Ok i see a lot of comments saying that this is where the rift started between the two. In my humble opinion i dont feel it. Avon chewed Stringer out for making a bad move. Plain and simple. To me, the rift didn't start until Avon was locked up and they had difference in views on how to handle business in the towers.
Ro Kaine, I agree. I dont see it at all here. I see the otherwise monstrously arrogant stringer bell owning up to his mistake, knowing his place in the hierarchy. If this same discussion had taken place in season 3, it wouldve played out differently. The rift didnt start until string started changing the business to fit his ideals when avon was away.
Exactly... stringer wasn't loyal enough to do it avon's way while Avon was locked up. He knew not to play with Avon on the street. Stringer is a sneaky snake
the rift started earlier than this when bell told avon to call off the hunt on omar. there was no animosity btw the two men but avon started at the back of his mind, unconsciously perhaps questioning bell's judgement . it was not a sudden thing but step by minor step avon saw a weakness in bell that built up to an explosion. nobody knew how the future is but you can see avon beginning to kind of wonder? you like $? you lack judgement? etc when omar shot mouzone and bell asked mouzone who shot him, avon was appaled. avon thought bell did not know the game. my point is all those issues kind of start here and here abouts. this is the root cause
Avon is an example of leadership. He gets mad, explains why they messed up and moves on. No drawn out speeches, no belittling or coddling folks. Just straight to the point
It also helps that stringer accepted and admitted he was wrong. When you have a subordinate who knows they messed up but they either lie about it or try to act like it’s not a big deal, or act like you are wrong in your assessment, it becomes a harder conversation to have. One of the hardest things for many people, even you reading this, is to accept and to admit when they’re wrong.
Even if you justify it as the girl in the back was fronting half the money, where is Orlando getting 15K? And why is someone going to do business with someone who just arrested?
“It ain’t worth it” The scene right before was Mcnulty talking to Daniels about how all the work they’d done on the case wasn’t worth kima getting shot. Both sides wish the set up never even happened.
Kima getting shot was real bad for both sides. Little Man really did mess everything up by unloading on her. But if Stringer had just had the sense to be suspicious about Orlando having that type of cash, none of this would have gone down
@@GoGetYourShinebox Little Man was a hitter who did what hitters do and that was eliminate all witnesses. Chris and Snoop would've definitely smoked her. Then again, Marlo love that type of heat and notoriety.
Stringer was smart but he wasn't wise enough to know when something's sus and when to not follow the rules. He was right 95% of the time but got killed by his 5% mistakes. An A-.
he already made up his mind stringer is an idiot. not smart enough, not hard enough. slim wud never do that. u remember stringer wanted to hit brother mouzone and senator Davis in season 3? how stupid?
@@AfroPick82 avon was not buying it, u see how he stops stringer short then stares at him , like u cannot be serious, u are talking crap. accepting 30k from orlando
this scene is important because it's the first time wee see String screwing up because of his 'business' minded strategies. He even admits it straight up, his the plan was to take Orlando out but keep the money for his enforcers while not realizing the money was the bait for a trap. Avon could have seen it a mile away but String couldn't because MONEY. Later on we see this mentality take him over bit by bit and he starts making more and more mistakes, causing a rift between the two.
Stringer said savino was trying to signal but he was in the dark and couldn't find bay and little man to warn them there's an undercover cop with him and he even said "we gotta burn this shit this is cop money it's marked"
@KentonIGuess Savino knew there was a cop there and tried to signal little man and bay they need to bounce and let the seller take the fall and they'll get Orlando another time
Sheeeeit..How would YOU feel if you had 30K in CASH in your hand but you had to burn it? I'd be mad enough to stomp that money out if it would destroy it that way
I love seeing Avon’s expression once he hears what Stringer thought he could pull off. We wouldn’t catch on as an audience until season 2 and then definitely season 3. However this is one of the first clues that Stringer doesn’t fully respect the game he’s in. One of his first “away games.” Avon’s look is of such disbelief that his friend and partner didn’t think on this scheme.
Even though Stinger is smoother it's also a subtle hint as to why Avon is CEO. More often than not his calls are the correct ones and nowhere is this more obvious in Avon's dead-on assessment of who Marlo was and Stinger's complete inability to read Marlo in his own face to face.
@@caribou617 Because Avon had no delusions of who he was. He was from the streets and always kept an eye on the game and was one step ahead. The only thing he didn't see coming was Stringer's betrayal. A Grandmaster controlling the chess checkerboard of the streets of Baltimore.
He forgot who the boss was once Avon went to jail. Tried to undermine him constantly after that. If Avon had his way he would have killed Marlo and maintained power but Stringer set him up.
@@superwario2741 stringer wouldn't run anything either Avon knew stringer had to go the second he realizes he's a liability after mozune told him everything
@@AK-zo9cw I know I'm late but the idea is Orlando just got out of prison and he was being funded by Avon's corporation. How was he going to front 30 k reasonably? It smells supsicious.
This is the major difference between them. Remember Avon told him you think green. Common logic how is a dude on your payroll got that kinda cash when you pay him. String messed up
And remember Idris Elba is an ENGLISH actor! How he nailed Stringer's street-speech is pure genius. He and Avon pronounce about every 3rd letter of the script and just plow through it. Brilliant.
Greed bro, String was purely motivated by money, he was educated, great with numbers and structure but String was terrible with business decisions and the logistics of the streets.
@@JayJackson1981 they both had they’re strengths and weaknesses Avon’s weaknesses was he was stuck in his ways and wasn’t willing to change with the times and adapt from corners strings problem was the thought he was the smartest person in the room when he was really just shiesty asf but they needed each other for that perfect balance
@@jomarcoliverman4971 I agree...but this was the 1st scene where Stringer made mistakes because he is a man without a country...more mistakes by Stringer followed in season 2 and 3.
Why? All I see is a bunch of people trying to act like hardcore gangbangers and dope dealers when they’ve probably never sold a nickel bag or thrown a punch in their life
I wanted to read the comments section of The Wire clips on RU-vid, because I knew they were the best. I compromised. I read The Sopranos comments section instead.
This scene builds on the slowly growing rift between Stringer and Avon, which we first notice in the conversation they have at the beginning of "Game Day," when Avon scolds Stringer for not being more aggressive in hunting down Omar which in turn sends the message that "it ain't no thing to take my shit." Up until now Stringer has projected the image of the thinker, the cool, calculating one, but Avon is beginning to have doubts about where Stringer's head is sometimes, and when the Orlando hit goes sour it only confirms Avon's growing doubt.
+Ghost Hoot That came later. He's right tho this is the infancy of their issues. It only grows once Avon goes to prison and Stringer loses territory in the meantime. Then of course it all comes to a head in season 3 after Avon gets out and they have their different views on how to run the organization.
laureen hobbs you are right, stringer is not strong on war, he lets Omar off too lightly, he sets up this hit(for money-a pay day for bey and savino), he hits Omar on a Sunday(so he does not reveal he had been sent by stringer to kill mouzone), he allows Marlo to take territory, he sets up a hit on Mouzone so yes,Avon has doubts
Avon was right on when he said to string later: “not hard enough for this here and maybe just maybe not smart enough for them out there”. Doing accounting for Avon got string thinking he was smarter than he was but that’s exactly what he was: an accountant. Not a businessman (or a soldier).
Nah string was nice. He fucked up a few times, but he was definitely nice. All the major kingpins in the wire had weaknesses. Marlo was probably the most well rounded.
Naw, it was way deeper than that. Stringer and Avon were childhood friends. They came up together while Avon's grandfather was running the streets. Avon trusted Stringer like they were blood brothers.
@@legitelectronics9163 Lol, dude Marlo was way too fucking reckless to be well rounded. His whole purpose of the show was to reiterate Slim Charles' statement about the game being more fierce. Marlo represented the youth who came up with no guidance because those before him either ended up dead, in jail, or on drugs. The show brilliantly exposes this.
@@legitelectronics9163 naw marlo was crazy he was a serial killer he caught way to many bodies unnecessarily the most well rounded person on the show was prop joe
Orlando strayed bc Avon wasn't paying enough to keep him happy, Cutty walked in and asked for $10,000 for gym equipment Avon gave him $15,000 instead on GP ,YET the front man that keeps his operation going can't touch $30,000 and he knows what kind of money Avon is making... he felt like he deserved a bigger piece of the pie especially being such an important piece of the puzzle.
Orlando had the ladies, a nice car, and was on payroll he had to do no dirt and still kept a good reputation as one of Avon’s crew. He was living the easiest life, cutty was a soldier who went to prison for dirt he did and stood tall on it Avon respected that above all else because he was once a soldier too, he didnt respect Orlando because the way he saw it Orlando owed him for even putting him on and he still wasn’t happy.
@@elftax not just being clean to keep getting money but to keep Avon from killing him he has to know if you fuck this up Avon was gonna murk him one he disobeyed two he knew too much if he would’ve done things the way Avon said and they still got knocked off at least in prison Avon would’ve made sure nobody fucked with him because he was crew but he wanted to do things his way so now you gotta survive his way
This an example of how smart Avon was. Stringer gets credit for being the intellectual one. Yes he sees the big picture but he is was not smart enough for the streets or the downtown business men. Stringer was manipulating but not really street smart or business savy.
siemenssx1 When Stringer put that hit on Orlando, he told Wee-Bey and Little Man to take the money too. Like Avon said "Where do you think Orlando got all of that dough from?" Just shows that Stringer didn't have all of his cards together like Avon.
string was CEO material... overseeing long term strategy and business. Avon was COO overseeing the daily goings of the street. And in this game its COO that counts
I love how the Wire shows you earlier on characters weaknesses, Stringer always thinking about money and not talking to Avon about his decisions always ended badly, shows how he easily got finessed for £250,000 by Clay Davis
It's a totally outlook when going back on hindsight. Yes, we notice all of this now, bit then, it was gripping to see what was next. When I first watched this, I never thought that Stringer would turn out the way he did. That's what makes this show so awesome. I tell everyone to watch this show at least 10 times before they think about giving their opinion on it because it's so deep.
And Avon always thinking about them damn corners. Thinking 2 steps back when Stringer already made enough clean money to call it quits. Each character had flaws dude that's why they all either dead or in jail forever
Avon was spot on with his assessment of where the money came from. Any savy, street smart person would assume it was a setup because Orlando was only a name on a liquor license and was not being paid enough to put aside that much money. Stringer exposed here how his greed and love of money above all else clouded his judgment. This is further demonstrated with how he handled the Marlo situation at the beginning. He was making so much money that he didn't see the need to take care of Marlo before he became too strong. Avon knew from the moment he came home from Prison that Marlo needed to go expeditiously.
Stringer said it first after he explained that savino couldn't warn bey or little man that there was an undercover cop with him he literally said "we gotta burn this shit this is cop money"
Anyone who played the game on any level would know.... Ol boy just got popped on a mandatory minimum charge... he just got out after wanting us to pay bail but now he's got a 30 rack bankroll and wants to buy from us.... naw he's snitchin. Can't believe Stringer, Savino or Bey didn't know better.
Sam Hansen greed cloud your judgment for a second and you finished. In one show “dirilis ertugrul” the mongol general Noyan would throw big feast and while the chiefs and generals were eating he would serve them bags of gold. Who ever went for the gold he killed on the spot. Couldn’t be trusted especially during war times.
good point how tf Dusty ass Orlando gonna buy 4 zips of junk/or white girl *they didn't say which.. Lol priceless line. "tell weebay clean up da mess Fore he jet.." Lol aka-drop lil man. then you go. lolol
Jay Dee it was sham coke. They brought along some baking soda with saved Savino from life no parole because Levy claimed he knew nothing about the shooting and was only going to punk Orlando for 20 large or whatever it was
The whole organization was in shambles no muscle , weak product due to the investigation. Stop hating on String ! He kept the organization together and then it prospered before Avon came home and wanted his corners 🤦🏾♂️
@@samuelmuiruri4704 crazy how I disagree yet agree. He was always odd man out. He was too business for the streets and he was always too streets to be in business. Almost like a catch 22. Crazy.
I hate when people say stringer was the smartest person when in reality he was the reason his crew went down first of all he gave the OK for bey and lil MAN too kill Orlando knowing it was a set up 2 he picked the person too take Weybey too hide himself and the person told the police where he was at and 3 he snitched on his man over money
He also tipped off Omar that he was trying to lull him to sleep when they had the meetup - he agreed to give Omar money when Omar asked - despite what Omar had done. If Stringer was for real, he'd be pissed and say that he didn't need to give Omar shit - giving him a truce was more than enough. Then when he met with Marlo, he showed that the Barksdale crew wasn't strong anymore/at that moment (the way Stringer tried to win him over led to Marlo feeling emboldened enough to go to war). He also let Prop Joe get into his head and turn him against Avon. Plus he got played on the real estate thing, also.
@@number3stunner118 Plus he tried turning Omar on Brother Muzone not realizing how smart both were. Plus he wanted to kill a state Senator because he got played.
damn stringer messed up the orlando hit, the brother hit, and got two top killers to come together to kill him and had avon telling him how and why he fucked up no wonder avon was boss and stringer ended up murdered, his business class's did not teach him a damn thing, oh and davis screwed him over for 250 g's. and he was a boss who was as stupid as some of his workers
for those who watched breaking bad, this is why Gustavo cut victor's throat with a can opener, i think stringer deserved the same, he was fucking up every day and Avon did nothing. ruthlessness is needed here. i think slim Charles should have been promoted long time ago to be CEO.
Slim turned down a promotion later on from Malro saying he's "not cut out to be a CEO". He probably would have turned down the promotion from Avon as well. And most likely Avon knew that.
They were making more money with Stringer in charge, but losing territory and reputation on the streets. Avon's war with Marlo was costly, but they would have won most likely had Stringer not turned Avon in. At which point they would have been free to make even more money with Stringer's way of doing business, without the threat of Marlo, except Avon gave Bell up to be killed by Omar and Mouzone. Like it always seemed in their relationship, both guys held a different piece of the puzzle but this last time they never managed to get on the same page and put it together.
Ludo045 The Barksdale organization is generational. Avon is a legacy king , who got in the game the same way D’angelo did. Avon and Stringer both, along with Wee Bey, came up through the ranks. And Avon and Stringer both has said that they’d already made more money than they could ever spend.
yea buddy 7 years Xmas time moved diwn South. working as a chef still sincec17. I'm 27 now. time flies. wow. I lost friends gfs.. wow. but it taught me alot man
Jay Dee, I'm seeing a lot of self-congratulatory bs in these comments. Take it from a 72 year old lifelong junky with many long stretches of clean time. I've been back on the smack for the last 5 years and am just now once again making some changes to clean up here, myself. Remember that you have not been cured. I'm not saying you shouldn't be proud of yourself but you are still young and life has a way of testing you when you are weak. Just when you learn to hit the curveball, life will start with the change-ups and sliders you've never seen before. Stay humble, stay vigilant and check out a meeting sometime, even if it is just as an occasional exercise in humility. Best wishes Youngblood.
Stringer wasn't very street wise, he would have been better just dropping out the game completely, going to university and getting an internship at a corporation.
If you watch the phone scene the dude on the phone DID tell Stringer Bell about the Sunday Morning truce but Stringer didnt pay attention to it (or just didnt give a damn)
Was this the same episode where wee bay and stringer have that talk about Kima, Little Man, and Orlando. I'm asking cause of the SJ shirt stringer is wearing?
It says alot about Stringer that he was the only one in the show who never even got arrested..mcnulty had him on the wire...but still he never got caught up...
Man I wish we had more seasons with the Barksdale crew!!!I just did a rewatch and they were the best seasons !! Towards the end the writing got sloppy….
Most ppl think Stringer is the smart one but I disagree. Avon was just as smart as Stringer, they were just smart in different ways. Avon was more street smart, he knew how to deal with people more effectively than String ever could.
I'm surprised that Daniels, McNulty, etc. didn't have a similar conversation. "How could you not know that Avon's crew would know Orlando was snitching, considering that he's trying to buy a package even though he didn't have bail money before?"
@@spencerpencer Yeah. Thinking about it, there wasn't even any need for Orlando to do a drug deal like this. Why not just have him testify against Avon/Stringer in exchange for leniency? Feels like the script writers were trying to conjure up a situation that led a cop to get shot.
@@ej11481 Did you just skip the talking scenes in this show so you could just watch the gang scenes only? Or did you just never bother to listen? Burrell literally forced them into this whole operation- he forces Daniels into a buy-bust, then admits this is all his fault later at the hospital after Kima got shot. Carver even asks at the pre-operation meeting why they wouldn't just suspect Orlando from the start. You not paying attention isn't the writers' fault.
The reason stringer was different towards Avon because Stringer was trying to legalize the Drug Game, that wasn't Avons world it was stringers world, the game is the game period.
Stringer's love for money was a problem in season's 1 & 3. Although he did have the right idea when he united all the top drug traffickers and formed one organization, it can be said that in the end, his love for money is what bit him in the ass. His strength was his weakness.
To my earlier comment, they could have just left the sack of cash in any playground. A gift to the hood and it would of pissed the cops off even more. That money would be all over the City in no time. Heck that is what Omar would do! : )
this shows stringer's obsession with money, money, money, i think that is why Avon told him he bled green. Avon could have seen this coming but stringer was too greedy. that really was his problem, too much money. i think Avon saw other aspects of the game. this hit should never have been done, but savinho convinced stinger to do it. why did Avon keep stringer as CEO for so long?
@Teddy KGB true , true but stringer does not stop at anything, no thinking, he gets a cop shot, he got mouzone shot,he tried to kill omar on truce Sunday, he wanted davis shot, for crying out loud, you shoot other drug dealers. you need to know where the red line is.
Avon was so much more street smart then String. He at times couldn’t believe some of Strings foolish moves that would get the Barkesdale organization in trouble.
Avon was my favorite character but he had it so good he didn’t have to do anything just sit back and get his cut of everything stringer and there organization made. Avon was like the boss of a family he didn’t have to step foot in the streets and that’s why I respect stringer because when Avon came home he had a condo and a car in his own name stringer loved Avon for real they were tommy and ghost before tommy and ghost
Avon was ah better street boss than stringer ..stringer should’ve been off the scene doing the business shit basically cleaning and doubling the money 🤷🏽♂️best show eva 🔥
Anyone paying attention to how at the end Stringer aggressively puts the cash back in the trash bag and walks away. Everything about this show was great!
They put alot of faith in Stringer bc he was a college graduate 🤦However he still wasn't smart enough to get his money back when he made that Stupid ass investment with Congress after Avon told him it wasn't gonna happen no matter how many BUSINESS suits and big words he used at a table full of corporate snakes, bc a snake may shed it's SKIN aka change it's appearance however it's still a SNAKE 😂😂😂 at that moment I knew he wasn't capable...I can watch this series over and over AGAIN 👌
yes in a scene where Sydnor gets 'arrested' by greggs, a short fat guy, also after the shooting, bey and little man talking, little man asking, i wonder who that bitch was, always some shit
