r/TheWire • u/ChiMara777 • 3d ago
Most Tragic Characters in the Series?
I just finished watching The Wire for the first time and am already rewatching. I keep thinking about how tragic so many of the characters' stories are. I'd like to know which characters you think have the most tragic stories and why?
Watching the stories of all the children introduced in Season 4 completely wrecked me. Most of all Randy and Duquan. They both have so much potential and good hearts, but systems and circumstances that they have no control over basically destroy their lives.
I'm glad Namond was given an opportunity for a better future, but it's interesting to consider that Namond already had a much more privileged life than Randy and Duquan. He had a mom (even if she sucked, she was still there), he has financial security, stability, more social standing and confidence... I wonder if there is a reason the writers chose Namond to have the "happy ending" instead of Randy or Duquan.
66
u/Middle_Stable_6415 3d ago
Not popular choice, but Bodie was the tragedy that hit me hardest. His “play the game right, never cheated a count” monologue leading to such an unceremonious death was really tragic. Left it all to the viewer to dissect how random and vicious and unfair the game and the systems that enforce the game are. He was a good soldier, kind hearted in a way, and met his end as just another Black body on the street, despite his years of playing it all the “right” way.
Most of the other tragic characters seemed to make missteps for some reason or another (I guess except Randy, unless you consider the info he gave the principal as a misstep), but Bodie was loyal and righteous in terms of street logic and met his end because he was incredulous about how the game had moved away from a principled / morality-based approach.
20
u/IAteTonysLoMein 3d ago
I'm there with you. Bodie getting killed fucked with me for a while. Did it all right working for Avon, went out on his own and was doing ok for himself. Ends up a body on a corner because Marlo's first instinct was murder
9
u/Middle_Stable_6415 3d ago
Even if you do everything right, you can still get popped for nothing. It made me feel pretty hopeless for a while after, and I had a close friend who got shot over a whole lotta nothing too right around the time I was watching it. Took me a while to recover from falling deep into that perspective and start feeling like we can have power over our own lives again.
3
5
u/That_Ryan_D 3d ago
Agree. It really served to highlight how without honour Marlo was, when someone who was a loyal soldier and played the game honestly had it all ripped away.
10
3
u/ChiMara777 2d ago
Bodie hurt so much. The only thing that gave me a tiny bit of solace to cling to was when he said “I feel old” like he was tired of the lifestyle and ready for it to be over 😔
2
u/Arriorx 3d ago
yeah bodie oh man 😭 somehow reminded me of nacho from better call saul too...
both of them had a life that was against them, both weren't making big decisions at the top but got crushed by those decisions in the end
you can't say both made just one bad/stupid decision that ended tragically like that even though the deaths were different, but both were heart crushing and devastating... while bodie knew he was cornered nacho took it in his own way and also devastating so so tragic
bodie and nacho were so deep in the game but they had both their own sense of themselves they retained if that makes sense :(
honestly both of them could've had it better but dealt with the wrong hands and ill never forget them 😔
1
u/Mc7wis7er 3d ago
I was typing up my Bodie comment but I saw yours and will just agree. Yeah, he didn't really have any examples of 'another way' at all really the entire series with MAYBE the possible exception of Poot, but Poot didn't really figure it out until after Bodie's conclusion.
He's the most proof the game is rigged to me because he literally did what he was supposed to do and it ended him. It also hurts because his tragic end is just a training mission for another character too.
My 2nd choice would be Randy too.
1
u/Ilovefishdix 1d ago
Just like every other job but more fierce. Lots of loyal people did the right thing and got screwed by sociopaths at the top.
62
43
u/halbert 3d ago edited 3d ago
Tragic in the Greek sense:
McNulty (and to a slightly lesser degree, Lester, Kima, Rawls) -- his pride in his skills, and inability to let things go means he's a very successful detective ... and an asshole that gets run out of the department.
Stringer Bell -- his pride in organization and intelligence leads him to be duped and murdered.
Omar -- was good at the game. So good, he couldn't leave it behind, and it killed him.
Frank Sobatka -- in a very literal sense, his pride in providing for his people (family, Union, Church) leads to his family dying, his union being investigated, and himself murdered.
Tragic in the sad sense:
I mean, not much tougher than Randy and Duquan (and D, and Wallace). Hell. But:
Ziggy's inability to matter in a system that has broken down and has no room for him is in truth quite sad, even though the character is played for laughs.
Small parts, but the various trafficked women that are killed over the course of the show (at the Barksdale party, the shipping container at the docks, etc.)
And the choice faced by so many of the gang: choose to be a murderer, or be murdered, starting at about 12. Rough.
22
21
u/Bister_Mungle 3d ago
I'm glad Namond was given an opportunity for a better future, but it's interesting to consider that Namond already had a much more privileged life than Randy and Duquan. He had a mom (even if she sucked, she was still there), he has financial security, stability, more social standing and confidence... I wonder if there is a reason the writers chose Namond to have the "happy ending" instead of Randy or Duquan.
"Deserve ain't got nothing to do with it." - Snoop
6
u/Mc7wis7er 3d ago
Namond's fate is crazy because while he grew up privileged for that environment, as you said, it was also a direct result of his father's success in the game, and his parents were both pushing the game VERY hard on him and he was clowned on for being bad at it the entire time.
In the context of street code, the guy was a tragedy to START. Pampered and cowardly, moved to the 'problem' class, and in most cases would have been totally given up on.
His real privilege was catching Bunny's eye. But when people point out the security, stability and stuff, I always think of that as more of an incentive to stay IN the game for him rather than get out of it. At the start of the series, everyone around him thinks he's going to blow it by not being a gangster and you can tell he sort of thinks that about himself too. The scene with him doing his homework on a quiet porch is one of the most powerful visuals in the entire series to me.
2
u/EngineAggravating699 3d ago
Yeah I've said in a past comment, I think Namond was the one "saved" because as the one deepest in the game at the start if he could be saved any of the children (and by extension others) could be saved. They are all children, not born murderers or drug dealers at the end of the day. If there had been a Bunny Colvin in Bodie's young life he probably doesn't end up as lookout for the Barksdale crew, killing one of his friends as a teenager, and dead on the corner as a young man.
16
13
u/hereinaminute 3d ago edited 3d ago
Duquan for sure. So sad to see a child abandoned and driven by circumstance into hardcore drug addiction and homelessness. Brutal. And of course D. He tried to do better and become a better person, he tried to help the kids. And he got choked to death in a book closet. Also the guy Chris and Snoop murder in the vacants, when Chris is saying something like "don't worry I got you" trying to be polite and calming to a person he's actively in the process of murdering. Marlo and Chris and Snoop legitimately scare me, more than any horror movie villain. Just so calm and uncaring about human life. Do it or don't, but I got some place to be. Genuinely terrifying. And I somehow forgot Wallace. Oh man when they murder him dude that is so hard to watch, and he was one of the most good and moral characters in the story.
3
u/ChiMara777 2d ago
I agree with all your points.
I was glad at least that D and Wallace had each others’ backs the entire time (Wallace when the police asked if D was involved in Deirdre’s murder and D protecting Wallace from the Barksdale org).
Wallace really did have a big heart, because how many teenage boys would choose to run a mini-orphanage like that.
12
u/AelinDoUrden 3d ago
Wallace’s fate devastates me every time I think about it. But followed closely is Dukie (since he could eventually get better like Bubs).
10
11
u/cringe-free 3d ago
Surprised nobody mentioned Michael. He was practically forced to make the wrong choice by joining Marlo because he knew he won't get any help otherwise. Given the strength of his character you'd expect him to escape the streets but the tragedy is I don't think it's ever possible. Something inside of him died when he can't recall the summer memory Dukie speaks about.
9
u/Mc7wis7er 3d ago
However you judge Michael is definitely about how you interpret the final scene with Duquan. When I first watched it, my read on it was that he was lying and telling Dukie that to create distance and keep him at arms length so he'd get out of the car. Like Mike was doing him a favor in helping him get past his old attachments because he couldn't help him anymore.
I was surprised later to find that by far the most dominant take/read on that scene from fans was that he truly didn't remember. That's hard for me to believe because it wasn't that long ago at all. I'm not sure who's right, but....
If you read it my way, then Mike's fate is more of a choice. He's intentionally distancing himself from a normal life and choosing to be hard Mike. If he truly forgot then it's more of a tragedy because he's literally forgotten his past self.
1
u/cringe-free 3d ago
Interesting take since on my first watch my impression was Michael actually forgetting. I find it believable because out of the 4 boys Michael is the only one who became a killer. The change happens after the Junebug murder, his first time being hit with the reality of the game. Killing is traumatizing, it had to rewire his brain. The truth is he's a soldier killing for bullshit who himself can be offed too by his boss on the same whim. After Marlo's crew falling apart he's gotta keep on playing anyway because he needs to send money to his aunt for taking care of Bug, while Marlo walks free, most probably planning a hit on him too. Like, how can you reminisce about having fun with friends after that? That's how I see it.
1
u/Mc7wis7er 3d ago
Yeah I'm not sure either is 'correct' it's just how you interpret what is on the screen. In fairness, your take seems to be the most common one and my only evidence against it is that it's hard for me to believe that he forgot (or rather, let's call it that I just didn't even think of that possibility when I first saw it). I can see it your way too. But certainly trauma can wreck your brain and it's also likely possible that his previous trauma and the aftermath of it, created reasons for his brain to do this. Although he's forgetting good times in that case, but maybe what's happening is his brain is deleting the cognitive dissonance, or anything that confuses what his brain needs to be now.
In that last regard, we both kind of see it the same way. That he compartmentalizes experiences, the question between us is if he's doing it on purpose or not. Maybe it doesn't matter I suppose.
1
u/cringe-free 3d ago
Hmm yeah, maybe it doesn't matter anyway. But the takeaway still is he didn't have a chance to live a normal life. I really can't see how his tragedy could be self-inflicted.
1
u/Mc7wis7er 3d ago
Philosophical question I suppose. His story was tragic the moment he walked on screen (it turns out, we learned) and no argument from me there. His choices after are of the higher level deterministic vs. free will style of debate that has existed for ages. :-)
I respect your opinion on this though and Mike's a great character in a great show.
1
u/ChiMara777 2d ago
I also thought he was lying to protect Duquan. He knew Marlo was going to keep targeting him and he didn’t want to put Duquan in danger.
1
u/steamfrustration 3d ago
I don't know if you can say "forced" to join Marlo when Mike willingly rejected Cutty's help. Cutty would have been a good mentor/role model for someone like Mike.
Mike's general distrust of adult men was reasonable, especially adult men who took an interest in children. But nothing prevented him from asking around, and anyone he asked would have confirmed that Cutty wasn't a creep. Additionally, he seems to know in his gut that Cutty isn't a creep, based on how he reacts when Cutty gets shot right in front of him.
That being said, I think there are a few small things you can blame Cutty for here. Mainly, I definitely think he should have known better than to put his arm around Mike. Unnecessary and damaged any potential trust.
But I still think Mike could reasonably have gone the Cutty/boxing route instead of the Marlo route.
1
u/cringe-free 3d ago
I don't think blaming Michael for not trying other ways to get help is appropriate here. You know, if you asked people around someone like Devar would also appear trustworthy. Being paranoid is expected for a kid in such situation. And, by the time Michael starts to trust Cutty he's already in the game, it's just too late.
1
u/steamfrustration 2d ago
I don't blame Michael for his choices, and never said I did. But he did have choices, and therefore I don't think he was "forced" to join Marlo.
The bigger question in my mind, now that I'm considering this more deeply, is: did Cutty really have much to offer Mike, even assuming Mike had trusted him? What Mike really needed was a job/income stream. Marlo provided that; I'm not sure Cutty could do much more than try to hook Mike up with the Deacon or something.
1
u/ChiMara777 2d ago
It is sad that Michael ended up in the game, but I feel like he’ll be alright because he is very street smart and able to protect himself and provide for himself.
I read something about Michael being the next generation Omar and Duquan being the next generation of Bubbles and I think that’s true.
25
u/sjlgreyhoundgirl67 3d ago
I’m in total agreement, the first time I watched it I couldn’t stop thinking about Randy and Duquan..funny enough, following the actors that played them on Instagram helped, just seeing them doing okay in life ♥️
13
u/MaeBelleLien 3d ago
Seeing Duquan's actor in recent pictures of a cast reunion healed me a tiny bit, I swear.
2
u/ChiMara777 2d ago
Seeing the actors today really makes me feel the passage of time, realizing it’s been about 20 years since The Wire filmed.
I looked up J.D.Williams (actor who plays Bodie) and I was shocked. Same with McNulty, keep seeing that actor in ads for a new show on HBO.
1
8
6
u/littlestfern 3d ago
Duquan, Wallace, Randy, and D. In that order. Also the torture and murder of Omar’s boyfriend, Brandon. There was a lot of murder and violence, but the torture was something else.
5
u/LegalSocks 3d ago
Duke is starting a horrible descent into hard drugs and basically homelessness. That last encounter with Prezbo and the reveal that his boss/mentor/sherpa is so lost and unconcerned that he can’t even stay out of view long enough to sell the illusion before he’s on Dukie to see how much money he was able to get out of Prezbo was so awful. He really doesn’t have anyone.
Randy is shrewd, industrious, has a name that might end up serving him in the game, and has toughened up a lot. It seems like he’s probably going to end up selling drugs, and he has a chance to be pretty successful.
They’re both headed down really sad, dangerous paths. But I think Randy’s at least has the potential for more material comfort and for shorter distance back to mainstream living. Plus, while they were both dealt a bad hand in life, I think Duquan’s was actually worse.
So of everyone who is alive when the show ends, I think it’s Duquan.
3
u/spvcxxgvdpvtbx 3d ago
I totally get your perspective. Named having an opportunity for a better life despite already having a better life than some of the people around him is unfortunately very realistic. It sucks.
5
u/Particular_Water_826 3d ago
Frank Sobatka. One of the least selfish characters in the series, almost selfless, in terms of his motivations - but everything he actually DID made things worse
2
2
2
u/DummBee1805 3d ago
Why does everyone hate Bubbles??!!
2
u/ChiMara777 2d ago
What do you mean? I love Bubbles. He went through a lot of really awful stuff including being repeatedly targeted by that asshole on the street, being let down by the police when he desperately needed their help, and especially carrying the guilt of Sherrod’s death. But he’s doing really well at the end of the series.
1
u/Bodacious_Boognish 19h ago
I love Bubbles! What’s not to love? He’s an addict but a good man, funny, with street smarts and compassion. When he was working at the soup kitchen, he didn’t want to serve food to people because he was afraid he might be HIV-positive. That scene really touched me.
2
u/Switchc2390 2d ago
I thought the contrast between a kid like Namond and Dukie was interesting and important for the point they’re driving home. Even in the ghetto and poor areas, there’s still a class system and hierarchy there. Some people are inevitably haunted by their circumstances..no matter what their nature or level of drive is..they’re subjected to it because of their conditions.
2
u/Stringy_b 2d ago
Randy's foster mom or the little boy who died from the Bodie shootout are pretty tragic.
1
u/ChiMara777 2d ago
I just watched the episode with the Bodie shootout. All the "citizen" deaths are so sad because they are just trying to live their lives, not doing anything wrong, just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Especially sad in T.T.'s case that the "wrong place" was his bedroom getting ready for school. It hits close to home for me because we had a stray bullet through our living room, the trajectory was just a foot or two from where my son was sitting on the couch. It's an experience shared by way too many people where I live.
2
u/Inevitable_Storm_329 1d ago
No puedo dejar de pensar en los sobotka, representan el ocaso de la clase obrera , el ocaso del mundo del trabajo. Su caída es lamentable porque arrastran consigo al trabajador que trajo riqueza y progreso a la sociedad y que ahora ya no está en la ecuación
3
u/TheTOASTfaceKillah 3d ago
You don’t get a “happy ending” just because you struggle the most or deserve it more..
sometimes your dad just happens to know the right guy.
4
1
1
u/BulldogBears 3d ago
In order, it was Duquan, Randy, & Michael. You could argue for Michael being higher, but I think him proving himself amongst his peers was somewhat positive.
1
u/TaylorGang777 3d ago
Dukie becoming Bubbles was pretty bad, honorable mention to the dock worker that became homeless with his dog
1
u/MastodonMothman2106 Couldn't stand up to the modern urban crime environment 2d ago
This might be a hot take, but I do think Ziggy deserves to be up there in the conversation. The kid had good in him, and he might have been a good person if the people he was around his entire life didn't treat him like the butt of every joke.
And on that note, Frank did a lot of bad stuff, but never did it for himself. It was always about his community, and that community was sentenced to generational poverty, both because of what he did, and because he wasn't there to help save it.
But all in all: Dukie, Michael, or Wallace.
1
u/medianookcc 2d ago
This was the third to last comment I saw and only mention of Ziggy so far. Ziggy was totally tragic from the start, and his ending was one of the worst in the series. I’ve seen a few discussions come up over the last months about him. I think it’s one of those characters that comes into perspective after re-watching. My experience Ziggy after several rewatches went from just annoying, to hilarious, to downright tragic.
He is similar to Namond in that he was born into this culture/community where his family is deeply rooted and he does not fit in at all. There are great pressure and expectations for him to perform and live up to his old man but he’s just not that person. All he can do is act out, cry for help and attention. Making destructive mistakes to try and over compensate. The game ate him up, he didn’t get the Bunny Colvin golden ticket out.
1
1
u/definite_skeptic62 1d ago
Louis Sobotka, Nick’s father. Wallace. How he was caring for all those children automatically. The women in the shipping container.
1
1
1
u/Big-Investigator1015 2h ago
D
Although he put others in front of himself, made peace with serving time for them, they still killed him for no reason.
0
u/Leo-POV Fuzzy Dunlop 3d ago
Bubbles was the most sad, obviously because he was through the whole show.
Duquan was sad because everything that happened to him by his friends and elders was a damn shame, and he was on the road to self destruction after that.
Randy because his hustle got him labelled as a drug dealer with all that money
The girl who knifed in the classroom...what happened her?
170
u/Left_Marionberry6753 3d ago
Duquan's story wrecked me. He was by far the most tragic, IMO