Spoilers for The Wire ahead.There are a lot of fantastic characters in shows like The Wire since it ended with season 5 in 2008. Based on author David Simon's experiences as a police reporter, The Wire introduces the various legal and illegal institutions of the city of Baltimore, tracking the drug trade and criminality alongside the police work, bureaucracy, and corruption that go hand-in-hand.

With every season of The Wire comes a look into a different part of the city. Whether that's the public school system, the Barksdale drug operation, the port union, City Hall, the police department, or the city paper, each institution appears to be dysfunctional to such a degree that it's sometimes hard to justify their existence. The Wire is so thematically rich that just about every episode can offer some new insight into a new philosophy or understanding of our modern world. There are some greater, overarching themes of the show, and one character exemplifies them better than others.

Omar Little Was Easily The Best Character In The Wire

No Character Had An Entrance, An Arc, And An End Like Omar

There are plenty of fantastic characters in The Wire, and each has a case to be "the best". When it comes down to it, though, it's hard to choose anyone but Omar Little, played by the late, great Michael K. Williams. From the moment he first strolls on screen, carrying a large shotgun lazily, whistling "The Farmer in the Dell", you don't need to hear the neighborhood yelling their warning, "Omar's coming yo!" to know that this is one bad man. When a stashhouse drops a bag of cash just to get rid of him, you know he's someone special.

With his do-rag, cowboy duster, large scar across his face, and tendency to refer to himself in the third person, Omar feels more like a character from an old western movie than inner city Baltimore. He's like if the Man With No Name left the desert for the East Coast. Omar isn't just a powerful and feared gangster, he has many layers. An open homosexual man with a soft personal side, Omar is in direct contrast to the hyper-masculine persona put on by the drug dealers and criminals he frequently frightens.

He's intelligent and cunning, able to survey and make plans as well as he can sharp shoot. Omar also adheres to a strict moral code and refuses to harm innocents and civilians. Throughout the series, Omar gets the best of those who are after him, and whenever the police or the drug organization think they have him, he finds a way out. He's an anti-hero through and through, and it's very easy to root for him.

Omar Didn't Fall Neatly On Either Side Of The Wire's Cops vs. Criminals Conflict

Omar Looked Out For Himself And Tried To Stay Moral

Despite being a thief, murderer, and drug dealer, Omar doesn't fall cleanly on one side of the moral line in The Wire, because in The Wire, the line of legality is not the same as the line of virtue. In fact, for most of The Wire, Omar directs his hatred at the Barksdale organization because they tortured and killed his boyfriend, Brandon Wright (Michael Kevin Darnall). Most of his crimes come from a place of vengeance rather than greed or hate. He even let Brother Mouzone (Michael Potts) live after deciding he was not responsible for killing Brandon.

Michael K. Williams was cast in the role after only a single audition.

Later, his war takes him up against Marlo Stanfield (Jamie Hector) after Marlo sets him up to be sent to prison and later tortures Butchie (S. Robert Morgan), Omar's long-time friend and confidant. For almost the entirety of The Wire, Omar is acting as a vigilante, taking on the criminal elements of Baltimore who overstep the boundaries of decency and the unwritten rules of the street. Even when he begins going after Marlo, he doesn't take the money, he burns it instead.

Omar is certainly a criminal, but he's also willing to help the police when he feels that someone's actions are unwarranted. He helps Bunk Moreland (Wendell Pierce) and Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West) on more than one occasion and even takes the stand to send people who have wronged him to jail. He looks out for himself, but he also takes care never to do anything that someone would consider unconscionable.

The Wire's Best Character Confirms Neither The Show's Heroes Or Villains Were Fully Right

No One Institution In The Wire Has A Solution For The Ills Of Society

There are no heroes in The Wire. The show takes great pains to show that. Even the organizations that are ostensibly there to help, i.e., the Baltimore Police Department, are filled with corrupt, lazy, violent, and selfish individuals who are more interested in abusing their power than protecting people. The Wire is suspicious of all institutions, whether they be legal or illegal, and no one answer is ever right. Even Bunny Colvin (Robert Wisdom), who seemed the most interested in doing good, failed in his attempts to social engineer the drug trade in Baltimore.

Omar is a criminal, but he tries his best to still maintain a moral backbone.

Omar is a criminal, but he tries his best to still maintain a moral backbone. He takes his grandmother to church, looks out for those he loves, and tries to keep his killing to a minimum. At the same time, he's not a straight hero either. Bunk calls him out on this in season 3, telling Omar that he grew up in this neighborhood too, and it used to be close-knit. Now it's just violence, and whether he has a code or not, Omar is partially responsible for the atmosphere. No one is a hero in The Wire, and the villains have histories too. Omar reveals both sides of that coin.

The Wire Drives Home This Message With Other Characters, But Omar Is The Best Example

Omar Shows The Goodness In Bad People, And The Baseness Of Being A Vigilante

The idea that no one is completely a hero or a villain is an idea exemplified by just about everyone in The Wire. The ostensible main character (in season 1, at least), McNulty, is far from the boy scout cop of other police dramas. Omar exemplifies this idea better than anyone, however. A violent and dangerous criminal, people fear Omar, and yet, he has a kind and respectful side. There's clearly a part of him, a large part, that is only doing what he knows to survive, while attempting to cause as little havoc as possible.

In the same breath, he's still setting a horrible example for the neighborhood. Bunk lets Omar know that he saw some young kids playing the other day, each one claiming they wanted to be "Omar" in their game. He may be a folk hero to some, but he still commits violence, steals, and is involved with an element that harms his community. Omar is neither a complete hero nor a complete villain, a harsh truth about people that The Wire constantly illustrates, and it's never more clear than with Omar Little.