Bodie – A true soldier on the wire

Character role: Bodie (legally Preston Broadus) is a distributor at The Wire who is initially in the Avon Barksdale organization. Bodie was #2 in the Pit under D Barksdale and later went on his own.

Bodie was raised by his grandmother and first got into the game at age 13, at which point he began working with the people of Barksdale.

He lives by the code of a soldier in the game and in that he has a sense of honor. He follows Stringer and Avon’s instructions (even harsh ones directed at his friends), doesn’t give away and works hard trying to slowly go from a pawn to a queen (chess reference).

He’s smart: he managed to claim a trap to evade prison time near the end of season 1, and he’s got a lot of pride and heart: he decides not to leave his corner even when Chris Partlow and Snoop Pearson (the world’s coldest killers) ). series) are facing him. As Jimmy McNulty says, he is a “real soldier”.

Played by: JD Williams

Seasons: Bodie is in seasons 1 – 4.

Best Scene: In the first season, Wallace and Bodie play checkers with pieces from a chess set and D teaches them how to play chess. He throws the different game pieces like players in the game, and Bodie, who seems to understand how chess works, tells D’Angelo, “Okay, so if I get to the other end, I win.” referring to the potential for a pawn to become a powerful queen (or in this case, for Bodie to become Stringer). It’s clear that Bodie wants to do something for himself, but sadly for him, the drug game is much more like how D describes it, “the pawns, man, in the game, they cover up fast.”

My favorite quote: “I feel old. I’ve been there since I was 13. I’ve never blown a count, I’ve never stolen a package, I’ve never made a whistle they didn’t tell me to. But what’s back? … This game is rigged, I know how.” those little bastards on the chessboard. Here is the real Bodie. He is a soldier, loyal to his people and willing to do what must be done; but unfortunately, it’s like D’Angelo says: pawns don’t get very far without being promoted.

Foil or Enemy: Bodie’s friend Wallace. Bodie’s tougher personality, older spirit (some might even say his maturity), and ready-to-do-whatever-it-takes mentality are offset by Wallace’s youthful, baby-faced, moral dilemmas with his occupation and his lack of assertiveness when it comes to playing the drug game.

Critical analysis: (see analysis above)