The Wire - Questions :::SPOILERS:::

[NoNothingGuy]

I finished The Wire last night, but have a few questions about the ending of the season.

First of all, I thought this was an unbelievable series. It only got better and better each season. I wish it had been longer.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

1 - Okay, so my first question deals with Rawls. They never furthered the plot of him being at the gay bar. Why even show that side of him if they aren't going to elaborate? It didn't really add any dimension to the character b/c it had no effect on his personality/actions. Why even use it?

2 - Secondly, what happened with Marlo at the end when he secretly slipped out of the party that he attended with Levy? Who were those guys on the corner and why did he mess with them? What did that symbolize?

3 - Lastly, is Michael supposed to be the new Omar? Is he now a wandering stick-up man?

Thanks for any insight.

 

[embowafa]

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Here's my take having just finished last night as well....

1) Just to give some insight into the character. He's a raving blowhard, but some of that is him compensating for him being gay. He's always talking about **** and ass, when in reality, he's a gay guy. Or, more likely, like Omar and Kima, their sexuality is just a part of them. Gay people can be stick up men, homicide detectives, and career ladder climbing assholes too.

2) Marlo wasn't made for being in a suit....he was made for the corners. He just couldn't stay away.

3) Yup. Circle of life...Michael's the new Omar, Dookie's the new Bubbs. It'll never end.

 

[Gradstudent78]

Not sure about 2 as it has been a while since I've watched it, but I've heard they had planned to do more with Rawls, but never ended up getting to it in later seasons (not sure where I read that, but see the quoted edit below).

3: That is how I interpreted it, as Michael being the new Omar.

http://blog.nj.com/alltv/2008/03/the_wire_david_simon_q_a.html

Did we lay other groundwork? We did. We could have cannibalized Rawls' moment in the gay bar and advanced that moment, but I'm not sure we would have created any more theme, and on some level it was very satisfying just to grant the notion of a closeted gay man's sexuality a moment on screen and then move on. There was something very compelling and real about just acknowledging that but not making it into grist for a storyline that didn't add anything to our portrayal of Rawls. We were always laying pipe that could be picked up later. It doesn't mean that you should pick it up.

Also pertinent to number 2:

We knew it would be cyclical. We knew that the ultimate star of the narrative was Baltimore, and by extension the American city, and by extension America. Whether it was going to be Greggs or Sydnor who walked into the judge's office was still something we were arguing about in season four and at the beginning of season five. Whether it was going to be Randy or Dukie who followed Bubbles down that path was an early debate, which of the four would have which outcomes. It became apparent in the start of season four as we started to talk through the characters. But we knew someone was following Bubbles and somebody was following Omar and someone was following McNulty, and ultimately the cyclical manner of the institutional prerogative was going to be asserted.

 

[NoNothingGuy]

Great answers. Thanks guys, I appreciate the indulgence.

 

[embowafa]

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

That's right Sydnor is the new McNulty.

I'm already having Wire withdrawals...gonna do a lot of reading...watch YouTube vids like LarryMD recommended and eventually start over again.

 

[munchausen]

Marlo is a straight up sociopath and he doesn't love money as much as he loves bashing heads. He'll be in prison or dead long before he's 30. He's the drug world's version of Burrell and Rawls, in that he keeps anything from getting better because he distrusts change and has too much invested in the existing system to let it go. Prop Joe's syndicate parellels with things like Major Crimes, Hamsterdam (although the show's position on Hamsterdam is kind of ambiguous I think) etc.

 

[embowafa]

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

I disagree with Marlo not loving money. He loved it so much, that he had to fly to the Cayman Islands to physically see it. That and his name, of course.

Also, how can you say he distrusts change when he was the primary agent of change from end of season 3 to 5. What he distrusts is what those kids who went to Ruth's Chris with Bunny distrusted...what D'Angelo distrusted when he went to a fancy dinner....being outside of their element. Their element is the hood...take them out of it and they become insanely uncomfortable.

 

[munchausen]

Yeah, point taken. What's happened is that he's shaped the situation in his image. And the whole idea of doing business in a civilized manner, the "buy low, sell high" that Prop Joe and Stringer are always talking about, means Marlo playing without his trump card. He's not the smartest or the one with the most business savvy. He's the one who can and will kill anybody. So of course he doesn't want an end to the violence.

 

[gladhands]



Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

I disagree with Marlo not loving money. He loved it so much, that he had to fly to the Cayman Islands to physically see it. That and his name, of course.
Also, how can you say he distrusts change when he was the primary agent of change from end of season 3 to 5. What he distrusts is what those kids who went to Ruth's Chris with Bunny distrusted...what D'Angelo distrusted when he went to a fancy dinner....being outside of their element. Their element is the hood...take them out of it and they become insanely uncomfortable.

Marlo's "My name is my name" and The Greek's "My name is not my name" serve to illustrate two very different criminal (or business) philosophies.

 

[Lord-Barrington]



Great answers. Thanks guys, I appreciate the indulgence.

No problem buddy!

Signed,

 

[Augustus Medici]

Interesting viewpoint. My take on Marlo is that he symbolizes the next generation. First there were predecessors like Avon's father and the litany of guys Stringer named off when he was trying to reason with Marlo in Season 3. Then there was the enterprising Barksdales and Prop Joe. Their downfall was in trying to be "gentlemen" criminals, not in the sense that they eschewed violence, but that they pretended to be better than they really were. Of course, this is what made them great as well. Stringer with his dreams of being a legit property developer, Prop Joe with his co-op, and Avon with his loyalty to family and community (like giving Cutty the seed money for his gym). This was all a sham. Stringer had Wallace, just a child, killed in cold blood. Avon had Gant, the innocent eyewitness, killed to send a message to all snitches. Prop Joe was a snake to say the least.

Marlo stepped up and said **** all that noise. He's in it for the power and the power alone. He doesn't care about money or the community. He just wanted to rule by any means necessary. He'll even risk his life and freedom by taking on two corner boys even after he's gotten away with all his crimes and a cool $10 million to boot!

Marlo, in my eyes, is the criminal without illusions. He's evolved to a purer level, the next generation. He's the inevitable product of the game that ruthlessly weeds out the weak. And his time will come soon enough, as he will get replaced in the endless cycle that The Wire portrayed so beautifully.

 

[dfagdfsh]

it's not that complicated. what marlo valued above all was his street cred - look at his reaction while in holding when he hears from chris that omar was **** talking him. even though omar died, he 'triumphed' because his legend persists in the street and marlo has already been forgotten.

 

[Augustus Medici]

Right, I don't think the two are mutually exclusive.

 

[Joffrey]

Marlo isn't the next generation, he's just Marlo. Now that he's out of the game other Marlo and Avon types will crop up. I mean some will be totally ruthless with absolutely no interest in family/loyalty/etc. like Marlo others will be ruthless but will have a soft spot when it suits them.

 

[fir3fox]



it's not that complicated. what marlo valued above all was his street cred - look at his reaction while in holding when he hears from chris that omar was **** talking him. even though omar died, he 'triumphed' because his legend persists in the street and marlo has already been forgotten.

THIS.

Omar eventually got what Marlo always wanted and Marlo was stuck with what Stringer always wanted.