MovieChat Forums > The Wire (2002) Discussion > Why did Omar get so stupid? (Spoilers)

Why did Omar get so stupid? (Spoilers)


He always felt like this really smart guy who planned everything out, kept himself hidden and made strategic assaults. But in S5 dude is just limping around in broad daylight showing everyone how vulnerable he currently is with the bad leg. He's screaming Marlo's name when he should know by this point he's got a bounty on him and anyone could walk up and shoot him in the head, which is exactly what happens.

And i get he aint afraid of anyone, and normally he could probably walk around like that and get away with it when he's 100% on not on one leg. I think that kid looked at him and saw how hurt he was and knew it would be easy to take him out. Which is why i don't get why he was being so stupid, dude was just asking to be shot at that point.

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When everyone is afraid of you and surrender when they hear your name, when that lasted long enough you would let your guard down too.

It is human nature.

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And i said i would understand him acting that way, when he's 100%. I don't care what kind of reputation you have as a bad ass, if you are seen limping around on a crutch barely able to move you should maybe think someone will see that weakness and maybe have more balls than usual and make a move on you, especially when the gangster running the entire city's drug trade has a hit out on you.

I would think Omar would've thought about that and not been so reckless.

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Going around in broad daylight was the whole point though at this stage - shouting Marlo's name, calling him a coward in front of all the street players. His reasoning may have been that none of the adult or even teenage dealers would seize on this, not because they were scared of the clearly incapacitated Omar, but because it would mean Marlo would find out that Omar was wandering around giving him a bad name in the street and would either be annoyed with his closer members for not informing him (which could lead to retaliation by them), or Marlo might want to teach a lesson to the individual who killed Omar for daring to act on his behalf without authorisation.
They way Omar saw it, either word gets back to Marlo, who faces him man to man, or word is out that Marlo is weak and is nothing in the streets.
What he hadn't factored in, as you say, is a child with nothing to lose and no prejudices towards Omar's reputation seeing it as an opportunity to take him out. As other posters have said, he maybe had gotten a little complacent re his reputation in that sense, especially since he'd been away from the street for at least 18 months.
In some way, though, it worked posthumously for Omar. Michael raised concerns with Chris and Snoop about them not wanting to let Marlo know that Omar had been calling him out in the street. This proved to be the final straw as far as their relationship with Michael was concerned, it led to the legendary MY NAME IS MY NAME rant from Marlo, and more importantly, their botched attempt on Michael led to the demise of Snoop (a key member of the Stansfield organisation) and later to Michael robbing that rim shop which had previously been Marlo's main stash house.
It's evident in the final scene featuring Marlo, too, that Omar's become a legend of that world while they don't even know who Marlo is. So in that sense, too, Omar "died the hero" and so arguably won in that way too.

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Omar had no hesitancy about walking around in daylight amongst the kids. As early as the third season he asks "How'd you expect to run with the wolves at night if you spend all day sparring with the puppies?"

And it wasn't his physical condition that took him down. It was underestimating the danger of the young kids like Kennard.

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Which Kennard wouldn't have been so bold to even make a move on him had Omar not been limping around showing how hurt he was, so imo it was his physical condition that took him down. He showed he was a wounded man and not on the top of his game.

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He still would have ignored Kennard if his leg was OK. Makes no difference.

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