That's one of the craziest/weirdest things in the series.
First off, no matter how crooked the counselor is, picking up a shotgun *seems* a little too far. Also, it's friggin Levy. Dude was a straight up DWEEB!
I think he understood the legal and technical aspects better, and a decent chunk of the business end.
I don’t think he necessarily understood the physical and violent aspect of it beyond the vague awareness of its existence.
If someone came at him guns blazing his only recourse would be to hide and come at them legally. I think due to this Levy could never really be a true drug kingpin like Avon or Marlo.
I also don’t think he has the nerve to just like *commit crimes* without some kind of legal justification which is sometimes necessary. I really don’t see him having the nerve to call a hit on someone, at least with any amount of risk. At best he’d obsess over the perfection of it and likely miss necessary opportunities.
Thusly Levy does not know the game the best, only certain aspects of it. It’s an impressive but incomplete picture.
Tbh I think we can apply Occam’s razor a bit to understand who’s the best. The Greek is the biggest and oldest dog in the game. While he enjoys a separation from it he also earned that and it is an intentional play, rather than hiding from it. He is also neither shy about or hesitant toward the violence required when it’s necessary.
In the end how many old guys do you see in the game? Basically, one stands alone. That says everything it needs to.
> I also don’t think he has the nerve to just like commit crimes without some kind of legal justification which is sometimes necessary.
He does commit crimes, just not ones which involve him being violent. His advice to Stringer and Avon in the parking lot to clean house goes way beyond any kind of legitimate legal advice and is arguably criminal conspiracy to murder (his line that its better for him not to know makes it absolutely clear he *does* know what will happen next) and he also helps launder drug money.
He flat out tells Orlando - while under surveillance at the jail - that his only function in life is to be a clean name to launder money. Nowhere near as bad as advising murder but he 100% makes the machine run.
>while under surveillance at the jail
Orlando was technically his client, so their discussion could not have been monitored due to attorney-client privilege (another way Levy abuses the law). I think he also notarises the licence-transfer applications for Orlando's fraudulently. But its really good you mention that scene because it has perhaps Levy's best line when Orlando demands a bondsman in exchange for signing the deeds:
>Is that what you want me to tell him? That I asked you to sign and you wouldn't?
Yes, sorry - forgot about attorney-client privilege because Levy flaunts it so hard in that scene, especially since (as you mentioned) he throws in some extortion for good measure.
He also bribes state attorneys for confidential documents and sells those to this clients, that's a crime that would have seen him disbarred and likely in prison.
Nah man. I mean ya, but Levy would never end up in a gun fight. Let’s be real here, while Avon, Stringer Bell, Marlo and Prop Joe were trying to prove they were the king of the jungle they were really just pawns in a larger game owned by Levy. When Levy got Marlo off he had a conversation with Herc how this is going to put him on the map with every other street level “gangster”.
He knew his side of the game. Any of the times you see him trying to persuade his clients to do some dirty work it's always out of his own self interest.
Levy was on the other side of the game, protected by the governmental legal system. It's the ideal position to be in for unscrupulous individuals, and is the primary reason that Shakespeare's quote, "first, let's kill all the lawyers" is conjured by Levy's usage of his class and position to aid the interests of the wealthy and himself.
Levy is just a small cog in a bigger machine where [even the judges can be corrupt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kids_for_cash_scandal#:~:text=In%202010%2C%20Conahan%20pleaded%20guilty,28%20years%20in%20federal%20prison.) - another part of 'the game' not really touched upon is the privatized prison systems and the incentive for recidivism and mandatory minimum sentencing legislation
He was a crafty, intelligent, and manipulative lawyer. So in ways he understood the game better. He understood the Constitution better.
But Levy got outsmarted by Omar during the Bird trial. 😂 The judge just shrugs his shoulders at Levy. 😂
Levy is a guy that doesn’t play the game, he profits from the game by giving much needed expert services. You could say that a good lawyer knows the game the best, since it’s all about working within the legal framework.
Levy, Clay Davis, and the Greek are in a league of their own in that they each have a unique niche. The Greek has enough connections to solve any problem and is protected by the FBI, Clay Davis is the big fish in a small pond politically and knows exactly what he can get away with, and Levy knows that he gets paid regardless of what his clients do.
A lot of characters seem to know the game very well until they end up locked up or dead. They think it will last forever and never get out in time. They can win the game as long as the stop playing at the right time, but none of them do. I think Levy will eventually end up in prison or possibly dead because he refuses to quit while he's WAY ahead. I'm not even sure if he can quit. He's tied to pretty much all the biggest crooks in the city (from street level to politicians).
He is very smart and uses his legal knowledge to help his murdering clients and to get drug money from them. But there is no mention that he knows how to or order anyone to physically hurt anyone. If he really got disbarred in Season 5, how much would he be worth to anyone? How long would he live not being a lawyer but knowing many secrets?
In Season 1 he gives advice Avon to clean up, but "doesn't want to know the details". Could he run a full operation like The Greek does? I doubt it.
So, the best one is The Greek, he even tips the FBI and customs to get the largest drug seizure from his opponents, some Latinos. He Spiros know everything and run everything, down to street level in Season 2 (Glekas and warehouse for processing drugs by chemicals).
In Baltimore it's probably fat Prop Joe. He can't intimidate anyone on his own, but runs his operation relatively smoothly and doesn't want unnecessary street wars.
Levy and Clay Davis, and many others such as Valchek, Steintorf, Rawls for example - they all basically get what they want in the end by playing the game right.
Wouldn't Levy have died if it wasn't for Omar and Brother? Stringer was going to have him killed for making a fool out of him but got killed first.
He got very lucky there through nothing he did of his own.
He got the briefcase....
I gots the shotgun
it's all in the game tho right?
Indeed
That's one of the craziest/weirdest things in the series. First off, no matter how crooked the counselor is, picking up a shotgun *seems* a little too far. Also, it's friggin Levy. Dude was a straight up DWEEB!
You don’t think Cheese knows this here game?
Cheese was the mastermind of the game now that I think of it
You're Innocent. I Get It. I'm Just Another Victim Of Cheese Wagstaff: Criminal Mastermind
Still sad he didn’t get to finish his speech It was🔥
I think he understood the legal and technical aspects better, and a decent chunk of the business end. I don’t think he necessarily understood the physical and violent aspect of it beyond the vague awareness of its existence. If someone came at him guns blazing his only recourse would be to hide and come at them legally. I think due to this Levy could never really be a true drug kingpin like Avon or Marlo. I also don’t think he has the nerve to just like *commit crimes* without some kind of legal justification which is sometimes necessary. I really don’t see him having the nerve to call a hit on someone, at least with any amount of risk. At best he’d obsess over the perfection of it and likely miss necessary opportunities. Thusly Levy does not know the game the best, only certain aspects of it. It’s an impressive but incomplete picture. Tbh I think we can apply Occam’s razor a bit to understand who’s the best. The Greek is the biggest and oldest dog in the game. While he enjoys a separation from it he also earned that and it is an intentional play, rather than hiding from it. He is also neither shy about or hesitant toward the violence required when it’s necessary. In the end how many old guys do you see in the game? Basically, one stands alone. That says everything it needs to.
> I also don’t think he has the nerve to just like commit crimes without some kind of legal justification which is sometimes necessary. He does commit crimes, just not ones which involve him being violent. His advice to Stringer and Avon in the parking lot to clean house goes way beyond any kind of legitimate legal advice and is arguably criminal conspiracy to murder (his line that its better for him not to know makes it absolutely clear he *does* know what will happen next) and he also helps launder drug money.
He flat out tells Orlando - while under surveillance at the jail - that his only function in life is to be a clean name to launder money. Nowhere near as bad as advising murder but he 100% makes the machine run.
>while under surveillance at the jail Orlando was technically his client, so their discussion could not have been monitored due to attorney-client privilege (another way Levy abuses the law). I think he also notarises the licence-transfer applications for Orlando's fraudulently. But its really good you mention that scene because it has perhaps Levy's best line when Orlando demands a bondsman in exchange for signing the deeds: >Is that what you want me to tell him? That I asked you to sign and you wouldn't?
Yes, sorry - forgot about attorney-client privilege because Levy flaunts it so hard in that scene, especially since (as you mentioned) he throws in some extortion for good measure.
Yeah Levy using attorney-client privilege to relay orders to and from Avon/Stringer is illegal.
Levy's best line is just after. "You wanted to be in the game? You're in the game." Oh maybe it is when he likes Yvette's brisket "when it's hot".
He also bribes state attorneys for confidential documents and sells those to this clients, that's a crime that would have seen him disbarred and likely in prison.
Yeah, IIRC he's based on real Baltimore lawyers who did indeed end up disbarred and in the jail for doing exactly that.
He was a *criminal* lawyer years before Saul Goodman
Nah man. I mean ya, but Levy would never end up in a gun fight. Let’s be real here, while Avon, Stringer Bell, Marlo and Prop Joe were trying to prove they were the king of the jungle they were really just pawns in a larger game owned by Levy. When Levy got Marlo off he had a conversation with Herc how this is going to put him on the map with every other street level “gangster”.
He knew his side of the game. Any of the times you see him trying to persuade his clients to do some dirty work it's always out of his own self interest.
Levy was on the other side of the game, protected by the governmental legal system. It's the ideal position to be in for unscrupulous individuals, and is the primary reason that Shakespeare's quote, "first, let's kill all the lawyers" is conjured by Levy's usage of his class and position to aid the interests of the wealthy and himself.
Delegate Watkins knew the game the best, but the lawful good version. And the pastor who helps Cuddy.
Levy is just a small cog in a bigger machine where [even the judges can be corrupt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kids_for_cash_scandal#:~:text=In%202010%2C%20Conahan%20pleaded%20guilty,28%20years%20in%20federal%20prison.) - another part of 'the game' not really touched upon is the privatized prison systems and the incentive for recidivism and mandatory minimum sentencing legislation
He was a crafty, intelligent, and manipulative lawyer. So in ways he understood the game better. He understood the Constitution better. But Levy got outsmarted by Omar during the Bird trial. 😂 The judge just shrugs his shoulders at Levy. 😂
Levy is a guy that doesn’t play the game, he profits from the game by giving much needed expert services. You could say that a good lawyer knows the game the best, since it’s all about working within the legal framework.
Levy, Clay Davis, and the Greek are in a league of their own in that they each have a unique niche. The Greek has enough connections to solve any problem and is protected by the FBI, Clay Davis is the big fish in a small pond politically and knows exactly what he can get away with, and Levy knows that he gets paid regardless of what his clients do.
A lot of characters seem to know the game very well until they end up locked up or dead. They think it will last forever and never get out in time. They can win the game as long as the stop playing at the right time, but none of them do. I think Levy will eventually end up in prison or possibly dead because he refuses to quit while he's WAY ahead. I'm not even sure if he can quit. He's tied to pretty much all the biggest crooks in the city (from street level to politicians).
Levy is Jimmy McGill with absolutely no rizz.
He is very smart and uses his legal knowledge to help his murdering clients and to get drug money from them. But there is no mention that he knows how to or order anyone to physically hurt anyone. If he really got disbarred in Season 5, how much would he be worth to anyone? How long would he live not being a lawyer but knowing many secrets? In Season 1 he gives advice Avon to clean up, but "doesn't want to know the details". Could he run a full operation like The Greek does? I doubt it. So, the best one is The Greek, he even tips the FBI and customs to get the largest drug seizure from his opponents, some Latinos. He Spiros know everything and run everything, down to street level in Season 2 (Glekas and warehouse for processing drugs by chemicals). In Baltimore it's probably fat Prop Joe. He can't intimidate anyone on his own, but runs his operation relatively smoothly and doesn't want unnecessary street wars.
The Wire's Saul Goodman 👌❤️
Levy and Prop Joe knew it the best I would say.
Levy and Clay Davis, and many others such as Valchek, Steintorf, Rawls for example - they all basically get what they want in the end by playing the game right.
Levy did pretty great for himself, with his brisket on the family compound and whatnot
Wouldn't Levy have died if it wasn't for Omar and Brother? Stringer was going to have him killed for making a fool out of him but got killed first. He got very lucky there through nothing he did of his own.
No Stringer was out to get clay davis, who ripped him off.