The Wire: Difference between revisions
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* [[Chekhov's Gun]]:
** The "get out of jail free" card
**
** Dozerman's stolen service weapon
** The nail gun in season four.
** Daniels' past corruption investigation, which is mentioned briefly in the Pilot and becomes relevant in the Finale, 5 seasons later.
*
** Colvin, who appears briefly in Season 2 only to become very important in Seasons 3 and 4.
** Kenard, who appears briefly in season 3 as a kid on the street proclaiming, "It's my turn to be Omar!". He returns in season four, and then in season five {{spoiler|is the one to shoot Omar}}. The best part is that this wasn't even intentional on the writer's part, they only found out later that it was the same kid and he just happened to be cast for both roles. In one interview [[Dennis Lehane]] jokingly declared that [[I Meant to Do That]].
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* [[Evil Will Fail]]: In The Wire season 1, the nature of "The Game" of drug dealing has everyone looking out for themselves, to the point where innocent bystanders or even friends who might pose a risk have to be dealt with. It's this repeated brutality that ends up winning allies for the investigation team again and again from players who want out after someone they care about gets hurt.
* [[Expecting Someone Taller]]: In as many words (or facial expressions, if you must).
* [[Expy]]: Johnny, Bubbles' friend and fellow addict, is basically an extension of Leo Fitzpatrick's character from ''Kids''. Carcetti is based on current Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley (though O'Malley himself apparently exists in the world of The Wire, having been referred to once in season 5.)▼
* [[Expospeak]]: ''Very'' little from a story standpoint, and ''no'' [[As You Know]] explanations. You [[Continuity Lock Out|can't skip an episode]] to follow the plot, and if you don't have a cursory knowledge of each season's field, then be sure to have a web browser open and a pause button handy. The closest the show gets is Bunk and Lester saying as McNulty flirts with women in a bar:
{{quote|'''Lester:''' Ain't he married or some shit now?}}
▲* [[Expy]]: Johnny, Bubbles' friend and fellow addict, is basically an extension of Leo Fitzpatrick's character from ''Kids''. Carcetti is based on current Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley (though O'Malley himself apparently exists in the world of The Wire, having been referred to once in season 5.)
* [[Facing the Bullets One-Liner]]: {{spoiler|Stringer Bell}}'s last words, when cornered by {{spoiler|Omar Little and Brother Mouzone}}, are "Get on with it [[Killed Mid-Sentence|motherf-]]".
* [[Faking the Dead]]: The audience is led to believe that {{spoiler|1=McNulty}} is dead, and a wake is being held for him {{spoiler|in a Baltimore pub}}; that is, until {{spoiler|he then starts laughing uncontrollably when one of his fellow officers makes a joke about him. It turns out that the "funeral" is a retirement party in the uniquely morbid style of the Baltimore P.D.}}▼
* [[Failure Is the Only Option]]: No matter who gets put away, the Game is the Game.
▲* [[Faking the Dead]]: The audience is led to believe that {{spoiler|1=McNulty}} is dead, and a wake is being held for him {{spoiler|in a Baltimore pub}}; that is, until {{spoiler|he then starts laughing uncontrollably when one of his fellow officers makes a joke about him. It turns out that the "funeral" is a retirement party in the uniquely morbid style of the Baltimore P.D.}}
* [[False Rape Accusation]]: An 8th grade girl has sex with two boys, and when it is revealed they only had interest in her for the sex, she accuses them of rape. In the end this ruins quite a few lives {{spoiler|and sending ripples through the entire criminal underworld.}}
* [[A Father to His Men]]: Colvin, especially towards McNulty and Carver.
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*** [[The Evil Genius]] - George "Double G" Glekas
*** [[The Dark Chick]] - Ilona Petrovich
*
* [[Foil]]: In the second season, Nick and Frank Sobotka serve as a foil for D'Angelo and Avon Barksdale. Both are uncle-nephew duos who are born into the same business, and both involve the nephew trying to break away, but their respective environments (working class Polish vs. inner-city Black) and subtle differences in character dynamics form a contrast.
* [[Foreshadowing]]: the chess conversation in the first season; McNulty's confession that he doesn't want to end up "on the boat" in the pilot; {{spoiler|Kenard}} pretending to be Omar; almost all {{spoiler|of Bodie's appearances}} in season four {{spoiler|foreshadow his death}}; Prez not wanting to see {{spoiler|Randy}} get chewed up by the system, many other instances.
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** Or in once instance, "Haha! Check out that little kid getting his ass beat!"
* [[Grey and Gray Morality]]: Doesn't matter who you work for; the cops, the drug gangs, the schools, the government or the press. If you dare to buck the system in the name of what's right, then the institution to whom you were loyal will find a way to destroy you for it. If you play loyal and are willing to do horrible things for your superiors, then you may be rewarded, or you may be chewed up as cannon fodder. Nobody is portrayed as better than anyone else in this regard.
* [[Guns Akimbo]]: Done briefly by Marlo during a target practice session.▼
* [[The Guards Must Be Crazy]]: Bodie escapes from juvenile hall in suburban Baltimore by simply grabbing a mop bucket to pass the guard booth and then walking out the side door.
▲* [[Guns Akimbo]]: Done briefly by Marlo during a target practice session.
* [[A Half Dozen Guys in A Basement]]: The Major Case Squad, for basically all of the show's run.
* [[Harmless Villain]]: How many see Marlo Stanfield. It really comes back to bite the cops in the ass with a brutal subversion.
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* [[How's Your British Accent?]]: McNulty (played by Brit actor Dominic West) puts on a ridiculous English accent to go undercover at a brothel in season two.
* [[How We Got Here]]: Done in a very roundabout way with the children followed in season 4. Over the course of two years we see how they'll become characters very similar to Bubbles, Omar and so on.
* [[Incredibly Obvious Bug]]: inverted; Herc hides a camera in a brick wall during the fourth season, which is then immediately found by a drug dealer and placed in a pigeon cage. In the 2nd season, that same cop buys a small microphone from <s>his own</s> his partner's money, intending to record some incriminating evidence quickly and then return the mic for a refund. They place it in a tennis ball in the gutter next to the dealer's street corner, but he unknowingly picks it up and throws it into traffic out of boredom. [[Hilarity Ensues]].▼
{{quote|'''Carver:''' Fifteen... ''hundred'' dollars.▼
''(beat)''▼
'''Herc:''' Twelve-fifty with the police discount." ''(sigh)'' It just couldn't stand up to the modern urban crime environment, man. }}▼
* [[Incredibly Obvious Tail]]: Stringer should really have been concerned that Bodie and his friend didn't notice the black SUV that was no more than one car behind them every step of the way from Baltimore to Philadelphia and back again. If it hadn't been Stringer's men, there would have been trouble.▼
* [[Infant Immortality]]: A young kid who catches a stray bullet in season 2.▼
* [[Inherent in the System]]: the overarching theme of the series is that the characters are trapped inside the machinations of the city of Baltimore, and no one can ever really shake up the system.▼
* [[Insistent Terminology]]: Lester Freamon, a highly capable detective, was forced into pawn shop unit for thirteen years "and four months".▼
* [[In-Series Nickname]]: Quite a few of them, several of whom are [[Only Known by Their Nickname]].
** Bird (real name: Marquis Hilton)
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** Also concealed a minor bit of characterization: Cheese is Randy Wagstaff's [[Disappeared Dad]].
** Herc and Carver try to cover up using the listening device (hidden in a tennis ball) by crediting their information to a fake informant (Herc's cousin) they named "Fuzzy Dunlop."
▲* [[Incredibly Obvious Bug]]: inverted; Herc hides a camera in a brick wall during the fourth season, which is then immediately found by a drug dealer and placed in a pigeon cage. In the 2nd season, that same cop buys a small microphone from <s>his own</s> his partner's money, intending to record some incriminating evidence quickly and then return the mic for a refund. They place it in a tennis ball in the gutter next to the dealer's street corner, but he unknowingly picks it up and throws it into traffic out of boredom. [[Hilarity Ensues]].
▲{{quote|'''Carver:''' Fifteen... ''hundred'' dollars.
▲''(beat)''
▲'''Herc:''' Twelve-fifty with the police discount." ''(sigh)'' It just couldn't stand up to the modern urban crime environment, man. }}
▲* [[Incredibly Obvious Tail]]: Stringer should really have been concerned that Bodie and his friend didn't notice the black SUV that was no more than one car behind them every step of the way from Baltimore to Philadelphia and back again. If it hadn't been Stringer's men, there would have been trouble.
▲* [[Infant Immortality]]: A young kid who catches a stray bullet in season 2.
▲* [[Inherent in the System]]: the overarching theme of the series is that the characters are trapped inside the machinations of the city of Baltimore, and no one can ever really shake up the system.
▲* [[Insistent Terminology]]: Lester Freamon, a highly capable detective, was forced into pawn shop unit for thirteen years "and four months".
* [[Instant Death Bullet]]: Quite frequently for a show renowned for its realism, though [[Justified Trope|justified]] at times.
* [[Ironic Echo]]: Many. Prominent examples include:
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* [[Lovable Rogue]]: Omar Little.
* [[Lyrical Dissonance]]: When the Greek mobs go fugitive and season 2 ends, they play the genuine Greek pop song "Efige, Efige". Its mood sounds just about right, but if you speak Greek you instantly realise it's actually a [[Break Up Song]]: "She's gone, She's gone". {{spoiler|On the other hand, the Greeks have just gone fugitive.}}
* [[MacGuffin]]: Old Face Andre's ring in season 4. Marlo demands it from Andre after his stash is stolen. Omar steals it from Marlo in a poker game. Officer Walker steals it from Omar when the latter is arrested for murder. Michael steals it from Officer Walker in retribution for breaking his friends' fingers. Marlo spots it on Michael's hand, but chooses to let him keep it.
* [[Make It Look Like an Accident]]: {{spoiler|D'Angelo}} is killed, and the scene is dressed to make it look like a suicide.
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