The Wire: Respecting The Presence Of Omar Little
The Wire has been labeled one of the best scripted TV shows in history. For five seasons, The Wire invited viewers into the gritty streets of Baltimore and painted a vivid picture of life from different perspectives. With cops looking to take down dealers, and dealers looking to avoid the cops, The Wire still found a way to integrate politics and the Public School System. But in a sense, the show and its fans found a person they could relate to–Omar Little.
But why? What was so special about Omar that made him so easy to relate to?
Let’s look at his character. For one, Omar was given a lifestyle that’s not well received in the black community. Omar was gay. And to top that off, he was a street legend. Omar robbed people for sport and for pay. Now you factor in the so-called tough dealers were getting robbed by a gay man and that alone would make them appear to be weak.
But Omar didn’t care nor did Omar scare. In the hood, he was possibly the one person who didn’t bring harm to the innocent. Omar had a code and that’s what he stuck by. When kids or dealers would see him coming, they would go the other way. Omar was just one man. Every time he got down with a team, he would be the last one standing.
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What made his character so cultivating was the fact that when he did was wrong. Omar was a killer and there was no debating that. However, the viewers were drawn to him because his character stood taller than the others. Stringer Bell was smart. Avon Barksdale was gritty, and Marlo Stanfield was calculating. Hell, even the cops had their bouts of questionable acts. But Omar, he stayed the same. Neutral at times but his outlook never changed.
Someone had to portray the outcast and for Omar Little, he fit that description well. He worked for no one but everyone wanted him. He was the hired gun. The one-man with the ability to take down everyone. In the streets or in the courtroom, Omar stood his ground. Who dares label him a snitch after he pointed the finger at Bird?
To understand just how powerful a character he was, you have to go back to his death. Yes, it was something we all saw coming. Omar just couldn’t continue to bring terror to the streets of Baltimore and get away with it. But still, his death was the only one we didn’t want to happen. You had no choice but to cheer for the man.
As mad as fans were with his death, it had to be done the way it was because of who he was. How fair would it have been to have Stringer, Avon or Marlo take him out? That would have proved that they were somehow better than him. And they weren’t. Omar’s death came at the hands of a kid. The reason being, Omar didn’t see it coming. The same way he robbed, was the same way he was killed. He was caught slipping from a person he figured would never pull the trigger.
The Wire was not a show where you rooted for the good guy. There really was none. You gravitated towards a villain and hoped the writers did him justice. Omar was no saint. There is blood on his hands that could never be scrubbed off. However, his name is one that if mentioned in the circle of great TV characters will always bring a level of excitement to the discussion.
Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.
