Kima Gregg Lines For When You Can’t Be Held Back


If you were going to say one thing about detective, Lakima “Kima” Gregg (Sonja Sohn), it’s that she was not the type of person to hold anything back. For five seasons on HBO’s The Wire (available to stream anytime on HBO Now) Kima was tough, driven, and willing to stop at nothing if it would help bring the case in. For those who are willing to give something their all, here are a few of her nuggets of wisdom that’ll help motivate and inspire you.

“Who we gotta f*ck in this town to get a real office?”

When the newly-appointed Barksdale detail is told to set up a temporary office deep within the bowels of Baltimore police headquarters, it’s pretty obvious that everyone who got the assignment couldn’t be less happy about where they were going to spend for the foreseeable future. In fact, it only takes Kima about four seconds before she says what everyone was thinking. Most people are inclined to keep these things to themselves, but dropping a remark like this can help bring some levity to a bad situation, as well as create some instant camaraderie knowing that everyone’s in the same miserable boat together.

“How complex a code can it be if these knuckleheads are using it?”

With the case on hold while Lester Freamon (Clarke Peters) keeps trying to crack the code used by the Barksdale gang, Kima manages to put everyone’s frustrations into a single concise observation. While the code ends up getting solved by word-search aficionado Detective Pryzbylewski (Jim True-Frost), her declaration helps inspire McNulty (Dominic West) to rethink how they’re going about their case. It also leads him to realize exactly what kind of organization they’re up against. Sometimes you’ve just gotta state the obvious to keep everyone around you on their toes.

“I mind you asking.”

There’s a reason Kima feels comfortable bossing around Herc (Domenick Lombardozzi) and Carver (Seth Gilliam) when they go on an assignment together: she takes her job seriously, and she expects the same from those she’s working with. When Carver asks her an extremely personal question while lumbering around on a rooftop and nearly blowing their cover, Kima doesn’t ignore the question, but rather makes it known that she doesn’t appreciate the attempt at small talk — at all. Try this the next time someone starts off a conversation with “if you don’t mind me asking…” It’ll be worth it just to watch their reaction.

“How come they know you’re police when they hook up with you. And they know you’re police when they move in. And they know you’re police when they decide to start a family with you. And all that sh*t is just fine until one day it ain’t no more. One day, it’s ‘you should have a regular job,’ and ‘you need to be home at five o’clock.’ “

Kima’s certainly not the only cop who lets her job get in the way of her personal life. She’s real police, after all, and she doesn’t want to let the idea of a a cookie-cutter life with a wife and 2 1/2 kids keep her from what she loves. In the meantime, she drowns her sorrow over a few beers with McNulty — a man who knows a few things about how being a cop can take over somebody’s entire life. If you’re ever this passionate about something, be mindful that your own expectations about life can be what ends up holding you back.

“I still got too much dog in me to be settled like that.”

You can’t deny the fact that Kima is someone who knows what she wants, and during a road trip to FBI headquarters in Quantico, Virginia, McNulty asks her if she misses the comfort of married life since her divorce. Kima’s quick to answer, leaving no doubt about how in-control she feels about her life at the moment. It goes to show that knowing what you want can do wonders for your self-confidence, despite any turmoil that might surround you. Like the completely fabricated serial killer that she’s chasing. (Thanks, McNulty)

“Goodnight moon. Goodnight stars. Goodnight po-po. Goodnight fiends. Goodnight hoppers. Goodnight hustlers. Goodnight scammers. Goodnight to everybody. Goodnight to one and all.”

This is not only a moment where we get to see Kima’s relationship with her son, Elijah (Elijah Grant Johnson), but also a reminder that her life is inseparable from her police work. When she starts reading him Goodnight Moon, she’s interrupted by a burst of nearby sirens, which she then seamlessly makes part of her own take on the nursery rhyme, with every unsavory aspect of Baltimore’s streets included. Not holding back doesn’t have to mean not censoring yourself, but rather delicately introducing your world to those that are closest to you.

“If I hear the music, I’m gonna dance.”

Nothing sums up the attitude of Detective Kima Greggs better than this. A tough-as-nails cop with an iron disposition, one who didn’t even let getting shot in the line of duty keep her safely behind a desk within the walls of the Baltimore Police Department. Working cases is all Kima wants out of life, and she refused to let anything (or anyone) else stand in her way. So, the question is, the next time you hear the music, are you gonna dance?

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