QUESTION: I just mainlined all 5 seasons of The Wire and understand why it's been
called the best TV show to air. Now I desperately need to talk about it.
So who was your favourite character and why? Which character do you
think had the most tragic storyline? Whose death affected you the most?
Do you think the points the writers made about the war on drugs,
poverty, corruption, education and the media were right? Do you think
anything has changed since the show ended in 2008?
WALLACE
ReplyDeleteWhere the fuck is Wallace? Huh?
DeleteFavourite characters: Omar and Stringer. Badassery at its finest.
ReplyDeleteI liked Carcetti.
ReplyDeleteOmar's death was amazing
ReplyDeleteOkay, favourite character was Major Colvin, I think he might have been the only true hero, he always did the right thing even though it costed him and he accepted the consequences of his actions (accepting his demotion for Hamsterdam and sticking to his program for the corner kids). And I really admire him for "adopting" Namond. But on the other hand, I couldn't help but like Omar too, even though he was a thief, he never pretended he was anything else and that's something few people and other characters on the show did. I think it was also admirable that he stuck to his code even when it wasn't convenient for him. Some other characters that I liked were Kima, Freamon, Daniels, Carver, and Beatie.
ReplyDeleteAs for tragic endings, I think the worst for me was Duquan. Somehow his addiction was worse than death; because he seemed too smart to start using heroin and he could've had a much better life, but instead he just turned into a junkie like his family. Also I found Carcetti's ending tragic, because from the beginning I really started to believe that he would change things. Like he really had the potential to make Baltimore better and he made you believe it and then he just turned into another overambitious politician chasing votes.
The deaths that really hurt were the ones that didn't "deserve" it, Wallace, D'Angelo and Bodie, and maybe Frank Sobotka, which all contrast with the deaths of Stringer and Omar, which were tragic, but you knew they had to happen.
And I don't know if they were completely true, but I think one point the writers were making was that statistics can become meaningless if they are used to track progress especially if the people controlling them have an agenda. The show showed that in the crime statistics, standardized test scores and media prizes. So maybe one thing to take away from it is to be more critical of statistics and awards, sometimes real life can't be accurately transferred into numbers.
And I don't know if anything's changed but there's definitely people who still believe that say we need to get "tough on crime" or that standardized tests always accurately measure learning, or that page views and misleading headlines, designed to get you to click to the article make for good news.
Man, it's been so long. I think the Greek and the other guy should have been shown more. They were badass without needing to do anything at all. But obviously the more interesting storyline is with the gangs.
ReplyDeleteYES, I just finished it a couple months ago. So good!
ReplyDeleteFavourite Characters: Omar (obviously),D'Angelo and Randy
Tragic: Dukie
Death: Omar, I just thought it was so brilliantly done. It really showed the frailty of mythologizing an individual; it really made me think about how ever character and every person will eventually die. It may not be in gun battle or while young but eventually everyone will go.
Points: I'm not sure about right or wrong, but they were definitely thought-provoking. I don't think the show really offered any answers (or meant to) it just showed the bleak reality.
Changed: IRL no, maybe in the TV world though.
Omar was my favourite by far. After he died I waited more than a month to watch the rest of the show.
ReplyDeleteFor me, Omar's death was the most depressing part of the episode. He didn't die going out in a blaze of glory, he didn't die after having succesfully gotten revenge, he died getting shot from behind by a 10 year old.
ReplyDeleteFavourite character in terms of how much I wanted them to succeed: Major Colvin, Frank Sabotka, Bubbles
Favourite character in terms of entertainment value: Clay Davis (Sheeeeeeeeiiit), Jimmy McNulty, Landsman
Favourite character in terms of the 'Wow, what a badass' factor: Omar, Brother Mouzone, Stringer Bell.
Most sympathetic characters: D'angelo, Frank Sabotka, Bubbles.
For all the bad things that happened to people who I wanted to see succeed in that show, Bubbles almost made up for it.
"Ain't no shame in hanging on to grief as long as you make room for other things too."
DeleteOP should've said favourite quotes too, these are some of my best picks:
ReplyDelete"A man must have a code."
“We used to make shit in this country, build shit. Now we just put our hand in the next guy’s pocket.”
"Man, money ain't got no owners, only spenders."
"Conscience do cost."
“The thing is, you only got to fuck up once. Be a little slow, be a little late, just once. And how you ain’t never gonna be slow, never be late? You can’t plan for no shit like this, man. It’s life.”
“It’s play or get played. That simple.”
"All in the game, yo"
Favourite Character: I've always been torn.. I think if Snoop had more lines she would definitely have been my favourite. It's just hard to compete with 5 seasons of solid Omar and Lester.
ReplyDeleteTragic Storyline: I might have to agree and say Duquan, seeing him follow in Bubbles footsteps was so saddening after all the love that Pryz showed him
Death: Even more than Omar I was affected more by Bodie's death "Yo this is my corner, I ain't runnin' nowhere". Such a good example of his personality (especially tough to see him go with his relationship with McNulty developing)
+1 Bodie's death hurt, fucking Marlo
DeleteOMAR'S COMIN' YO
ReplyDelete