What's up with Bug's dad?

April 17, 2008 1:53 PM

I have a question about Season 4 of The Wire. Spoiler inside.

My question concerns Bug's father: was he really a pedophile or did Michael just make up an accusation in order to get him out of the way? As I was watching, I did not get any solid evidence that he was, but plenty of evidence that Michael did not like being replaced as the head of the household.

posted by pasici to media & arts (21 comments total)

I got the feeling that he was a super creep jerk dad but not a pedo and that Michael told Chris (yes?) that in order to assure that he'd be taken care of.
posted by jessamyn at 1:57 PM on April 17, 2008

I might be wrong, but I think I recall Michael making a hard effort to make sure the younger boy was never alone with him.
posted by NoRelationToLea at 2:04 PM on April 17, 2008

Michael didn't tell Chris why he wanted his Bug's father killed.... but I think that Chris believed that to be the reason and that's why he went so nuts doing the job. There were a lot of hints on the show that Michael had been abused, mainly in how he kept freaking out whenever Cutty (the boxing coach) was nice to him - when you couple that stuff with his hatred of Bug's dad (when Michael was shown to be, for the most part, a really nice kid) I think that the viewer is meant to assume that Michael had been molested by that guy.
posted by moxiedoll at 2:08 PM on April 17, 2008 [3 favorites]

I think we are invited to think that he might well be, and that this may explain Michael's apparent suspicion that Cutty is too Wikipedia sort of agrees!
posted by game warden to the events rhino at 2:09 PM on April 17, 2008

Huh, I read that scene as Mike's crossroad moment. The only way to get rid of the dad (crackhead & drug enabler, but not pedo IMHO) was to make up such a story that Chris & Snoop would take Mike seriously enough to do the job. Definitely a moral threshold for Mikey.
posted by Aquaman at 2:10 PM on April 17, 2008

It's not explicitly stated in the show. Here's the relevant plot summary point from Wikipedia. This post from the HBO forums re-states the ambiguity and one of the comments mentions that Simon confirmed the abuse in the Season 4 DVD commentary. Whether you care about or believe Simon's interpretation is a separate question.
posted by mullacc at 2:10 PM on April 17, 2008

I should have previewed. When you walk through the Metafilter garden, you gotta watch your back.
posted by game warden to the events rhino at 2:11 PM on April 17, 2008 [2 favorites]

There were a lot of hints on the show that Michael had been abused, mainly in how he kept freaking out whenever Cutty (the boxing coach) was nice to him

And even further, the fact that Michael basically REFUSED to be alone with Cutty -- when they get back from the boxing, Michael jumps out of the car to walk home instead of letting Cutty drive him. I don't know if the dad molested Bug, or Michael, but I definitely think something was there.

This theme is something that really stood out for me the second time through the season; there were a bunch of things that, to me anyways, STRONGLY implied abuse (including, as noted above, the way Michael would freak whenever Bug was alone with his father).
posted by inigo2 at 2:12 PM on April 17, 2008

The only way to get rid of the dad (crackhead & drug enabler, but not pedo IMHO) was to make up such a story

To me, the protection Michael shows for Bug when alone with him and the dad shows that it's more than just a made up story for Chris.
posted by inigo2 at 2:13 PM on April 17, 2008

There's a scene in season 5 when Bunk said something like "not that I would blame you after what he did to you" while interrogating him. I always thought his skepticism toward Cutty, the way he was protecting Bug, and that scene with Bunk was meant to imply that he was abused.
posted by eightball at 2:21 PM on April 17, 2008

Some of the online fans seem to think that Chris was abused himself, and that he therefore is both especially attentive and especially intolerant of that kind of stuff.
posted by box at 2:31 PM on April 17, 2008

Oh yeah, box. I immediately thought that was clear. Didn't he even say something, right before he stomped the guy to death, about he knows what it's like? (From jail, maybe?)
posted by mudpuppie at 2:33 PM on April 17, 2008

To me, the protection Michael shows for Bug when alone with him and the dad shows that it's more than just a made up story for Chris.

Agreed.
posted by rooftop secrets at 2:38 PM on April 17, 2008

Yeah my take was that Michael used it as a way to get the probably-abused Chris to really whale on the guy, but this is all interesting speculation.
posted by jessamyn at 2:50 PM on April 17, 2008

I think it's pretty much confirmed in Season 5.
posted by gaspode at 3:30 PM on April 17, 2008

It's not in clear language but AFAIK when Chris and Snoop confront the guy and Chris says something alluding to this.. Bug's dad kind of laughs it off and doesn't exactly deny the implication. that's what sets Chris off b/c normally they'd take him up to one of the vacants. I don't remember the exact quote but pay attention to the dialogue right before Chris beats him.
posted by citron at 4:43 PM on April 17, 2008

My vote is that he really was abused. Michael is still a somewhat honorable character, and I don't see him being cruel enough to have the Dad killed just because he was annoying.

Also agree that Chris is probably drawing on experience being raped in prison while beating on the Dad.
posted by dixie flatline at 4:44 PM on April 17, 2008

I think the people who read Chris as ex-military also have an interesting case (though it's a case that depends pretty heavily on a parking pass).

And yeah--between Michael's interactions with Bug, pops, Cutty and Chris, I'm thinking that the abuse happened. Or, y'know, that that's what the writers would prefer we believe--all the onscreen evidence is circumstantial, though, to the best of my recollection.
posted by box at 6:08 PM on April 17, 2008

I read the "not that I would blame you after what he did to you" scene with Bunk the same way as eightball. And, if I remember correctly, as Bunk was chasing leads right before hauling Michael in for questioning, there was reference to Bunk finding some sort of sealed juvenile records for Michael. (I think.) I took that to mean that Bunk uncovered some sort of official record of abuse.
posted by lillygog at 7:19 PM on April 17, 2008

Can we have an "In-depth The Wire analysis and interpretation question" at least once a week or so? This was fun. We could alternate it with "In-depth Lost analysis and interpretation question" if we must.
posted by Rock Steady at 7:21 PM on April 17, 2008 [3 favorites]

I think, as dixie flatline suggested, it also implied that Chris had been molested, based on the intensity of the beating. Usually Chris and Snoop are all business and pretty casual.
posted by electroboy at 7:15 AM on April 18, 2008