Dublin Opinion

Marvin Browning is not a name that pops up that often on The Wire. In fact, the character only has two appearances. The effect he has on the life of Kima Greggs, though, is profund.

Let me explain.

In season one, episode four (’Old Cases’), Kima and McNulty are trying to get one of Avon Barksdale’s crew to turn and give evidence. They find one guy, Marvin, who because of his prior convictions is open to a mandatory five-year sentence for possession. Kima pushes the state attorney to ask for the mandatory sentence, in order to give her some leverage with Marvin and get him to testify against Barksdale.

The attempt fails as Marvin says that he will ‘take the years.’

Six episodes later, (no.10 ‘The Cost’), Marvin is sweeping the floor in the city jail when he spots Wendell “Orlando” Blocker being processed for holding. Orlando had bought drugs from an undercover cop and after he was arrested he told them he could give them Avon Barksdale. He was sent up to City Jail while the cops checked out his information. Marvin rings one of Avon’s crew to tell them that Orlando is in lock-up, and by doing so sets off the chain of events which sees Orlando executed by Wee Bay and Little Man, and Kima seriously injured and in intensive care.

It is highly unlikely that Marvin would have been in jail had Kima not pushed for the mandatory five-year sentence.

The shooting puts an enormous strain on Kima’s relationship with Cheryl, who wants Kima to leave the police force and become a lawyer. That storyline plays out all the way to season five, where Kima recites the wonderful ‘Goodnight Hoppers’ poem to her ex-partner’s child.

With the exception of the final seconds of episode one, season one, there are no flashbacks in The Wire. I’m on my nth watching of the series and only last night did I recognise the guy sweeping the floor as Marvin Browning.

In a couple of years’ time, after I’ve pawned off my Wire DVDs as some future NAMA extension deal, hopefully I will have committed the series to memory so that, as in Fahrenheit 451, I’ll be able to retell its tale from memory while sighing at those who will ask “Hey, old man, did you really live under an economy? What was that like?”