"N...., is you taking notes on a criminal f..king conspiracy?!?"
My favorite part of the series is when String realizes he's been conned by Clay Davis, and tries to put a hit out on him. Avon intervenes and scolds String, saying "what I tell you about playin' them fuckin' away games?" Avon (and later, Marlo) understood that they could never go legit, because going legit is just another unfair game with a different set of rules.
The only character that escaped their fate was Bubbles.
The Wire definitely took attention to detail seriously.