No it wasn’t, because that wasn’t the main point of Rawls’s character or any of the character’s of the wire. Once it was revealed that a character was gay, there was no big deal made out it. That’s because the crime and brutality of Baltimore was the focus, and not the sexuality of any of the characters. They chose that scene to reveal Rawls’ sexuality to bring home Brother Mauzone’s. In that moment, an individual is given permission to accept that people aren’t who we generalize them to be—-and that you can be tough and strong and hold a position of respect and authority, and still have a different orientation.
And the scene between Omar and Brother Mauzone in the alley was subtly homo-erotic. That scene was so long and intense, with full focus on Brother’s disarming soft words and compliments to Omar—who he knew was gay—because he had been told that Omar liked to run with boys—was very homoerotic as they focused on Brother’s glossed lips. Brother had more lip-gloss on than any of the women or any character on that show.
I didn’t understand why he wore so much lip-gloss until the gay bar scene, where he berates his driver for being so homophobic—-and then Rawls—another unlikely gay character, shows up.
