Most tragic character on The Wire

Like what has been said on the previous thread: where the hell is Double Down? Somebody check the vacants.

 

Didn't Bubs go clean in the second season or third season for a while? I love Bubs to death. Of all the characters on this show he seems to have the clearest moral code.

Dookie is a heart breaker. Kid is smart, has a good heart, and is abandoned by every adult that meets him.

 

My initial reaction was to vote for Duquan. That quick scene of him on the corner might have been the saddest three seconds in the history of The Wire, which is saying something.

But in the end, I cast what is now the lone vote for Michael, because his story, above all the others, is the story of the biggest waste. Here's a kid with limitless capacities -- to learn, to lead, to nurture (as witnessed with his brother), to stand up for something (he did it with Marlo in the beginning). He showed the kind of character people look up to, and could have been a man you'd want teaching kids or overseeing a business or running the country. And yet, he ends up using all of those talents and all of that potential to become a hit man for a drug dealer.

In that Slate interview that was posted here a few weeks ago, David Simon said the theme of The Wire is that in today's world, "human beings -- all of us -- are worth less." And boy, he sure drove that point home with Michael. I know we all saw his fall coming, from the molestation on. But when he walked up to that kid and shot him, calm and cold-blooded, just like Partlow, I was as goddamn motherfucking pissed as I've ever been watching a TV show. Maybe it was the culmination of seeing Bodie get his, and Dukie on the corner, and Randy in the group home, but I was about to put a fist through my wall.

What a waste. If I ever felt that humans are "worth less," as Simon said, it was at that moment.

 

I wouldn't say that EVERY adult has abandoned Dukie. Presbo has always been there for him, trying to help him out. It wasn't like he forced Duquan to go to HS or just up and left him one day during class. I think we all should have seen it coming that as sweet and honest as Duquan (I'm not big on calling him Dukie. Sounds like I'm calling him a turd) is, I knew he couldn't survive going to HS because the only people that ever cared about him were at Tilghman or the corner, so that's where he sadly stayed. I'd like to think that if Namond went to that HS, maybe Duke might have considered sticking it out.

One more thing about Duke: that one scene were he sees Michael about to pop his cherry. What's going through his mind at that point? Curiosity? Jealousy? Disappointment? What's in your head, son?

 

It's gotta be tough. You see just how much Michael has grown up in that one little scene. He's now a big time gangster, banging a chick who I'd assume is probably a few years older than him, but might be wrong. Either way, that's happening in one room, and Dukie is going into his to tuck his little bro and sleep on the bottom bunk. I don't care how sweet you are, as a teenager (and beyond) you wanna get laid, and he definitely has to have a little jealoousy. Definitely not the only thing, but could play a part in him getting involved in the "game." Just seeing the lifestyle Michael has, it's hard not to want that if you're Dukie.

 

Yeah, 2nd season I think. He was clean for a week or 10 days.
Kima was supposed to pick him up and set him up with a place to say (and maybe a job). She got called away on work and kind of forgot, and he fell off the wagon.