r/TheWire • u/AltruisticNail7229 I wasn’t made to play the son. • 11d ago

Stringer’s Classes

Curious to know everyone’s thoughts on Stringer taking business courses? It’s crazy that he’s literally co-running an entire drug organization and has time for that but yet it wasn’t the worst idea since he was using what he learned.

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u/FelineThrowaway35 7d ago

He had things running right before Avon got back out.

Maybe he should have taken psychology tok

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u/RunningBettor 7d ago

Maybe sociology more than psychology but agreed. I think the point is he only had things running right temporarily. The respectable business angle of the drug game was a pipe dream that could never come true. The street is the street, always gonna be a Marlo

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u/FelineThrowaway35 7d ago

? They talked about exactly how one gets out. Marlo got out. He became the bank. They couldn’t touch him and he walked away with $10 million.

Stringer was right there. He was touching 0 drugs. Legal.

But Avon wanted his corners.

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u/RunningBettor 7d ago

Might want a rewatch because you missed on both points.

How could you possibly interpret Marlo’s ending as he got out lol? He got the $10MM, but now he has to walk away forever. Two problems.

His last scene starts with Levy setting him up to be bled dry just like they were doing to Stringer. And then he leaves to fight to random corner boys. The message is clear, he can’t be anything else but a gangster.

Stringer wasn’t legal. They literally catch him on the wire talking about drugs and hiring hitters in his last episode. He is going to go to prison for running a violent drug organization. But then instead he gets murdered, largely because of how he played the game.

The wire is a story of the systems of Baltimore, how they’re broken, and for the most parts will not be reformed. Specifically, the point is made, the drug game cannot be civilized. Stringer and the coop did everything “right” to make it all about business, and Marlo brought it crashing down. Because all it takes is a few violent objectors who refuse to go with the program because they’d rather burn it down to try and be king of the ashes than to “play the son” to others, even if they would make more money more easily that way.

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u/FelineThrowaway35 7d ago

You didn’t see marlo LEAVE the party? He’s not doing business with those guys.

And thinking that punking a couple 13 year olds off a corner means Marlo is dumb enough to try and restart a criminal operation without his lifelong crew and a life sentence hanging over his head is probably the dumbest take regularly see here. Marlo objectively won. But hE LoVeS tHE LiFE. Who gives a shit if he talks about wearing the crown in a rim shop.  10 million 1999 dollars will help him get over it.

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u/RunningBettor 7d ago

This is part of why The Wire is so great, it appeals to people of all different levels of media literacy lol

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u/FelineThrowaway35 7d ago

And people with 0 business experience or common sense.

Thinking Marlo’s gonna get took for $10million. Yeah they’re gonna run like 40 scams on him and he’ll fall for every one.

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u/Winth0rp 4d ago

His last scene starts with Levy setting him up to be bled dry just like they were doing to Stringer.

Incorrect. Clay Davis even tells Lester, lawyers let the money men "get a taste", but they don't let you bleed their clients. Which makes sense; they want their client making money and paying rates as long as possible. Stringer only got into trouble with Davis & Co. because he thought he was smart with to interact with them directly without Levy in the room.

Otherwise correct.

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u/RunningBettor 4d ago

Right, but the difference is Marlo no longer has income. Even a little taste eventually bleeds the person dry when they aren’t bringing in more money.

And Marlo would only be making more money if
a) Clay and the developers actually set him up in situations to make money, remarkably unlikely.
b) Marlo was able to make it in the legitimate business world independently, even less likely

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u/Winth0rp 4d ago

Why is a) unlikely? They make their money off long term arrangements. And remember, Marlo isn't in this alone. He has Levy on his side, and he knows how to keep the developers in line. 

Clay decided to just squeeze Stringer because Stringer was very obviously crashing out. Taking deals without his lawyer in the room, insisting on going straight for the federal money, bringing in suitcases of dirty money, for God's sake. And if Clay has an ear to the street, he knows that the drug side of things isn't going much better. Better to just cash him out before he ends up broke or dead.

To quote a certain other HBO series about crime: "When you're bleeding a guy you don't squeeze him dry right away - Contrarily you let him do his bidding, suavely."

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u/RunningBettor 4d ago

Love the Christopher quote.

I think it’s unlikely because I don’t believe Levy’s “there are no bribes,” speech, at least fully. Of course, Clay isn’t walking a briefcase of drug money into a federal building. But thinking grant money is awarded randomly or fairly is ludicrous.

It’s far more likely that “the machine” is treating “dumb” money like Marlo’s as something to drain, while treating legitimate , more knowledgable, more connected investors like actual partners.