[Whistling]
"Yo.
Yo, come on, Omar comin', man!"
If there’s any character on The Wire
who most embodies the power and elegance
of living by a personal code, it’s Omar Little.
The favorite character of President Obama,
“Omar is, by the way, my favorite character.”
Omar is the Robin Hood of The Wire --
in a very literal way.
He makes his living by robbing the hood,
stealing from drug dealers, and giving back to his community.
“Mr. Omar, my check late.”
“Ayo Mike!
Hook a sister up, yo.”
Omar feels almost mythical because it seems impossible
to do what he does and stay alive.
“Mr. Little, how does a man rob drug dealers
for eight or nine years and live to tell about it?”
“Day at a time, I suppose.”
And Omar’s superpower is really his code.
“I mean, there are still rules here.
Right?”
“Rules?”
“Yeah.”
“No mistakes, No bystanders,
No taxpayers getting caught up in the mix.”
Yes, he steals and kills.
But we respect Omar as a moral character
because he shows courage, integrity, and a coherent worldview
through living by the rules he’s made for himself.
Ultimately, Omar shows what the basic worth of a code is --
it offers us the freedom to live as ourselves,
without fear or regret, and doing justice
to our deepest personal values.
“Ey, look.
I ain't never put my gun on no citizen.”
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Omar is the character
who first raises the importance of having a code
when he tells Bunk about his most unbreakable rule.
“I mean, don't get it twisted, I do some dirt, too.
But I ain’t never put my gun on nobody
who wasn’t in the game.”
“The man must have a code.”
Everyone involved with the Baltimore drug trade -
the various hierarchies of lieutenants, soldiers,
corner boys, junkies and cops - are all part of the same game
and they know what the rules are.
“All in the game, yo— All in the game.”
Omar doesn’t hesitate to rob or kill anyone
he has to in this ecosystem,
because that’s a risk they consent to in being part of this game.
"But the game is out there, and it's either play or get played."
But Omar bristles, offended, at the suggestion that he would ever harm someone
who had made no such implicit agreement.
In the context, Omar’s moves are all fair game --
they just happen to be incredibly risky, as he’s an individual going up against the
house.
Omar later calls back to his conversation with Bunk
when he’s been locked up for a crime Marlo's people framed him for
and he reminds Bunk of Bunk's own code,
"Well, since you feeling all Biblical and righteous and all,
you think on this.
Now, Omar ain't killed that delivery lady, somebody else did.
But you giving him a free walk right now though, ain't you?
A man got to have a code."
Omar and Bunk don't have to see eye to eye,
but each person should be true to his own code,
and this allows for balance and harmony in the game.
In Omar's eyes, the rules of fair play must be upheld,
and when these rules are broken --
due to human weakness, plotting or greed --
there must be swift punishment.
"See, that boy was beautiful.
Wasn't no need for y'all to do him the way y'all did."
Together with other veterans of the game like Prop Joe and Bodie
Omar can't stand when newcomers don't respect how it’s played.
“And for as long as I’ve been grown, once a month,
I’ve been with her on a church Sunday, telling myself ain’t no need to worry,
’cause ain’t nobody in this city that lowdown to disrespect a Sunday morning!”
Omar is also a Virtuoso of sorts -- he relishes doing what he does well,
and it's important to him to stay sharp and on top of his game.
As much as he hates Stringer and Avon, he’s concerned to see
that the Barksdale empire is fading
because he needs a worthy foe to keep up his skills.
"It ain't what you taking, it's who you taking it from,
you feel me?
How you expect to run with the wolves come night,
when you spend all day sparring with the puppies?"
Omar is a one-man force of justice in an unjust world.
He is a correction.
These drug kingpins like Avon, Stringer and Marlo
are more or less untouchable,
But Omar is here to throw a kink in their plan and their pleasure.
They might seem like gods, or devils, out of the law’s reach,
but he can just walk in with a shotgun, cost them millions of dollars,
undermine their reputation on the street, and -- most crucially in this game of ego
--
make them look like fools.
"I like that ring too."
Almost everything else we witness on The Wire proves that life isn’t fair,
so Omar is uniquely satisfying to us because he does, at times,
actually get to put things right.
When Omar comes together with Brother Mouzone to kill Stringer Bell,
we see that these two characters are deeply alike.
Not only are they two of the most rawly intelligent characters we meet,
who take care in how they conduct themselves,
"You know what the most dangerous thing in America is, right?
A nigger with a library card."
but also - most fundamentally - they share a sense of justice.
"The game is the game."
"Indeed."
Omar chooses not to kill Brother Mouzone
once he realizes that he’s been given false information.
"So you know what happened to your boy.
It's not my style."
"Yeah, I wanna report a shooting over here at the new motel.
On North Avenue."
It matters very much to him that he’s not killing the wrong man
for a made-up reason --
even if it’s far riskier at this point not to kill this lethal man
who's very likely to come back after him.
But Brother Mouzone likewise isn’t interested in killing the wrong man,
only the one who’s responsible -- the one who betrayed the rules
of their agreed-upon game.
When Stringer tries to bargain for his life by offering --
of course -- money,
"What y'all niggers want, man?
Huh?
Money?"
Omar’s response shows how far his code is from Stringer's.
"You still don't get it, do you?
Huh?
This ain't about your money, bro.
Your boy gave you up."
It’s not about money, or even truly just about vengeance --
it’s justice.
Omar is one of the smartest characters in The Wire,
"If that is what I think it is,
our little clutch of chickens might be putting all their eggs up in one basket."
But being the Baltimore Robin Hood might not immediately seem like the “smartest” choice
--
in that, it’s not a choice that guarantees you long life.
So if Omar is as intelligent as we know he is,
and if he’s chosen the lifestyle that we know he has,
this tells us there’s something profoundly valuable in living as Omar does.
"Man, you gotta live what you know, right?"
After examining all of the options available to him,
why has Omar chosen this path?
Because it is the only path that offers freedom.
The freedom to live as himself.
The freedom to refuse to serve a king that he despises.
The freedom -- within a system
in which most people feel they are completely trapped --
to shape his own life based on his own values.
Omar chooses freedom, but he understands it comes at a price.
"Now I'm doubling the bounty.
Hundred large for a whiff of that [BLEEP].
Two hundred fifty for his head."
Omar accepts that this lifestyle comes with the constant danger of sudden death.
Because he's made peace with the risks and downsides of his code,
most powerfully, he’s free from fear.
"Omar don't scare."
Other characters pretend that they're not why they are,
but Omar is without pretense.
"What exactly do you do for a living, Mr. Little?"
"I robs drug dealers."
So another key freedom is his code allows him to express himself
with total honesty, a precious and rare gift that few others get.
"I shot the boy Mike-Mike in his hind parts, that all.
Fixed it so he couldn't sit right."
He illuminates key rules of the game for us with eloquence:
“Ayo, listen here, Bey.
You come at the king, you best not miss.”
And he observes others players in the game with refreshing clarity.
"You are stealing from those
who themselves are stealing the lifeblood from out city.
You are a parasite who leeches off the culture of drugs--"
"Just like you, man."
"Excuse me?
What?"
"I got the shotgun, you got the briefcase.
It's all in the game, though, right?"
Omar is also not material istic, so he's free of the traps of greed
for more money or fear of losing it.
Money doesn't really mean anything to him
except for the pain it causes these kingpins to see it taken.
"Now you make sure you tell old Marlo I burned the money.
Cos it ain't about that paper.
It's about me hurtin' his people and messin' with his world."
His biggest indulgence is a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios.
"You ain't got no Honey Nut?"
Most people absorb a number of social rules from others around them
without ever examining those shared assumptions,
but Omar has essentially written his code from scratch
without worrying about what anyone else think is normal or correct.
Omar allows himself certain liberties
that others in his world wouldn't ever consider.
He has no qualms about testifying in court to take down Bird,
"Ayo, what up, Bird?"
or cooperating with the police to take down Stringer.
"How far back you want me to go?"
Almost no other character could do this without being labeled a snitch,
but law enforcement isn’t Omar’s enemy.
"How many times have you been arrested as an adult, Mr. Little?
"Shoot, I done lost count.
Enough, though, not to take it personal."
Omar’s sexuality is notable.
Most of the society around him is based on performing hyper-masculinity,
but Omar is gentle and tender with the people he loves,
and he doesn’t even really put on macho shows in public, either.
So again Omar just hasn’t worried himself with the assumption in his community
that a tough guy shouldn’t be openly gay.
Omar also imposes rules on himself that others don’t care about.
His personal code dictates a certain level of manners and etiquette.
He doesn’t curse.
"What you always gotta talk like that, man?"
"What?"
"F-this and F-that."
He stays calm.
His speech is polite and civil.
"But the clue is 'Greek god of war.'"
"Ares.
Greeks called him Ares.
Same dude, different name is all."
"Ares fits.
Thanks!"
"It's all good."
Omar develops a small alternative community around him
who share a free yet dangerous existence.
The downside to his lifestyle, of course, is
no one can be close to him
without becoming a target.
And Omar suffers for his way of life.
He has to live with the guilt
that his loved ones were targeted and tortured
by people who were trying to get at him.
"Where Omar at?"
So Omar's code ultimately makes him alone.
Still, the people who love him and who enter into his alternative community
do consent to this reality.
"Oh, I got you baby.
I got you."
"Go!
Go!"
"Spread the word, darling.
Omar back."
Omar’s power relies on his reputation.
He is so respected and feared that, if he goes out to buy cereal,
he gets drug stashes thrown at him without even trying to rob anyone.
Yet this scene -- in which he goes searching for Honey Nut
and we see the power of his name --
also darkly foreshadows Omar’s eventual death.
Omar doesn't even need to carry a weapon here
because he is protected by the shield of his almost mythic, superhuman reputation.
But underneath that, he’s still just a human.
Omar is killed finally not by one of the kingpins who’s been chasing him
or anyone who sees him as the Great Omar,
but by Kenard, a small boy who’s too young to really fear him and his
name.
Omar's death seems maddeningly random and avoidable at first,
but it’s actually not -- it has to be this way,
just as Prop Joe, another established figure that we've come to think nobody would touch,
is killed by the young comer Marlo.
The establishment with its systems of trust and respect
doesn’t see youth coming with all its vicious disrespect.
And no one can get to Omar except for a little kid.
We know that Omar was raised by his grandmother,
after becoming an orphan when he was young.
A brief prequel released before Season 5 showed
young Omar's brother Anthony planning a robbery,
and we hear the very un-prophetic words about Omar.
"Your brother ain't cut out for this [MUTED]."
Anthony eventually ended up in jail, and we know the lifestyle Omar went on to
have.
But we don’t get much backstory in the actual show telling us
details of how Omar got into this life.
In Season 4, though, the character of Michael Lee
maybe helps us connect a few of those dots.
"Got good signs on him.
Big paws ona puppy, huh?"
"[LAUGHS] Yeah.
Big paws on a puppy, to a T."
Young Michael gets noticed by Marlo and his second-in-command Chris
because he’s smarter than others around him.
He keeps a cool head, remains strategic,
and quickly learns every lesson he’s taught.
"Smart nigger."
"You always was."
"How you know?"
"Y'all taught me.
Get there early."
Watching the series for the first time,
we might expect Michael to become another Chris or even a Marlo.
But at the end of Season 4,
Michael comes to the conclusion that he must be an independent agent,
and in the very last episode, he fills the hole left by Omar’s death.
We see Michael rob a drug dealer for the first time,
and right after this we hear the news of Omar’s death making its way around the
street.
"The real story about Omar is
that a bunch of cops made it look like them New York boys killed him."
It's interesting that Michael becomes Omar,
because we don’t easily see this coming a long way away,
but once it happens, it makes total sense.
Chris and Snoop think Michael will be a good soldier,
but they dislike that he asks too many questions.
"'Cause he got a big [BLEEP] mouth, that's why,
and you need to stop runnin' your own mouth, young 'un."
He uses his brain, whereas an enforcer like Chris or Snoop pulls the trigger
and doesn’t ask,
doesn’t worry they might be killing the wrong person.
Michael is too smart and thinks too independently
to just fall in line like a future Wee-Bey.
Beneath their cool-headed intelligence,
both Omar and Michael are warm people motivated by deep emotions.
They care more than anything about protecting and providing for their loved ones.
Omar is after retribution for the grotesque murder of his love, Brandon.
Michael’s start in crime is triggered by the return of little brother Bug’s dad,
who -- the series strongly implies -- sexually abused Michael
when Michael was a boy.
"You big, but not big enough."
This explains his distrust of both Marlo’s offer of a free handout
and Cutty’s offer to train him.
"What's wrong with Cutty?"
"I don't know.
Like, he just too friendly, you know?
That shit creep me out, man.
He just too friendly, you know?
Everybody just too [BLEEP] friendly."
Given what we know about Omar in the present
and his ferocity in going after those who hurt his loved ones,
we sense that as a child Omar might have experienced some abuse and trauma as well.
As Michael’s story shows us
why an intelligent and talented boy first enters crime,
we come to understand that Omar’s choice was
probably was also a similar mix
of emotional pain and logical response to an environment
in which there really another option.
When Michael steps into Omar’s shoes, perhaps we’re mainly surprised
because we’ve thought of Omar as such an individual
that he seems irreplaceable.
Omar’s role in the system isn’t just about him though;
it is a part of the system --
even if to us, there can only ever be one Omar.
"That's my money."
"Man, money ain't got no owners, only spenders."
We love Omar because he lives honestly without fear.
His freedom comes from his great intelligence
making peace with the choice to be who he is,
and accept the consequences.
And all of this makes The Wire’s Omar Little a little bit of a miracle.
"Cos Omar come back tomorrow.
And the next day.
And the next day."
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