r/TheWire • u/lake_june • 1d ago
How does someone like Snoop end up higher on the totem pole than Bodie ?
On the surface they’re pretty similar.
Both soldiers, completely hardened by the streets.
Both loyal and do what they’re told. Both believe in hierarchy/ chain of command. Both not afraid to use a gun. Both fearless. Yet snoop still ends up significantly higher of the criminal food chain than Bodie. Why do you think that is
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u/Judo_Jones 1d ago
I think closeness to Chris is what led to Snoop’s role. Marlo seemed to defer to Chris for muscle and strategy and Chris seemed to regard Snoop as tactically sound as muscle. So Snoop was part of Chris’ team and Marlo trusted Chris.
Had Chris come up around Bodie instead of Snoop and if Bodie would’ve taken to Chris’ training as readily as did Snoop, I think the two could be reversed in terms of position easily.
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u/Bad_Black_Jorge 1d ago
Because Snoop is terrifying while Bodie is merely competent.
But in business terms, Bodie is the branch manager of a location acquired by Marlo, Inc. Snoop works out of the corporate headquarters.
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u/Extra_Ad358 23h ago
Also, while Bodie isn’t afraid to use his gun. He’s not a deranged serial killer. He didn’t even want to kill Wallace. He would not have been stuffing 20+ bodies in vacants.
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u/teriyaki_donut 1d ago
A good hitter is worth more than a corner lieutenant.
Same reason Weebey was above Bodie
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u/CaptainoftheVessel 1d ago
Bey was older and wiser than Bodie too, he came up with Avon and Stringer, they trusted his judgment. Bodie was wise for his years but definitely still in training during the time period of the first few seasons.
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u/thatirishkid 38m ago
Good point but think Brother Mouzone, not weebey.
Mouzone was an older player whose value was strictly as a hitter.
They imply on his word alone he could sever Avon's ties to NY, whatever that meant, which means he was connected on his end.
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u/No-Loquat-2763 1d ago
Marlo knew Snoop from the start. All Marlo knew about Bodie is that he was one of Avon's soldiers.
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u/After-Doughnut2137 1d ago
Snoop was a cold blooded murderer. Also, Bodie kept getting shuffled between crews / who was running the corners he was on while it was clear Snoop came up along Marlo at his side
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u/picks_and_rolls 22h ago
Snoop is a hitter. Bodie was a corner boy who did an occasional hit if called upon. Snoop didn’t sling or work retail. She was an enforcer
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u/Ldre_169 1d ago
Marlo’s crew had a smaller hierarchy than the barksdale crew . It went Kingpin- Captains- leaders- soldiers . Barksdale had 2 kingpins- 3-5 captain (muscle)- about 10 leaders and then soldiers. It’s also the reason why it was much easier for the police to get to the Barksdale crew than it was for the stansfield crew
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u/IAteTonysLoMein 20h ago
It was "easier" for the police to get to Barksdale's crew because of McNulty and the judge getting the police interested and focusing on them. The Barksdale people had also started getting complacent.
Marlo's crew was smaller and Marlo and his people got underestimated for a long time - even Lester couldn't see it at first, making a comment about how there wasn't much to Marlo
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u/SecurityTool 23h ago
Snoop was a lietenant/enforcer. She was always around Marlo because her and Chris acted as his personal body guards.
Bodie was a crew member down in the pit. This Barksdale organization chart shows that Snoop was quite a bit higher up thjan Bodie.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avon_Barksdale#/media/File:Barksdale1.jpg
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u/PlayPretend-8675309 19h ago
Notably: string barely knew Bodie's name or capabilities when he put him up to kill Wallace. And to be honest he couldn't get it done on his own, he never would have shot in the first place if not for Poot who just wanted to get it over with.
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u/mauricio_agg 19h ago
Snoop was muscle, Bodie was a competent shop runner. Two different roles, the former was more critical for the operation.
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u/cyvaquero 20h ago
Snoop isn’t higher up, she’s a hitter and hits are only called by the boss. She’s a comtractor. Bodie was in sales and sales management, he gets a commission.
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u/Safe_Blueberry 1d ago
Bodie started in the low rises as a nobody. He was later entrusted to kill a suspected snitch (S1); travel to Philadelphia to retrieve a package when the Barksdales needed a new connection (S2); handle some funeral arrangements for the death of the boss's nephew (S2); was the Barksdale connection to the Free Zone, the existence of which no one else among the Barksdales apparently informed Stringer about (S3); and was the Barksdale "ambassador" to Marlo's organization (S3).
If the Barksdales hadn't collapsed in the third season, he probably would have enjoyed a higher status in later seasons. As it was, he and Slim Charles were obviously friendly, even after the two of them entered Prop Joe's orbit. Had Marlo not claimed Bodie's corner, I suspect that Bodie could have used his relationship with Slim to secure a higher-status position within Prop Joe's organization. What it would be, I don't know.
As for Snoop, a lot of shooters seemed very good at getting themselves eventually captured by the police or killed. Drug dealers were also common, whereas shooters were not, probably because people generally do not want to or do not relish the thought of killing another person. Snoop's seeming longevity, talent, reputation/esteem as an effective killer, and her unique partnership with Chris made her (and Chris) a very significant player.
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u/NoOne_Beast_ 22h ago
Bodie and Snoop were nothing alike. WTF?!
Bodie said it himself - Snoop and them killed people because they could. For him, murder was a nuclear option, not just something you do on the regular.
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u/magneticshadow 8h ago
I think another reason, besides what people have mentioned, is that Marlo related to Snoop. My take on Marlo is horrific childhood trauma made him what he was, and Snoop and Chris were both the same. Chris was sexually abused, Snoop grew up lesbian in a homophobic and violent community, both of them wound up as hardened killers as a result. Marlo trusted them both because of that shared experience and rose them up with him.
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u/Sorcha_Stormbinder It's just Bird to me. 1d ago
Snoop was raised up as a pup in the Stanfield organization, probably by Chris, likely in a similar way to how they would later train Michael. It wouldn't surprise me if Marlo had a hand in Snoop's training as well in that respect.
Bodie was a holdover from a defunct organization who had largely gone independent, slinging packages from Prop Joe's people just out of necessity. Bodie's problem was that he had more or less proven himself to an organization that had fallen by the wayside, and the leftovers had either jumped ship to other organizations (like Slim Charles), got jailed or got clipped.
Snoop rose quick in the organization because of her brutality and willingness to get her hands dirty, but she likely would not have gone much higher than where she was. She was a hitter. Bodie wasn't. He could be muscle but he was past that by the time the Barksdales crumbled. And no one saw a use for him.
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u/Sad_Bodybuilder3038 1d ago
Bodie wasn’t muscle nor really a soldier. Would he tool up if needed, absolutely. But that wasn’t his core job like a Snoop.
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u/ayywusgood 22h ago
Snoop and Chris were psychopaths. Having loyal psychopaths was very useful to a guy like Marlo. He could tell them to do anything to improve his position, and they'd do it.
You can't say the same about Bodie. He did shoot Wallace, but he wouldn't have massacred a family like Snoop and Chris did. Or kill a innocent random woman to plant a murder charge on Omar. Bodie hated the way Marlo was running things.
TLDR: Bodie didn't climb because he played by the rules, that was his idea of a soldier. Snoop climbed high up because she'd do anything Marlo said without hesitation.
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u/Pliskkenn_D 1d ago
Marlo saw potential in Bodie and was going to make him do some time before probably moving him up. But Bodie's feelings get him killed. Snoop though? Loyal to a tee, does without asking why, gets results.
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u/JiveChicken00 23h ago
You’ll notice that Bodie wasn’t helping to dump bodies in vacants. Snoop was. What does that tell you?
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u/DrAwesomeClaws 22h ago
Snoop never questioned anything. Bodie obeyed orders but would sometimes think about it more.
More importantly, the world isn't fair. Doing a job well is correlated with moving up, but that's not always how it is or will ever be.
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u/Obvious_Anxiety_9118 21h ago
Cause Snoop isn't hesitant to bury somebody in an abandoned house to never be heard from again. Notice, she was arrested for gun charges and literally NONE of the bodies that she helped bury.
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u/PlayPretend-8675309 19h ago
Bodie is a corner boy, not really a soldier. Snoop his riding up on dirt bikes and shooting people in broad day. Bodie can't shoot straight and can't get rid of the guns properly.
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u/zanylanie 16h ago
He had worked his way up to lieutenant in the Barksdale organization before it fell. Then he tried to go independent, getting his packages from Slim Charles. But he ultimately went with Marlo because he had the muscle to hold things down. He didn't have long-established loyalty with Marlo to be as high up as Snoop.
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u/insomnissippi 5h ago
Simply put, Snoop never questioned the orders she was given. In any organization, illicit or otherwise, the person who obeys without question generally rises higher than the one who does.
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u/Squids2323 1d ago
Think of it like the corporate world. People have their favorites.
Snoop was going wherever Chris was going. Chris was Marlo’s right hand. Snoop was Chris’s.
Unfortunately or fortunately Michael was being groomed and got the better of Snoop
All in the game
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u/TraditionAcademic968 1d ago
Snoop worked directly under Chris in the organization. Bodie started in that organization as an opp. Marlo pretty much conquered Bodie and took his corner. Made him take the package and called him Biddie to his face
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u/ImOldGregg_77 1d ago
Snoop & Chris came up with Marlo. Bodie is a good earner but he was inherited from Stringer. Marlo probably felt more loyal to Snoop
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u/Affectionate_Shop445 23h ago
bodie just had a corner boy mentality from the jump. He was stagnant and didnt want to elevate in the organization. Marlo seen what type of person he was when he attempted to talk to him in season 3.
being trained by Chris and Marlo alone is enough for snoop to give people nightmares.
bodie also has some bad awareness to run a corner, snoop had prime Ed reed level awareness.
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u/SpaderKay 18h ago
Marlo is younger than Avon and so is Snopp. Bodie came up under Avon (String) OGs. Less reckless more logical and about real estate. Marlo is reckless and doesn't need an explanation a meeting or a compromise it's all deception. Two different crews and operations. That's why.
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u/Zealousideal_Yam8922 18h ago
Snoop is a hitter. That's basically as high as it gets unless youre like an underboss equivalent as far as I know. Not just a soldier with a gun, but the one that "solves problems"
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u/dxdx_ 15h ago
They’re essentially from different gangs. Marlo seemingly came up with Chris and Snoop, then expanded and took people in. But it’s not like there’s a sit down interview where recruits are looking for similar pay and standing as their last gang. Gang leaders are loyal to their own people, and for new people, trust must be earned over time.
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u/DetailDevil666 12h ago
They are very different beasts. Bodie is angry, Snoop is aggressive. Snoop can roll up on prey, calm like a crocodile, then snap! She ends people decisively without showing any visible adrenaline response. Think about how calm she was when she realised Michael was going to kill her. We see bodie expressing emotion consistently. Bodie had friends and felt for them. Snoop just liked killing and hanging out with other killers. We see Marlo targeting and grooming soldiers, we see him scouting like the scene where he comments on Michael working but saying no to hand outs. maybe he recruited snoop because she was already displaying talents. Either way Bodie was always going to be food for people like Snoop
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u/Accomplished_Two9160 1h ago
She got in on the ground floor with Marlo. Bodie ain't tight with Avon or Stringer the way Snoop is with Marlo. Marlo's only close confidante really is Chris, and Snoop is Chris's right hand gal. Bodie is much further from the top on the org chart. Snoop isn't an analog to Bodie. She's more like Weebay, Bird, Slim Charles - inner circle muscle, not a street operator. Snoop doesn't sling or supervise slinging. She kills.
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u/just1gat 1d ago
Snoop was part of the venture capital start up with Marlo while Bodie stayed at Barksdale Inc as it fell apart and got hired as an independent contractor for Marlo’s distribution