Herc season five (spoilers-beware)

lukin

Having just finished watching season five I was dismayed to see Herc working as a Private Eye for Maurice Levy.
Considering he was part of the detail that took down The Barksdale Organisation (one of Levy's clients) it seemed a little off that he would work for him.
Another thing that surprised me was that Carver continued to be friendly with Herc after he left the force, despite Carver knowing (as he must have) that he was working for Levy.
In one ep he is even seen in a bar drinking with all the Western District cops.
First I thought he was informing on Levy for Carver (giving him Marlo's cell number seemed to indicate that). But then it turns out he told Levy there was a wiretap on Marlo so I am thinking that it was all a ruse from the start?
Herc also seemed to be pleased when Marlo got off which really annoyed me.
I am a little confused (and annoyed at Herc turning out to be "bad"!).
Maybe I just didn't watch it right, I know The Wire likes to be cryptic.

Schism

Never minded it that much, must rewatch it.

Herc came across as a bit of a chancer though didn't he. Himself and Carver taking the wads of cash for instance.

Jimmy Iovine

Herc was never the straightest of detectives. He showed many times that he could mess up so i'm not surprised by him screwing with the case. As for Herc turning out to be bad I would have been more annoyed if he didn't become bad considering the effects of his ignorant actions on the lives of Randy, Bubbles and as a result Sherrod.

lukin

Jimmy Iovine wrote: »

Herc was never the straightest of detectives. He showed many times that he could mess up so i'm not surprised by him screwing with the case. As for Herc turning out to be bad I would have been more annoyed if he didn't become bad considering the effects of his ignorant actions on the lives of Randy, Bubbles and as a result Sherrod.

Yeah but when he was a detective he was usually just incompetent, not corrupt (the time he and Carver took that cash excepted).
I never thought he would help a scumbag like Marlo get off, maybe he did it to get back at the Police Department for firing him, but he was only really hurting the street detectives.

Penn

He was fired and made a scapegoat because of the incident with the reverend in the season before. I think a lot of police end up working as lawyers and stuff because of their knowledge of the law, increased pay etc. Hence why Marla Daniels was always encouraging Cedric to become a lawyer.

I think thats why he was working with Levy. He needed a job and it was probably the best he could get with his qualifications. Levy probably wanted Herc too because of his record and relationship with other police officers and knew he could manipulate him and get information from him. How the police run things, how they caught the Barksdales, etc, so he could learn from it. It was a mutual relationship as far as I could tell

Ostrom

paddyirishman85 wrote: »

He was fired and made a scapegoat because of the incident with the reverend in the season before. I think a lot of police end up working as lawyers and stuff because of their knowledge of the law, increased pay etc. Hence why Marla Daniels was always encouraging Cedric to become a lawyer.

I think thats why he was working with Levy. He needed a job and it was probably the best he could get with his qualifications. Levy probably wanted Herc too because of his record and relationship with other police officers and knew he could manipulate him and get information from him. How the police run things, how they caught the Barksdales, etc, so he could learn from it. It was a mutual relationship as far as I could tell

Daniels had a law degree before he became a cop

Penn

I know, I think thats why Herc was almost like an assistant to Levy rather than a lawyer himself, I'd say he was still working through his law degree or something.

Daniels pretty much went straight into working as a lawyer

Y'know yourself though, in The Wire, everything is up for interpretation

Hawk Wing

Herc was working as an investigator for Levy, he was not training to become a lawyer.

raindog.promo

Herc said as well that a load of lawyers came looking for him when they heard about him being fired.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

the way I saw it was herc admitting to himself what the basic gist of the show was, that there weren't really any good guys in the war on drugs. Just competing gangs working for territory and influence. Once he'd decided that, why wouldn't he work for levy. It's not like anything the cops did ever made any difference.

Lunar Junkie

I think Herc is basically supposed to be a selfishly motivated character, he's obviously a bit thick and unthinking about the moral consequences of his actions.. He wants his bosses to make him feel valued and important, he didn't get that in the police force but Levy gives it to him, which is why he's happy to pass him on tidbits from his conversations with his cop buddies even though he must realise it's hurting their chances of succeeding with their cases. When he does give them Marlo's phone number, it's primarily as a way of getting personal revenge against Marlo rather than any sense of doing the right thing. He certainly never seemed to have that sense of moral idealism that appears to drive Carver (by the end of the show anyway), Daniels, McNulty and others, his stint in the police force seemed to be mainly a power trip thing.

anonymous_joe

I actually love the character.

He's a bully, petty, and he absolutely loathes the drug dealers. The other thing I love is how corrupt he is, stealing the money's a great example - if you're a dirt poor cop, and you've got some drug dealer rolling in money, you'd love to steal it if you could.

He's one of the more believable characters I reckon, someone who just doesn't give a fcuk about anything other than themselves. It's refreshing.

Volvagia

I agree with what most have said here about Herc always being selfish. Once he gets paid im sure he´d do nearly anything.

Always thought he was a good character to watch but never thought he was a nice guy, and what happened to Randy really sealed the deal. The poor kid got completely screwed over because of Herc.