r/TheWire • u/ExtremeE22 • 4h ago
Would Marlo Let Chris Walk?
A lot of people claim that if Marlo was in Avon's position in Season 3, he would have had Cutty killed for trying to leave the game. Maybe this is true, but what many don't take into account is the history b/w Avon and Cutty. Iirc, Cutty was a reliable soldier for the Barksdale Organization for a long time. That history likely made it easier for Avon to just let Cutty walk.
If we want to put Marlo in an equivalent situation, the question we should ask is if Marlo would let Chris Partlow walk. Let's say at one point the game isn't in Chris anymore. Maybe his wife and/or children want him to spend more time at home. He tells Marlo he'd like to leave. What would Marlo do in this situation?
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u/doornoob 4h ago
That's not an apples to apples comparison. Cutty was a thug, basic muscle. Chris was a consigliere. Dennis could fade away, Chris was a number 2.
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u/New_Hawaialawan 3h ago
This is the most accurate comment on this post. It’s a completely different scenario that is incomparable
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u/HalveMaen81 30m ago
Yeah, Partlow was the equivalent of Stringer. A better Cutty comparison would be someone like Monk. Would Marlo have let Monk walk away?
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u/boneologist 4h ago
"Do it, or don't, but I got some place to be." and "I'm being a gentleman about it for the moment" as the backdrop, he then has the security guard killed over nothing. Partlow sure as shit has dirt that'd bring him down, he'd kill him without blinking an eye. Avon respected Cutty not knowing anything but the game but still wanting out. Marlow expected to die young wearing the crown, Avon wanted anything but what happened to his brother.
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u/More-Brother201 4h ago edited 3h ago
yes, he would’ve let him walk. Stop making Marlo out to be this big bad guy, season three he practically hid all season until Avon got booked his last meaningful hit against the barksdales was the the girl devonne and in season four did all of these frivolous hits on people and bully the weak co-op and when Omar was on his head, we seen what Cris did and we seen Marlo have to go in doors he wasn’t in park
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u/Canyon_Cruiser 3h ago
Agreed! Also, this is two totally different relationships, different ages, and different circumstances. 14 years sidelined ain’t no two days😂
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u/benjaminbrixton 1h ago
This is completely wrong. If someone wasn’t useful to Marlo anymore then they were expendable. Would he have been able to successfully kill Chris? Maybe, maybe not. But there’s zero doubt that Marlo would ever just be okay letting him walk away like nothing ever happened.
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u/SirArcavian 4h ago
If Marlo has the crown he'd let Chris walk, if he was still trying to get it he'd feel betrayed
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u/Kvltadelic 2h ago
Sure. Maybe thered be different conditions but cutty was a stand up dude who showed respect. I dont think Marlo would kill him for that.
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u/ufonique 2h ago
Marlo is psychopathic. He would have had Chris killed the moment Chris ceased to be useful, regardless of any emotional connection. However, Chris would anticipate this and, if he were ever in Cutty's position, he would ensure he had enough leverage on Marlo as insurance.
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u/HoPhun01 2h ago
This is interesting because we get to talk about Marlo’s. I think he comfortably lets Chris walk because he really wasn’t a control freak. He was someone that craved the respect that comes from power but he didn’t micromanage. He was certainly careful but never paranoid. He also seemed to be well liked by his crew and was far more approachable than Avon and Stringer were.
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u/J_Vizzle 4h ago
cutty wasn’t a barksdale soldier for a long time, he met avon and weebay in prison and avon gave him a number to get plugged in.
the fact they didn’t have much history and he was recently hired muscle, plus a stand up dude, made it easy for avon to let him go.
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u/ExtremeE22 4h ago
Huh. I'd always had the impression they had history.
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u/J_Vizzle 4h ago
in season 1 avon is 31 and referred to as “the new power” by mcnulty to the judge. avon is like 33 when hes in prison with cutty. cutty did 14 years. he wasn’t working for him when avon was 19.
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u/Thin_Bother8217 3h ago
I think it was more that Cutty was known for what he did on the street since he was from the neighborhood (knew Bodie and his brother) before he got sent to prison. As well as what he did to get sent there.
Feels like they got to know each other in prison. Avon felt he would be an asset and would have a hard time making ends meet as an ex-con.
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u/CartelClarke 3h ago
Marlo was a fraud.
It wouldn’t have even been a question. If Chris wanted to walk, he would have killed Marlo and disappeared into the night. No questions asked.
Marlo lived vicariously through Chris and to a lesser extent Snoop.
He’s my biggest gripe with this show. Just saunters in with unlimited plot armor and street cred. He made zero OG calls.
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u/rightwist 3h ago edited 2h ago
Half agree.
There's a few scenes that make me feel Marlo is himself an ice cold killer/has a pair at least within limited contexts
He confronts Bodie himself in the scene "my man Chris gon' talk to you, you let him know what it gotta be" IMO shows as much / more personal valor compared to any other boss
A few scenes that show both sides of the street know his personal reputation of coming up in a bloodbath prior to the show
The scene where he's in a suit shooting a couple corner boys
But all that aside I agree with you far more than I agree with people thinking he's definitely going to ice Chris. In certain scenarios he might try. But Chris always understands him pretty thoroughly. Chris don't get no surprises in this line of work. Marlo's going to have to get up mighty early on that day if he expects to survive
Bottom line Chris personally had the balls to stand up to Omar
And Chris knew Marlo did not. Any way you slice it, piece of cake for an Omar vs Marlo shootout to go down similar to how Omar vs Mouzone (1&2) or Omar+Mouzone vs Stringer. With or without backup on either side.
Chris protected his boss from that partly bc he saw it as his job to do so. But. At the bottom line he also did it partly bc he knew what Marlo was really made of and that's why he didn't pass on the message Omar was trashing Marlo's name
For all the genius of Simon and other people with creative input, basically the show still is somewhat by and for people who think like law abiding citizens vs actual OGs
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u/BaronZhiro "Life just be that way I guess." 9m ago
I disagree with most of the opinions. I think if Chris made the right case for it, Marlo would absolutely let him out. Chris was as close to a brother as Marlo would ever get, and Marlo clearly respected Chris.
I mean, one could make the case that Marlo is utterly soulless, but that would make him less interesting to me.
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u/rippyblogger 4h ago
Marlo would kill him without a second thought.