City Editor Gus Haynes in Season 5 was pretty much an unflawed character. He was always right and his idiot bosses were always wrong. Alma the reporter also had no serious character flaws that I can recall.
Although the last season gave us an interesting look at the problems of newspapers these days, the newsroom characters seriously lacked the depth and realism of the rest of the show’s company. I had the sense that, unlike the other areas the show looked at, the newsroom was too close to home for Simon to write about effectively. It was one of the many flaws of the last season.
Bunny Colvin comes across as pretty damn noble. So does Cool Lester Smooth. Oh, and if you can overlook his serious drinking problem, Bunk. (And BTW, they are all cops.)
Is there a human being alive who doesn’t have any flaws whatsoever?
I’m not being snarky, I’m simply emphasizing that one of the things I love about The Wire is that it is highly realistic. From the street level dealers, to the cops, to the politics, it is a very realistic account of what happens. And in that realism, you’re never going to get characters who don’t have flaws.
But what The Wire does, in addition to the realism, is still tell a great story. It’s not simply a depressing view of the drug trade, but it’s also a show where you root for characters, where you care about what happens next, and you’ll learn more about the human condition. It’s outstanding.
I know - my whole point in asking the question is because The Wire is so realistic in its portrayal of human flaws and weaknesses. I was trying to think of anyone the writers may have missed.
Colvin is certainly a candidate, but it can be argued that Hamsterdam was flawed even if the intention behind it was decent.
I forgot about Alma and Gus in S5. Definitely some development lacking there.
My husband and I bought all 5 seasons and are now about halfway through Season 5. We’re trying to ration out the remaining episodes because neither of us want it to be over, but once we finish one it’s like, “Wanna watch another?” and we do.
The Wire is all at once horrifying, depressing, uplifting and absolutely hysterical. I am inordinately excited when I see Wire actors pop up on other shows/movies (such as Idris Elba on The Office). There was also an episode of The Simpsons that had Wire character names in the closing credits (can’t recall which one right now, but I was jazzed about that too). I suppose the only good thing about coming to the end of the series is being able to watch the whole damn thing again.
I read an interview with the creators discussing that very point, and their claim was that his flaw was the extent to which he actually missed the stories that were going on in Baltimore. There he was, city editor, and he had no idea how big a deal it was when Prop Joe was killed, and other similar events that were going on.
I’m not sure I buy that 100%, as he was still awfully moral and upright and insightful, but it is an interesting point.
I don’t buy it 100% either. Gus would have caught that if the paper had more stringers, or whatever you call those people who are out on the street, getting to know the citizens, hearing stuff.
I actually don’t think Stringer was all that noble at all. His main positive was that he was trying to improve the system and improve himself, but at the core he was as rotten a bastard as any of them.
Avon, on the other hand, did strike me as a noble warrior. For the most part, he tried to fight his wars with honor. He respected the truces, and was really pissed when Stringer violated the Sunday morning to truce to get Omar, nearly getting Omar’s granny killed. Avon also tried to tell the ref (who was understandably scared shitless) during the East-West basketball game to just call the game, that the basketball arena would be respected, even if the calls went against him. And perhaps Avon’s greatest moment was when Cutty
confesses that he couldn’t shoot Marlo’s thug even when he had him dead in his sights, because the game wasn’t in him no more. Avon tries to find another job for Cutty, but eventually relents, and recognizes the courage Cutty’s showing by turning his back on the only life he’s ever known. Avon’s henchman says “he used to be a man”, and Avon replies: “He a man today. He a man.” Which may be my favorite line of the series. And when Cutty comes back asking for money for his boxing gym, Avon hands it over without a second thought. Avon may be a merciless killer, but he’s also 100% human, with a surprisingly deep reservoir of insight. If he were brought up in different circumstances, I could easily see him being a faithful samurai or an American war hero.
And this, among a trillion other things, is why I love The Wire.
You thought Stringer was likeable? He killed D’Angelo when he threatened to testify, then lied to his mother and his uncle about how he didn’t know anything about it, and then to top it all off, he stole the guy’s girlfriend. I was quite satisfied when Omar finally got him.
The fact that there are a multitude of discussions to be held on the virtues and sins of the main (and even minor) characters should make you realize that this is not your usual TV show. Hell, there could be a whole thread on what makes Snoop tick, or why Avon or Kima or Bubs or Carcetti, or any damn one of them do what they do. We are so immersed in their various lives, yet it is not entirely about the characters, but also about the story and the twining of them and their contributions to the whole. Every episode was like watching a movie – a good one!
And that STILL doesn’t sum up the richness of the tapestry of The Wire.
I know I’ve posted this factoid before, but my daughter and her husband are currently watching the series on Netflix. And my one overriding emotion when talking about it with them is jealousy that they are experiencing it for the first time with story arcs yet to unfold, while I know how it all plays out and will never have that eager anticipation again. I mourned the last episode not because of what happened, but because it spelled the end of the most perfect TV series I ever hope to see.
Just in case Skald is still reading (although I hope he’s watching season 1 instead of going through all this), I’m going to put this whole thing in a spoiler box.
[spoiler]I absolutely agree that Avon was smarter. Not book smarter, and Stringer would have burned him on any kind of test, but Avon knew exactly who he was (“just a gangster, I suppose…”) and what he was doing (“and I want my fuckin’ corners”), and he was perfectly suited for that job.
“What did I tell you about playing them away games?”
“Not hard enough for this right here, and maybe… not smart enough for them out there.”
Avon knew not only his role, but Stringer’s as well. He knew Stringer’s value as a number 2 guy, but he also knew when to listen and when to overrule him. He didn’t always make the right call, but he erred on the side of not showing weakness. Above all, he knew that there was more to the game than they teach you in business school. Left to his own devices, Stringer would have let shit slide that Avon never would have gone for, and he would have eventually paid for it. He might have made a decent run treating the game as a business in the short term, but there’s no way he would have held up in the long term.
IMO, Prop Joe was smarter than either of them, and treating the game like a business eventually cost him his life. It would have cost Stringer the same - did, in fact. Burning a business partner pisses him off; double crossing Brother Mouzzone is another thing entirely.
Avon’s alive doing things his way, and String’s dead doing them his. Who’s smarter?[/spoiler]