03] swallowed up by the system and becoming
[66:05] as much of a ladder climber as his
[66:07] predecessors, even closing down the
[66:09] major crimes unit and having no time to
[66:11] speak to Daniels. When Daniels is
[66:14] eventually promoted to commissioner, he
[66:15] refuses to juke the stats for Cochetti.
[66:18] And when he is threatened, he chooses to
[66:20] resign, changing career paths and
[66:22] becoming a criminal defense lawyer.
[66:24] Daniels is one of the most interesting
[66:27] characters in The Wire. As with pretty
[66:29] much all the main characters, he feels
[66:31] like a real person. He feels fully
[66:33] realized to such an extent, it's hard to
[66:35] describe him. People change, and Daniels
[66:38] is one of them. He starts off as clearly
[66:41] a career cop, wanting to climb the
[66:43] ranks. Sharp and ambitious, Daniels is
[66:46] clearly real police, but chooses to tow
[66:49] the lines of his superiors, not wanting
[66:52] to rock the boat. But his innate nature,
[66:54] the good cop that's hidden in the skin
[66:57] of a ladder climber, occasionally bursts
[66:59] out, surprising those around him like
[67:02] McNell.
[67:03] Cedric clashes frequently with McNalty,
[67:06] who dismisses him as simply being one of
[67:08] the bosses. chain of command, detective.
[67:10] But when it really matters, with a bit
[67:13] of pushing, Daniels actually sticks it
[67:15] to the likes of Burell, earning the
[67:17] respect of the people working under him,
[67:19] but at the detriment to his career and
[67:21] even his marriage with the equally
[67:24] ambitious wife, Mara. I think our
[67:26] perception of Daniels as the audience
[67:28] flips and turns over the course of the
[67:31] show, but once it's all over, he's one
[67:33] of the few characters who comes out
[67:35] looking really good, earning our respect
[67:38] as a man of integrity, a leader who came
[67:40] close to losing his soul, who left the
[67:43] game before it corrupted him and stayed
[67:45] true to his values. But season 1,
[67:48] Daniels is different. He's difficult.
[67:51] He's a pain for McNalty and the rest of
[67:53] the detail. and he refuses to listen to
[67:55] reason when it's staring at him in the
[67:57] face. Ostensibly, it's because he is
[67:59] basically a high school prefect
[68:01] desperate to be squeaky clean so he can
[68:03] rise the ranks. But in the episode the
[68:06] buys after a bust up between Daniels and
[68:08] McNelte, one of many, it becomes evident
[68:11] that it may be a bit more sinister. As
[68:14] McN's FBI contact says,
[68:16] >> Daniels is dirty. He's got dirt on him.
[68:19] Your own agency came to us with concerns
[68:20] about him last year. integrity
[68:23] questions.
[68:23] >> You looked at Daniel specifically.
[68:25] >> Yeah, we did a two-month assets
[68:26] investigation. Man's got a couple
[68:28] hundred thousand more in liquid assets
[68:30] than any police lieutenant should ever
[68:32] have.
[68:32] >> So, Mr. Squeaky Clean isn't so squeaky.
[68:35] He has way more cash than someone on his
[68:38] pay grade should have. And he was
[68:40] investigated for 2 months. Still though,
[68:43] at this point, it's speculation. As
[68:45] McNei says,
[68:46] >> maybe he goes to Atlantic City.
[68:49] Seriously, you look at his background,
[68:52] >> maybe he's got other sources of income.
[68:54] >> Interestingly, McNalty's brother says
[68:56] they never got a chance to investigate
[68:58] further as they took it to Deputy
[69:00] Burell, who said he would take the
[69:02] matter from here and that was the last
[69:04] they heard of it. The implication here
[69:06] possibly is that Burell is protecting
[69:08] Daniels. But of course, as we find out
[69:11] later in episode 12, when the deputy
[69:13] shows his true colors, he was using the
[69:16] case file to threaten Daniels to keep
[69:18] him on a leash. But what exactly was the
[69:21] dirt on Daniels? It's never really gone
[69:24] into detail to, just vaguely referenced.
[69:27] Overall, we can conclude he just had too
[69:29] much money that a guy like him shouldn't
[69:31] have had. And references to Daniel's
[69:33] crooked past are sprinkled throughout
[69:35] the show. difficult to find when doing
[69:38] research for this video. It's like
[69:39] looking for a needle in a hay stack, but
[69:41] there are numerous references enough to
[69:44] remind us that Daniels constantly has
[69:46] the threat of his past catching up to
[69:48] him looming over his head. As McNei
[69:51] bluntly asks in the episode Lessons, he
[69:54] got something on you? And indeed he did,
[69:56] as revealed in the penultimate episode
[69:58] of the first season. Burell butters up
[70:01] Daniels to close down the detail early
[70:03] on, or at least not stir up [ __ ]
[70:06] dangling offers of promotion in front of
[70:08] him. But when Daniels refuses to back
[70:10] down from investigating Senator Clay
[70:12] Davis's aid, circumvents Chain of
[70:15] Command, and discovers Burell has a rat
[70:17] in his detail, Burell puts his cars on
[70:20] the table, straight up threatening to
[70:22] expose Daniels for his dirty days in the
[70:24] Eastern District.
[70:26] >> You want to talk about dirt? How about
[70:28] at it? Talk some [ __ ] about your Eastern
[70:30] District days. Talk some [ __ ] about what
[70:32] was going on back when you was running
[70:34] wild in the DEU. Let's just talk
[70:41] FBI field reports. You came into a lot
[70:44] of money quick. You can go to jail just
[70:46] as quick if I start asking the right
[70:49] questions.
[70:50] >> So Cedric came into a lot of money very
[70:53] quickly. Perhaps he stole drug money
[70:55] when he was working narcotics in the
[70:57] streets and invested what he took,
[70:59] skimming off the top of bust. It's
[71:02] interesting if this is the case because
[71:04] Carver also steals money in season 1,
[71:07] something which Daniels calls him out
[71:08] on. Daniels chastising Carver takes on a
[71:12] whole new meaning now because he's been
[71:14] down that road and is trying to now
[71:16] school Carver. With many Wire fans
[71:19] agreeing that Carver ends up like
[71:21] Daniels by the end of the show, it's
[71:23] fitting that he was just as corrupt and
[71:25] dirty in the beginning of the show. This
[71:27] doesn't happen. Not in my unit, Daniels
[71:30] says. Why? Well, it must have hit too
[71:33] close to home for Daniels. Reminded him
[71:36] of the dark old days in the eastern. And
[71:38] in his lecture to Carver, he draws from
[71:41] his own experiences in the eastern.
[71:43] Another link I'd like to make is we own
[71:46] Own this city. Another show created by
[71:48] David Simon following the true life rise
[71:50] and fall of the Baltimore PD gun trace
[71:53] task force. The team in this series
[71:55] regularly stole from people in the
[71:57] street. Even innocent people regularly
[71:59] took bad money, but instead of declaring
[72:01] it, put it into their own pockets.
[72:03] Perhaps Daniels was part of such a team.
[72:06] And if we want to be generous to him,
[72:08] maybe he was like Sha Sutor in the show,
[72:11] reluctantly taking the money so he isn't
[72:13] the odd one out and ostracized by his
[72:15] fellow cops. Serpico style. But Daniels
[72:18] calls Burell's bluff and throws it back
[72:20] in his face, suggesting that some of the
[72:22] people who were dirty back in the day
[72:24] are prominent figures now, and digging
[72:26] up dirt on Daniels would drown them,
[72:28] too.
[72:30] >> You do what you feel. You want to put my
[72:32] [ __ ] in the street, feel free, but the
[72:35] eastern had a lot of stories. Mine ain't
[72:37] only one. A lot of people came through
[72:39] that district.
[72:40] >> And Daniels emerges victorious,
[72:42] triumphant in putting away Avon. but he
[72:45] is of course punished for it by Burell
[72:47] before getting a second lease of life.
[72:49] There is a conversation between Daniels
[72:51] and his wife where Daniel says Burell
[72:54] knows about the money. So, it wasn't
[72:56] just talk. Daniels clearly did things he
[72:58] could be locked up for. As Burell said,
[73:01] there's enough in Daniel and Mara's
[73:03] relationship to warrant its own video.
[73:05] But in short, her political ambitions
[73:08] stagnates Daniel's career until it
[73:10] doesn't. as it's after Major Culvin's
[73:13] Hamsterdam project is exposed that Mayor
[73:15] Royce throws his support behind Mara
[73:18] after having been against her. Meaning
[73:20] Cedric now is in the right crowd and no
[73:23] longer held back by Burell. So you'd
[73:25] think he'd have it easy now. But
[73:26] Cedric's past is the point of more focus
[73:29] in the final two seasons with Burell
[73:31] feeling the heat about getting replaced
[73:33] by him. When Scott Templeton
[73:35] manufactures a coat, putting Daniels in
[73:37] it, he is fearful his past will be
[73:39] bought up if Burell thinks he's trying
[73:41] to take his job. As his wife says,
[73:44] >> the alternative is that he goes public
[73:46] with what he knows, whatever he has
[73:48] about the old days.
[73:50] >> It's interesting that how incriminating
[73:52] the file is is never really revealed. As
[73:55] Daniel says,
[73:56] >> how much could even be in that file? And
[73:59] that's investigation some loose talk. It
[74:03] was so long ago. Most of those guys have
[74:04] moved on.
[74:05] >> He only needs smoke. He doesn't even
[74:08] need fire to drag you down.
[74:10] >> This runs contrary to what Burell said
[74:12] in season 1 about the file being enough
[74:14] to land him in prison. And in the final
[74:17] scene with Daniels and Marlo, where
[74:19] Daniels has the actual file in his hand.
[74:22] He says, "There's not enough in here to
[74:25] indict me." So just how bad is it? We
[74:28] never really know. And in all honesty,
[74:30] it doesn't matter. All that matters is
[74:31] that Burell had enough to cause enough
[74:34] of a scene, enough smoke which would
[74:36] force Daniels to quietly walk away from
[74:38] the police force. Enough to raise
[74:40] questions and to bury both Daniels and
[74:43] Mara's careers. But there's enough lines
[74:46] of dialogue in the show to suggest that
[74:47] Burell would never have actually used
[74:50] the dirt on Daniels as it would throw
[74:52] [ __ ] on others and generate too many
[74:55] headlines. It was simply a weapon he
[74:57] could use, a gun pointed in Daniel's
[75:00] direction with the rusty trigger
[75:03] destined to never be pulled. In the
[75:05] episode Transitions, Burell says to City
[75:08] Council President Narice, who's playing
[75:10] games of her own, that Daniels isn't the
[75:13] [ __ ] and Span boy they think he is, and
[75:16] then says the line in the show that is
[75:18] the clearest about what Daniels may have
[75:21] been up to.
[75:21] >> He's not the [ __ ] and Span boy they
[75:24] think he is. He came up in the Eastern
[75:26] District, part of a bad drug unit that
[75:29] was skimming seized drug money. I
[75:31] actually had to fail.
[75:32] >> This isn't about Daniels.
[75:33] >> Narice tells Burell that it doesn't
[75:35] matter now that it's too late, but she
[75:37] takes the file with her with the show
[75:39] making a point to have her look through
[75:41] it, showing that this circus of threats
[75:44] on Daniel's head will never truly go
[75:46] away. They'll just switch hands even
[75:48] after Burell is gone. And in the Reese's
[75:51] very next scene, when she wants Caretti
[75:53] to give Bell a good sendoff, she implies
[75:56] there's dirt on Daniels and Burell knows
[75:58] about it. And in season 5, Daniels
[76:01] refuses to budge on the stat and Ketti's
[76:03] aid goes to Narice and we get almost an
[76:06] exact replica of the scene where Burell
[76:09] told her he had dirt on Daniels with her
[76:11] now telling Caretti's man just showing
[76:14] as the show does the cycles of
[76:16] corruption which means things never
[76:18] change and never improve. One other
[76:21] scene where the dirt is referenced is
[76:23] when Burell is about to go and Daniels
[76:25] reiterates he didn't ask to take his
[76:27] place. Burell, who has no weapons left
[76:29] in his corner, says,
[76:31] >> "Relax.
[76:33] You once told me that if I was going to
[76:35] do you, you'd be done already. Remember?
[76:38] [ __ ] I don't even remember what was in
[76:40] that foul. Something about the Eastern
[76:43] District.
[76:45] So long ago, who can remember?"
[76:48] >> Avon is the show's main kingpin for
[76:50] three seasons, being the main target of
[76:52] the major crimes unit in season 1. He is
[76:55] arrested and sent to prison at the end
[76:57] of the show's first season. And from
[76:58] there, he runs his crew through his
[77:00] number two, Stringer Bell. Friction
[77:02] starts to emerge between Stringer and
[77:04] Avon with their two different
[77:06] philosophies on how to handle the
[77:08] organization's issues causing a crack in
[77:11] the outfit as well as in their
[77:12] relationship with Stringer propagating
[77:15] the New Day co-op, an alliance between
[77:17] rival drug dealers where they favor
[77:19] diplomacy over violence. Proposition Joe
[77:22] provides the good dope in exchange for
[77:24] territory. Everyone shares and pitches
[77:27] in and any issues or grievances are
[77:29] brought to the table. Avon, however,
[77:32] isn't up for this new business outlook
[77:34] on life. He's just a gangster, I
[77:36] suppose, as is Marlo Stanfield, a rival
[77:39] Westside upandcomer who Avon goes to war
[77:41] with. War which brings bodies and heat
[77:44] from the cops and threatens to ruin the
[77:46] good work the co-op have done to avoid
[77:48] bloodshed. As a result, Stringer gives
[77:51] Avon up to the cops and he is sent back
[77:54] to the can and Stringer himself is
[77:56] killed after his scheming comes back to
[77:58] haunt him. Now, who was right between
[78:01] Avon and Stringer is something we've
[78:03] already discussed on the channel, but
[78:05] with Avon in prison, he is pretty much
[78:07] out of the game and his territory is
[78:09] swallowed up by Marlo, the new kingpin
[78:11] of Westside Baltimore. Avon is
[78:14] completely absent in season 3, his
[78:16] storyline finished, though he makes a
[78:18] surprise cameo in season 5 with Marlo
[78:20] having to go through him to get to
[78:22] Sergey who can get to the Greeks, prop
[78:25] Joe's wholesaler. Avon clearly has a
[78:28] heavy pull in prison with him having
[78:30] established himself as a powerhouse
[78:32] inside the walls of Jessup. Now, after
[78:35] Marlo is forced to leave the game,
[78:37] having reigned dictator-like over the
[78:40] New Day co-op, the Baltimore gangsters
[78:42] seem to go back to the alliance
[78:44] mentality. In the season 5 montage, we
[78:47] see Slim Charles and fat-faced Rick
[78:49] talking to the Greeks, implying that
[78:51] they now jointly head the co-op, or at
[78:53] least represent it when meeting with the
[78:56] Greeks. Prop Joe and Stringer Bell's
[78:58] legacy lives on through the co-op, and
[79:00] Slim Charles is one of the rare winners
[79:02] of the show. first appearing in season 3
[79:05] as hyd muscle for the bark snails and
[79:07] when most of them are sent to jail he
[79:09] goes to work for prop Joe as his number
[79:11] two. Now what I wanted to discuss today
[79:14] is what exactly happens when Avon
[79:17] Barkstdale gets out. In chess terms,
[79:20] Avon is the king. And a line in season 1
[79:23] tells us the king stays the king. And
[79:26] many have theorized that Slim Charles,
[79:28] the former loyal Barkstdale soldier, is
[79:31] keeping the seat warm for Avon, waiting
[79:33] for him to return and stepping aside so
[79:36] Avon can take his rightful throne. But
[79:39] is this actually true? Whether we'd like
[79:42] to imagine it or not, is it likely to
[79:44] happen or is it a romanticization from
[79:47] the Wire fans? Of course, this
[79:50] conversation is predicated on when
[79:52] exactly Avon is getting out, which is
[79:54] never confirmed in the show. I'm not
[79:56] going to talk about this too much here.
[79:58] I already have an entire video dedicated
[80:00] to this, but I theorize that the show
[80:03] creators intentionally kept Avon's
[80:05] prison sentence length vague in case
[80:08] they wanted to use him in future
[80:09] seasons. He might only be doing the rest
[80:11] of his original seven years, or he might
[80:13] be doing 20 years plus, in which case
[80:15] when he gets out, he'll be old and most
[80:17] of the established gangster characters
[80:19] will be dead anyway. It's implied
[80:21] through his sister that the Barkstdale
[80:23] don't have the cash they used to. So, if
[80:26] people who went down to protect Avon
[80:28] aren't getting paid, they might start
[80:30] flipping to get reduced sentences and
[80:32] Avon gets more and more years added onto
[80:35] his. But in the case that he gets out
[80:38] after a few years, I don't necessarily
[80:41] agree that he'll just walk out into
[80:43] Westside Baltimore as a king and take
[80:45] his seat at the head of the co-op. And I
[80:47] think it's naive to think Slim would
[80:50] just give up his senior position in the
[80:51] co-op to Avon. Look, I know Avon is one
[80:55] of the more beloved figures of the wire.
[80:57] He has a code. He has some great human
[80:59] moments like when he lets Katy go. And
[81:02] compared to his successor, Marlo, he is
[81:04] way more likable. And the idea that
[81:07] after it's all said and done, after all
[81:09] the players come and go, the first
[81:11] kingpin in the show, the original
[81:13] gangster Avon Barkstdale lies in weight
[81:16] and returns to take his throne, the king
[81:19] stays the king. All of that is great to
[81:21] speculate on. I like the idea. But with
[81:24] this series showing us the cycles of the
[81:26] drug trade, the cynical neverending
[81:29] nature of the trade, and the fact that
[81:30] the players are just cogs in this great
[81:33] machine that is the game, it actually
[81:35] goes against the ethos of the show for
[81:37] there to be one major player in the drug
[81:39] trade to be ever present. In chess, one
[81:42] king has to get trapped in the end, as
[81:45] Avon was when the cops busted through
[81:47] the warehouse in season 3. In reality,
[81:50] the king doesn't stay the king, but the
[81:52] game stays the game. And it's bigger
[81:54] than Avon. The game continues, just with
[81:57] different players. Avon's cameo in
[82:00] season 5 was a nice callback for fans
[82:02] and a way to incorporate him into the
[82:04] narrative. But really, his story is
[82:06] finished, which is probably why he
[82:08] doesn't appear in this season 5 final
[82:10] montage. Avon clearly has some kind of
[82:13] status in prison up in this [ __ ] here.
[82:16] He's what you might call an authority
[82:17] figure. But outside of the can, who
[82:20] exactly is he really? His heavy hitters
[82:23] like Weebe are doing life in prison.
[82:25] Most of the Barkstdale organization was
[82:27] sent down. Guys like Stringer and Bod
[82:30] are dead. Guys like Slim have moved on
[82:33] and even Avon's own sister has said
[82:35] money has dried up. So what tangible
[82:38] power does Avon have to wrestle power
[82:41] out of Slim Charles's hands? And why
[82:43] would Slim willingly give it up to Avon?
[82:46] He hasn't worked with Avon in years. And
[82:49] even when he did, he was hired muscle.
[82:51] And then he went to work for Avon's
[82:53] rival. People like to point to Slim's
[82:55] line about not being cut out to be no
[82:57] CEO.
[82:58] >> Meaning no disrespect, but I ain't cut
[83:01] out to be no CEO.
[83:03] >> And that might have been the case at the
[83:04] time, but that's really more of an
[83:06] indication of his intelligence not to
[83:08] fly too close to Marlo, lest he get
[83:10] burnt. After everything Slim's worked
[83:13] for, after how high he's climbed, he's
[83:15] just going to say, "There you go, sir."
[83:17] and wipe Avon's seat clean. Not a
[83:20] chance. That's not how things work. It
[83:22] wouldn't even be Slim Sayo. He's not the
[83:25] boss of the co-op. There is no boss.
[83:27] He's just a senior member. I mean, look
[83:29] at the way Bodhi was on his own after
[83:30] the Barksdale fell, lucky to be given a
[83:33] package by Slim just because he liked
[83:35] the young Bach. And there's nothing Avon
[83:37] would be able to do about it. In fact,
[83:39] he's at a stage where he has more power
[83:42] inside prison than he does out of it. He
[83:44] was a boss, so to speak, inside the can
[83:47] and was able to exert power and
[83:48] influence. Slim and the co-op would be
[83:51] weary of Avon's methods. The same thing
[83:54] that got him locked up in the first
[83:55] place, and they wouldn't want him
[83:57] anywhere near this setup. Think about
[83:59] the old days, they the old days. Sure,
[84:02] he'll have respect, but that would only
[84:04] get him so far like it did Caty. I can
[84:07] see Slim incorporating Avon back into
[84:09] the mix, but not thrusting him into a
[84:12] position of leadership. They'd probably
[84:14] feel Avon out, see what he's still
[84:17] capable of and what he wants to do. If
[84:20] Avon was willing, he'd still be an asset
[84:22] to Westside in terms of business, real
[84:24] estate, warfare, connections, all sorts.
[84:27] And he could come in handy. Maybe the
[84:29] co-op are pulling their hair out in
[84:31] frustration because they keep getting
[84:33] robbed by an adult Michael with a
[84:35] shotgun and they use Avon to organize
[84:37] security, but the co-op would not be
[84:40] obliged to indulge Avon. Slim isn't that
[84:43] much of a sentimental [ __ ] They
[84:45] had a working relationship and both knew
[84:47] it. The game is the game. Avon's
[84:50] organization got taken out and he went
[84:52] to jail. End of story. If he does get
[84:54] out and still wants to be part of the
[84:56] game, I think he'd swallow his pride and
[84:58] accept the co-op was the way of doing
[85:00] things now and would accept a mid-tier
[85:03] position. And to be honest, he'd
[85:05] probably be okay with it, accepting he
[85:07] had his time on the throne and he still
[85:08] commands respect. Heck, by the time he
[85:11] gets out, Slim Child might be dead. So
[85:14] to the guys who actually knew Aan
[85:16] Barkdale and the guys running the show
[85:18] now might be younger guys who are aware
[85:20] of his rep but have no allegiance to
[85:22] him. Look how Bodi treated Cati when he
[85:25] came to him and Slim Charles. It doesn't
[85:27] matter what Cuddi did years ago to earn
[85:30] a rep. The here and now is more
[85:32] important. It actually linked to a much
[85:34] bigger thing which we can discuss in
[85:36] another video about these gangsters and
[85:39] in the Sopranos too basically being
[85:41] duped into thinking that when they go to
[85:43] prison when they do decades in the can
[85:46] for their families they'll come out and
[85:48] be treated like kings and retake their
[85:50] seats on the throne and all sorts when
[85:53] that isn't the case at all. Would Avon
[85:56] even want it? Maybe Avon's changed and
[85:59] actually sees the co-op is the way
[86:00] forward. Maybe he's achieved everything
[86:02] he wanted to in the game and wants to
[86:04] live quietly. Maybe he's transformed and
[86:06] The Wire season 6 goes full circle by
[86:09] giving Avon a redemption arc where he
[86:11] leaves the gangster lifestyle and tells
[86:13] his story to a TV crew who are creating
[86:15] a show called The Wire just like how the
[86:18] guy who Avon is based off did in real
[86:20] life. Wouldn't that be something? The
[86:23] point I'm making is that Avon may have
[86:25] changed and become a different person by
[86:27] the time he got out. They could give him
[86:28] a completely new story line. And quite
[86:31] frankly, having him come back and trying
[86:33] to take over has already been done.
[86:36] Perhaps Avon becomes like one of the
[86:38] older head guys, an adviser like Butie
[86:40] or the guy at Marlo's rim shop.
[86:42] Semi-retired, his voice important,
[86:45] connected, making some money here and
[86:47] there getting his cut, but not really at
[86:49] the forefront of things. If the game is
[86:51] truly all Avon knows, he could still be
[86:53] a part of it as a respected old-timer.
[86:56] But the days of him being a boss are
[86:58] realistically gone. In fact, if he
[87:01] himself is unable to deal with this
[87:03] fact, he could end up like guys like
[87:05] Richie Appal and the Sopranos, angry
[87:07] that the world has moved on without him
[87:08] and frustrated, feeling like he hasn't
[87:10] been given his dues, a relic causing
[87:13] problems for everyone, and eventually he
[87:15] is popped. I don't quite see that. I
[87:18] mean, even in Avon's prison meeting with
[87:20] Marlo, he seems to possess a mindset
[87:22] that the game is above and beyond
[87:24] everyone and everybody's just a player
[87:26] in this game. In fact, the deacon, whose
[87:29] life Avon is based on, reformed and
[87:32] became a churchgoing man trying to make
[87:34] things better in society, much like how
[87:37] Michael became Ma and Dookie became
[87:39] Bubbles. Maybe the inclusion of the man
[87:42] Avon is based off in this show is
[87:45] actually the wise way of telling us what
[87:47] happens to Avon Barkdale. But I know I'm
[87:49] making a stretch here. If Avon did truly
[87:52] want to become king again, he'd have to
[87:54] take the crown by force. And that pretty
[87:56] much means starting over because there's
[87:59] nothing to come home to. using
[88:01] resources. He has his rep, real estate,
[88:04] money to hire guns, his connection to
[88:07] New York, maybe some youngans who
[88:09] idolize him, joining his crew. Maybe he
[88:12] gets lucky and gets a few really
[88:14] competent soldiers. But it would involve
[88:16] having to start over, rebuilding and
[88:18] clawing his way back to the top, corner
[88:21] by corner. And he'd probably die doing
[88:23] it, which wouldn't be a problem for him.
[88:26] After all, the game is the game, and the
[88:28] streets is all Avon knows. Perhaps Avon
[88:31] gets out and sees Slim Charles and
[88:33] fat-faced Rick as pretenders, imposters
[88:36] sitting on his throne, and he launches
[88:38] himself into a war against everybody.
[88:41] So, what do you think? Do you see Avon
[88:43] getting out and wanting the crown? Do
[88:46] you see Rick and Charles giving it to
[88:47] him? As fans of the show know, The Wire
[88:50] is incredibly detailed and always seems
[88:52] to contain something new you missed upon
[88:54] rewatches. There's so much detail in the
[88:57] show. So many hidden Easter eggs, so
[89:00] many butterfly effects, a lot of
[89:02] symbolism imagery mirroring
[89:04] allegorories, and so much more. Just the
[89:06] plot in of itself is so dense that it
[89:08] often takes rewatches just to work out
[89:10] what is fundamentally going on in the
[89:12] show. There's so many characters, so
[89:13] many different story lines, but it all
[89:15] comes together to create something
[89:17] poetic and beautiful. As one character
[89:20] says, all the pieces matter. I've
[89:23] covered many of the intricate and hidden
[89:25] details of the show on my channel in
[89:27] both my normal videos and especially my
[89:29] YouTube shorts. So, be sure to check
[89:31] them out and subscribe to the channel
[89:32] for more. Some of these details include
[89:35] the chess symbolism in the death of
[89:36] Bodhi, the fact that the only cop ever
[89:38] to fire a gun in the show is Presbali
[89:41] and that one of the dock workers from
[89:43] season 2, Johnny 50, is one of the
[89:45] homeless people in season 5. Today, I
[89:48] want to take a look at the traveling
[89:50] ring of season 4. If you remember, the
[89:53] character Old-Faced Andre has a nicel
[89:55] lookinging ring which Marlo brings
[89:57] attention to in a meeting between him
[89:59] and Andre where they discuss Andre
[90:01] getting robbed by Omar. It's quite
[90:03] interesting that this ring travels
[90:05] around quite a bit going from owner to
[90:07] owner until you could make the argument
[90:09] things come full circle. Andre is the
[90:12] initial owner of the ring. Where he got
[90:15] it from, who knows? Maybe it has been in
[90:17] the family as Andre says, but Marlo eyes
[90:19] it up. And whether he just wants to
[90:21] assert power over Andre, whether as
[90:23] punishment for getting robbed or just
[90:25] maybe because he likes it as a symbol of
[90:27] power, Marlo takes the ring off a
[90:30] reluctant old face. Later, Proposition
[90:33] Joe entices to rob a card game that
[90:36] Marlo is taking part in. One where he
[90:38] actually wins after many attempts at
[90:40] trying. His joy, however, is immediately
[90:43] cut short when bursts in and robs the
[90:45] game. Marlo draws attention to himself
[90:47] by declaring the money as his, to which
[90:50] replies by saying, "Money ain't got no
[90:52] owners, only spenders." Which really
[90:54] acts as a great summary for the story of
[90:56] the traveling ring. Anyway, takes a
[90:59] fancy to Marlo's ring, taking it for
[91:01] himself so he can wear it in health.
[91:03] Later, after is set up for a murder
[91:05] charge by Marlo and Chris and Andre, Ma
[91:08] finds himself arrested by Officer
[91:10] Walker, Walker's proven himself to be a
[91:12] degenerate cop and perhaps the most
[91:14] unlikable character in the show,
[91:16] compounded by the fact that he takes the
[91:18] ring off Omar before having him thrown
[91:20] in the van. Then we see the Boys of
[91:23] Summer set Walker up, messing with his
[91:25] car and then throwing paint all over
[91:27] him. Before they throw the paint,
[91:28] however, Michael seizes on the
[91:30] opportunity to snatch the ring off
[91:32] Walker. And then Marlo arrives at
[91:35] Michael's home with Chris and Snoop.
[91:37] Noticing the ring around Michael's neck,
[91:39] surely realizing it's the same ring took
[91:42] off him. Instead of launching himself at
[91:44] Michael, screeching, "My precious," he
[91:46] questions where Michael got it, to which
[91:48] he replies, "took it from a nigga."
[91:50] Which is pretty much what every
[91:51] character in this chain did. Michael
[91:53] asks Marlo if he wants it, but he tells
[91:56] him to keep it. And as far as I can
[91:57] remember, this is the last time the ring
[91:59] is ever bought up. So that means the
[92:01] ring went from Andre to Marlo to Omar to
[92:04] Walker and finally to Michael. Pretty
[92:06] cool. And it's likely the purpose of the
[92:08] constant traveling of the ring aside
[92:10] from being an Easter egg is that the
[92:12] ring is used to show how temporary power
[92:15] is on the streets of Baltimore. If the
[92:18] ring represents power or it is a
[92:20] representation of the representation of
[92:22] power, this little series of events
[92:25] shows how hollow and empty that power
[92:27] really is that it is transient and can
[92:30] be taken away at any time. Look at all
[92:32] the characters in the show who have held
[92:34] power whether it be Avon, Stringer,
[92:37] Burell Rules Roy Marlo Prop Joe
[92:41] Daniels, and look at how that power
[92:43] comes and goes. Harking back to Omar's
[92:45] line about money having no owners, only
[92:47] spenders, replace the word money with
[92:49] power or this ring, and the quote fits
[92:52] perfectly. Everyone who has the ring,
[92:54] aside from Michael, is robbed for it.
[92:56] And we can assume that somewhere down
[92:58] the line, the same will probably happen
[93:00] to Michael, too. It also shows that
[93:02] nothing really changes over time in this
[93:05] cynical world of The Wire, where things
[93:07] work in circles. characters assume the
[93:10] roles of other characters and replace
[93:12] them, filling in their empty shoes once
[93:14] they're out of the game. The most
[93:16] striking example is, of course, Michael
[93:19] replacing Omar as the stickup man of
[93:21] Baltimore. Even the scene where he takes
[93:22] it officer Walker is reminiscent of Omar
[93:26] taking it off Marlo. Marlo and Walker
[93:28] are similar in that they have no regard
[93:30] for others around them. They are cold
[93:32] people. Marlo's day is ruined by Omar's
[93:35] robbery and he takes the robbery
[93:36] personally. Similarly, Walker's day is
[93:39] ruined and he takes the assault
[93:40] personally instead of acknowledging it's
[93:42] all part of the game and he is as much
[93:44] of a fault for it as the kids are. And
[93:46] subsequently, the cops start coming down
[93:48] hard on the streets. Power dynamics
[93:51] shift so rapidly in the show. The crown
[93:53] is only worn briefly before someone else
[93:56] comes and takes the king's place. You
[93:58] can go from being a player to being
[94:00] played. All in the game, yo. It could
[94:02] also be a call out to Frank Sabotka's
[94:04] line from season 2 where he says, "We
[94:06] used to make [ __ ] build [ __ ] Now we
[94:09] just put our hand in the next guy's
[94:10] pocket." That's pretty much what's going
[94:12] on here with the life cycle of the ring.
[94:15] It's interesting that Marlo notices the
[94:17] ring on Michael, but doesn't ask for
[94:19] elaboration as to where he got it. He
[94:22] surely knows it's the same one that took
[94:24] off him. So, does he think Michael
[94:26] managed to get the drop on and stole the
[94:28] ring from him? unlikely as Marlo was
[94:31] hunting and he would have surely heard
[94:33] if Omar was found and robbed by a kid
[94:36] working under him. And as he was hunting
[94:38] him, you'd think he'd press Michael on
[94:40] where exactly he got it. Or maybe for
[94:43] Marlo to show so much interest in the
[94:45] ring, he'd have to eventually admit that
[94:47] he was robbed for it, showing weakness,
[94:49] and perhaps this is why he didn't press
[94:51] Michael on the matter. Or maybe he was
[94:53] afraid that Michael would reply back in
[94:55] the black speech of mortal. I guess it's
[94:58] more likely that Marlo figured lost the
[95:00] ring somewhere down the line and Michael
[95:02] took it off whoever had it at the time.
[95:05] The look exchanged between him and Chris
[95:08] and the fact that Marlo allows Michael
[95:10] to keep the ring is perhaps a showcase
[95:12] that Marlo knows this pup is the real
[95:15] deal that he is gaining a level of
[95:17] respect for him as a competent corner
[95:19] boy with potential for more. It's a
[95:22] strong indicator that Marlo knows that
[95:24] Michael is built differently. Even his
[95:26] answer is short, simple, and vague in a
[95:28] manner that Marlo would have given an
[95:30] answer. He didn't need to brag that he
[95:32] took it off a cop. Although maybe Marlo
[95:34] did think Michael took it off, and
[95:36] Michael's stature in his eyes instantly
[95:38] took a rise. Michael also chose to wear
[95:40] the ring around his neck instead of
[95:42] flash it around on his hand. He offered
[95:44] it to Marlo, showing it had no
[95:46] sentimental value for him. went to
[95:48] Marlo. Ironically, the ring represents
[95:50] his entire beef with M. Perhaps if we go
[95:54] for the idea that Marlo does think the
[95:56] ring was taken off. This helps build the
[95:59] myth of Michael that word goes around
[96:01] that he got the drop on. And it's one of
[96:04] the many things that people are not
[96:05] quite sure true or not true about him.
[96:09] Just like how there are many legends
[96:10] about whether he really did jump out of
[96:13] that building, whether he really did
[96:14] have commando squads with him, and the
[96:17] numerous rumors as to how he died. And
[96:19] even a man like Marlo is buying into
[96:22] Mike's legend, not quite knowing where
[96:24] this boy's seeding is, just how good he
[96:27] can get, which ironically leads him to
[96:29] put out a hit on him in season 5 when he
[96:32] thinks he might be snitching. Another
[96:33] mistake from Marlo thinking Michael did
[96:35] something he didn't. He was always
[96:37] asking too many questions. As Snoop
[96:39] says, he was too different. In other
[96:41] words, he was a leader in of himself, a
[96:43] potential eventual challenger to Marlo
[96:45] in the long term. So, I thought you
[96:48] might find this interesting. The ring,
[96:50] which goes through dealers and kingpins
[96:52] and robbers and police and even school
[96:54] kids. What do you make of The Ring? The
[96:57] show is not one for theatrics. In fact,
[97:00] quite astonishingly, for a show about
[97:02] cops, the police only fire their guns
[97:05] three times throughout the show, and
[97:07] each time it's the same character, and
[97:09] each time it's a blunder. It's also a
[97:12] show with some really unsettling, dark
[97:15] scenes that stay with you, in part due
[97:17] to their rawness and the knowledge that
[97:20] events like this are happening
[97:21] throughout the world. Examples include
[97:24] Chris Partllo murdering an innocent
[97:26] delivery woman in cold blood. The sweet
[97:29] Randy being failed by the system and
[97:31] condemned to a life of trauma and
[97:33] violence. A lawyer like Levy supposedly
[97:36] an upstanding member of society advising
[97:38] Stringer and Avon that they should kill
[97:40] people in their own crew who could
[97:42] testify against them. Dookie abandoned
[97:45] by all becoming a junkie. A police
[97:48] officer breaking the fingers of a child.
[97:50] bubbles constantly being beaten and
[97:52] harassed, the death of Wallace, a school
[97:54] student slashing another with a razor
[97:56] blade, a stray bullet during a gunfight
[97:59] ending a child's life, and so much more.
[98:02] Today, I wanted to discuss one such
[98:04] moment, one that I don't really see
[98:06] talked about, but in hindsight really
[98:09] does come off as one of the most low-key
[98:11] grim moments in the show. Oldface Andre
[98:14] is a Westside convenience store owner
[98:17] whose place serves as a stash house for
[98:19] the crime boss Marlo Stanfield. He gets
[98:22] into debt with Marlo after the stash is
[98:24] robbed by Omar. When Omar later robs
[98:26] Marlo himself, Marlo has Chris kill a
[98:29] delivery woman, telling Andre to blame
[98:31] it on. This of course puts Andre in a
[98:34] difficult position as he fears that
[98:37] might kill him as revenge. But the
[98:38] alternative is Marlo killing him. So he
[98:41] goes ahead with it. Eventually, Andre is
[98:44] pressured by the bunk to go back on his
[98:46] original statement. And as such, Andre
[98:48] is in immediate danger from Marlo, and
[98:50] he goes to East Side to Proposition Joe
[98:53] to ask for help. Now, Andre isn't
[98:55] exactly a sympathetic character. There's
[98:58] just something a bit pathetic about the
[99:00] guy, like his transparent and obvious
[99:02] analogy about a NASDAQ and fluctuations
[99:05] in the global economy and all that,
[99:06] which Mara doesn't buy for a second.
[99:09] He's just a bit weasel-like and
[99:10] unlikable, but there isn't a real clear
[99:12] reason why. I mean, the guy is in the
[99:14] game by being a Marlo stash house, but
[99:16] for all we know, he could have been
[99:18] forced into it. And for the most part,
[99:20] he seems to be a lowkey and chill guy
[99:22] who gets caught up in a tornado of
[99:24] events when he's robbed. But he's really
[99:27] quite dumb, showing up to a meet with
[99:29] Marlo, wearing a nice ring and necklace.
[99:31] He is a sheep running with the wolves,
[99:34] out of his element, with nothing to
[99:36] offer a man like Marlo. a pawn on the
[99:38] chessboard getting pushed around by more
[99:40] powerful players. And his stupidity is
[99:43] emphasized when it becomes apparent his
[99:45] idea of running away is just going to
[99:48] the other side of town. I mean, your
[99:49] life is at stake. Why not take a bus out
[99:51] of town? But like most characters stuck
[99:54] in Baltimore like Bod and Wallace, he
[99:56] seems unable to truly escape to his
[99:59] detriment. This episode is called Know
[100:02] Your Place, and Andre truly didn't know
[100:05] his. Andre turns to prop Joe in his time
[100:07] of need, who is beused by Andre's lack
[100:09] of vision to simply cross town instead
[100:12] of skip it. And Joe exploits the
[100:14] situation by taking ownership of Andre's
[100:16] store in exchange for a measly $2,000
[100:20] and a ride out of Baltimore. But Joe,
[100:22] who after much effort has managed to get
[100:24] Marlo to join the co-op, sees an
[100:27] opportunity to show Marlo the benefits
[100:29] of their new mutual endeavor and hands
[100:31] Andre straight back to Marlo. It's such
[100:34] a cold thing to do and really does give
[100:36] you an insight into how ruthless and
[100:38] snake- like the cunning prop Joe can be.
[100:41] He's very charismatic and likable. He's
[100:43] probably my favorite character, but it's
[100:45] easy to be deceived by his charm. And
[100:48] this here is one of the lowest thing a
[100:50] character has done in the show. Sure, he
[100:52] gives Andre a bit of a break by
[100:54] suggesting he should be in New York or
[100:56] Philly or someplace, but he hands Andre
[100:59] to Marlo on a platter after giving his
[101:01] word to the man and taking his store.
[101:04] Although in a manner of speaking, it's a
[101:05] good business decision. Marlo is part of
[101:07] the co-op and the co-op is she and she
[101:10] alike. To hide Andre is to go against
[101:12] the co-op. Instead, get a store and
[101:15] score points with Marlo. As Joe would
[101:17] say, buy for a dollar, sell it for two.
[101:20] And when Andre ends up seeing Chris and
[101:23] Snoop, he immediately knows what it is
[101:25] and allows it to happen instead of, I
[101:27] don't know, swinging like a [ __ ]
[101:29] and going out fighting. It's almost
[101:31] comical how nonchalant his reaction is.
[101:33] Like he's been told he just failed a
[101:35] high school exam.
[101:37] >> Chris, no.
[101:38] >> You know, I keep it quick
[101:42] >> here.
[101:43] >> Here's good.
[101:44] >> Not not in a vacant. how matterof fact
[101:47] this entire scene is. Like it's just
[101:49] business as usual. Snoops, come on over
[101:52] here, man. And putting on the glove like
[101:54] she's just an exhausted mother about to
[101:56] change Andre's nappy. It's funny, but
[101:58] it's also sick how desensitized everyone
[102:01] is to death and murder. The fact that
[102:03] Andre, for as stupid as he is, processes
[102:06] what's going on immediately and skips
[102:08] past the pleading and goes straight to
[102:10] negotiating his terms of death. He
[102:13] doesn't want to be done in a vacant,
[102:14] alone with the rats and unable to get a
[102:16] home going from his people. It's so
[102:18] tragic. And look at Chris. So soft and
[102:21] polite. It'll be all right. I got your
[102:23] back. Like he's his counselor providing
[102:26] him emotional support. What's he going
[102:27] to do? Shoot off the rats from Andre's
[102:29] cold dead body. Here's good. Like they
[102:32] found a nice spot for a bit of camping.
[102:34] It's funny, but it's so chilling at the
[102:36] same time. unsettling how much of an
[102:39] expert Chris is at getting his victims
[102:41] in a mentally subservient mode and how
[102:44] professional he is at taking a person's
[102:47] life. It's so eerie, man. The way they
[102:50] all head down together to Andre's place
[102:52] of death, him being gently reassured
[102:54] that the rat's chewing on his corpse is
[102:57] a good thing. And for how pathetic we
[102:59] might find him, say what you want about
[103:02] Andre, but there's an element of honor
[103:03] to his death. the way he just took it on
[103:06] the chin and walked with his killers to
[103:08] the vacant. His only concern was for the
[103:11] way his family would see him. The game
[103:13] is the game. And this guy was dealt a
[103:15] terrible hand. Robbed by Omar, robbed by
[103:18] Marlo, pistolhipped by Chris,
[103:20] blackmailed, and facing a 10-year
[103:22] incarceration, sold out by Joe, and
[103:25] killed without a homegoing after it's
[103:27] all said and done. He didn't rat in
[103:29] court. He played by the rules every step
[103:31] of the way. and he is killed for such a
[103:33] trivial reason. I mean, what exactly is
[103:36] Andre supposed to do when getting robbed
[103:38] by Omar? Roundhouse kick him. Marlo was
[103:41] being typically cruel in this entire
[103:43] scenario. Anyway, I just wanted to talk
[103:46] a little about the demise of Oldface
[103:48] Andre today and how I found it to be one
[103:50] of the most unsettling scenes in the
[103:52] show. What did you make of this story
[103:54] line and the way Andre went out? One of
[103:57] the most prominent side characters of
[103:58] the show is Maurice Levy, played by
[104:01] Michael Kostro. Levy is a skilled and
[104:04] sleazy defense attorney who works on
[104:06] retainer for the Barkstdale
[104:07] organization, the criminal empire led by
[104:10] Avon Barkstdale. He is shown in numerous
[104:13] scenes representing members of the drug
[104:14] trade, managing to swindle them out of
[104:17] lengthy prison sentences through
[104:19] gamesmanship and dishonest tactics. At
[104:22] first, he comes off as a bit of a
[104:23] crooked lawyer who has no problem
[104:25] defending murderers and drug dealers,
[104:28] but it quickly becomes apparent that he
[104:30] is so much more. In a scene with Levy,
[104:32] Avon, and Stringer Bell, Levy is
[104:34] literally counseling the gangsters on
[104:37] who should be killed for them to avoid a
[104:39] jail sentence. Leaving the meeting
[104:41] before having to hear too much and hear
[104:43] too many names in order to protect
[104:46] himself. The fact that he is able to
[104:48] slap Avon's nephew, D'Angelo around
[104:50] shows just how much sway this guy
[104:53] actually has. He pops up throughout the
[104:55] show. In fact, he is in the very first
[104:58] episode and the very last episode of The
[105:00] Wire. And the more we see of him, the
[105:02] more sinister he appears to be. As it
[105:05] turns out, he is the go-to lawyer for
[105:07] not just Avon, but other gangsters like
[105:10] Proposition Joe and later Marlo
[105:12] Stanfield. And he's practically giddy
[105:15] with glee when he learns that Marlo has
[105:17] started using phones as it means that no
[105:20] doubt Marlo and his crew will be caught
[105:22] in no time. Meaning Levy's firm will
[105:25] soon get a huge payout from the imminent
[105:27] defense cases. As mentioned by Omar in
[105:30] the very famous courtroom scene, Levy is
[105:32] very much part of the game. He is
[105:35] identified as a big player by the likes
[105:37] of Senator Klay Davis. The Klay Davis
[105:40] who himself is a charlatan. Levy is also
[105:42] directly involved in criminal
[105:44] activities, having an inside man in the
[105:47] courtroom who he buys information from
[105:49] and then sells onto the drug dealers
[105:51] like Prop Joe. Levy is undoubtedly one
[105:54] of the most despicable characters in The
[105:56] Wire. Fans often like to discuss who is
[106:00] the worst character in the show, a topic
[106:02] I'd like to cover on another day. But it
[106:04] really does say something when in a show
[106:07] with murderers and child abusers, Levy's
[106:10] name is often thrown into the mix.
[106:13] Anyway, today I wanted to talk about a
[106:15] plot point near the end of season 5. As
[106:19] we know, the former cop Herk loses his
[106:21] job through a series of events involving
[106:24] him having a police camera stolen by
[106:26] Marlo's crew, a camera which Herk used
[106:28] without his superiors permission. The
[106:30] saga ends with Herk leaving the police
[106:33] force and now working for Levy as an
[106:35] investigator. Herk's inside knowledge of
[106:38] the Baltimore PD as well as his contacts
[106:40] within the department proves fruitful
[106:42] for Levy. However, for a mishmash of
[106:44] different reasons, which we can get into
[106:46] in another video, Herk takes Marlo's
[106:49] number from Levy's desk without his
[106:51] knowledge, and he hands it over to his
[106:52] former partner, Carver, beginning the
[106:55] process of Lester's illegal wire tap on
[106:57] Marlo's phone. Then in a later scene
[107:00] when Levy is going through how the cops
[107:02] could have possibly worked out Marlo's
[107:04] clock code, it is Herk who brings up the
[107:07] possibility of an illegal wire tap,
[107:09] telling Levy that there is no wire
[107:11] officially, but he's heard off the
[107:12] record that there is. Even saying where
[107:15] he could have gotten the number from, I
[107:17] have no idea. To draw attention away
[107:19] from himself. Levy then uses this
[107:21] information as leverage for not only
[107:24] Marlo but himself as he is caught buying
[107:27] information from the courthouse. It's an
[107:29] extremely frustrating end to the show
[107:32] for viewers with Marlo avoiding jail
[107:34] time and the likes of Levy being able to
[107:36] get away with his crimes and continuing
[107:38] to profit from the drug trade. There's
[107:41] several talking points that come about
[107:43] from this story line and the answers are
[107:46] hampered by many variables. For example,
[107:49] why would Herk give Carver Marlo's
[107:51] number, helping the police force at the
[107:54] risk of getting sacked, but then giving
[107:56] that same employer the idea that the
[107:59] cops were using an illegal wire tap? Is
[108:01] Herk playing both sides here? Did he put
[108:04] himself in good standing with the cops
[108:05] by leaking the number and then tell Levy
[108:08] about a wire to spite the people who
[108:10] sacked him and he comes out of the
[108:13] situation looking really good? I don't
[108:15] think so. I think something that has to
[108:17] be factored in is just how incredibly
[108:20] stupid Herk is in spite of being Mishka.
[108:23] That he doesn't think ahead and he acts
[108:25] on selfish impulse. He gave the cops
[108:28] Marlo's number. A man who has murdered
[108:31] numerous people, but not because Marlo
[108:33] is evil, but because he doesn't like
[108:35] him. He spits him for the camera
[108:37] situation. He also wants to be in
[108:39] Carver's good books and look like a big
[108:41] shot who was responsible for bringing
[108:43] Marlo down. Maybe he also feels guilty
[108:45] in a way for his past sins, but he also
[108:47] wants to be in Levy's good books. The
[108:49] point being, he isn't a very smart guy,
[108:52] and it's his stupidity, not necessarily
[108:54] his maliciousness, which causes many
[108:57] problems in the show, like how he fails
[108:59] Randy. Plus, Herk probably doesn't know
[109:02] the extent of Levy's corruption,
[109:05] thinking he does things by the book and
[109:07] not knowing he plays an active role with
[109:09] the dealers he defends. He's so dumb
[109:11] that in the final episode when Levy
[109:13] praises him, he doesn't even know what
[109:15] Mory is so happy with him about. And
[109:18] then there's Marlo himself. Marlo has
[109:20] come up against Herk on several
[109:22] occasions. It isn't just a camera thing,
[109:24] but even way back in season 3, Herk and
[109:26] Marlo faced off when the cops were
[109:28] trying to get the dealers to accept the
[109:30] Hamsterdam project. These two have a
[109:32] history. So, is it really realistic for
[109:35] a guy as paranoid as Marlo to walk into
[109:38] Levy's office for the first time, see
[109:40] Herk sitting there, and give Levy his
[109:43] number? Wouldn't he think, "No way. That
[109:46] cop has had it in for me. I don't want
[109:48] him anywhere near my case. He obviously
[109:50] still has friends in the police
[109:52] department and he hates me." Shouldn't
[109:54] he have let Levy know about his past
[109:56] with Herk? Shouldn't he have considered
[109:58] later in the show when he was in jail
[110:00] that no one knew about the clock code
[110:02] except the supply, a select few people
[110:04] who were also in jail? And Levy,
[110:07] shouldn't he have thought, "Wait, maybe
[110:09] it was that cop who now works for you,
[110:11] Levy, who leaked the number to the cops.
[110:14] He was sitting right there as Levy and
[110:16] Marlo spoke in their final scene. Is
[110:18] this incidental? Is it poor writing? Is
[110:22] it looking too deep into it? I'll leave
[110:24] that for you to decide. Maybe Marlo did
[110:27] bring it up, but Levy explained that
[110:29] Herk has a vendetta against the police
[110:31] department or that he doesn't involve
[110:32] Herk in the finer details. But anyway,
[110:36] today I wanted to talk about old sleazy
[110:38] Maurice himself. About a theory I
[110:40] thought about when I watched The Wire
[110:42] and looking online, I saw that this had
[110:44] crossed the minds of other people also.
[110:46] And that is whether Levy knew that Herk
[110:49] leaked the number. And going a bit
[110:52] further, whether he actually
[110:54] orchestrated the leak, i.e. He had
[110:57] Marlo's number left on display, knowing
[111:00] Herk wouldn't resist giving it to his
[111:02] cop buddies and thus allowing Levy to
[111:04] have a great payday. By acting ignorant
[111:07] to Herk leaking Marlo's number, Levy
[111:10] would show to all in court that he had
[111:12] no idea what his employee did, if it
[111:14] ever came to that. But he praises Herk
[111:17] repeatedly after managing to get himself
[111:19] and Marlo off, calling Herk a gold mine
[111:22] who has taken this law firm to a whole
[111:24] new level, citing Herk tipping him to
[111:27] the wiretap, saving him from all kinds
[111:29] of trouble. It's a bit weird that Levy
[111:32] lumps so much of the credit into Herk's
[111:34] lap when his only real contribution was
[111:37] the suggestion of a dodgy wire tap. But
[111:39] if you rewatch the scene, most of it
[111:41] still comes from Levy. So, some fans
[111:44] have suggested that Levy was well aware
[111:46] that Herk leaked Marlo's number. Given
[111:49] that he and Marlo thoroughly went
[111:51] through everyone who could have caused
[111:52] the leak, it would surely have crossed
[111:54] Levy's mind that Herk may have quietly
[111:57] alerted the cops to Marlo's number. And
[112:00] if it didn't cross his mind again, is
[112:03] this a plot hole? Is it a rare brain
[112:05] fart from the usually clever Mory? So,
[112:08] maybe he did know all this time. After
[112:10] all, it served his purpose. He was over
[112:12] the moon with the outcome and soon Herk
[112:14] would be munching on Yevette's
[112:16] brisketss. The idea that Levy put two
[112:18] and two together and worked out where
[112:20] the leak came from after Marlo got
[112:22] arrested is a plausible theory. I think
[112:25] the idea that he planted the number and
[112:28] set up the whole thing from the get-go
[112:30] is a little far-fetched. But would Levy
[112:34] really react the way he did towards
[112:36] Herk? If Herk deliberately betrayed his
[112:39] trust with confidential information,
[112:41] which if the news got out, could result
[112:44] in prison sentences and the closing of
[112:47] Levy's firm? I doubt it. I think he'd
[112:50] thank him and then sack him. You can't
[112:52] have someone like that working for you
[112:54] in such a delicate environment. Herk
[112:56] would be a liability. And just as Levy
[112:59] got Avon to clean up his shop by killing
[113:01] subordinates, he'd clean up his own by
[113:04] getting rid of Herk. Plus, Levy could
[113:06] not have anticipated that Herk would
[113:08] take Marlo's number. He never put the
[113:10] idea in his head, and there was no way
[113:13] of guaranteeing that the cops would use
[113:15] it to run a wire tap, an illegal one at
[113:17] that. At best, he could only hope that
[113:20] Herk would give it to the cops,
[113:21] resulting in a solid payday for him. But
[113:24] really, the orthodox interpretation of
[113:27] the scene where Levy called Herk a gold
[113:30] mine is that Levy was referring to
[113:32] Herk's contacts and inside knowledge of
[113:35] the police department. It links with
[113:37] previous scenes of the duo. Levy telling
[113:39] Herk about the firm's expense account,
[113:42] buying rounds of drinks for his cop
[113:44] buddies, and being on good terms so he
[113:46] can get inside info. Though it's fun to
[113:48] speculate, I don't think Levy would
[113:51] exactly be over the moon that Herk went
[113:54] behind his back and leaked info out,
[113:57] even if it through sheer dumb luck
[114:00] helped Levy out in the long run. Rather,
[114:03] one of the main takeaways of this scene
[114:05] is that Herk continues to fail upwards,
[114:09] finding himself in excellent positions,
[114:11] ranks, and standings with people around
[114:13] him. And he has no idea why because he's
[114:16] too dumb. I mean, how stupid do you have
[114:19] to be when you risk your job by leaking
[114:20] Marlo's number to the cop for a wire tap
[114:23] and then help Marlo get off by
[114:25] suggesting there is a wire tap? He had
[114:27] no way of knowing this situation would
[114:29] benefit his career. But it's part of
[114:30] Herk's character that he falls on his
[114:33] ass backwards into a puddle of success.
[114:36] like walking in on Mayor Royce's
[114:38] secretary catching not pitching and
[114:40] getting fired from his job and getting a
[114:42] better one at a time where the cops are
[114:44] not being paid overtime. And unbeknownst
[114:47] to both Herk and Marlo, the reason why
[114:49] Levy is extra happy at the course of
[114:51] events and why he's so giddy in the
[114:54] scene with Herk is because, as we know,
[114:56] he used the wiretap as leverage to get
[114:59] himself out of trouble. So, what do you
[115:01] think? Do you think Levy worked out
[115:03] where the leak came from? If he didn't,
[115:06] shouldn't he have? Is it weak writing?
[115:09] Did Levy and Marlo suddenly become a bit
[115:11] stupid in order for this storyline to
[115:13] work? Or was Levy too preoccupied saving
[115:16] his own ass to figure out that his own
[115:18] detective leaked Marlo's number? I mean,
[115:22] we all know Herk was useful to him
[115:24] because he could get info from the cops.
[115:26] That's most likely why Levy hired him in
[115:28] the first place. But to have him leak
[115:30] out a phone number, I mean, it's not
[115:32] outside the realms of possibility. He's
[115:35] done a lot worse. Levy has. And it is
[115:37] worth speculating, especially with
[115:38] Levy's reaction with the brisketss and
[115:41] the dinner invitation. But ultimately, I
[115:43] don't think it was the case. It's fine
[115:45] to think that he did, but I think Levy
[115:47] was content with earning money through
[115:49] Marlo and anticipated the eventual court
[115:52] billings and later took advantage of the
[115:54] leak, delighted with the entire affair
[115:57] as it raises his standings with drug
[115:59] dealers. There's too much risk in it. He
[116:01] could lose his law license, his career,
[116:03] his case. He could end up in jail. He
[116:05] could even be killed if Marlo found out.
[116:07] And the reward is what? Just a speeding
[116:09] up of an inevitable conclusion. But I do
[116:12] have to say that they do make Levy look
[116:14] a bit dim by not speculating that Herk
[116:17] may have leaked the number. I like the
[116:19] theory that he knew and I also like the
[116:21] theory that Levy orchestrated the whole
[116:23] thing, but it's a little too dramatic
[116:25] for something like The Wire. But then
[116:27] again, season 5 has fake serial killers
[116:30] and whatnot. So maybe Levy was playing
[116:32] 40 chess while everyone else was playing
[116:34] checkers. Plus, he gets paid more when
[116:36] his clients get in trouble with the law.
[116:38] An information exchange is exactly why
[116:41] he would have hired Herk in the first
[116:42] place. He hears Herk say that he hates
[116:45] Marlo. He boasts about an upcoming
[116:48] payday because Marlo is using a phone in
[116:50] the age of wiretaps. He puts Marlo's
[116:52] number in the Rolodex and then leaves
[116:55] the office empty and unlocked for Herk
[116:57] to take it. So, there is room for this
[116:59] theory. I do think that it does have
[117:01] legs. Let me know what you think about
[117:03] this in the comments below.