History YMMV / TheWire

** Some see Namod Brice being TheOneWhoMadeItOut of the Tilghman Middle School cohort to be unearned, as he was already privileged in comparison to his peers, and the problems he faced were lesser, and more self-inflicted than what befalls Michael, Randy and Dukie. However, there are textual hints that the dissonance is deliberate, as there are hints of Namond being a MirrorCharacter for Clay Davis.

* ToughActToFollow: The series is regarded by many TV critics as one of, if not ''the'', best television show ever made. Creator/DavidSimon's follow-up, ''Series/{{Treme}}'' has been chugging along in relative obscurity, which is admittedly what ''The Wire'' did for most of its run as well. Within the run of the series itself, there are many who cite the fourth season as one of, if not THE greatest season in all of television. By contrast, quite a number of fans and critics complained that the final season was hindered by Simon [[AuthorTract hanging his dirty laundry out to dry]] (particularly regarding its criticism of journalism, which echoed Simon's real life feelings on the ''Baltimore Sun''). Luckily, those critics still cite the series finale as among the greatest episodes the show had done, so the show was still able to finish on a high note.

*** Taken up to eleven with ''Series/{{Luke Cage|2016}}'', where Burrell, Kima, Levy, Cheese, Butchie, and Norman Wilson all make appearances.

** Both Stringer Bell and Wallace would later join the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, Stringer as the [[Film/{{Thor}} Gatekeeper]] [[Film/ThorTheDarkWorld of]] [[Film/ThorRagnarok Asgard]] and Wallace as [[Film/BlackPanther2018 Erik Killmonger]].
*** Others actors from ''The Wire'' would have minor roles in the MCU, too. Notable instances include Herc appearing as [[ComicBook/TheKingpin Wilson Fisk's]] father in ''Series/{{Daredevil|2015}}'', Lester as a detective again in ''Series/{{Jessica Jones|2015}}'', Avon being a cop in ''Film/AntMan1'', Bubbles as a club owner in ''Series/AgentCarter'', and Landsman playing a Vietnam War veteran poser in ''Series/{{The Punisher|2017}}''. Omar makes a cameo in ''Film/{{The Incredible Hulk|2008}}''.

** After both city hall and the media gets wind of Hamsterdam, Mayor Royce looks at the lowered crime statistics and tries to argue that maybe the policy would be a good idea. His health commissioner says that it would be political suicide, and that the press would call him "the most dangerous man in America". The health commissioner is played by Kurt Schmoke former mayor of Baltimore, who did suggest decriminalizing drugs in a speech in 1987 which did get him labelled with that same epiteth.

** Tommy Carcetti. He's either a sellout, a narcissist who ultimately only cares about himself and his career, or a well-meaning politician who is forced to make compromises due to events beyond his control.

** Some see Omar as an unrealistic MarySue.

** Some fans think Roland Pryzbylewski is a KarmaHoudini for never facing real consequences for blinding a kid and shooting a black officer, and some consider his teacher arc to have a hint of WhiteMansBurden.

** The insistence of locals in Baltimore that Ukraine and Russia are the same thing and having difficulty with accepting it when Ukrainian born Sergei says otherwise feels different after the two countries went to war in early 2022. Especially since one of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's "justifications" for the invasion of Ukraine was by saying that the two nations are basically the same people and same thing anyway.
** Frank Sobotka pointing out the Francis Scott Key Bridge to Nick as a metaphor for how the Baltimore Port industry will "last forever" becomes sadly ironic after the bridge's collapse over 20 years later as a result of a ship crashing into one of the main supports.

** In the creator's commentary, Creator/DavidSimon mentions how hard Creator/IdrisElba took his character getting killed off and says that he had to assure Elba that he was talented enough get other roles. Elba has since become the most successful alumni of the show.

*** Others actors from The Wire would have minor roles in the MCU, too. Notable instances include Herc appearing as [[ComicBook/TheKingpin The Kingpin's]] father in ''Series/{{Daredevil|2015}}'', Lester as a detective again in ''Series/{{Jessica Jones|2015}}'', Avon being a cop in ''Film/AntMan1'', Bubbles as a club owner in ''Series/AgentCarter'', and Landsman playing a Vietnam War veteran poser in ''Series/{{The Punisher|2017}}''. Omar makes a cameo in ''Film/{{The Incredible Hulk|2008}}''.

*** The unnamed antagonistic Republican governor is pretty transparently supposed to be basically the same as Bob Ehrlich, who was governor during O'Malley's second term as mayor.

-->'''Bunk''': ''Fuck Norris. You're my real partner, Lester. My life partner.'' (*Norris laughs)
-->'''Lester''' (*starts to walk away): ''Don't tease, bitch.''
-->'''Bunk''' (*to Norris): ''Look at that bow-legged motherfucker. I made him walk like that.''

** Both Stringer Bell and Wallace would later join the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, Stringer as the [[Film/{{Thor}} Gatekeeper]] [[Film/ThorTheDarkWorld of]] [[Film/ThorRagnarok Asgard]] and Wallace as [[Film/BlackPanther2018 Erik]] [[Comicbook/{{Killmonger}} Killmonger]].

** We finally get to see Avon and Wallace together in the ''Franchise/{{Rocky}}'' spin-off film ''Film/{{Creed}}''.

** Starting in Season 3, the [=ComStat=] system is shown for tracking police performance (a fictionalized version of the [=CitiStat=] system actually implemented in the early 2000s, based on New York's [=CompStat=]). While data-driven policing is still a thing (and [=CitiStat=] still exists in Baltimore), the arrests-driven approach is definitely an artifact of the 2000s, before more recent policy trends towards criminal justice reform.

** At a reunion of some of the cast in 2014, it was revealed that the actors weren't all that satisfied with the show at first. "I told my agent to call ''Series/LawAndOrder''", said Creator/WendellPierce; Creator/SonjaSohn said, "A lot of us were like, 'I don't know, it's kind of slow.'"
** Creator/DominicWest was reluctant to do the series since it meant signing a five-year contract to live in Baltimore. His agent eased his fears by telling him "[[ItWillNeverCatchOn don't worry, it'll only last one season]]."
* {{Anvilicious}}: While they are well crafted into the general theme about dysfunction, the metaphors about UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror in general and the then ongoing Iraqi War (season 3 was produced in 2004) in particular are not subtle by the standards of the ''The Wire''. But then again, many would agree than Simon's vision was VindicatedByHistory, if not right from the beginning.
-->'''Slim Charles:''' Don't matter who did what to who at this point. Fact is, we went to war, and now there ain't no going back. I mean, shit, it's what war is, you know? Once you in it, you in it. If it's a lie, then we fight on that lie. But we gotta fight.

** Senator Clay Davis. Owing it to his charisma and his trademark catchphrase. In seasons 1 and 2 he's mostly a OneSceneWonder any time he appears, in seasons 3 and 4 he's much more involved in some of the series' subplots and finally in season five he's a regular cast member appearing in most episodes and even having one mostly devoted to tying up his storyline.

* FanficFuel: Omar's exploits in New York during the latter half of season one.
* FranchiseOriginalSin: One of the biggest complaints about the fifth and final season is how unrealistic [=McNulty=]'s fabricated "serial killer" is in a show that's otherwise grounded in its depiction of Baltimore. Yet, unrealistic plots had been done in the earlier seasons, namely season 3, when Colvin essentially legalized drugs and managed to get away with it for a long time, and season 3 is held in higher esteem than season 5.

** In addition, the personalities of the characters behind these arcs matters too. Colvin is a loveable character, who only wants what's best for his community while also meeting the unrealistic expectations City Hall is demanding of the police to lower the crime rates. He clearly is "one of the good guys", as much as this is possible in the scope of this show. [=McNulty=] is mostly likeable in the first four seasons, but is really despicable in season 5: drunk, not giving a shit about anyone else, and though you can argue he's doing kinda the right things by willing to get a more functional police department, he does it for selfish reasons (getting the money spigot turned on so he can bring down Marlo).

** [=McNulty=] picking up the waitress in season 2, after Dominic West got a whole show about his character cheating on his wife with a waitress, ''Series/TheAffair''. And he clashes once again with Creator/JohnDoman, who is his father-in-law. Just think about a family reunion with Rawls and [=McNulty=].

** Herc and some gangsters are messing around with the Make-a-Face program at the station, making their ideal girl. Carver then walks out and the camera subtly highlights the similarity. Not to mention Herc and Carver reuniting in season two.

** In episode 5 when [=McNulty=] gets so excited that Prez has solved the phone number code that he grabs Prez and kisses him on the mouth.

-->'''Bunk''': ''Fuck Norris. You're my real partner Lester. My life partner.'' (*Norris laughs)

* JerksAreWorseThanVillains: Scott Templeton from season 5 is an intentional HateSink, but he is nonetheless absolutely '''''despised''''' for being nothing more than a slimy ImmoralJournalist, far more so than the legions of murdering drug dealers and human traffickers the show is filled with. Partly this is because a lying, manipulative, and self-righteous jerkass is something far more viewers have to deal with than the aforementioned hardened criminals, partly because he is a KarmaHoudini who gets rewarded with a Pullitzer for shamelessly printing fake news. Scott's lies also end up torpedoing the only realistic chance to reform the Baltimore Police Department from within.

** [[Characters/TheWireOmarAndAssociates Omar Devon Little]] is a "stick-up man" in Baltimore who [[KarmicThief robs drug dealers]] for a living. His first episode has him robbing one of Avon Barksdale's stash houses. Avon puts out a hit on him and his crew and manages to succeed in killing one of his crew and torturing Omar's boyfriend to death. Over the course of the next three seasons, Omar [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge retaliates]] against the [[Characters/TheWireBarksdaleOrganization Barksdale organization]], culminating in him killing Stringer Bell, Avon's right-hand man, becoming a major reason for the fall of the Barksdale organization. In season 4, Omar robs [[Characters/TheWireTheStanfieldGang Marlo Stanfield]], a new West Side kingpin. Marlo, wanting revenge, frames Omar for murder though Omar beats the charge, and then {{blackmail}}s Proposition Joe, another kingpin, into giving up Marlo's new drug shipment, only to double-crosses Joe and steal a much larger shipment instead of Marlo's. Omar then sells it back to Joe and announces his retirement until Marlo kills Omar's mentor for revenge. Omar returns to Baltimore, but he is briefly outgunned. He then goes on a warpath and calls Marlo out to face him. While he dies before this can come to fruition, the taunts prove to be very effective, as by the end of the series Marlo has faded into obscurity whereas Omar has become a legend.
** [[BadassBookworm Brother Mouzone]], a legendary [[ProfessionalKiller hitman]] from New York, is called down to Baltimore by Avon Barksdale to deal with Proposition Joe's drug dealers in season 2. He first shoots Cheese, Joe's nephew, with a rat shot, and is then able to intimidate Joe's gang into staying away with his presence alone. Stringer Bell, Avon's right-hand man, had cut a deal with Joe, and manipulates Omar into attacking Mouzone, claiming Mouzone tortured Omar's lover to death. Omar shoots Mouzone but realizes the man is innocent and calls an ambulance for him. While in the hospital Mouzone is able to deduce that Stringer was responsible but keeps this information to himself. Returning in season 3, he tracks Omar down, asking him for help killing Stringer. He then blackmails Avon into giving up Stringers location. Together, he and Omar ambush Stinger and kill him at his condo developments. AffablyEvil and WickedCultured, Mouzone showed why he was [[TheDreaded so feared]] as a hitman.

** [[CoolOldGuy Lester Freamon]] is one of Baltimore's finest detectives. Once [[ReassignedToAntarctica taken off Homicide to be put on the Pawn Shop Unit]] over pettiness, he shows his brilliance constantly, breaking cases wide open due to his intellect. In season 5, he decides to help Jimmy [=McNulty=] fake a serial killer, giving him the idea to sensationalize it. Using the resources they have gathered, he sets up an illegal wiretap on Marlo Stanfield and then after a couple of weeks breaks the code. In the meantime he blackmails Clay Davis into giving up info on Marlo's lawyer, Maurice Levy. While the case falls apart, they're still able to use the info on Levy's dirty dealings to charge most of Marlo's crew. While being forced to retire, he still takes it in stride, and happily retires with his girlfriend to make luxury dollhouse furniture for the rest of his days.

-->'''David Simon''': I think there’s a great deal of forgiveness for the streetwise badass in this world. I mean, there’s a peculiar way in which the gangster chic tends to overwhelm some viewers’ sense of morality. I was always amazed when we would present the idea of some 15-year-old kid who, because he bore witness and talked to the police, would have people online saying, "Oh, Randy got to be got because he was snitching." I’d be thinking, No, Randy needs to be 15 in America. He needs to have a childhood, you asshole.

** Marlo was never very far from it to begin with, but all of his early killing were at least related to The Game. Then, in season 4, he deliberately shoplifts a $.25 lollipop while making eye contact with the security guard just to tweak him. When the man confronts him outside the store and basically asks to be treated like a human being, Marlo blows him off. ''And then has him murdered.''

** Even as Carver comes to understand that being a police officer demands restraint and responsibility on his part, his friend Herc never stops acting like an obnoxious, belligerent idiot. His corruption, arrogance, racism, and lack of professionalism become difficult to overlook as the show progresses and his incompetence has increasingly severe repercussions. The worst of this comes in season 4 when [[spoiler: he casually makes a serious breach of witness confidentiality by [[WouldHurtAChild disclosing that Randy has talked to the police]], something that ends up ruining the poor kid's life as well as possibly getting his foster mother killed]]. It's clear by the final season that Herc hasn't changed one iota and is completely indifferent to how his actions have affected other people, meaning that beneath his meathead charm he's just another violent, amoral scumbag like officer Colicchio.

* SlowPacedBeginning: Newcomers will be likely overwhelmed by the staggering number of characters and the [[InfoDump molasses slow exposition]] that unfolds during the first season. The exact point when new viewers' opinion of the show crosses over from "above-average cop drama" to "GREATEST SHOW EVAH!!!" varies - from a few episodes to the ''entire'' first season.

** The CGI on the project towers being demolished during the season 3 premiere is much less convincing on modern high definition televisions.

** The Sobotka family and the rest of the stevedores in season 2. Their way of life is disappearing due to mechanization and they're powerless to do anything to stop it. Although they're working with [[RuthlessForeignGangsters the Greeks]], they're only doing so out of desperation and are otherwise swell guys. Frank Sobotka is especially tragic; all the sacrifices he made for the docks and his men [[spoiler: [[ShootTheShaggyDog end up being for naught and get him killed]].]]

** Mayor Carcetti and his ''Tough on Crime'' position also got this despite how much Season 3 is about the failures.

--->'''Ed Burns''': Yeah, we did enjoy ourselves playing with the idea of demagoguery and the political hyperbole. I remember at the end of third season, when he was still a councilman, we had Carcetti give an impassioned speech, and the camera gently panned in on him as he rhapsodized about saving neighborhoods and demanding better for the city. And it really was a beautiful speech. And, you know, we wanted - the writers worked on it for a long while. And yet, everything about the speech was just a recall and retread of the drug war. And he was arguing for more warfare. And - whereas, the whole of third season had shown this police commander trying to struggle with it on pragmatic and practical terms, in terms of Bunny Colvin. And I was amazed to find that a lot of viewers, you know, longtime viewers, had watched that episode and they followed Carcetti right off the cliff. They were - despite what they have been showing for, you know, 12 episodes in terms of, you know, the box that the drug was is, they were - they thought he was the solution, because he sounded like the solution. And, you know, that taught me a lot, you know, I kind of went all candid on myself. I forgot what I was writing because I was shocked that so many people went with Carcetti.

* MisaimedFandom: As in most gangster stories, it struggles with DoNotDoThisCoolThing and RootingForTheEmpire.
-->'''David Simon''' I think there’s a great deal of forgiveness for the streetwise badass in this world. I mean, there’s a peculiar way in which the gangster chic tends to overwhelm some viewers’ sense of morality. I was always amazed when we would present the idea of some 15-year-old kid who, because he bore witness and talked to the police, would have people online saying, "Oh, Randy got to be got because he was snitching." I’d be thinking, No, Randy needs to be 15 in America. He needs to have a childhood, you asshole.

--->'''Slim Charles:''' Don't matter who did what to who at this point. Fact is, we went to war, and now there ain't no going back. I mean, shit, it's what war is, you know? Once you in it, you in it. If it's a lie, then we fight on that lie. But we gotta fight.

** Out of the child characters, Michael Lee is probably the only one with a significant fandom, thanks to a combination of his warm-hearted personality, [[TheWoobie tragic childhood]] and signs of genuine badassery. His [[KickTheSonOfABitch pounding the shit out of]] [[TakeThatScrappy Kenard]] didn't hurt, either.

** Is Omar Little a bona fide modern-day RobinHood (and the closest thing Baltimore has to a genuine hero) or is he just another crook who profits off of the drug trade and causes chaos for the simple thrill of it?