Why Didn't The Co-op Just Kill Marlo? | The Wire Explained 

Because they thought it was one way, but it was another way

I clicked this vid faster than Slim Charles bagged up that 15k for Cutty

As someone that grew up along psychos like Marlo, not the acting part, but actual cold blooded killers. You want to know what happens when someone like that dies? The block or hood celebrates. It's not like in the movies or shows where some guy is terrorizing a whole city, it's just mainly one guy that thinks he can control 2 or 3 blocks, shooting and killing kids that he played in the sand with.

They knew taking Marlo out wouldn’t be enough. They would have to get him, snoop, and Chris which woulda been a tall task. And I think they feared him more than Avon bc Marlo had no code

Because not everyone is a killer. That's life . Damn I love these videos. When marlo meets Avon, best scene in the series!

You know what just dawned on me the co-op where "old fat men" meaning seasoned players in the drug trade and settled, in their minds Marlo would stumble somewhere somehow. Avon was a bit younger and had some fire left in him money was simply a way to keep count. Avon seen a man hell bent on takeover and playing by his own rules.

IN REAL LIFE THEY WOULD HAVE KILLED MARLO AND OMAR REAL QUICK

Wonder if Marlo had some run-around connect - somebody in NYC for instance, that helped him rise up so far as an independent. Nothing like the Greeks, or the Barksdale connect, but a smaller plug outside the sticky reaches of the power players.

When he, told them "STFU" it was, game over 🤷🏻‍♂️

The co-op was a very weak imitation of the Mafia Commission in New York. The Mafia Commission doesn't just exist as a trade organization that works as a cartel against outsiders. It also disciplines its own members. If one of the Five Families in New York went rouge, the Commission is at least to some degree supposed to reign in and strike down against renegades. The members of the co-op were still effectively gangs, not organized crime families and therefore failed to see things structurally and into the future. Marlo can't both be an effective force against the gangs from New York invading Baltimore, while at the same time be regarded as insignificant. Marlo is either dangerous or he isn't. If one crew can refuse to join the co-op one day, other crews can do so tomorrow. Marlo's loyalty could not be trusted either. So he had to go and the Mafia would have killed him quickly. And While Marlo had some great muscle, the combined forces of the co-op must under any circumstance have been able to decimate Marlo and his top lieutenants. And yes, when Marlo had the connect, it was all over. Prop. Joe was simply going against basic rules when he gave the connect to Marlo.

Did they ever cover why none of the gangs used rifles, only hand guns? I've done three laps through the whole series and I've got nothing.

I compare Marlo's rise in the game to jamie from topboy, both rose quick when the boss was in jail and remained low key until the war kicked off!!

Sorry, but what NATO nation is at war right now?

“It ain’t easy civilizing this Mf “ 😂😂😂

When you were calling them Greek I laughed because there is an episode where they said they are not Greek

Everyone was afraid of Marlo except Avon

Killing Marlo would’ve done nothing, but replace him with a potentially more psychopathic, and ruthless drug lord

I love that intro 🤣🤣🤣

Joe was going to get Marlo in due time. He tried to pull him close but it didn't work. He exposed himself trying to buy time.

Marlo was the Chess ♟️ Master they were playing checkers…..don’t forget Marlo had control of the mass murderers …Chris was a monster 👹

The east side had a problem with Walmart ? Lol 8:35

Easier said than done! They couldn't even handle the New York boys!

They took him as seriously as a 40 degree day.

Prop Joe and Stringer had the same weakness, to greater and lesser degrees: Both are not as smart as they think they are. Both over estimated their own abilities, while under estimating everyone else. Both underestimated Avon and Marlo. Joe thought he could control Marlo and use him to bring down Avon without getting his own hands dirty. It didn't work out that way.

I don't agree that the co-op would have lost credibility because of killing Marlo. All the members knew he was a problem and would place his own beefs over co-op aims for peaceful earning. They would get over it, that's exactly what happened when Cheese got killed

“If yew happy to dew for me? I’m happy to dew for yew. Yew just dew as yew dew” - Your true and loyal friend, Proposition Joe.

They thought Marlo and his crew were just dumb muscle. By the time they found out he wasn't, it was too late. Marlo simply took over by playing the fool so to speak. If they knew Marlo was as calculating as he was, they would have dealt with them. Marlo never showed that side of himself. Sometimes you have to play a sucka to catch a sucka.

The show definitely made Chris and Snoop out to be The Terminator or something. Every other gang has killers too. Just because they are the best muscle, doesn't mean everyone else has NO muscle. Hungry Man's people would have made war in the streets.

I'm a former street dude from Chicago. In real life Marlo would have ended up on a t shift. A long with Snoop and Chris. Nobody here would scared of him. It's just a show. He had plot armor 😂

I’ve always thought that they greatly underestimated how ruthless Marlo was. Joe and Stringer were no match for him.

You mentioned Avon recognizing Marlo for what he was but how could you completely forget Slim Charles?! Especially in regards to the Co-op dealing with Marlo.

But at the end of the day the one thing Marlo and Avon had in common was they both instilled fear into their community I honestly think Avon would have been an even bigger problem for the co op because he was more smart then Marlo and was always a half a step ahead

Marlo moved different from everyone on the show. He paid attention to every detail.

I’m pretty sure that: a) The co-op didn’t try to kill Marlo in the beginning because they needed his muscle to solve problems of their own (e.g. the New York dealers), as well as consolidate power on the west side, where they had no influence or marketshare following the death of Stringer and Avon’s imprisonment. This isn’t the colonization of South America we’re talking about. Killing Marlo would not have given the co-op control of Marlo’s muscle or his operation b) The co-op were not idealists, looking to make some kind of point about how much peachier the drug game is without violence. They were thuggish businessmen who were willing to acknowledge that they stood to make more money by refraining from constant war. But this doesn’t mean they wouldn’t have been willing to use violence as an expedient to solve certain problems (as they, in fact, *did* on several occasions) c) Prop Joe was not Avon’s “arch-rival.” They represented different markets (East Side vs West). There is not a single instance in the show where Avon expresses interest in conquering the East Side drug market. Even Marlo is not initially interested in this possibility, until his experience with Joe teaches him that it’s actually an achievable goal. To sum up: Marlo and Avon share the belief that the East Side are “a bunch of bitches,” and neither of them care much for it until Marlo is able to chart a path, through the Greeks, to total domination of both sides I hope this helps?

Simple. Marlo had all the muscle. The Co-Op couldn't even run them NY boys off without Marlo.

I think "You come at the king you best not miss" applies here. As far as they know Marlo disappeared legions of snitches at will. He and his killed Stringer. He and his wounded Omar, then killed him later. None of the Co-Op had the heart or muscle to go up against that for no good reason. Besides, didn't Prop Joe's death get blamed on Omar? Only Slim Charles had any real clue, but he's the ultimate pragmatist. (I truly believe he shot Cheese because he was weak, a liability, likely to flip if/when caught, not out of real revenge for Prop Joe.)

I think it's always like this. Why doesn't a man that bleeds as any other, not get killed in these situations? You've gave several and there are probably several more. Why didn't Avon get killed, or any of the other main characters for so long, even if they eventually did? I'll say this, Marlo's last scene, with the 2 boys on the corner... it kinda shows you who he is. He got stabbed and tasted the blood and laughed AFTER ducking a head shot. #Seasoned

15 years after the last season, the wire still gets talked about and examined. That shows u how great thos show was

Plot armor lol. Every criminal organization has ruthless muscle. And if they didn’t have the muscle, they’d just put a bag on his head. Hell in real life people will kill you just to say they’re the ones who killed you. Marlo survived because the plot needed him to survive.

"When i ran my shop, and the Co-Op dropped, I damned sure did something about it". Marlo

Shows you how street smart Avon was vs everyone else..It's street smarts vs business smarts often in this series that tends to clash.

Marlo and Chris always the Emperor and Darth Vader of the Wire Saga!

I always wondered why. Its simple kill Marlo and wait for the Greeks to come knocking. These are all gangstas, not business men

Choosing between Marlo and Joe is like choosing between a s*** sandwich or strawberry s*** sandwich

They should have gotten rid of him at the first red flag when someone shows you who they are believe it, he was selfish and reckless

A historical example is appropriate here. Prior to WW2, all of Europe could see that Germany wanted war. They expanded its military in violation of the WW1 peace treaty, it invaded disputed territory, it took over Czechoslovakia. They should have put a stop to all that early on. It was not until Germany invaded Poland when they finally acted. By then it was too late.

This is where you ultilize your defacto muscle like Slim. Slim was almost close to wiping out Marlo and some of his key personnel and he was sick with the gun game just like Marlo was. All the Co-Op had to do was delegate the task to Slim and help him get an army and let him get loose.

Despite what everyone thinks about Marlo, I rather liked his ending, as it defied viewer expectations. Besides, it can be inferred that he will prob meet the end some time after the final episode- his careless/reckless/ruthless/merciless behaviour will catch up with him. Who knows, perhaps that was what Spiros/The Greek were negotiating with Slim/Rick in the final montage. I expect Marlo would meet a similar fate to others in the game. Have a good day reader :)

The Co-op never had the overall authority of something like the commission and nobody in the cop op had the balls to to kill Marlo and they were to self serving to unite against Marlo

I think prop joe wasn’t as smart as he thought he was and thought he could control and use Marlo, but (like someone below said) Marlo didn’t have rules like the rest of them. The co-op was all about business and (I feel) by them killing Marlo would have created a vacuum in his territory, thus leading to more violence. I really wish we could have known what each member thought at any given time, because I’m sure some of them wanted him dead simply because they saw the threat of his ambition too be the king., but realized he was too powerful. Just my thoughts

they was cowards all that power they had they could have banded together n took out such a huge threat to them all

Ukraine is not part of NATO (the possibility of them joining was Russia's raison d'etre for invading in the first place) so that analogy doesn't really work

The reason no one killed Marlo is because the writers needed a new villain

They chose the wrong horse ... Avon was straight up OG and knew just how to handle Marlo because indeed he had handled many just like him coming up. Instead the Co-Op acted like they were running a corporate board as opposed to a street drug cartel. You reap what you sow ..

Marlo soldiers would have took them to a long dragged out war and the money coming in would have slowed down

I really like this channel and The Wire is the greatest show ever. I know of whence I speak. I am a City attorney and I work directly with police most of the time. To say The Wire "follows the drug trade of Baltimore from both the side of the cops looking to take down the drug crews, and the kingpins looking to profit from the system" is a gross understatement of The Wire. It is about the entirety of an American city at the dawn of the 21st century. Yes, the drug crews are part of it. The cops, not only chasing drug crews but all parts of policing, are part of it. Schools are part of it. Politics are part of it. Development - both where it is moving the City forward and where it is lacking - are part of it. As I said I really enjoy this channel - but - the gross understatement of what The Wire is needs to be pointed out.

Overall Prop Joe was the smartest of the three kingpins , his own nephew Cheese sold him out otherwise Marlow would have never been able to kill him!!!! Lets not forget that Prop Joe is the one who actually turned Stringer Omar & Brother Mozune all against eachother which was probably the smartest strategy in the entire show!!!!

This is pretty common. Look at Stalin. Dude was exiled multiple times. Let out of prisons over and over after failed rebellions. Even Lenin warned about him. But yet he still became the ultimate heartless ruler of the Soviet Union for almost 30 years til he died in 1954 All the red flags were there but he was never taken out

Marlo utilized fear.

Strings problem was that he thought that he was the smartest nigga in the room, corporately and on the Streets….. Never think that you are intellectually superior than those around you! You can always learn from others.

Joe tried to be close Marlo and treat him like a son. Marlo wanted to get close to snake him and he did. All thru the meetings Marlo watched for weakness. Avon was Marlo only threat but they were so weak by the time they clashed.

They was all scared of Marlo cause Marlo crew put in work out of loyalty and was rewarded for it

Marlo looked like the winner of the Avon war so na that was not gone happen if they couldn’t run New York off on they own then plain and simple the co op as a whole was weak

The Co-op was tricked by Prop Joe to play this council game with the connect. By the rules of the game, whoever had the connect was the king. Which automatically puts a target on his head. Prop Joe created the co-op so he wouldn’t have to deal with the warring. Once Marlo shows up playing by street rules, he easily defeats the co-op. Since they are out of touch with the street rules from years of playing Prop Joe’s bs game.

Very good. Your analysis of The Wire is well thought out and insightful, but is just a thought experiment. Your referencing the war in Ukraine was a lame shot at relevance akin to name dropping at a party. In that case keep in mind that Ukraine is not a NATO member, not just yet, and so there are no rules, (treaties), of engagement. NATO is not scared of Russia, not at all. You are right though that Russia is the uncivilized Marlo. NATO does not jump into other peoples wars, only those that affect NATO members. That is the whole point of that grand organization, to defend one another in case attacked by the Warsaw Pact. Marlo doesn't have nuclear weapons, which is the other reason there is a conservative reserve demonstrated by the leaders of NATO concerning Russia. Nuclear war is bad for business, everybody loses. Just as violence in the streets draws too much heat to continue operation. Anyone who remembers Rayful Edmonds the crack king of Washington DC can attest to that. (He allegedly made a hundred million a year before being indicted. Some sources say he made three times that amount, but at what cost? From 1985-1989 DC was very dangerous, more dangerous than usual. It was a war zone.) By comparison Baltimore was a junkies paradise. The Wire is as accurate a depiction of the drug trade in Baltimore as we will ever see. I was a junkie in and around Baltimore for decades. It was obvious to us consumers that there is a great deal of unity by the groups controlling Baltimore's drug trade. It is always inherently dangerous, people buying drugs get robbed soon after buying them, sometimes they get shot trying to buy them, and there was always the police to consider, or overdosing and dying when good dope hit the streets. But Baltimore was a much safer environment than other big cities, particularly on the west coast where rival gangs turned major cities into war zones. Baltimore managed to avoid such bloodshed for the most part. I was working as a research assistant (guinea pig) at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center subcontracting for the National Institute for Drug Abuse. Testing experimental narcotics in trials to determine efficacy and dosage. They paid me to get high. Anyway, the show was still being filmed while I was at Bayview. I met one of the extras for the Wire in the program I was in. They only hired junkies due to our familiarity with narcotic compounds. The show is as real as it gets. Thanks for sharing your take on it. To all my cousins stacking that paper. Good looking out yo. I got nothing but love for Baltimore. (All you brothers up on N.Carey tell Lenny to holler at a brother when he gets out.) Peace

The Co-Op didn't take him out because the leader was soft. 1st convo they had was about the Co-Op needs him for muscle. Then says nobody messes woth any of them. Lie. Omar tore their asses up. So right there Marlo sensed weakness. The only one that had heart was Slim Charles. Joe, Hungry Man, Fat Face Rick, all soft.

They didn’t kill him because they didn’t have the heart… only Avon and Omar had the heart to go at Marlo

If The Co-op moved like The Italian-American Mafia. They would’ve taken Marlo OUT. As soon as he made a move on any Co-op members. Marlo had no reason to fear The Co-op. SMH 🤦🏾‍♂️ No real organization.

They could've hired Brother Mouzone to kill him Brother was good at that and shit Omar would've took him out if they payed him well for the hit shit Slim Charles would've

Ukraine is not a member of Nato. This is part of the whole discussion. It may sound like semantics but it is actually important.

You summed it all up, the co-op feared Marlo, Slim Charles warned Prop Joe when he said The Boy Marlo know some shit, and Prop Joe was a complete idiot to attempt to civilize and make an alliance with that man, to even bring him to the co-op plus he was Westside, just like Avon. So the Co-op crumbling was all of Prop Joe's fault, Hungry Man's death Prop Joe's fault, his own death his fault. He should've let Marlo do his own thing, but the Co-op could've killed Marlo and got the connect🤷🏿‍♂️

One word kept Marlo alive, CHRIS

They didn't kill Marlo because the show creators wrote it that way. There's no actual logical reason that would hold up in real life

Old Heads don’t understand that they the only ones following them old rules and the young lions don’t respect the old ways of doing business!

I get what you were saying about NATO and whatnot but Ukraine is not a NATO member state

Your comparison of the Co-Op's wartime position to that of individual NATO members vis-a-vis the Russia-Ukraine war is faulty.

Chris was the zombie master had them all shook

Because he had the connect. They didnt. Also he benefited them. He had leverage. Make no sense to kill someone they benefit

Ukrain is not part of NATO if that is the country that you refering here.

The mafia had a similar situation with their commission, against carmine galane, they eventually killed galante.

Because Marlo is a story device. Its why he's impervious and his team is the best and then they arent. The whole point was to show that dynasties like the old Barksdale crews are freying under the drug trade and younger men are more violent. Its the same reason why Omar was killed the way he was - to show that social bonds are fraying further but the drug trade keeps going.

Slim Charles also saw Marlo was making a move.

They didn't take he serious until it was too late to do anything about it.

In real life he would have got banged by Avon. This was a little Hollywood. Avon was written as smart. When they went to war it would have been over for Marlow. You can't let dealers take your corners. It makes you soft on the block. The most dangerous dealers always got dropped.

In the streets ya find different types of people, some coulda been anything but got into tit for tat murder beef after their homie was killed, some are natural hustlers but lacked opportunities, some are so generationally deep in it all they don't even realize something is off to the outside world (like ya moms bringin ya food at work like it's an office job or something), some are only concerned about power, some are absolute psychopaths and love hurtin folks, mostly people are just people and are decent beyond what they've done to survive, there are some Marlo's - but still, most ain't. Pretty much nobody chooses it, you're born into it in some way or fall into it. Joe is 100% gangster but it's different flavors. He's really the "my mind in my 9" type G instead of the "bang it out" type. We're given a telling scene where he says they do sometimes have to go for the gun but that they ain't gotta live by it. The fact that he sat all day in that repair shop also tells us he not only likes fixing things but also likes the challenge. He probably saw the potential benefits of keeping people like Avon and his more extreme counterpart Marlo, and once he decided to try and get em in line with his vision he almost certainly wanted to see it through even when others woulda given up. Plus he didn't seem to have kids so fixing street kids may have been a substitute. But he was also an intelligent and practical cat. Say the Barksdale and Stanfield orgs fall, that's a massive vacuum that woulda seen wars rocking the city for years. Not ideal for anybody. And regardless of if it's one big kingpin runnin the whole West or smaller crews making it work, it was best to have em in the co-op for a number of reasons. Also, it was a test of the co-op itself. Sure, folks will throw in for a rate and do some small favors to stay in good graces, dealing with a multifaceted challenge like Marlo was a in some ways the ultimate test. And ya can't go around preaching cooperation and avoiding violence for business only to wack your own people lol There has to be a level of trust inside and out of the organization. And yeah, in the end he was the plug and was essentially untouchable in the meantime. The real question is why did Joe ever let Marlo get close enough to pull it off. I'd also add that I do think it was likely to come to blows right before Marlo gains the incentive to join and right before he's arrested and just lucked up both times.

I want an 8 or 10 episode stand alone season 6 or spin off with as many of the same characters as they can back Heck david simons so good he could do it realy well like a season v slim v marlo or an entirely different issue or no issue just like as nothing hurts more then life

Yes Joe's strategy was to thwart the Barksdales. It was also Avon's aim to help Marlo so he would end up killing Joe out of revenge

The co-op should have killed Marlo, just to show that no one can get too big, and that it’s a true co-op. would have kept everyone honest knowing everyone was willing to do the right thing.

There is no logical explanation for this, because it was ridiculous - a whole bunch of gangsters don't have balls or muscle to take out one kingpin? That just doesn't add up. Just as ridiculous was a fact that they needed his crew to chase away NY dealers. And in the end if Marlo was out of the picture Greeks would easily find another buyer on their own, that's not a rocket science for professional criminals on this level (btw, the fact that they just let him kill Prop Joe whom they valued so much as business partner was also bizzare). As great as The Wire was, it did not avoid certain flaws in plot, and those are just some of them.

Simple put it the co-op was using Diplomacy by appeasement. Marlo only seen it as weakness.

The answer is much more simple: Co-op was a bunch of pussai bachas Seriously, they were. But also Marlo had plot armor, story would not be as deep without him. In the street it would not happen like that.

There’s an interesting parallel between Marlo and Putin and the new day co op and nato. I liked that you touched on it but it’s a topic that deserves to be fleshed out fully.

The co-op saw Marlo and his crew as effective muscle for-hire. They were all too arrogant to see how smart and ambitious Marlo was. One guy didn't sleep on Marlo, though. Slim Charles saw what Marlo was cooking up in one of the co-op meetings. He even warned Prop Joe to look out for Marlo, the second Slim smelled it. Throughout the show, Slim always knew what was up. Only other soldiers, like Marlo and Avon, recognized how sharp Slim Charles was.

The Eastside was about business. The Westside were the killers. That's why Joe wanted Marlo apart of the CO-OP in my opinion. Killing Marlo would collectively make the business vulnerable to outsiders again. Joe rested on his relationship with the connect. Ain't no loyalty if the next man or woman is offering more. Marlo was indeed offering more. Makes me wonder who Marlo's connect was prior to joining the CO-OP!? Cause what made Joe think that Marlo wouldn't find out about the Greeks. Marlo was already his OWN boss on the WESTSIDE. It was ONLY a matter of time before he cut Joe out the picture.

They weren't as ruthless as Marlo, they're all old school type dudes. Making money, very few bodies and whatnot. Meanwhile Marlo is highly organized and super willing to kill, I think they knew they weren't a match for him or terrified of him

Someone from within the co-op had to take the initiative and take out Marlo. No one did. Marlo wins

I love your content. Even my father likes your videos.

They thought they where smart enough to use him against New York for example. Marlo was only accepting people below him Not anyone above.

When Joe said “For a cold group of gangsters I’m proud to see y’all carry it like Republicans, they took that seriously and started acting like republicans instead of gangsters smh.

Bad writing. Marlo was able to do things that were clearly illustrated in earlier seasons to merit a well deserved death. Antagonists that are allowed to operate with protagonists seemingly afflicted by plotdumb seem much more threatening, the very end when he wasn’t immediately smoked by the 2 corner boys cemented this idea to me