Top 50 Characters of The Wire 5-1

#5
Preston “Bodie” Broadus

How He Fit: Beginning as the toughest, roughest and most street-bred and ready to use violence of any of the underlings we meet in the projects, he oddly ends up becoming the sanest and most caring by the end. For Bodie was one who truly believed that if he listened to whoever was ranked above him things would turn out okay, and they had his best interests mind. Once the Barksdale empire collapses, he of course finds out that this is no longer the case, as he increasing frustrations with the way Marlo treats virtually everyone as beneath him and with contempt. A pawn perhaps more than any other, he finally at least gets it before he gets got.

What I Liked: I hated Bodie at the beginning, and I think it’s safe to say I wasn’t the only one. He was obviously the biggest punk out of the main characters in the Pit that we meet and the most into the game overall. Being directly responsible for Wallace getting shot would be on pretty much any other show the final straw in terms of a character’s likeability. That I was eventually able to like him as much as I did, feel awful when he died, and then miss him more than any other character after they were gone speaks volumes for J.D. Williams’ performance and the writing of his character. One scene I completely forgot about on my first watch was when Herc talks to Bodie’s grandmother who tells him of Bodie’s family problems, and it was then that it clicked that Bodie was a victim of the streets just as much as anyone, and especially when compared to Marlo’s crew he doesn’t get satisfaction out of the horrible acts he commits. I love that he actually grew to have somewhat friendly relationships with Carver and McNulty as well. Overall, as I mentioned, even if his death didn’t hit quite as hard as some others, I missed Bodie after he died more than any other character. Because I think in a way I thought he was going to make it out. Unlike Wallace, D’Angelo, Stringer, and a host of others, he never tried to get out of the game, and yet it still treated him like shit. Yet another entry that is getting me down, so I will leave it at that.

Top 5 Moments:

5. His confusion as to the difference of radio stations outside of Baltimore. And then he keeps listening to A Prairie Home Companion.

4. Killing Wallace. For as much as I hated him for it, he clearly was battling himself internally, but for season 1 the law of the streets was prime. He was put into that position, as was just as much a victim as his old friend.

3. Going shopping for D’Angelo’s funeral. These clashing of cultures are always hilarious, but this was one of the best. “Pink? I mean, he wasn’t all that but when you stand with a nigga you stand with him until the end.”

2. Conversation with McNulty just before his death. “I feel old, man.” Subtly powerful, even exceptional writing.

1. His final stand. At least he was able to go out how he would have wanted to, even if it was cut short.

#4
Jimmy McNulty

How He Fit: As close as the show got to a main character, Jimmy was always a mass of contradictions and uncertainties (in the audience’s mind at least, he was certainly with a few exceptions almost always sure of himself). Booze hound, determined crime fighter, egoist, unfaithful, rebel, cunning, intelligent, one-track-minded. You get the point. McNulty, though obviously not at the top of the list, can certainly be argued as being the most complex character of the show. At first he made a nice inward way for white viewers or anyone who is familiar with detective or cop fiction: the drunken Irish cop who just wants to do right. The nice thing about The Wire is it takes that character to its logical conclusion: someone who is bad for everyone around them, arrogant, and sometimes for all his bullheadedness to do the right thing, actually causes more problems than he solves (think of the Barksdale empire’s collapse being replaced by the Stanfield one). A continuing crusader, he was easy to relate to in season 1 when he (with the exception of D’Angelo) seemed like the only one who was out to dismantle the stupid and unfair logic of their institutions. Of course, as it becomes clearer and clearer that he is feeding his own ego, he grows rapidly more dislikeable, but I like to think that by the end of the series he has found some sort of peace and the good side of Jimmy McNulty (whatever one wants to define that as) won in the end.

What I Liked: As much as his ego fed into it, I like to believe that there was a part of Jimmy McNulty, however small and subconscious, that really did want to better the world somehow. A small example of this would be his decision to rejoin Major Crimes at the end of season 4. Although this leads to an even worse version of the old Jimmy McNulty who would let nothing stand in the way of his unstoppable ego, it was initially borne out of frustration for indirectly getting Bodie killed. He obviously wasn’t as selfless as Kima or even Lester, who seemed to actually want to better the streets, even if they weren’t complete angels. In addition, he even made it obvious to himself whenever he was “defeated” (when Kima gets shot and when Stringer is killed before he can lock him up) that what he was doing was part of his own crusade to have everybody love him and show how fucked up the department is. The more I go on, the less convinced I am of my original hope, but regardless Jimmy did show that he was not a horrible person, merely (to paraphrase the man himself) that what made him right for some things made him completely wrong for others. In his one season of being a generally good person (season 4) he shows that he does have that other side, and whether one wants to view his even greater descent in season 5 as a personal choice, affected by circumstance, or merely an inevitable by-product of the theory that people do not change (which as many arcs show that Simon and Burns don’t believe this). Regardless of his morally questionable choices, I unlike some people never stopped liking him completely. Yes, during parts of both seasons 3 and 5 I really disliked his method of screwing the system over (including people like Daniels who aren‘t really part of the problem) just to satisfy his own inner cravings, but it does seem like after enough defeat he does eventually realize that there is more to life and that caring for people other than himself can be valuable. Most of all it was nice to see a major cop on TV who didn’t crusade because they feel they have to save their victims or help rid the scum off the streets that I just cannot even watch anymore on crap like CSI. As great as it was that The Wire never really had a main character, I think McNulty worked extremely well as a way to make things happen and ended up being a fantastic character on his own.

Top 10 Moments:

10. Walking away from Theresa in the restaurant when he realizes what her game is about.

9. Double moment, but both of his flip-outs in season 1 against the FBI and Maurice Levy respectively for being a bunch of assholes. I also love that he manages to yell at all three of his awesome legal connections at beginning of the season (Rhonda, Fitzhu, and Judge Phelan) for not standing with him enough. I can relate to an extent, but geez what an ass.

8. Calling out Templeton for his bullshit. However weak Templeton may have been as a character, it didn’t make me enjoy this moment any less. Also a good moment for Jimmy himself as he realizes how much of a joke he’s become.

7. Hearing his own characteristics described back to him at the FBI profile. “They’re in the ballpark.”

6. Spending hours of his life just to give Rawls more bodies to deal with for the lulz.

5. He and Bunk playing good cop bad cop at the bar. Utterly ingenious, whatever you might think of it morally.

4. His drunk driving in season 2. Dominic West was fantastic across the board, but his drunken antics are some of the funniest and most accurate I’ve ever seen on screen. His sweeping hand motion makes this moment for me. Not to mention that it sums up his character perhaps better than any other scene.

3. Entering Stringer’s apartment. “Who the fuck was I chasing?” I can’t even describe it, but this moment is almost beautiful. He and Stringer were almost like a pair of dancers, and this moment makes McNulty completely re-evaluate everything he was crusading towards.

2. The “fuck” scene. No explanation needed I’m sure.

1. This lovely exchange:

Det. James 'Jimmy' McNulty: You know why I respect you so much, Bunk?
Det. William 'Bunk' Moreland: Mm-mmm.
Det. James 'Jimmy' McNulty: It's not 'cause you're good police, 'cause, y'know, fuck that, right?
Det. William 'Bunk' Moreland: Mm. Fuck that, yeah.
Det. James 'Jimmy' McNulty: It's not 'cause when I came to homicide, you taught me all kinds of cool shit about . . . well, whatever.
Det. William 'Bunk' Moreland: Mm. Whatever.
Det. James 'Jimmy' McNulty: It's 'cause when it came time for you to fuck me . . . you were very gentle.
Det. William 'Bunk' Moreland: You damn right.
Det. James 'Jimmy' McNulty: See, 'cause you could have hauled me out of the garage and just bent me over the hood of a radio car, and . . . no, you were, you were very gentle.
Det. William 'Bunk' Moreland: I knew it was your first time. I wanted to make that shit special.
Det. James 'Jimmy' McNulty: It was, man. It fucking was.

#3
Reginald “Bubbles” Cousins

How He Fit: The one I rooted for from the very beginning. While in the first few episodes I was still struggling to get a grasp of names, faces, characters, locations, terminology (all of which of course Bubs is a master at), and pretty much everything under the sun, Bubbles was an instant person to latch on to and root for. A junkie who steals and snitches to get his next fix, he along with D’Angelo were the first things to really endear me to the show. Always kind of in the background and subtly affecting things in the plot and investigations, Bubbles was more important as being the heart of the show. His struggle was painful to watch, and yet in spite of the fact that he was trapped in a cycle of addiction he never failed to be entertaining and endearing.

What I Liked: What was there not to like? In such a universe as morally grey, cold, and uncaring as the one presented in The Wire having a character who generally was caring and looked out for those who needed it, even if he was a thieving junkie, was always a breath of fresh air. I honestly believe that if Bubbles had not made it out at the end of the show I would have a much harder time re-watching the show, as it would have been just too much of a downer, even with the personal victories of people like Namond, Cutty, Carver, etc. Another one of the biggest reasons why Bubbles is so high up is that I have come to the conclusion that out of all the fantastic performances in the show Andre Royo’s is the best. Every little nuance, facial tick, vocal inflection, is just perfect and it is a travesty that he received no Emmy nominations and isn’t getting roles out the ass now. He could play high unbelievably accurately, and shifted between comedic and tragic so effortlessly that he was able to bring laughter or tears depending on what the moment called for. Some little things about him that I loved: his laughter when he was high, the way he would wipe off his face, that he called McNulty “McNutty”, the hat trick, his encyclopaedic knowledge of the Baltimore west side (except citizens), his habit of saying “obliged” (which I now do ALL THE TIME), and a host of others that I’m sure I could remember if I watched the series again with a notepad. While it could be argued that Bubbles storyline was sometimes separate of whatever main event was happening at the time and thus “unnecessary” I would disagree that this really matters, as part of the point is that a person like Bubbles in the real world is uncared for unless he can be used for something (even Kima, who I believe did genuinely care for him, does not have as much at stake with him once she moves to Homicide). I’m just glad he made it out of the game, and although The Wire as a whole has made my opinion of those in the drug trade significantly better, none did moreso than Bubbles. If I ever get some pipes ripped out of my wall, I will just hope it was someone like Bubs who did it.

Top 10 Moments:

10. That little salute he gives the American flag when he firsts goes to ask his sister to stay at her place in season 1.

9. Convincing Squeak to take the phones. “Talk a cat off of a fish cart.”

8. “You equivocating like a motherfuck.” Johnny always annoyed me, so seeing him taken down a peg was always nice. Plus a great quotation on its own.

7. His walk through Hamsterdam. Almost like something out of a dystopian movie. More of a great moment in and of itself than for him, which is why it’s not higher.

6. The scam he and Johnny pull on the ladder dude. “I best be the bad guy so he ain’t confused.”

5. His breakdown when Walon comes to see him in season 4. No reason here but fantastic acting.

4. Dressing down Sydnor on his junkie uniform. “Dead soldiers” is one of my favourite terms on the series.

3. Turning himself in after unintentionally killing Sherrod. Seeing him hung up made my heart stop for a few seconds.

2. Getting up in front of his N.A. group to finally talk about Sherrod’s death. I lied when I said that Michael’s moment was the closest to making me cry, this one was actually even more so. “Ain’t no shame in holding onto grief, as long as you make room for other things too.”

1. Going up those stairs to eat with his sister. All of the hardship, death and suffering that I saw throughout the series was made up for by this one moment.

#2
Omar Little

How He Fit: The gay stick-up man who made corner boys shit their drawers. Not being bound to an institution alone made Omar a unique character in the world of Baltimore, not to mention his unique phrasings, manner of intimidation, cleverness, sexual preference, attire and a host of other aspects that have made him the major image of The Wire and its most popular, endearing, and above all iconic character. Omar has a larger-than-life figure that would almost seem out of place on the show if it didn’t fit so right. By that I mean that I’m sure if one were to meet a Baltimore stick-up artist that they would seem similarly massive (as a sidenote, I would recommend looking up an interview with Donnie Andrews, who was one of the stick-up artists Omar is based on and plays one of Butchie’s soldiers later in the series and is an extremely intelligent individual). If Bubbles was the heart of The Wire, then Omar was the soul. I knew that after season 1 if the show ever turned sour (which it never did for me) that Omar would surely always be a rock to hold onto. He definitely fit the “Hollywood badass” image more than any other character, having frequent one-liners, a sense of fear whenever he stepped into an area, and while this shirts the line of realism set up in the show it never breaks it because Michael K. Williams and the writers manage to make him seem so convincing. A living embodiment of cool retribution, Omar will probably live on more than any other aspect of the show, whether that is fair or not.

What I Liked: Just to get it out of the way, he is not #1 simply by matter of personal preference (which I’ll get into in the Stringer article). These top two are two of the greatest characters in fiction I have ever encountered, and it kills me not being able to put Omar at the top, because in many ways he surely deserves it. On to what I liked, I think that this entry could be summed up as “everything”, but in particular how he embodied the code of the streets, not snitching to police unless necessary or in his own best interest, bringing furious retribution over those who crossed the line, keeping a force of power that was known in the community outside of the dealers and police. That’s why Omar is really such an amazing character, above everything else: he is the grey area that the entire show is attempting to display, summed up in one character. He has a perfect moral code (at least in his own mind; Bunk does poke quite a few holes into it), uses violence to achieve his ends in a world plagued by it, goes on Robin Hood type crusades, and has a desire to keep promises. Of course one can only have so perfect a moral code in the projects of Baltimore, and it does get compromised a few times (having Tosha killed to get back at the Barksdales, breaking his promise to Bunk to get back at Marlo) but it is always understandable. His little sayings and nuances were always awesome and have managed to creep their way into my everyday terminology: “Indeed”; “Well now”; “Do tell”; “Hey now”; “I think not”. And while I said Andre Royo had the best performance in the show, Michael K. Williams certainly has much to say about that. With a lesser performers Omar would have come across as lame, but it’s no coincidence that Williams was snatched after one audition. Especially on television, it is rare to see an actor inhabit a role so naturally and make everything that character does seem important. Williams/Omar was captivating on every occasion, and when you consider that his screen time was actually more limited than you’d probably remember, that makes it all the more impressive. The way he went out was shocking and heartbreaking but was quite fitting and perfect for the show. No grandstanding against Marlo or his people, just a random kid from the streets already trying to make a name for himself. He deserved better, but it just goes to show how hopeless things are when even a legend can be dropped so easily and casually. Again, by all rights he should be #1, and I hope The Wire Gods and fans will forgive me.

Top 10 Moments (Apologies for any forgotten, because he must have 50+ awesome ones):

10. Attacking the guy in jail. “Could have made us a couple of babies.” Sums up Omar so well in that he keeps it both gay and badass.

9. Figuring out Aries for the security guy. It was little touches like this that made the show special.

8. His reaction when he hears Butchie’s fate. Maybe Williams’ finest acting moment.

7. Final scene of season 1: “I’ll take about three or four hundred.” “All in the game, yo.”

6. Popping out to surprise Stinkum. “Hey now…” BAM! The moment that hooked me for his character. “You come at the king, you best not miss.”

5. Double moment: Buying a pack of Newports from Andre’s store while he is robbing him and asking for change, and getting his clocked fixed at Prop Joe’s.

4. Dressing up as an old man to take a re-up. “Thank you, young man.”

3. Going in his pyjamas to get a box of Honey Nut and ending up with a few g-pacs just out of sheer image. “How you gonna expect to run with the wolves come night, when you spend all day sparring with the puppies?”

2. Sticking up Marlo’s poker game. “I don’t know much about cards but I think these four-fives beat a full house.” “Boy you got me confused with a man who repeats himself.” “Money ain’t got no owners, only spenders.” I would go gay for this man.

1. Owning Maurice Levy in the court room. “You got the briefcase, I got the shotgun.” I love that even without his usual tools of violence he could still win through sheer charisma.

#1
Russell “Stringer” Bell

How He Fit: Number two man to Avon Barksdale, Stringer was kind of the cool businessman in season 1, but once his partner gets locked up he is forced to start making the decisions, which leads to one of the best character arcs and storylines I’ve ever seen. A man who played firmly by the laws of capitalism and business until his bitter end, he was a man who could have been many things if circumstances had been different. His paradox was that even he couldn’t see this: in his final moments he calls for Brother Mouzone and Omar to take some money of his, completely missing the point of the fact that he horribly betrayed them both. Loyal yet deceptive, smart, cold, calculating, arrogant, yet with too much hubris for the drug world to allow. Eventually he becomes one of the show’s focuses of reform, and through all of his terrible acts to rise in the world of moneymaking and “better himself” (at least as he thinks) they all come back to haunt him. Stringer was a mass of contradictions, running a disorganized enterprise unbelievably orderly, trying to avoid bodies unless it served his purpose,. He never really cared much about people unless it served him either, as his closeness with Donette, which at first seemed like a major reason for him to off D’Angelo, in hindsight seems like merely a way to check on whether he is under threat from either D’Angelo or McNulty.

What I Liked: I have always been a sucker for the villain, especially the complex villain. As much as I flipped my top 3 around, with Omar in particular being at spot 1 for a while, I just could not let that up. Also the fact that Stringer’s storyline (especially in the third season) captivated me more than anything else on the show, save perhaps the kids’ story in season 4. He was a character I simultaneously hated and loved, whose philosophy of life I could find disgusting but still relate to and even at times respect. For even after putting the hit on both Wallace and D’Angelo, I could not bring myself to completely despise the guy. For one thing, he was so effortlessly cool and suave, and for another I’m kind of a loner myself, and in a warped way (that made me question my own way of looking at the world, believe me) I could see why he viewed everyone as products. He grew up in a world where human life was not much valued to begin with, I can see his way of thinking, to not see people as completely disposable in the vein of Marlo, but as those who can be used to gain more out of life. Whatever your views on capitalism, a lot of it boils down to this. His attempt to reform the drug trade and make it legitimate were honourable even if borne out of pure selfishness (in a nice parallel with McNulty; I’m sure a lot could be written about those two). None of this of course excuses any of his actions, and I never forgave him for what happened to Wallace or D, but that was the genius of his character. He was made understandable, as very close to “our” world and not much different than a CEO, and yet his actions were made very foreign. That he turned out to be as much a tragic figure as those who condemned to death was one of the most brilliant twists I think I’ve ever seen, and served as both a sense of karmic justice (his death is set up very similar to Wallace’s), and fit in with the Greek tradition of hubris. Stringer tried to get as close to the sun as he possibly could, but found that the higher he went, the hotter and brighter it got. He was trapped between two worlds, and no matter how much of a horrible person he may have been, he maybe can be pitied for that.

Top 10 Moments:

10 .Meeting with Omar in a crowd. “I don’t know nobody named Barksdale.”

9. Talking with McNulty is his copy shop. I was so frustrated that it seemed like he was completely insulated and was hoping for McNulty to take him down. My wishes were completely turned on their heads by the end of the season.

8. Meeting with Levy to go over the Clay Davis papers. I love that Levy figures out the game within minutes. That shot of Stringer standing alone in the courtyard is brilliant.

7. His first meeting with the Robert’s rules of order. “Adjourn your asses.”

6. “New package same as the old man.” His speech to D’Angelo about how with weaker product was brilliant and showed what type of man he really was for the first time.

5. “Nigga, is you takin’ notes on a criminal fuckin’ conspiracy? What the fuck is you thinkin‘?” Possibly my biggest laugh-out-loud moment of the series.

4. 40-degree say speech.

3. Confronting Avon about D’Angelo’s death. Maybe the one time he doesn’t do something with his usual business mentality. In fact Avon seemed like the one person he actually respected and didn’t want his reputation to be harmed.

2. His death scene. Even at the point of death he could only see things in terms of money. “Well, get on with it motherfuck-”.

1. On the balcony with Avon. Words can’t describe the greatness of this scene, so just watch it.