Top 50 Characters of The Wire 30-26 (Plus 2)

I messed up in my reordering of the list so this is essentially a top 52 character at this point.

#30
Brother Mouzone

How He Fit: Hitman from New York who liked reading, old guns, and the Nation of Islam, Mouzone definitely takes the cake for most larger than life character in the series. First being hired to get rid of the Eastside dealers in Avon’s territory, he got caught up in the power plays of Stringer Bell and Avon, and left town after nearly being killed. He later returns to avenge his betrayal for one of most epic duos in fiction history.

What I Liked: I can assume this ranking will please no one, as he is definitely the most polarizing figure on the show. Although based on a real person that David Simon met in his travels, he does come across as being unrealistic and a fictional construction often. However, that never really bothered me for two reasons: first of all, there are larger than life figures in real life, even if we don’t meet them all that often, and secondly, coming from New York to Baltimore his stature and characterization were (I felt) partially a way of conveying just how foreign he and the world of New York seemed to the Baltimorians. Admittedly, this is a bit of an ironic convention that the series rarely used, but it did it so rarely that I felt it was okay for the writers to indulge once in a blue moon. Nonetheless, as a character he didn’t really do much besides be cool and badass so I cannot rank him any higher than this. Still, for such a minor character he had some awesome moments and I almost feel like expanding the top moments, but I will stick to my formula for now and save that for the top 20.

Top 3 Moments:

3. “You know what the most dangerous thing in America is, right? Nigga with a library card.”

2. Entrance and shooting of Cheese. Sure way of making an impression.

1. Stand-off with Omar. Like a classic western, and each piece of dialogue is a minor gem for both of them. It feels like two Greek Gods clashing in the middle of a street.

#29
Maurice Levy

How He Fit: Arguably the biggest scumbag in Baltimore, Levy started off seeming like your typical corrupt defense lawyer, helping known harmful criminals get back on the streets, but slowly but surely we see how far his corruption goes, actually advising the murder of Stringer and Avon’s underlings and those who can be used against them, giving the kingpins opportunity to launder their money, and countless other miscarriages of justice. Although coming close to being in some way prosecuted at the end of the series, he is able to make it out unscathed.

What I Liked: Nothing! At least in terms of his actual personality and not an objective look at his character construction; he is definitely one of the closest of those on The Wire to being a true villain. That mastermind look he always has, those sneaky legal tactics, the betrayal of those he is supposed to represent. At the same time though, he never feels one-note, and I don’t know whether to chalk this up to the performance or the writing, or perhaps both. I also really liked how he was able to step into the drug dealers’ world, such as the various clubs and bars they operate, and never feel uneasy; he always maintained a coolness about him. Probably his only characteristic I can appreciate. One thing is for sure, that no one can claim that David Simon went easy on his own race.

Top 3 Moments:

3. Telling Avon and Stringer to look where they are weak. When I realized the implications it was a major “oh, shit!” moment.

2. Managing to actual get a guy (Savino) to only get three years when a cop got shot. That takes some serious skill.

1. Explaining to Stringer exactly how Clay Davis operates. Rainmaker, indeed.

#28
Thomas “Herc” Hauk

How He Fit: One of the three incompetent boobs at the beginning of the season 1 detail (along with Carver and Prez) Herc is the one that shows no growth by the end of the series, and has arguably gotten worse. Always dedicated to headbusting and quick arrests more than quality case work, and whenever he does bring back anything substantial, it’s from some sort of illegal bug (ah, the infamous Fuzzy Dunlop).

What I Liked: I am once again tempted to say nothing, but he often provided some great (and often needed) comic relief, particularly in his bickering conversations with Carver. Because of that I was able to stomach him for the first three seasons, even when he was being an idiot, but once his incompetence managed to completely fuck up the lives of both Randy and Bubbles in his stupid quest to get the stripes, I just could not handle him any more. And then to top it off, he joins forces with Levy next season! I think it’s made pretty clear at the end that he cares mostly about respect from other people, even if it’s from the wrong people and for doing the wrong things. He never seems to be able to understand any concept of change of doing something differently. The craziest thing though is however much I dislike the guy, he really isn’t a horrible person, just incredibly useless and a fuck-up. If someone had asked him at the end of the series what he thought the worst thing he’d done as a police officer, he probably would have said stealing a camera.

Top 3 Moments:

3. Driving around and clearing corners to the Shaft theme.

2. The look on his face after he sees the mayor getting a blow job and the whole aftermath.

1. Giving Levy the tip to the illegal wiretap after doing arguably his only great piece of police work. Sums up perfectly how fucked up he is.

#27.5
Namond Bryce

How He Fit: Son of gangster Wee-bey and crazy mother Delonda, Namond was being bred for the streets from a very early age. Of course we see how he is unable to handle it despite his constant attempts to play the tough guy. He is able to escape only thanks to Major Colvin’s kindness and his father’s acceptance, and the only one of the kids who is able to achieve it; one of the great ironies among many in The Wire.

What I Liked: He was definitely the least likable of the four main kids of season 4, but especially towards the end, like Ziggy, we see the sympathy that can be found underneath the exterior. His constant prodding of Dukie, tough guy talk, and expensive clothes were all a cloak because he didn’t want to admit to himself that he was not right for the place he was inevitably heading towards. As with the other three kids, his acting was impeccable and I still wonder where the produces were able to find all of this young talent. His lashing out at authority figures was priceless, since you could it was a cover for anger at his parents for pushing him into the game(a theory anyway). I was so glad that he was able to make it out, I just wish he didn’t have to be alone.

Top 3 Moments:

3. “At least I said sir.”

2. Being unable to take the package from Kenard. “I ain’t want it.” We finally see what we’ve suspected all along, that Namond was just not built for this line of work.

1. His breakdown when Michael starting beating on him. What an incredibly moving moment for a character I didn’t really have a large amount of sympathy for. Fantastic acting too.

#27
Kima Greggs

How She Fit: Initially seeming to be the most morally just and honourable of any of the police that we meet in season 1, she is almost tragically cut out of the series in one of the most shocking and tense scenes of the show. After that she continues to be an integral member of the unit whether it is taking photos over rooftops, dressing up in a hard hat, or silently solving a case that had the entire political sphere of Baltimore with their panties in a bunch. Her strong moral code does come back at the end of the series when she rats out the serial killer scheme, a subject of debate as to whether she did the correct thing.

What I Liked: Kima was absolutely one of my favourite characters in the first season; reasoned, smart, and good at her job, while managing to not be a McNulty-like ass about everything. After that though, while I always liked having her around, her character never really developed into being much more than the female McNulty. Her decision at the end was nonetheless a nice call-back to refusing to identify Wee-bey as her shooter. Also, while generally well acted, I never really had a huge interest in her personal life, but luckily it didn’t take up too much time, and became quite touching in season 5 when she forms a bond with the kid. Another character in the vein of Sydnor who I would love to just hang out with. She reminds me a lot of my aunt (who is a cop incidentally, score another point to The Wire for realism).

Top 3 Moments:

3. “Sometimes things just gotta play hard.”

2. Her decision at the end to tell Daniels. Still uncertain myself on this one whether I would have done the same thing in her position.

1. "Goodnight moon..."

#26.5
Chester “Ziggy” Sobotka

How He Fit: Son of Frank and constant fuck-up, Ziggy was an easy character to hate early on, and pretty much anyone who watches the series (unless you are an extremely kind and forgiving individual) despises him from his first appearance. Through his constant fuck-ups this feeling this increases, especially when the much smarter Nick always bails him out. It’s pretty nice to see Cheese beat on him and Maui humiliate him just to prove to the little idiot that he can’t do anything he wants, and then he shoots Glekas and suddenly everything becomes topsy-turvy and we see just how tragic his character is.

What I Liked: Few characters improve and change more upon a second viewing. Watching the aforementioned scenes of humiliation and come-uppance gain a really tragic and inevitable feeling the second time around, as we see how hopefully trapped he is. One of my constant dilemmas was the fact that Ziggy could have easily done something else with his life, he wasn’t like one of the corner kids who were pretty much trapped to their way of life, and yet Ziggy seems just as caught in the web of Baltimore’s negativity. Is this Frank’s fault, for not paying enough attention; those who constantly prod him; his own? The answer of course is probably a combination. While he will always be annoying and I would never want to have to deal with someone like him in real life, the writing and the acting are phenomenal in that I actually grew to care and sympathize with him at the end of the season. Since I didn’t mention it, it must be said that Ransome is an extremely underrated actor amongst a very talented bunch.

Top 3 Moments:

3. His entrance with the duck. As crazy as it may sound, there is a lot going on here in terms of character building, and it’s a plain funny scene on it’s own.

2. His shooting of Glekas and especially the scene after with Landsman. One of the most shocking moments in the series, and just pitch-perfectly played. “He didn’t say so much as he begged.”

1. The final scene with Frank. “The same blood don’t flow for us, pop.” :(

#26
Jay Landsman

How He Fit: Often the epitome of middle management in the series, Landsman is one of the few characters in the series who pretty much is completely unchanged by the end of it. By keeping his interest in self-preservation above all and not pissing off anybody, he is able to survive in the BPD just fine. A constant source of hilarity (the food and porn addictions are golden) and classic lines (many of them actually spoken by the real Jay Landsman, who plays Lt. Mello in the series) Jay is a perfect example of character who you want to see do the right thing more often, but can completely understand why he doesn’t. In my mind, he is one of the best examples of a morally grey cop I’ve seen in any medium.

What I Liked: Like many characters on this list, I really wish I could place him higher (and this goes for quite a few of the next few choices as well). On any other show he would be definite top ten material. As it is he is definitely one of the most entertaining characters on The Wire, always there for a good bit of comic relief whenever things take a serious turn. At the same time, he reveals depth in his interactions with Ziggy and especially with Bubbles. This is a clearly a guy who would be good police and a genuinely good person (not that he isn’t, pulling pranks with crazy tarot ladies aside) if not for the institution that he has committed himself to. In many ways he is the epitome of what David Simon set out to represent in the show.

Top 5 Moments: I wasn’t going to increase this to 5 until much later, but I had to make an exception here. Just too many great lines.

5. “You know what he is? He is a vandal. He is vandalizing the board. He is vandalizing this unit. He is a Hun, a Visigoth, a barbarian at the gate, clamouring for noble Roman blood and what's left of our clearance rate.”

4. “For you I would suggest some pantsuits, perhaps muted in color, something to offset Detective Moreland's pinstripe lawyerly affectations and the brash tweedy impertinence of Detective Freamon.”

3. His speech at Detective Cole’s wake.

2. His speech at McNulty’s wake.

1. “Fuck the clearance.”