20 Flawless TV Character Arcs

Ellis Carver is far from the first character you picture when thinking about The Wire, and yet his development is the richest in a long line of compelling characters. He was always lurking in the background, initially a comic relief and a corrupt cop easy to dislike, but he eventually became so much more.

Originally portrayed as a brutish, immature officer willing to break the rules and push boundaries, Carver was a hot-headed narcotics detective who, after a series of mishaps and personal slips, soon begins to change his ways, striving to become an upstanding and commendable lawman.

Like the bigger personalities of Stringer Bell, Omar Little and Bubbles Cousins, Ellis Carver represented one of The Wire's many key themes; that anyone can change, even if it seems there's no hope for a new beginning. Carver's growth is a testament to the drama's deep-rooted humanism.