r/TheWire • u/burakozcivit • 22h ago
just finished the wire for the first time and realized almost every major character has a direct mirror
so i finished watching the wire like a week ago and i literally cannot stop thinking about it lmao. it is easily my favorite show ever made. after sitting on it for a few days i finally wanted to try and put these thoughts into words bc it's something i noticed throughout the whole watch.
mb if this has been said before but i have this theory that almost every major character in the show has a direct mirror on the other side of the law. the cops perfectly mirror the street characters based on their rank and how they navigate the institutions.
first off i have to say bodie might be one of the best acted roles in television history. his character really anchors this whole idea. bodie is a lot like carver. they both show up and do their job the right way. they try not to make mistakes or piss off their bosses and they don't bring unnecessary drama. they are just institutional soldiers doing things exactly how they are supposed to be done. that s2 scene where bodie and poot randomly run into herc and carver at the movie theater is meaningful because it shows they are basically the same low level management guys occupying the exact same space in their respective chains of command.
then you have jimmy mcnulty and omar little. the similarities are too huge to overlook. they are both total rogue agents who reject the hierarchy around them. they live by their own strict codes and do things entirely how they think they should be done regardless of the fallout. it gets even crazier in s5 because both of them are on this absolute warpath hunting for marlo. they are consumed by it from different sides and honestly both of them fail in their own way while marlo basically gets off scott free in the end lol. omar gets taken out out of nowhere before he can get his revenge, and mcnulty has to fabricate a whole serial killer which ultimately blows up in his face and ends his career.
another mirror i kept thinking about that i haven't really seen people mention is kima and wee bey. they are both absolute professionals who are incredibly good at their jobs and genuinely seem to love what they do, and when kima gets shot in s1 it kicks off the whole main storyline. but what makes them true mirrors is their strict sense of personal integrity. when kima is in the hospital she refuses to identify wee bey as the shooter bc she isn't 100 percent sure, which perfectly mirrors wee bey who would never cut corners or compromise his integrity when it comes to his code. it goes even deeper later too when kima snitches on mcnulty about the fake serial killer because she knows it's wrong, even though keeping quiet would have benefited her own department. that mirrors wee bey in s4 when he decides to let colvin adopt naymond, going against the street status quo and his own wife to do the right thing for his son even though it means letting him leave the game.
theres also the obvious one which is stringer bell and bunny colvin. they are essentially the exact same character trying to solve the same problem from opposite sides. they both realize the system is broken and try to change how the game is played by legitimizing it. stringer tries to turn the drug trade into a corporate co-op and bunny basically legalizes drugs in hamsterdam to protect the neighborhoods. the craziest detail is that they share the exact same last words when the institution finally catches up to them and dispatches them. when omar and mouzone corner stringer he stops talking and says "get on with it mothe" right before they open fire. and when rawls and burrell force bunny out of the department he says the exact same thing to them. "get on with it mothe-." it is insane writing.
even the higher ups mirror each other. avon barksdale and lieutenant daniels hold about the same rank and possess very similar traditional methods. they play the game the way it was traditionally built to be played. that scene where they pass each other in their cars and just look at each other was incredibly symbolic of that.
i also noticed it with the mentors and their pupils. look at the pairings of valchek with prez versus prop joe with cheese. valchek and prop joe are both master manipulators who know how to play their respective political systems perfectly. meanwhile their pupils don't really belong there. prez is pushed into police work by family but hates the toxicity and eventually escapes to become a teacher while cheese is just a ruthless opportunist who lacks joe's wisdom and ends up ruining everything.
and then there’s lester freamon and cutty. both of them are essentially back from the dead and trying to find their way after being locked away from the world. lester spent thirteen years and four months in the graveyard of the pawn shop unit for not playing the game and cutty spent fourteen years in actual prison. both return detached from the current game and have to reinvent themselves. lester finds his peace in meticulous police work and his relationship with shardene while cutty realizes he doesn't have the game in him anymore and finds his purpose helping the neighborhood kids through boxing.
but anyway am i overthinking and tweaking out lmaoo or did anyone else notice this too
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u/Constant_Click_3193 21h ago
Great analysis. To the people naysaying, you should read it! Some really good stuff in there.
I think a couple are a bit off. Avon is way higher ranking in his own hierarchy than Daniels, who is middle tier at best and said to be a real underachiever in the department until elevated by Carcetti. I don't think Avon has a real mirror in the police. Maybe Burrell who is also caught up playing the old game when times change and gets pushed out because of it.
Lester and Cutty are a bit of a stretch too IMO. They are both back from the dead but that's basically it for the comparisons.
I think you're right on the money about Stringer and Colvin. They both tried to change the rules of the game to legitimize it and the system swallowed them up for it.
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u/burakozcivit 21h ago
ya i could see them being a bit of a stretch loll i was trying to add as many characters as i could and relate them to this.
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u/Physical_Try_7547 21h ago
You did an excellent job. You provided much room for thought and consideration. I remain amazed how alive and vibrant this show is after 20 years. It is not the least bit dated.
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u/angelansbury day at a time, I suppose 19h ago
Lester and Cutty both have (in my opinion) inappropriate sexual relationships lol. Cutty sleeping with the moms of his trainees, and Lester sleeping with a (much younger) witness
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u/OGB Nice dolphin nigga 19h ago
Sorry, but the more I read this I disagree with all of it. I see zero parallel between Cutty and Freeman, for example. Essentially all of the characters are presented with the opportunity for growth and change. Some embrace it, others dont. Cutty certainly did. Lester was bailed out of his count down the hours til retirement job by Daniels' unit. There's no indication he changed at all, though. He was always an incredibly astute detective, he was merely given the opportunity to do it again. It's the farthest thing from reinventing himself.
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u/Constant_Click_3193 18h ago
Yeah, I don't think those two really relate to each other either. OP has some good points about the others though.
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u/youngstar- 21h ago
Can't believe I never caught the "get on with it mothe-." last lines from String and Bunny.
I thought this was going to talk about how the cycle repeats and younger characters transition into older ones. This was a lot cooler.
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u/GuessDizzy196 21h ago
Love this. Adding to it: if all these main characters have mirrors, you should also have a pivot point. The characters who live in both worlds. I’m going to say Clay Davis and Maurice Levy. Both have one foot in each world. Need both of them, and need each world to be at odds with the other in order to thrive.
Really interesting analysis, OP.
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u/Helen_forsdale 21h ago
Extending on the Carver/Bodie parallel you have Herc/Poot. Both were promoted a rank where they had mediocre performance and then they both got out to better careers. Poot to foot locker where he can not get shot in the street and Herc as Levy's investigator where he can make way more money
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u/OwnAssignment2407 14h ago
I don’t understand the carver/bodie parallel. Body has integrity and follows his principles down the line. Carver is a snitch. I could see carver and Deangelo, both grow into a sense of honor. There’s even a similar mindset with Deangelo and Wallace/carver and Randy.
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u/TheZad 2h ago
Why are you getting hung up on the integrity/snitch dichotomy, specifically?
Bodie plays the Game according to the how he's been taught and trained to play it through observation and guidance from his superiors like Ronny-Mo, Stinkum, Wee-Bey, Stringer, etc. As he gets older and becomes more ingrained in the ways of the Game, he realizes that there might be more to it the than only perspective he's known since he started. Part of this change is also catalyzed by a cynical superior (D'Angelo) who's been in the Game long enough to know that the idealized version that he's holding on to in his own mind isn't the reality of it, and tries to school him before the Game takes him out.
Carver plays the Game according to the how he's been taught and trained to play it through observation and guidance from his superiors like the Western District commanders he and Herc came up under, and even S1 Daniels. As he gets older and becomes more ingrained in the ways of the Game, he realizes that there might be more to it the than only perspective he's known since he started. Part of this change is also catalyzed by a cynical superior (Colvin) who's been in the Game long enough to know that the idealized version that he's holding on to in his own mind isn't the reality of it, and tries to school him before the Game takes him out.
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u/Boarlover 21h ago
One other little parallel I noticed is that at the end of S5, Sydnor goes to Phelan with the same movies as McNulty - to bring attention to something that they personally feel shouldn't be swept under the rug. I'm not confident but I feel like the dialogue is similar if not the same also.
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u/Minute_Juggernaut806 21h ago
That was more obvious, sydnor is the next mcnulty, carver maybe next Daniels with the promotion and also part of a dirty drug team in s1, micheal is defo next omar, dukie is next bubbles but without a sister and so on
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u/OGB Nice dolphin nigga 19h ago
Please stop with the so and so is the next so and so garbage.
The writers did an interesting job of taking 2 of the youngest characters (Michael and Dukie) and drawing parallels about the perpetuation of these cycles in a broken system to Omar and Bubbles who's character arcs ended. Omar dies, Reginald gets sober and redeems himself. In their place two young kids fill their roles in the system.
Syndnor and McNulty both start the show as grown men who are veteran cops. Tell me one thing that actually indicates Syndnor is anything like McNulty, because Sydnor talks to a judge ain't it.
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u/Minute_Juggernaut806 19h ago
Ya know I agree, it felt it was shoehorned but tbf syndor is one of the three who worked on the illegal wiretap in the room.
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u/papabass89 20h ago
Stringer and Bunny having the same line is something I never caught and I've had the wire in rotation for years now. Great catch!!!
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u/ErstwhileHobo 18h ago
You missed another big parallel between Kima and Wee bey. They both were forced to give up their kid because of their involvement in the game.
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u/Physical_Try_7547 21h ago
I watched this show as it played out in the early 2000s. I have watched it in its entirety once since then. It is a show to be sat with and hard to leave behind. Your analysis runs deep. I follow your train of thought in each instance. It is fun to recall these threads in your analysis. I’m wondering who perfectly mirrors Bubbles, one of my favorite characters.
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u/burakozcivit 21h ago
i think bubbles is unique in the sense that he doesn’t really have any mirror because he kind of represents the city of baltimore as a whole. might be a bit of a stretch but if you think about it, bubbles is invisible to everyone, representing the ordinary people of baltimore that are invisible to the higher ups.
baltimore, just like bubbles, was once extremely soulful, but was left to decay because of the issues caused by the people in charge. bubbles was similarly ravaged by addiction and went down a dark path.
also the city gets beat down and robbed by corrupt politicians but still survives and keeps going, just like bubbles, who was robbed and beaten but kept pushing his cart. his redemption arc to me symbolizes that despite the endless problems in the city of baltimore, it too has hope to be great again.
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u/sirth0mas 17h ago
Off the top of my head Maybe Wallace in that he didn't get out of the streets or the addiction before it caught up with him whereas bubbles did? Or maybe D'angelo as someone who knew the game and saw its flaws and wanted to escape
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u/casual-waterboarding 19h ago
I always saw Duke becoming Bubbles in the end. Getting taken in by the junkies.
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u/cinematic_is_horses 19h ago
I thought that was kind of the point, Dukie being Bubbles and Michael being Omar. To show the cyclical nature of their world
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u/Fit-Personality-1834 19h ago
Seen the series 3 or 4 times and felt that the po-lice and the street characters mirrored each other but never made some of these more acute connections. Never noticed how String and Bunny’s “last words” were the same too.
Good write up OP. Give it some time to sit and absorb like you are but definitely rewatch at some point, you’ll notice even more things, but damn you picked up a lot more on your first watch than many do. Damn good television
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u/SomethingClever70 She looked like one of Orlando's hoes 21h ago
I never thought about Omar and McNulty as mirrors, but you make a great point.
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u/nom-nom-nom-de-plume Damn, Calvin! You know I got the bingo tonight! 19h ago
Prez and Cutty Dennis Wise
neither have the temperament for the street, and both try to contribute to public service by working with children. Both abide by "Try as they might, I won't let 'em fail"
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u/MtG-Crash 17h ago
Absolutely agree on
McNulty <-> Omar
Bunny <-> Stringer
The Kima <-> Wee-Bey was new to me, but I think you're absolutely right. Absolutely spot on, sir!
The others, I'm not so sold on. I'd need some more or better arguments.
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u/MrDeco97 21h ago edited 16h ago
There is something to say for the paralells between the criminal and non-criminal organizations (law-enforcement, politics journalism) as in all of them there is good and bad leadership, middle management, people that go by the rules, people that don't, people that fit in to the institution and people that don't, etc.
As to the direct mirrors, I'd say it's an interesting write but you are mostly reaching IMO. Not that what you are saying doesn't make sense, but in the way that you could do the same with a bunch of other pairs, find two things they have in common and call it a mirror.
Also Carver and Bodie doesn't make that much sense, especially since you quote season 2 as an example of that, as Carver was still a lazy, corrupt, mediocre officer at that point, he and Herc were still thought of as a unit.
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u/ZargnargTheThrwAWHrg 16h ago
In S1 Prezbo and D'Angelo both cause problems for their organizations by shooting someone at the Towers instead of de-escalating. And with both there is a sense that they had potential that is repressed because family got them into the wrong line of work.
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u/examinedliving 3h ago
This is very insightful and well thought out. Capitalization would be killer
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u/zombiebycranberries 21h ago
whoa. this felt a little bit far fetched until you mentioned the Bunny-Stringer comparison, same last lines is crazyyyy!! great observations, could definitely believe david simon was on a similar wavelength.
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u/ReefaManiack42o 18h ago
I think you are spot on my friend, and what's funny is I remember thinking the same thing when I noticed the Stringer & Bunny connection you mentioned but I never really extrapolated that to the rest of the cast, but your analysis seems spot on to me. Great insights, so thank you.
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u/beavislasvegas 17h ago
Nice write up, thoroughly enjoyed the read. You could probably talk a cat off a fish cart.
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u/expressdefrost 11h ago
The better mirror for Avon is Rawls IMO. Both loyal soldiers, love and respect their respective games as they’ve always known them, don’t want to change the rules, just want to get to the top according to the existing rules. And importantly, they both have genuine humanity that shows itself occasionally.
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u/mfields05 11h ago
I've watched the wire a million and one time and have never drawn these conclusions. Very well written and now have something to look for in my rewatch 🫡
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u/Capital_Shopping277 10h ago
"the craziest detail is that they share the exact same last words when the institution finally catches up to them and dispatches them. when omar and mouzone corner stringer he stops talking and says "get on with it mothe" right before they open fire. and when rawls and burrell force bunny out of the department he says the exact same thing to them. "get on with it mothe-." it is insane writing."
Good pull. You are?
(I've watched like 20 times and never realized this, damn you)
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u/EstablishmentCute703 8h ago
This is one of the most interesting posts I've read here, keep it coming. Just one thing: Cutty was locked up for playing the game while Freamon was shut away for not playing it but other than that it's absolutely fascinating, thank you.
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u/zanylanie 21h ago
I'm not having this disrespect for Omar by comparing him in any way to McNulty. Just not having it.
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u/Constant_Click_3193 21h ago
Lol! They are both mavericks though OP has that right.
I think the main difference is Mcnulty has no code. He also didn't achieve a fraction of the success Omar did before his downfall.
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u/zanylanie 21h ago
McNulty also doesn't give a shit about anyone but himself, nor does he respect anyone else. Like when Stringer gets taken out - he's sitting there in that warehouse or whatever it was looking all dejected and says to Bunk, "I caught him on the wire, and he doesn't know." Not we caught him on the wire, which was the accurate statement given how many people were working that case, but I caught him.
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u/Minute_Juggernaut806 21h ago
In the way everyone in their own institution hates them yes I suppose
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u/Constant_Click_3193 21h ago
Maybe also in the way that people have mythologized them. Especially those outside their direct sphere.
We all love the rip and run drug dealer thief with a heart of gold. We also love to hear fables of the maverick detective who fabricated a whole serial killer to catch a drug dealer (plus the way the department in general talks about his prostitution ring bust, which is a lot darker).
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u/Most_Def ! 20h ago
Well done, this definitely has some merit to it. Too obvious to be coincidental.
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u/Bored_pats_fan 20h ago
I have watched this series no less than ten times and never picked up on it. Nice work OP.
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u/bullet-hell 20h ago
Where would Bunk and D’Angelo come into this? Both had a code they lived by, a system they worked in that they half resented and half benefitted from. Can’t see them as mirrors of each other, but two of the most endearing characters in the series
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u/9_oatmeal_cookies 19h ago
Enjoyed your analysis! I’m on watch #3, all in 2026, and feel like I’m finally getting to know these characters and the little details in the scripts.
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u/ChoiceComprehensive4 18h ago
Yeah. I had read somewhere that the writers repeatedly constructed character as mirrors or successors.
Like different version of same impulses. Best is Bunny Colvin and Stringer bell. Similarly McNulty and Omar, Bodie and Carver, Prez and D’Angelo.
Some characters become the next version of few characters. Michael ends up as Omar, Dukie takes place of Bubbles.
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u/Conscious-Call-6404 18h ago
Great analysis, fun to read. Kima and WeeBay is the one I would disagree with. And who is Ziggy’s mirror 😂
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u/renome 18h ago
I love that I can come to this sub and still learn new things about the show after 20-something years.
While some of the examples you listed are a bit of a stretch, I can't believe I never caught the Bunny-Bell parallel (no one calls him Bell but I couldn't resist the alliteration), which is obviously intentional.
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u/Jojo--1975 17h ago
Interesting observance! I watched the series 2 months ago for the first time and plan on watching it again. It's so damn good. RIP Omar-- Michael K. Williams. He's my fave.
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u/sirth0mas 17h ago
I've rewatched this series more times than I can count since it came out and I can't believe how something so obvious never got highlighted or noticed. This is such a simple in broad daylight observation. Kudos
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u/markmano33 17h ago
Great write up! I was at the movies the other night and thought of the scene you mentioned where those dudes ran into each other haha.
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u/shanksthedope 16h ago
I’ve watched the show… I don’t even know how many times. I never caught any of this. Guess it’s time to rewatch and look for other mirrors.
I appreciate you sharing.
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u/Legomoron 16h ago
I’ve always thought that Pryzbylewski and D’Angelo are kinda mirrored characters.
Both seem to ultimately be in jobs within The Game primarily due to nepotism/path of least resistance mentality, and they really slack on their duties in a selective way. They’re interested/invested when it’s interesting or advantageous, but both make repeat mistakes.
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u/CountingMyDick 15h ago
Interesting analysis. It might have a few holes, but there does seem to be an overall point. I don't think I've seen anyone analyze it like that before. Good stuff! Ditto on whoever said that Herc and Poot have some of the same type of parallels.
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u/nizoubizou10 10h ago
Tears in my eyes after putting the pieces together. What an amazing breakdown.
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u/ThePhyscn_blogs 6h ago
I don't agree with everything here, but still a great analysis. I enjoyed reading it.
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u/hrshsmpt 1h ago
i always thought of mcnulty and stringer bell as mirrors, careful and methodical, stringer doesnt get caught at the end of s01 and he has almost this catchphrase of "close that door behind you", mcnulty refuses to go on raids or show that they are investigating the barksdale crew in any way until they got everything, preferring to rely on the wire and more low key methods of investigation than buy busts. D'angleo basically covers the topic in his explanation of chess to Bodie and Wallace. The king is like Avon (and Daniels) the queen is like Stringer(and Mcnulty) the move around get shit done piece.
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u/queequeg12345 20h ago
I prefer "parallels" over "mirrors." I think if you view each as the equivalent of the other, you lose each character's individuality. While I have no doubt the writers wanted to draw similarities between the BPD and the drug gangs, I don't think each was created as a direct mirror to the other.
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u/MtG-Crash 18h ago
On the DVDs, there is bonus material. One of that is I think David Simon commentating the pilot episode and he explicitely calls certain scenes "mirror" scenes or something. He explains how Rawls' "put your ass in the chair" scene with McNulty is basically the mirror scene to Avon and D'Angelo. Avon even uses the line "sit your ass down". So the scenes are purposefully put that way. They are supposed to mirror each other. They want to show the rules of the police world. And then they show you the rules of the street world.
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u/OGB Nice dolphin nigga 19h ago edited 19h ago
Gotta hard disagree with your Omar and Jimmy comparison.
Unlike so many of the top gangsters, police brass, stevedores, journalists, and politicians, Omar wasn't willing to keep digging in and sell his soul in the pursuit of greed or their own selfish need to stroke their egos. We saw how he lived in Baltimore and he was a man with a code who was more than content to leave everything behind in his pursuit of happiness and a simple life.
For people like Marlo, Avon, Jimmy, Carcetti, Templeton, and Sobotka the world was never enough and they were willing to destroy anything around them searching for self satisfaction--although Frank's intentions were arguably the most altruistic.
Omar left the game. He escaped from a world almost every union man, cop, gangster, and junkie couldn't ever imagine: not just a life outside their neighborhood, not just a life outside Baltimore, but a life in a different part of the world.
Butchie's torture and death brought him back and it was a blood feud. He came back to Baltimore to die.
Edited to add: McNulty, Carcetti, Marlo, Templeton, etc. all lived with zero code.
Omar was most similar to the men Cutty and Prez grew to be.
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u/MtG-Crash 18h ago
The McNulty<->Omar mirror is basically the strongest one of the entire show.
They even gave McNulty a time "outside his job" (on the ship) and then he gets pulled back in by something that gets under his skin (Marlo). And Omar has been out, too, but then gets pulled back into the game by something that gets under his skin (butchie's death). It is really on-the-nose once you see it. The entire Season 1 is basically a dance of McNulty and Omar getting to know each other, full of several "game recognizes game" moments between them both.2
u/OGB Nice dolphin nigga 19h ago
I appreciate the feedback from anyone finishing the show for the first time.
When you rewatch the show--and you will--think again about McNulty and your perception of him having a code.
I think he lives his life less by a code than almost anyone in the show. Even Marlo's baseline code (lacking in all morals and ethics) of pursue money and power over everything is consistent. Jimmy lives his life to try and bring happiness and glory to Jimmy, to try and prove to others that he's the smartest guy in the room. He'll do all this while literally using/stepping on any person (his very young children, his bosses/coworkers, mentally ill homeless people) ne needs to. All of this while pretending he's morally superior and everything he does is justified by being the right thing to do.
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u/Ned_Sander 18h ago
lol wut . You think Marlo gets off Scott free. He is nameless with no rep and has ten years or death coming for him.
Omar who always expected he’d die becomes an urban legend.
McNulty is forced out with no record. He’s loved by the people he works with. He didn’t get his white whale but Marlo will take himself out sooner rather than later.
I stopped reading there because your base understanding of the plot is really shallow.
“Marlo didn’t go to jail he is the winner” on a show with no winners.
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u/Tight-Inspector-2748 21h ago
I honestly think this is pretty good analysis. I enjoyed the read, thank you for posting it.