Why Did Nobody Just Shoot Omar in The Streets? | The Wire Explained 

The thing you have to remember is that, just because these guys are drug dealers, doesn't mean they're killers. Omar is a killer. He won't hesitate to pull the trigger. Omar is also smart, patient, and precise. He almost always gets the job done. So yeah, you wanna go at Omar, you best not miss

The interesting thing about Omar's death is the last scene of that episode. Omar is presented as a larger than life figure on the streets, but when he's in the coroner's office, they place the wrong tag on him and the guy nonchalantly just changes it. The scene suggests that in the eyes of most of society, Omar was truly a nobody. Just another random street dude killed for nothing and no one really cares. This is further depicted when his murder isn't reported in the newspaper because no one cared. But this is where it gets more interesting because he's literally never mentioned again by the police or press but in the streets, he became like a folk hero in which he went out in a blaze of glory against either some guys from a New York crew, the cops, a bunch of random guys or the Pimlico Boys. In the streets, he was somebody. But to the rest of society, he was nobody.

“I don’t play cards, but I think these fo’ fives beat a full house” One of the best lines ever while walking into a kingpin’s poker game

Omar was always very careful. In the entire series, I can think of only three scenes where he is just out walking around (going to buy Honey Nut from the corner store, getting arrested by Officer Walker outside the corner store, and carrying his laundry when he was confronted by Brother Mouzone). On the other hand, there were several scenes that illustrated how hard it was to track him down. McNulty spent an entire day driving around looking for him (eventually enlisting Bubbles’ help). Avon had those two guys stakeout Omar's grandmothers house, which he said he only visited once a month to take her to church. Mouzone could only find Omar by using Lamar as bait to kidnap his boyfriend. Recall that Omar didn't want Brandon going to the Greeks to play pinball. That suggests that as legendary as Omar was, he probably did not get out much. Also, Omar was smart. If he had to go out, he knew which corners and streets to avoid. As dangerous as Baltimore is, it's not like a drug crew is on every block. And lastly, Omar had a lot of support from the neighborhood. Remember in one of his first scenes, he gives a young female addict a free fix. While the dealers wanted to kill him, I think the neighborhood liked him and they have looked out for him a bit.

Growning up in Bronx in the 80s and as a teenager in the 90s. The lowest level street guy was known as a "pitcher" back then or the guy who was "pitching". It was usually someone under 18 (sentences were really bad for adults) and they got paid anywhere from $250 to $300 a week. Understand that this was someone on the clock for 12 to 18 hours a day but it never felt like he was working because he ate Chinese food, rolled dice, and hung out with his friends all day; occasionally servicing fiends. They were the worst ones to contend with because they were always trying to get over, one way or another. He didn't carry a gun and even if he did, there is absolutely no way he was getting into a shootout with the Omars of that day. The kid just wanted fresh clothes and food money and to treat his girlfriend every now and then. NOT enforcing some organization's beef.

I believe Omar's death was foreshadowed by the dialogue between him and bunk. Bunk and Omar had a conversation and Bunk was angry that in his day the criminals kept the children away from the game. While the drug dealers of the present drag the children into the game. All players in the game had a part in luring the next generation into the game. So it made sense that the children who will become the next players take out the older players. In the end Omar got taken out by a child who wanted to be him when playing with his friends and Michael the boy who never wanted to be part of the game became the next Omar.

The scene with the kids playing in the street arguing over who gets to play as omar shows his reputation.

The only one that can come close to him was a kid. Omar has a code. He didn’t whack anyone who wasn’t in the game. Remember when Michael went to visit Marlo about his step father. And Omar said “he’s just a kid”. Irony to the show was the hoppers was the only one to get close range to him because omar wasn’t worried about them

It's very simple. I thought the show explained it in a subtle way. Most people were selling out of necessity. They weren't really committed to killing or dying for someone else's drug money. Also, most people, including drug dealers, don't have a history of firearm proficiency. Why go up against a known killer for money that isn't yours?

"Because Omar can come back tomorrow. And the next day. And the NEXT day. And I WILL put a bullet in all y'all behind what happen now." One of my favorite lines of the show. I think your assessment that there are too few skilled marksmen among the corner boys to be able to get a head shot on Omar to present much of a threat to Omar, is the most plausible explanation.

Omar says it in the first season plain and simple, when he's talking to Kima and McNulty at their "underground" office, the same time he offers to testify against Bird. He says "Frankly, you been in it as long as me, you do the thing on your name." Everyone knows him on the streets and, as the stories get told, they get bigger and bigger. People think of him as this super powerful, invincible guy, and they treat him as such. There's also what many have said here in the comments, that most people are not killers, no matter what they may say out on the streets. Actually pulling the trigger on someone is not easy. But everyone knows Omar does it, no problem, so would they want to test it out if they'll be able to do it on him? As far as there being guns around, Omar also speaks to that in season one, when he's in the car with Kima and McNulty looking for Bird. They say they need to catch Bird with the gun and he says, "He don't pack down here, none of them do. And that's the rule. Now, if you want iron, you gotta go to one of those kids up in the towers." So he knows how things work, and he knows who has guns, and where, because he painstakingly watches his targets for days, as the series shows many times. Omar's death was nothing short of brilliant in my opinion, it shows exactly how he got away with what he did for so long. He got killed by some kid who just wasn't all that impressed by him, so he wasn't scared. Kenard realizes Omar is just a person who can be killed when the kids are talking out on the street and Omar comes up behind Michael and tells him to relay to Marlo that he's the one who killed Savino. Kenard is there and, once Omar is gone, he looks with disdain and says, "that's Omar? Damn. Gimpy as a motherf****." After that, in the episode when Omar dies, he's walking down an alley and the kids there all run saying "It's Omar, yo." The only one that stays is Kenard, torturing a cat, showing he's no longer afraid of Omar and he's comfortable with violence (a psychopath, really). Kenard looks at Omar as he walks away and you can see in his face as he decides to kill him. Kenard then follows Omar and shoots him in the head when he's got his guard down. Another brilliant thing about Omar's death is that he almost gets buried as some old white guy because of a mistake with the labels on the dead bodies at the morgue. Such an important and influential figure out on the streets, but just a nobody in "mainstream" society, for lack of a better term. Brilliant, like everything in the show.

You got it right on a lot of points: he was always strapped, he made it his business to always know who he was dealing with, he was a leader of a pack of almost lone-wolf types. The one thing you missed is that he didn't just amble about the streets nonchalantly. He made it his business to use abandoned buildings and lesser traveled pathways as he went to and from. And he knew the places to duck behind or into because he knew the rea like the back of his hand. He would often disappear as quickly as he appeared. That's what made him hard to kill. In the scene where he died, he was essentially the lion getting killed coming to the watering hole.

Omar is basically a marksman. You don’t wanna try your luck against a marksman.

Michael K Williams RIP . A fantastic talent who demanded respect with incredible unforgettable performances. His roles in both The Wire and Boardwalk Empire stole the scenes totally. He will be missed.

Also - when Omar died he was at the end of a n exhausting solo mission to try and take out Marlo’s crew. I mean my man jumped outta a high rise building like Spider Man and survived. The man lost a lot of people he loved and cared about. He even left to Puerto Rico and got out of the game. But when they tortured Butchy (who was holding all his cash) he came back with a vengeance…..but one man alone can’t defeat an entire army.

Because that’s how much fear he instilled on the streets. That and plot armor.

“You come at the king, you best not miss” - Omar

He was and still is my friend and my brother I miss him we used to sit and talk and dream big rest in peace Mike

The dude who played Donnie the big guy with Omar when he was in county jail is one of the people Omar’s based on

Nobody in Baltimore sells bullets that can penetrate his plot armor. Edit: Some of y'all need to google "plot armor" before replying...

I'm from Baltimore and just finished season 1. It's awesome seeing how much people love the show and are still making videos about it.

"Burdensome" in the last vid and "unseemly shit" in this one. When you throw the little darts like that, it lets me know not only have you paid full attention to every minor detail, you have a strong grasp on the context and tone of the of the writing. It's been a real pleasure watching your take on what I can only assume is a foreign culture for you. I appreciate your work. 🙏👍

Being a Baltimore native....nobody tried him because of code during those eras....names held weight....even just sharing the Last name of certain people was an instant hands off type thing..I agree with a lot of things you said in your vid also....it's very meta seeing the streets I've walked and dangers avoided highlighted through an HBO production..lost friends and family members to drugs..corrupt system and still alive..personally know more of the folks depicted in the Westport/Mt Winas area..

To quote The Usual Suspects: "How do you shoot the devil in the back? What if you miss?"

Kind of ironic considering that is exactly what happened.

It's hard to kill someone whose moves are unpredictable.

It was beautifully anti-climactic the way Omar was killed. And honestly the arc of Omar was a bit of seductive manipulation by the writers. They give you Omar with all his humor and what not to make the audience like him then brutally rip him away from you with a random murder at the hands of a little kid even. Exactly how people die in this life he lived. All this code stuff of his meant nothing in the end.

R.I.P. Michael K. Williams.

What's interesting is that Omar was what Marlo wanted to become, not the way he worked but the reputation he carried. Marlo's final scene kind of emphasises this even more, as Omar had been dead for a few episodes. Marlo is walking down the street after he's left a party that Levy had invited him too, he hears some corner boys talking about Omar, telling these exaggerated and made up stories of how he died. Marlo walks up and says "The fuck you lookin' at?" Corner boy: "You, nigga!" Marlo: "You know who I am?" Corner boy: "Nigga you know who I am?!" This shows that Marlo doesn't have the reputation, nor the respect that he wanted as the 'king' of Baltimore where as Omar who had been dead a while at this point, was still being talked about like some mythical urban legend. I have a suspicion that if they hadn't been talking about Omar and had been talking about a movie or something, Marlo wouldn't have walked over there.

The answer is leverage. In every situation where Omar is around people who might want to do him harm, he always has enough leverage that they can't do anything to him

“ You come at the king, you best not miss” - Omar Little

"Creep through your block, fuck a glock I step, through ya neighborhood armed with nothing but a rep" Jay Z

I can just imagine Stringer hiring snipers.

I remember season 2 he said he'd been robbing dealers for 9 years. That shit is crazy

6:48 people forget that Snoop is actually a very accurate shot. She has been shown to hit people accurately from a distance.

Omar might be the best character on TV, ever. What an amazing television show.

I think they showed why a couple of times in the series. Especially when they killed Buchie the blind man. He came after everyone sneaking up behind them like a mugger. Even got to Slim Charles who was very careful and levelheaded but let him live. Had leverage on Prop Joe for setting Marlo up at the card game getting robbed. While everyone was busy worrying about the cops selling on the streets, turf wars, and worried about getting scammed by crackheads like bubbles. Omar only worried about the next person to sneak up on a rob. A Batman figure and gained a reputation of being feared.

What I value so much about The Wire is that it doesn't become cynical when it's being realistic. It does show bad people getting defeated, it does show them winning, it shows mundane everyday struggles, but it also shows that our lives are often driven by legends. Like the legend of Omar. Im that regard, I wasn't all that displeased about McNulty's season 5 game: He created a legend to fix a problem. And it worked, because realistic people are susceptible to unrealistic shit ^^

as someone who lives and was raised in maryland the real life omar did have people shooked like that he’s actually still alive today

I love how you cover the best shows in movies. Nothing but the best!!

Omar mainly targeted to the lower-level corner boys who didn't carry weapons. The corner boys had a system one person, handles the money, one person handle the drugs, and guns placed in nearby hiding spots. Omar took advantage of this and always got the drop on them.

Based on the majority of Omar's attacks he always had a crew. So most people would think if Omar is outside then there are others surroundin the area, as usual. So if I was a dealer and saw him I'd be worried if there's someone at the back, maybe someone holding a worker, etc. I can only think of 3 times he worked alone

They explain it in the show. He gives out a lot of the money and gpacks that he takes. Can't get close to him without a bunch of people calling out the move

As said, he was based on actual guys who robbed Baltimore drug dealers for years, but I'm assuming they kept as low a profile as possible.

The answer lies in a phrase uttered in one of the episodes: "If you come for the king, you'd best not miss..."

Blew my mind. When he robbed the stash house in the projects during season 1, i don’t understand how they just didn’t let off a barrage at him.

You pretty much nailed it. Minimum wage guys aren't eager to put themselves out and risk their lives And that's the glory of legends, they get away with a lot sheerly in reputation, their victims can rely on it to follow the safe route. I have known both sides from my misspent youth and later because my straight job shoved me right into the middle. Enough rep and you can get away with an illogical level of behavior. At my last job the locals believed I was something I wasn't; that allowed me to walk with impunity at any hour in the roughest part of my city. In fact, some would volunteer as backup for me, they wanted to be associated with me for the cred. Life is strange.

Your channel is dope af. I love the topics you cover. Thank you!

"a telling off from your supervisor". 😂

Omar doesn’t just “walk around”. They tried several times, and failed. A little kid finally did him in because he wasn’t expecting that.

Some people that don't know me or the cats I ran with think I'm crazy or full of it, but when I was in the streets I wasn't cut out for retail or anything like that and was more into the beef/soldier skill set so me and a tight crew of homies and family that were also active in the Nation did just this, stick up d-boys and rob rich people's houses. Sometimes the show was accurate, others were definitely a little iffy, and on a few occasions stuff that seemed unlikely was based on real events. Security and planning are absolutely huge. Ya gotta understand that once ya step into that career you're no longer safe, your people ain't safe, and ya can't move like ya used to. I been outta the streets for some years now but I moved regularly back then up and down the East Coast after where I started out just got too hot. And I'm still mad cautious when I visit home cause it's plenty of mfs who'd love to do me dirty regardless of who I am today. Ya really do have to sit on locations for a while, maybe even buying product a few times to force their hand on a re-up or money movement, have a crash dummy fake an argument to see what's to security, etc. It's not usually no elaborate scheme, do your homework and kick the door or grab a store guy or runner at the best time and hope for the best, but ya wanna know what you're walking into. Usually you're aiming for a time when their heavy on cash cause it's more profitable. The more of it's in dope or rock the more ya lose passing it off to someone that does do retail. But there's most definitely been many Omar's that came and went. They either lost their life or got locked up most of the time but a few lived to tell the tale and that's most definitely where legends come from. Comes with any lifestyle with a high rate of premature death and/or incarceration. I think the reason they didn't move on him was complicated. I'm sure a lot just weren't holding like that or weren't confident in their skills. I'm sure it was well known that Omar could shoot and I'm sure there was mad stories where somebody did try something and got Mike Miked, or worse, and nobody wants to be that guy. But I also think that a lotta the kids respected dude, and he was kind of a Robin Hood character so some plenty probably actually had love for dude. He wasn't robbing most people so why would they make a move? They probably also didn't want somebody coming back on em. Thing is though, most stash spots are well armed. There was plenty of times that we had incredibly close calls, I was hit in the chest a point blank range and I hadn't been vested up I'd have been dead, there was times that they shot at us as we were leaving from the windows above (that's a horrific situation), they'd come through and shoot up the block afterwards, it didn't help that we were always ripping off other Nations but they'd have shot regardless.

Plus, its poetic how Michael becomes the new Omar, dookie the new bubbles, and I bet kenard comes out of juvie and becomes the new marlo. Imagine his rep for killing such an epic character.

Omar isn't in his nightgown, he's in his bathrobe.

Starred in the wire, sopranos and boardwalk empire. Legend

I thought he was Jackie Jr's Goomah

"Power doesn't come from being able to destroy your enemy. It comes from being able to destroy their will to fight" OMAR COMIN! OMAR COMIN! When your presence and reputation instills that kind of fear and respect? Very few if any will try you under any circumstances

Thorough and accurate analysis. Great video.

Excellent series, EXCELLENT VIDEO.

Yeah I have to agree. Omar picks his battles and studies his victims. He is always on guard, like when he notices Walker and stashes his gun, he notices but dismisses Kenard when he enters the shop. The scene where he goes to buy the cheerios starts with him jolting awake and immediately going for his gun at the sound of a noise. When he gets into shootouts it doesn't go so great for him. He ambushes Stinkum and gets in a shootout with Weebay. Omar gives his "Come the king" speech, and leaves. The next shootout when he tries to ambush Avon, Omar gets shot. When Omar and his crew spring the trap where Tosha dies, there are a lot of bullets flying, but only one instance of friendly fire, and one of Stringers crew goes down. When Omar gets ambushed in Monks condo, he has to do some spiderman shit to make it out.

Its just crazy it was a little kid that took him out

I’m from Baltimore and I have a cousin that jumped off the Howards St., Bridge and survived

There is a difference in being a killer and killing someone

I disagree on the anticlimactic part, Omars death went to show that eventually everyone gets got, the fact it was a small child meant that Omar was unguarded in that moment, because how could it ever be a small child, it also went to show that they bring younger and younger people into the game. I thought it worked well as a lesson to the audience.

I just always figured that he's known as being so calculating that if someone sees him just strolling, they figure there is no way it's just that simple. They figure Omar has eyes on him or some trick up his sleeve.

The kid was about to light a cat ablaze right before he shot Omar. So I wasn’t really surprised lol

How can you shoot the devil in the back? What if you miss?

For most of the show, you could see where Omar's careful and tactical approach allowed him to get away with what seemed like crazy shit. In that scene with the dude talking about having a Mack 10, most of the crew was out watching the basketball game, and I'm sure Omar was aware of that beforehand. Most of the time he goes after small fry that won't be a threat - the Barksdales didn't even know who he was at the start of the show. Not to mention his plans don't always work out, like when he got shot going after Avon, or when he went too far hitting up a heavily armed Barksdale stash and Tosha got killed. Where the "plot armour" starts to show up is in the fifth season, when Omar is limping around on one leg and still wrecking Marlo's organisation singlehandedly. He was basically warping around the city like Link without anyone seeing him until the last minute.

mike killed omar.. mike wooped kenard for stealing naymond 's stash then omar comes limping scaring the hell out of mike with kenard looking.. so kenard being motivated shoots omar thinking that will make him stronger than mike... all the pieces matter..

your analysis is always so compelling. after i hear you, i nearly always just accept your view. i should give you better but i just don't have it

Omar among other things he had on the show was a pretty good head on his shoulders. He calculated what he did and wasn't prone to making many mistakes. If you crossed him, you were done. He also took off many dudes, robbed some critical crews and killed a few while he was at it. He was a straight G and would smoke someone in a heartbeat but he wasn't rash, very patient and he had a certain code he lived by. In so many ways it made sense that some little peanut was the one to get him because everyone else was afraid to come near him. When Omar hit the streets people actually ran from the man. Remember in the Godather, Luca Brazi was a man who basically dared people to kill him, and he struck fear in the mafia.. in many ways that breeds more fear in people than them willing to kill him. He was one of those rare natural forces ...yeah he was going to get killed at some point but...were you willing to do it...??..lol. Gotta give it you CR, your content and thoughts on my favorite shows, movies and books are mad critical bro!

They did, that's how he died

Knowledge of Omar both among the cops and underworld fluctuates wildly throughout the series.

The fear of a legend will stop many people from trying to snatch the crown.

Is this show worth buying HBO+?

Was always a nagging question in the back of my mind how Omar could just supposedly walk around freely and up to the dealers and rob them. Three things mentioned here explain it perfectly. One is that the corner boys aren't armed, this could wind up in constant shoot ups as the one time when Bodie's crew strapped up and had a fire fight that wound up shutting down all the drug operations in the city. Two is seeing it from the hoppers perspective, that and along with the exaggerated reputation that Omar had, anyone would be scared shitless to take this one man army down and who knows if he's alone. And the third reason being, that yes, life is stranger than fiction, the most bold operators are the most successful, many fall along the way, but the few that survive would be the Omars, Barksdales and Stanfields who all have larger than life stories.

Omar always scoop the situations first with his vans. He knows who are packing and who are not. The ones packing light wouldn’t go against his shotgun

great stuff as usual.

Honestly I felt it WAS just plot armor. This guy was walking around, broad daylight, robbing dealers repeatedly. Now sometimes, yes, he was stealthy and/or waited for a good opportunity, but there were several scenes, like the one shown in the video, where he literally has his back turned to the dealers he's robbing in the middle of a robbery. That's absurd. The cops knew what was going on too. I don't think you're going to have a hard time claiming self defense against a guy who was known to rob drug dealers...assuming it even made it to trial.

Simple: and I can do this without watching the video: why would you have the heart to kill a man that goes head up with the drug dealers? He’s the top of the food chain. Love him or hate him, you respect him and secretly hope that he could be the robinhood of the hood.

Omar stayed strapped. He finally let his guard down, likely due to fatigue and injury, when Kenard got him. Before that, he stayed dangerous. He only moved around in “friendly” places and constantly had his guard up. He actually came out of several shootouts alive also. He was definitely not an easy win

Love your analysis

The real Omar wasn’t even gay

This was an easy one…. Because if they missed…Omar would Know who to go after

Very good analysis.

To be accurate if Omar is walking around it's because he's researched and knows that area. Omar was a master at prep and strategy. If he's walking around he already knows he can walk around otherwise he wouldn't be walking around.

No point of tryna explain hood politics to suburbans 🤦‍♂️ rip mike

Why just kill the best character in your show

Omar was unknown in west Baltimore... Remember the first time we saw him, nobody knew who he was until Brandon called him by his name. Prop Joe knew him.

I was under the impression that Omar had plenty of bodies on his resume. Enough that it's understood he's not to be trifled with unless it was a sure thing.

Omar is the Ragnar Ludbrook of Baltimore. I think he was created as such a character, and the fact he could walk around like this is more speaking to the Mythos of the amalgam. Omar (like Ragnar) is not one person, but is a collection of stories about larger than life characters. With Ragnar it is simply due to the time past. So many deeds were attributed to this character over the years, that were likely other people. It is believed that Ragnar never even existed in the first place and is a way of remembering these deeds through time. remembering one name is easier than remembering 10 or 20, neverminded the countless that go to make up the Ragnar Lubrook Mythos. I think Omar is the Creators own Ragnar, and because of this he is able to walk around without being touched. Ofc he also wrote in the unceremonious Death of the character to show what life is really like on the streets, and no matter how big your story is, you will die by the same sword you life by. PS: Ludbrook is the proper name of the character. Lothbrook is a mistake, and was based on the phonetic sounding of how the name is pronounced.

spoiler alert: they did

Other than Slim & Michael Omar was my favorite character. ☑️

Good video, I always would think this while watching him ripping n running lol

Best part about this character. He never used a curse word.

Omar was a fearless stick em up kid that was intelligent and articulate that walked around the streets with a bullet proof vest, sawed shot gun, and 2 1911 .45's. "I don't know much about poker but I bet these 2 45's beat a full house" says it all.

No-one else could have killed a legend like Omar. Was there anybody that could have stood up to him? No, there wasn't. His death had to be by someone completely unexpected, out of the blue, I think.

I will not coment on all of your the wire videos, or from other series, but you are one of the few that deserve a spot on this platform!

Before there was Ghost, Power, BMF etc series The Wire kinda laid the foundation...📌

Omar is a gargantuan character in all of TV history, but the heart of The Wire is Bubbles

The Wire is my favorite show and your analysis of it is very good, but I gotta rant a bit that it's great TV though nothing like real life. Omar is fairly realistic, in the sense that, yes, there are stick up artists, and though it's very implausible Omar would last so long, the artistry of the show carries that off. The problem is there are almost no wealthy drug king pins like Barksdale, Marlo, or Prop Joe. Real dealers use drugs themselves, use phones to communicate, and use addicts to transport product. As a result none of them lasts more than a year or so, and none of them becomes super wealthy. They die or get busted but the street turns out an endless cycle of them. But some dude living off his girlfriends and the local addict population isn't as TV friendly as a mastermind like Stringer, and robbing desperate people of couple of $20s wouldn't make Omar into a Robin Hood. I still love The Wire, but I must admit I love it less now that I've learned more about the world. Beth Macy's Dopesick (the book, not the show) is very good, but only part of it is about street dealing and Baltimore is only visited.