Avon, despite being a murderous gangster, is also a fair and even judge of character. He wants what is his but he doesn’t betray his friends. In many ways Avon is the opposite of Tony Soprano, he plays the game with joy not angst. My favorite quote from Avon is a throw away line from when he visits Dee in the pit; “Take it lightly, but take it.” Sums up his ethos perfectly. Stringer is the one who’s never at peace with who he is, who lies and betrays despite being the “business man”.
I always loved how Avon name-dropped Day of the Jackal here. Another subtle reminder he's not just some dumb drug slinger who got lucky - he's educated, well-read, and cultured. And he does it without putting on airs like Stringer does.
He was smarter than Stringer too. String made a lot of bad decisions which basically is what got him killed. The first season he played his role as #2 and they was thriving until Major Crimes got on them, but when Avon went to jail Stringer all of a sudden thought it was a partnership instead of Avon as the boss and going behind his back and making dumb decisions instead of letting Avon run the family.
Slim was a fuckin soldier. Wasnt scared of anyone but knew his place. When he looked down, when string looked at him. Understood not to make the situation worse. Slim and bodie were my favorite characters in the art piece.
@@JSWang-ii8kd In comparison its easy to hit a fellow gangster in some dark alley with no one around. But to hit someone like Clay Davis who hangs around country clubs, fancy restaurants and government buildings. It would be hard for Slim to get within close proximity of Clay to even attempt a hit on him.
@@JSWang-ii8kd that had nothing to do with it, Stringers was below Slim already by that point in that organization, and his quick response was more in jest knowing some bs was going to come out of his mouth.
Avon was on point in this scene. Too bad it took String losing all that money to prove what Avon said. Surprised Avon wasn't more pissed about losing that money.But he seen it coming,and wanted to prove a point.
250k to them was chump change. They were easily clearing 1m plus a week, even with Marlo cutting in on the corners. By this time they were making more money wholesaling, Avon just wanted to win the ground war because it wasn’t about money but reputation. They were making more money through the co-op with prop Joe giving a tower away by being whole sale. They also had front like the copy place to run legit business and wash to. Stringer was getting greased with that money not going into his real estate projects but helping clay Davis do and get favors with the tax man ever seeing a dime lol
Like Avon said “you know the difference between your and me? I bleed red, you bleed green…..what been building for his huh? You know what I look at you these days and you know what I see? A man without a country……not tough enough for this right here….and maybe just maybe not smart enough for them out there? And hey no offense i don’t think you ever really were”
"What I tell you about playing them f*cking away games?" Damn I love that line and how Avon could care less about the money he lost. Proving his point was more important
The scene shows how detached Stringer was becoming by this point, always away with his business ventures. The door guard doesn’t recognise him. Even when told to leave by String he looks to Slim for the nod. Avon waits in the background to hear what String is saying before coming forward to countermand him. Stringer isn’t the trusted partner to Avon that he once was, or the face that every lower rank instantly recognises and obeys, like the pit crews from series 1.
Yes… Avon looked at it like he couldn’t rely on Stringer for support in his war. He felt as if was too soft and obviously he didn’t want to war with Marlo. So Avon started to kind of diminish his role in the organization. Now here is where it’s gets funny. Stringer doesn’t want to be involved in that gangster bullshit anymore BUT look at his reaction to being put in that position. New faces didn’t recognize him and Avon started slowly putting Slim Charles in Stringers place and he didn’t like it one bit. So you don’t want to be involved and go legit BUT you still want to keep your 2nd in command status in the organization?? It shows you how detached Stringer was from reality as well
@longtallshorty No, it shows the difference between how life is valued in the Inner City, where I work. Similar to the "no shooting on Sundays" scene. That one could so casually end the life of one BM but not another because of Social Class says a great deal. In Baltimore today, most (87%) victims of homicide are those already on Parole/Probation- which assumes that they're "in the game". No one blinks an eye at their death but let a Bystander or random white man get shot (i.e. Summer 2022 Squeegee kid shooting) then we need massive reform to the system. It's a nuanced point that may have been lost on you.
@@47shadows76 youre an idiot. its not cause clay isnt "in the game"- he is, in a big way. its because they are just street thugs, while hes a senator, and that would bring so much heat down none of them would be left standing.
"N***** I need to remind you who the f*** you work for." Then Avon comes to remind Stringer who he works for. The way, Avon calls Stringer "boss" with such blatant sarcasm is done perfectly.
The fact Stringer didnt notice that even after telling the new guy to leave that he looked at Slim Charles for what to do before leaving instead of listening to Stringer who was technically his boss and also Slims boss. His power was slipping away right in front of him but he was too caught up with those away games to take notice. Slim was slowly passing Stringer up as the second man in charge behind Avon.
Slim proved why he was one of the few Barksdale people who survived to the end, he knew that a high profile figure like Clay Davis was way beyond his pay grade.
You kill someone in the game and it goes up on the local PD' to do list and might end up an unsolved unless you have a weybey going down to take responsibility, you kill politician and all hell will break loose, the media presence will take the dealers off the corners and the murder will be investigated by the FBI so there is no chance it will ever be an unsolved.
And then after when Avon was rubbing the salt in the wound... "Yeah... they saw ya ghetto ass coming from MILES AWAY (Avon shaking his head side to side) nigga!!" 🤣🤣
10 years ago I tried to watch this show and I gave up in the middle of the first episode because I couldn't understand most of the dialogues! Baltimore dialect as they say. Thanks to the remastered version with CC available on HBO Now I was finally able to understand and enjoy this masterpiece of television.
In an interview with the cast they said they’d found it very different and difficult too. They’ve called it “Baltimore dialect”. It’s not just the accent it’s all those slangs. After some episodes I’ve got used to it and enjoyed it a lot. The performances are amazing. What astonished me though was to learn afterwards that Idris Elba and Dominic West are British! Anyway, English is not my first language. I’ve lived in the US (Virginia and Seattle) for just one year and captions help me to improve my English each day.
The Wire - 15th Anniversary I don’t get what was so hard to understand. I from Louisville and not necessarily a user of heavy Ebonics and colloquialisms. But I understand it thoroughly. Baltimore y’all seems to be east coast with a down south slur and some special slang terms
cococo Realdreams is my own “production company” to do those videos, it’s more of a joke really, that was the name of my channel before, but I kept it anyway just for fun. . You’re absolutely correct, it’s HBO original.
When Avon says, "Yea..they saw your ghetto ass comin' from miles away," I laugh SO HARD! This line is criminally underrated. Adding salt to the wound. Stringer got played, and Avon reminded him that although Stringer views himself as an A-lister, the others view him as simply ghetto.'
Avon: "You need a Day of the Jackal-type mf to hit a nigga like that, not a rough and tumble like Slim." Chris: "I'm not saying he can't get got. Anyone can be got."
I never understood why Avon did this. AB himself was a day of the jackal type of person when it came down to taking corners. Stringer wasn't like this. He only resorted to violence when he ran out of options. The money that was going to be made wasn't only going to SB's pockets. That's why he really took that "away games" line personally.
Sringer exposed the whole operation to prove how smart he is. Avon pumped the breaks on that. You gonna have Slim kill Clay Davis and get you're most reliable man arrested over what? Your bad decision. Levy called it within seconds... String was away on his own on that one.
I actually don’t know how captions work. Something it seems that they just “hear” what they are saying without any spelling corrections, and in other times it happens the opposite. I’m glad they put it though. I was the only way I could watch this series , as I’m not a native English speaker. In 2008 I was given a pirate copy without captions and I gave up after the first episode, despite knowing how good this series is and how important it is for those studying/working with drug policies, as I was at the time. I could only watch it, when I subscribed to HBO in 2015. I caught up by watching it 3 times since. By the time I finished this edit, I’ve had already known everything by heart.
@@thewire-15thanniversary72 if you're send it to a website to transcriped electronically into a CC, they usually give you a review of the transcription for your editing purpose.
I’ve noticed that also. They’re obviously saying it with A @ the end but they decide to put a ER. They even do it for the sopranos. It’s Fucked up that they do that but I love the shows to much to care lol
Stringer was trying to move away from the street gangster life and become a “business” man, making clean money from legit investments (funded by the drug money). Hence the suit and dealing with Clay Davis (a senator) and building developers etc. These business dealings (rather than gangster dealings) is what Avon called “away games”.
Basically attention was focused on something else and not on the main agenda. Yeah him wanting to go legit and have the whole co-op thing was the smart thing, but once war is happening you gotta put all of that on hold till shit is settled.
an “away game” is a typically referred to a sporting match played away from the team in questions home ‘field’ if you will. the home field is where a team plays relative to their locale. that being the west baltimore corners, terraces, and towers. avon is saying stringer is ‘playing’ away from home. doing business in areas he doesn’t know anything about. and he got burned for doing things away from what they know. and that’s hustling instead of trying to legitimize themselves.
SLim knew everybody's place. When stringer came in not knowing whom was there because he been gone slim left not at that. He said whom would be right there and was not lying but was not totally open with the fact Avon was in the next room. Technically not with them but in faith right there. When Avon popped out stringer looked at slim was it slim deceived him. Slim also the top bring stringer in stating it was not murder but assassination that is different heat them city police
Goniff in Yiddish is an unscrupulous businessman...the way Levy 'ghettoised' it down to Stringer meant....'Goniff fuck you hard if you play with me'...which is what Davis did to Stringer
Sultan Sayed it referred to the movie The Day of the Jackal it’s about a highly professional well planned assassination. Check it out. www.imdb.com/title/tt0069947/
did you watch the video? Avon said it' if you kill a state senator, it will be investigated by the entire government, attract all kind of media and public attention and will lead to Avon and co. slim is for killing other drug dealers, not senators, if you want to kill a senator look for professional killers unknown in local circles who are difficult to trace, i hope it makes sense.of course slim can do it but the risk is very high so it is not worth it
The Barksdale crew didn't even need to hit Davis. Just a close family member. This is the only part of the series that made no sense. The same way Avon wouldn't protect SB for "playing away games," what makes anyone think that other politicians and the police would protect a dirty politician who is "playing away games." Like, in real life? If Davis got hit, the question would be why? What was the motive? That would expose Davis as a crooked politician. If a family member of his got hit and he told police that it was the Barksdale crew, again the question would be why would he suspect that and what would be the motive? He would be exposed. Later in the series, Daniels has his people pulling Davis' financial reports. When you are a politician, you income and spending is heavily scrutinized. You buy a new car, you better make sure you prove hat it comes from a legitimate source. What I am saying here, is that Davis wasn't that smart either!
They,. Only way they could hurt davis is to expose him once he's exposed no other politician would shake hands with him with he would be casted out in the cold then that's where you can hit him physically,.
............Shit with that logic the next thing was going to be: String: I'm here to see you anyway Slim: Whatchu need? String: I need you to hit someone Slim: Who we hittin? String: The president of the United States 🤡 .......
