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Bubbles (The Wire)
Encyclopedia
Reginald "Bubbles" Cousins is a fictional character
on the HBO drama The Wire
, played by actor Andre Royo
. Bubbles is a recovering heroin addict. His real name is not revealed until a fourth-season episode when he is called "Mr. Cousins" and in the fifth-season premiere when he is called "Reginald". Bubbles has a son named KeyShawn, who lives with his mother.
Bubbles is a crucial informant
for the police throughout the series due to his extraordinarily detailed knowledge of the streets of Baltimore
and their inhabitants. Despite his long-standing history of heroin abuse Bubbles is an intelligent and compassionate man, who genuinely cares about his friend Johnny Weeks and Sherrod, the teenager he "adopts". His struggle to deal with his addiction and make a better life for himself is a major sub-plot over the course of the five seasons of the series.
Bubbles offers to inform on the Barksdale gang for Detective Kima Greggs
, to get some measure of revenge for Johnny's beating. Bubbles' knowledge of the street proves invaluable to Lieutenant Cedric Daniels
' unit as they investigate the Barksdale organization. He helps identify the crew members who run the Barksdale pit and those who work in the high-rise towers. When Omar Little
robs the Barksdale stash, Bubbles is present, and gives the license plate number of Omar's van to Greggs, which helps the detail track down the stick-up man.
After nearly being killed while trying to steal drugs, he tries to get off drugs, but reverts to his old habits when Greggs is shot: he pages Greggs after she had promised to help him stay clean, not realizing that she is hospitalized with a life-threatening injury after a buy-and-bust went bad. As the police seek murder suspects, Bubbles is mistaken as a suspect and brutally beaten by Detective Vernon Holley in the interrogation room until Sergeant Jay Landsman
and other officers restrain Holley, calling in Jimmy McNulty
to clear things up.
and Stringer Bell
.
, allowing the unit's plan to wire tap the phones to proceed. During this time Bubbles' continued cooperation with the police began to create a rift between Bubbles and Johnny, who encouraged Bubbles to end his career as an informant – eventually Bubbles left Johnny to fend for himself.
As the investigation progresses Bubbles begins to supplement the income he was earning as an informant by collecting discarded cell phones and t-shirts to sell out of a shopping cart; upon discovering Major Howard "Bunny" Colvin's "Hamsterdam" zones he expands his inventory to suit the needs of the dealers and addicts there. While in Hamsterdam, Bubbles also comes back into contact with Johnny and, upon recognizing that his friend's health was failing due to drug abuse, encourages him to leave – his fears are realized at the end of the season, when Johnny is found dead from an overdose.
in the Homicide Interrogation room. Sergeant Jay Landsman
sees that the death was unintentional and decides, despite the climbing homicide rate, to send Bubbles to a state psychiatric facility rather than charge him with murder.
to make money. His Narcotics Anonymous sponsor is Walon. Walon encourages Bubbles to open up about Sherrod's death in meetings but Bubbles is not ready to take that step. Walon suggests that Bubbles should find an outlet elsewhere and Bubbles begins volunteering at a local Catholic Worker
soup kitchen called Viva House. Eventually Bubbles comes to terms with his role in Sherrod's death and has his life story published in an article in the Baltimore Sun. In his final scene of the series, he is seen being brought back into his sister's life when she allows him upstairs from the basement to have dinner with her and her child.
A key allegiance in previous seasons, his and Greggs, is no longer presented in any way after Bubbles rehabilitates, especially after Greggs is unable to ultimately help him. The terms of their friendship and whether they came in contact after the events of season 4 is not revealed.
met with him twice shortly before his [Possum's] death from AIDS
, intending to write an article about him. He ended up turning it into an obituary.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
on the HBO drama The Wire
The Wire (TV series)
The Wire is an American television drama series set and produced in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon, the series was broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States...
, played by actor Andre Royo
Andre Royo
Andre Royo is an American actor. He is best known for his role as "Bubbles" in The Wire , and has had guest starring appearances in Fringe, Party Down, and How To Make It In America.-Career:...
. Bubbles is a recovering heroin addict. His real name is not revealed until a fourth-season episode when he is called "Mr. Cousins" and in the fifth-season premiere when he is called "Reginald". Bubbles has a son named KeyShawn, who lives with his mother.
Bubbles is a crucial informant
Informant
An informant is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law enforcement world, where they are officially known as confidential or criminal informants , and can often refer pejoratively to the supply of information...
for the police throughout the series due to his extraordinarily detailed knowledge of the streets of Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
and their inhabitants. Despite his long-standing history of heroin abuse Bubbles is an intelligent and compassionate man, who genuinely cares about his friend Johnny Weeks and Sherrod, the teenager he "adopts". His struggle to deal with his addiction and make a better life for himself is a major sub-plot over the course of the five seasons of the series.
Season 1
Bubbles was first seen as a homeless addict and best friend and mentor to Johnny Weeks. The two run a scam creating counterfeit money using a photocopier and coffee staining. Bubbles successfully uses the money to purchase drugs from a crew of dealers working for the Barksdale organization. However when the money is passed on to the crew boss it is recognized as fake. The next time they try the scam Johnny is severely beaten by the Barksdale hoppers.Bubbles offers to inform on the Barksdale gang for Detective Kima Greggs
Kima Greggs
Detective Shakima "Kima" Greggs is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actress Sonja Sohn. Greggs is a police detective in the Baltimore Police Department who is a dedicated officer and capable detective with some off-the-job issues. Openly lesbian, she has had problems...
, to get some measure of revenge for Johnny's beating. Bubbles' knowledge of the street proves invaluable to Lieutenant Cedric Daniels
Cedric Daniels
Cedric Daniels is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Lance Reddick. He is a well regarded officer in the department whose focus is on good police work and quality arrests...
' unit as they investigate the Barksdale organization. He helps identify the crew members who run the Barksdale pit and those who work in the high-rise towers. When Omar Little
Omar Little
Omar Devone Little is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, portrayed by Michael K. Williams. Omar is a renowned stick-up man who lives by a strict moral code and never deviates from his rules, foremost of which is that he never robs or menaces people who are not involved in "the game"....
robs the Barksdale stash, Bubbles is present, and gives the license plate number of Omar's van to Greggs, which helps the detail track down the stick-up man.
After nearly being killed while trying to steal drugs, he tries to get off drugs, but reverts to his old habits when Greggs is shot: he pages Greggs after she had promised to help him stay clean, not realizing that she is hospitalized with a life-threatening injury after a buy-and-bust went bad. As the police seek murder suspects, Bubbles is mistaken as a suspect and brutally beaten by Detective Vernon Holley in the interrogation room until Sergeant Jay Landsman
Jay Landsman (The Wire)
Jay Landsman is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Delaney Williams.-Policing method:Landsman's role in the police department is that of a supervisory detective sergeant who doesn't participate in much investigation work...
and other officers restrain Holley, calling in Jimmy McNulty
Jimmy McNulty
Detective James "Jimmy" McNulty is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by British actor Dominic West. McNulty is an Irish American detective in the Baltimore Police Department...
to clear things up.
Season 2
McNulty recruits Bubbles to find Omar Little, whom Bunk needs as a witness in the William Gant murder. Bubbles grudgingly agrees, and in a nervous encounter with a shotgun-wielding Omar, delivers McNulty's message. At the end of season two, he is arrested by Officer Santangelo while trying to steal needles and morphine from an ambulance; in exchange for his release, he tips off Greggs and McNulty to the new alliance between Proposition JoeProposition Joe
Joseph "Proposition Joe" Stewart is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire played by actor Robert F. Chew. Joe is an Eastside drug kingpin who preferred a peaceful solution to business disputes when possible...
and Stringer Bell
Stringer Bell
Russell "Stringer" Bell is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by English actor Idris Elba. Bell served as drug kingpin Avon Barksdale's second in command, assuming direct control of the Barksdale Organization during Avon's imprisonment...
.
Season 3
Season three sees Bubbles assist the major case unit once again. Bubbles was a former associate of Squeak, then Bernard's girlfriend. Bubbles put them in touch with an undercover Lester FreamonLester Freamon
Lester Freamon is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Clarke Peters. Freamon is a detective in the Baltimore Police Department's Major Crimes Unit...
, allowing the unit's plan to wire tap the phones to proceed. During this time Bubbles' continued cooperation with the police began to create a rift between Bubbles and Johnny, who encouraged Bubbles to end his career as an informant – eventually Bubbles left Johnny to fend for himself.
As the investigation progresses Bubbles begins to supplement the income he was earning as an informant by collecting discarded cell phones and t-shirts to sell out of a shopping cart; upon discovering Major Howard "Bunny" Colvin's "Hamsterdam" zones he expands his inventory to suit the needs of the dealers and addicts there. While in Hamsterdam, Bubbles also comes back into contact with Johnny and, upon recognizing that his friend's health was failing due to drug abuse, encourages him to leave – his fears are realized at the end of the season, when Johnny is found dead from an overdose.
Season 4
In season four, Bubbles shares an abandoned garage with teenaged Sherrod, peddling small goods from a shopping cart to support themselves. Sherrod had trouble with the math involved and asked Bubbles to help re-enroll him in school. Sherrod never makes it to school, however, and after a brief fall-out with Bubbles he returns to help him sell goods from the shopping carts. In Sherrod's absence, however, Bubbles has become the daily victim of another street addict, who constantly robs him and beats him up. To stop this daily assault, Bubbles concocts a "hot shot" of heroin and sodium cyanide that he supposes the vagrant will steal from him and then consume. However, Sherrod uses the tainted drugs while Bubbles sleeps and Bubbles awakes to find that Sherrod has died. Consumed by guilt and grief, Bubbles goes to the police and confesses his actions, before unsuccessfully attempting suicideSuicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
in the Homicide Interrogation room. Sergeant Jay Landsman
Jay Landsman (The Wire)
Jay Landsman is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Delaney Williams.-Policing method:Landsman's role in the police department is that of a supervisory detective sergeant who doesn't participate in much investigation work...
sees that the death was unintentional and decides, despite the climbing homicide rate, to send Bubbles to a state psychiatric facility rather than charge him with murder.
Season 5
When the fifth season begins Bubbles has been clean for more than a year. He is living in his sister's basement and selling The Baltimore SunThe Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun is the U.S. state of Maryland’s largest general circulation daily newspaper and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries....
to make money. His Narcotics Anonymous sponsor is Walon. Walon encourages Bubbles to open up about Sherrod's death in meetings but Bubbles is not ready to take that step. Walon suggests that Bubbles should find an outlet elsewhere and Bubbles begins volunteering at a local Catholic Worker
Catholic Worker Movement
The Catholic Worker Movement is a collection of autonomous communities of Catholics and their associates founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin in 1933. Its aim is to "live in accordance with the justice and charity of Jesus Christ." One of its guiding principles is hospitality towards those on...
soup kitchen called Viva House. Eventually Bubbles comes to terms with his role in Sherrod's death and has his life story published in an article in the Baltimore Sun. In his final scene of the series, he is seen being brought back into his sister's life when she allows him upstairs from the basement to have dinner with her and her child.
A key allegiance in previous seasons, his and Greggs, is no longer presented in any way after Bubbles rehabilitates, especially after Greggs is unable to ultimately help him. The terms of their friendship and whether they came in contact after the events of season 4 is not revealed.
Origin
Bubbles was based on a real police informant known as "Possum", whose true identity has not been made public at the request of his family. Possum was noted as having an incredible memory for faces, and was often very helpful in pointing out drug dealers to police. David SimonDavid Simon
David Simon is an American author, journalist, and a writer/producer of television series. He worked for the Baltimore Sun City Desk for twelve years. He wrote Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and co-wrote The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood with Ed Burns...
met with him twice shortly before his [Possum's] death from AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, intending to write an article about him. He ended up turning it into an obituary.