Top 50 Characters of The Wire 25-21

#25
Wallace

How He Fit: Poor Wallace, we hardly knew ye. Without even the dignity of getting a given name, he was the first casualty among many. In many ways his was one of the hardest simply because it was the first. One of the beauties (if you can call it that) of the first season is that I didn’t know the style of the series yet, so unlike all the later seasons when you could at least expect everything to go bad in the last 2-3 episodes, this one was a little unexpected. The trio of Bodie, Poot and Wallace was kind of underlying underrated aspect of season 1, and a bit of a preview of the relationship between the kids of season 4. Of course, his death is not the only reason he is on this list, so let’s get on with it.

What I Liked: I hate to keep defining him by his relationships to other people (unfortunately that is all that can really be done with the time we got with him), but his relationship with D’Angelo is for me the heart of season 1 and what hooked me into the show even more than Omar’s awesomeness, or the cool cat and mouse game, or the intricacies of wiretapping. There was a great sincerity there, and as D’Angelo said what really defined Wallace most was his heart. I loved his interactions with the kids that he took care of and obviously had no other place to go other than the streets. Even more so though is between he and D is the first display of those who are not right for the situation that life has unfairly placed them in. I guess there really isn’t a huge amount of depth to his character other than that, but hell if I really care. The funny thing is without his death scene he might be much lower on the list, but I guess tragedy beings out the best of character in this show.

Top 3 Moments (pretty much all of them sad):

3. Doing coke for the first time. Even not knowing that this show was based around Greek tragedy, this seemed like the beginning of a bad end for him.

2. Not knowing what crickets are, and then later becoming much annoyed by them.

1. Pleading for Bodie to spare him. I really hate this scene for how hard it hits, but have to acknowledge how well done it is. No long speech at the end, just a kid pleading almost hysterically and nonsensically for his life in a shitty vacant. No glory here.

#24
Chris Partlow

How He Fit: The Stringer Bell equivalent to Marlo, Chris was an integral part of the trio of terrifying. Like Marlo, he improved much as a character when he showed emotion to oppose his usual cold-blooded demeanour. It’s amazing that he actually gets to show a glimmer of humanity and it actually seems realistic and plausible, considering all the horrendous acts we had seen him do.

What I Liked: Chris was kind of like a grim reaper, a spectre of ever-present death on the streets of Baltimore who was calm and sure of his work. Although it didn’t quite click with me how badass he was on first viewing (with the much more obviously showy and great Snoop taking most of the limelight) on the second it is clear this is a man with many demons in the way he carries himself. No reform is going to get him to change his ways, and who can even say what caused it, his (likely) abuse as a child, relationship with Marlo, or simply the changing nature of the game? Who knows, but he and Snoop made definitely the two most terrifying characters. I wish in a way that we could have gotten more background on him, although I know that is against the nature of the show.

Top 3 Moments:

3. “Quick and clean, I promise.”

2. Conversation with Snoop about stuff that only those in Baltimore know, and she hasn’t a clue.

1. Beating up Bug’s dad to a dead mess. Holy shit.

#23
William Rawls

How He Fit: Royal asshole to anyone below him and political schemer to anyone above him, Rawls was certainly smarter than he may have appeared at first, having an eye for good police-work but more of an eye for good-looking stats and selfish career advancement. He seemed like one of the most stereotypical characters at the beginning of the series (asshole boss who stalls cases from the hard-working Irish cop) but as the show tends to do by the end he is a much more complex character who is nonetheless still a complete asshole.

What I Liked: One of my favourite performances of the show, the way the actor was able to make every syllable so full of contempt whenever he was talking to McNulty or any one of his underlings at Compstat. Pretty much any of his rants in his season 3 could qualify for one of the best moments of the series. Despite that though, he was another character who was easy to hate, partially because you know people like him exist in real life. His in-the-closet revelation was also pretty brilliant, mostly in the way it was never used or brought up again (I’m looking at you, Sopranos) and merely added another layer of complexity to the character. I also just loved his claims in his season 4 that the stats ruined the department and al kinds of other truth, when of course he was one of the keys in that style of thinking. I could never ever work for or deal with this guy in real life, but he is great to watch from the distance of a work of fiction.

Top 3 Moments:

3. Well, she's left the room, Major Colvin. She's out there right now asking the stripper if she can have her job when she grows up because she sure as shit doesn't want yours!"

2. “You wanna translate that for me Erv? I don’t speak his fucked up lingo.”

1. His speech to McNulty after Kima gets shot. Quite a humanizing moment.

#22
Felicia "Snoop" Pearson

How She Fit: Probably the best example of cinema verite in the series, Snoop was a real Baltimore drug dealer who is just basically playing a more hardcore version of herself on the show. Acting along with Chris she helped take out multiple people both inside and outside of vacant houses. Her enjoyment of doing Marlo’s dirty work definitely made her one of the most unnerving and creepy characters of the series, but everything about her style and character was just so unique I couldn’t help but love her. As Stephen King called her, possibly the most terrifying female villain to appear of television.

What I Liked: Although she was just playing a version of herself Pearson did manage to pull out the chops in terms of how terrifyingly sinister her on-screen counterpart is. The more vocal of the two heavy hitters of Marlo’s gang she always showed some enjoyment whenever the killing started again. Like Chris I wish she had been given more background but the real Pearson’s life (or what I’ve read of it) is interesting enough. In a way though her lack of background (like many great horror villains) makes her in a way even more terrifying. I also love that like with Omar being gay, they make a girl be one of the best and most accurate shots on the show. Snoop is just awesome, and if I weren’t making it I would probably complain about her being this low. One of the best parts for me is that there’s still good lot of what she said that I didn’t understand and will hopefully get on a third viewing.

Top 3 Moments:

3. “I’m thinking about some pussy.” “Yeah? Me too.”

2. “How my hair look?” Her whole death scene was fantastic, especially the way she handled it.

1. Nailgun purchase. “I seen a 22 drop a nigga plenty of days, man.”

#21
Clay Davis

How He Fit: Charming, backstabbing, smarmy, hilarious, sometimes plain evil and always selfish, Clay Davis is another contender for villain of the series. Unlike Levy, he doesn’t hide through the law but through his influence over others and ability to scam and prey on people’s insecurities and hopes. Even more than Valchek he was unbelievably fun to hate, and his little angry tirades never failed to be entertaining. He is possibly the biggest leech we see in the show, using drug money in both the laundered and unlaundered senses, scamming everyone from dealers to politicians to lawyers to keep himself ahead of the pack.

What I Liked: The fact that I was able to enjoy his character at all is a testament to Isiah Whitlock’s acting skills. What should be one of my most hated characters (and is, especially for his big speech and escape in season 5) ends up putting a smile on my face most of the time. He is the epitome of the smarmy politician, and yet like Levy, his crimes are so much worse than this type of character that we usually see on television. Yet every single time he pulls it off with such charm and wit that I always have a certain like for the guy, which is incredibly frustrating. Despite all of that, I really did see what the show was trying to say and how he is a figure not to be admired but looked at as someone who has seen every way to take advantage of the system for his own benefit and others’ detriment. Yet the fact that he pulled it off with such grace definitely made his horrible actions far easier to watch.

Top 5 Moments:

3. First epic “sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeit” when Sydnor comes in with his subpoena. There’s no question that it was the most I laughed during the run of the show.

2. His whole conning of Stringer, but especially the “goose that lays them golden eggs.” You can tell he’s having the time of his life.

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAQv6KTfQow