10 Grimmest TV Storylines Ever
5. Wallace’s Demise - The Wire
Sometimes, crime just does not pay.
At just 16 years of age, Michael B. Jordan’s Wallace learns that the hard way. Working with the police to bring down Avon Barksdale’s criminal enterprise, Wallace falls foul of Avon’s right hand man Stringer Belle.
Already traumatised by his involvement in Stringer’s violent crimes, Wallace dies by Stringer’s order. At the mercy of his former friend Bodie, Wallace’s death is a long and painful process, requiring several gunshots to put an end to it.
Despite his often criminal actions in life, Wallace’s death reminds us that he was youngster with his whole life ahead of him. The fear and devastation that washes over him as he dies by the hands of someone he was once so close to is among the bleakest moments in David Chase’s classic series.
Wallace’s story throughout season 1 is a thematic centre to the show. His decline into crime, drug abuse and ultimately death proved how far the series was willing to go in examining the harshest aspects of city life.