Conflict and Character Development in Episode 101 of The Wire

David Simon did a outstanding job at establishing the characters at the very beginning of his show, The Wire. Each character shows strong traits and unique personalities. There are lots of conflicts and comparisons between different characters at the early stages of the very first episode.

The show starts with one of the main characters, McArdle (McNulty), interrogating a witness of a murder. The conversation between to exactly opposite characters, a grown-up cop and a local teen gangster, gives a strong contrast. During the talk, McArdle reveals sense of logic, patience and responsibility by asking questions revolving the case very calmly, using long sentences, and trying to connect to the witness. On the other hand, when the witness reply those questions, he tends to answer in short phrases and avoids emotional contact, which shows unsecure and tension. This scene ends at a very interesting point: where the witness says, “Got to. This America, man.” This is the answer to why they let Snot be in their game. But furthermore this implies one of the themes of the show: the ugliness and complications of unspoken rules and deals under table that’s been going on in the US.

Another scene that gathers most of the characters and conflicts is the court. D'Angelo is being charged with crime of murder. Stringer Bell is sitting in the end of the gallery. McArdle joins in and sits one roll behind him. Here David Simon arranged several elements to show Stringer Bell's importance. When the first witness is identifying the murderer, a shot of the witness of looking over to Stringer is taken very quickly, implying there are unknown things done to this case. When McArdle leans over to Stringer and notices the insulting picture with the word" fuck you detective" on his legal pad. This scene tells a lot about Stringer. Apparently he holds great confidence of saving D'Angelo against the legal system and the situation is fully under control. Later this is proven that the second witness obviously lied. After the judgment, as McArdle walks out angrily and meets detective Barlow, who is swearing to his phone, there is another strong contrast. Detective McArdle is obviously responsible and caring by showing up in the case that's not relavent to him, while Detective Barlow, who's actually in charge of this case, still unwares that his case just got turned. The comparison between Mcardle and Barlow clearly shows the mixation of the elite and Scallywags in American legal systems.