Michael B. Jordan scored one of the earliest roles of his career as Wallace in The Wire, and not only was he one of the show’s most lovable characters; he met one of its saddest fates. Jordan has become one of the most recognizable and acclaimed movie stars in the world with his lead roles in the Creed and Black Panther franchises, and widely praised performances in Fruitvale Station, Just Mercy, and most recently Sinners. But he started his career as a child actor on television.

Before his roles in All My Children and Friday Night Lights, Jordan played the most endearing character in the first season of The Wire. The Wire’s best characters, but he was sadly not long for this world.

How Wallace Died In The Wire Explained

Wallace Was Killed For Talking To The Police

Wallace is first introduced selling drugs around the housing projects with his friends and fellow dealers Poot and Bodie. He hears that his bosses at the Barksdale Organization are looking for Brandon Wright, the boyfriend of stickup man Omar Little, and provides them with information on where to find him. When the Barksdale goon squad comes down and brutally murders Brandon using Wallace’s intel, Wallace is wracked with guilt and struggles to live with himself. He starts trying to get out of the drug business and even goes to the police to inform on his bosses.

This is the first of many examples of The Wire’s cautionary tale that once you’re in the game, there’s only one way out of the game.

In retaliation, his boss Stringer Bell orders Poot and Bodie to kill their friend. Although they try to get Stringer to call off the hit, he remains resolute, so they corner Wallace and hold him at gunpoint. Wallace begs for his life and his friends hesitate to pull the trigger. In this moment, Wallace isn’t some criminal mastermind; he’s just a scared kid, which makes it all the more heartbreaking. This is the first of many examples of The Wire’s cautionary tale that once you’re in the game, there’s only one way out of the game.

Why The Death Of Michael B. Jordan's Character Was The Wire's Most Tragic

Most Characters In The Wire Sealed Their Own Fate, But Wallace Was A Good Kid

The most obvious thing that makes Wallace’s death so heartbreaking is how young he is. He’s just 16 years old when he’s gunned down; he’s not even an adult yet, so he had his whole life ahead of him. From Sophia Peletier in The Walking Dead to Drew Sharp and Tomás Cantillo in Breaking Bad, the quickest way for a TV show to shock its audience is to kill off a kid. But it’s not just that Wallace was so young; he was a genuinely good person who got mixed in with a bad crowd.

The Wire is now available to stream on Max.

Most characters in The Wire sealed their own fate. Omar spent the whole series ripping off the most dangerous criminals in Baltimore; it was only a matter of time until he got a taste of his own medicine. Stringer tried to play two notorious crooks against each other and they teamed up to get back at him. But Wallace didn’t do anything to seal his fate apart from talking to the police when his conscience got the better of him, and that’s what makes his untimely demise The Wire’s most tragic death.

Jordan Was Also Devastated Over Wallace's Murder

Jordan Had Come To Think Of The Cast & Crew As Family

The viewers weren’t the only ones devastated by Wallace’s fate in The Wire; Jordan himself is still heartbroken by Wallace’s death. Jordan re being “really, really sad” when he read the script in which his character was shot dead. It was the longest he’d stayed on a TV show until that point, and he’d come to think of the cast and crew as “family.” He came away from his experience on The Wire unsure about his future as an actor, but quickly found that every casting director in town counted The Wire as one of their favorite shows.