---
title: 'The Wire | Ultimate Analysis Redux'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=M_IOZl71JLI'
video_id: 'M_IOZl71JLI'
date: 2026-07-01
duration_sec: 7026
---

# The Wire | Ultimate Analysis Redux

> Source: [The Wire | Ultimate Analysis Redux](https://youtube.com/watch?v=M_IOZl71JLI)

## Summary

This video is a comprehensive analysis of the HBO series The Wire, focusing on key characters, themes, and plot points. The creator discusses the challenges of using video clips due to copyright issues and presents an uncut compilation of his best Wire videos. The analysis covers iconic characters like Omar Little, the philosophical conflict between Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell, and the role of the New Day Co-op and the Greek.

### Key Points

- **Copyright Issues and Video Compilation** [0:00] — The creator explains his use of still images due to copyright issues with HBO, and how he had to cut clips from his videos after copyright claims. He recently won a copyright appeal and is now able to use more video footage.
- **Omar Little: The Legend and His Death** [2:25] — Omar Little is a stickup man who robs drug dealers and is known for his strict moral code. He is a legendary figure in Baltimore, and his death at the hands of the kid Canard is a shocking and anticlimactic moment.
- **Canard: The Killer and His Motivation** [5:01] — Canard, a young boy who idolized Omar, kills him after seeing him as a limping, pathetic figure. This act is a result of the ripple effects of Omar's own violence and represents the cyclical nature of the drug trade.
- **Avon vs. Stringer: The Philosophical Divide** [15:36] — The video explores the philosophical conflict between Avon Barksdale, who values street reputation and violence, and Stringer Bell, who wants to legitimize the drug trade and reduce violence. Both are right and wrong in their approaches.
- **The New Day Co-op and Marlo's Threat** [17:06] — The New Day Co-op is an alliance of drug dealers that aims to reduce violence and resolve disputes diplomatically. However, Marlo Stanfield, a ruthless and ambitious dealer, refuses to join and causes problems.
- **The Greek: The Untouchable Kingpin** [45:46] — The Greek is a mysterious and powerful drug wholesaler who operates in the shadows and has connections with the FBI. He is untouchable and represents the highest level of the drug trade.
- **Omar's Legacy and the Morgue Scene** [56:22] — The scene in the morgue where Omar's body is misidentified highlights how even a legendary figure like Omar is just another statistic in the eyes of the system. His death is not even newsworthy.
- **The Traveling Ring** [88:50] — The traveling ring, which passes from Andre to Marlo to Omar to Walker to Michael, symbolizes the transient nature of power in the drug trade.
- **Oldface Andre's Demise** [98:14] — Oldface Andre is a pawn in the game, and his death at the hands of Chris and Snoop is a chilling example of how the system consumes those who are not ruthless enough.
- **Maurice Levy and the Leak** [103:57] — Maurice Levy is a corrupt lawyer who is deeply involved in the criminal world. The video discusses whether Levy knew that Herk leaked Marlo's phone number to the police.

## Transcript

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