Question about the end of season one

lukin

I'm new to The Wire and I've just finished watching season one.
Remember at the end of season one when Avon was being led out of court and he looked at McNulty and gave him a smirk (it was done in slow motion).
McNulty then said "Oh no, what the f**k did I do". Maybe it was left to the viewer to decide but I got the feeling that Avon was threatening him?
Maybe someone else could shed some light on this for me?

Hitman Actual

lukin wrote: »

I'm new to The Wire and I've just finished watching season one.
Remember at the end of season one when Avon was being led out of court and he looked at McNulty and gave him a smirk (it was done in slow motion).
McNulty then said "Oh no, what the f**k did I do". Maybe it was left to the viewer to decide but I got the feeling that Avon was threatening him?
Maybe someone else could shed some light on this for me?

I *think* it's meant to be McNulty acknowledging the scale of what his obsessiveness has resulted in, kind of like the full circle from when they started out in the courthouse in episode 1. His tone suggests that to me anyway. Also, Bunk replies "You happy now, bitch", which I think indicates the same.

Also, I don't think Avon is threatening McNulty- it has more of a "You won this one" vibe. Avon knows "it's all in the game". And I doubt McNulty takes it as a threat- the police, and in particular homicide detectives, aren't targets of the drug gangs. Too bad for business.

That's my take on it anyway.

Johnny Storm

I think you're right, in particular McNulty blames himself

that Kima got shot

.

lukin

Hitman Actual wrote: »

I *think* it's meant to be McNulty acknowledging the scale of what his obsessiveness has resulted in, kind of like the full circle from when they started out in the courthouse in episode 1. His tone suggests that to me anyway. Also, Bunk replies "You happy now, bitch", which I think indicates the same.

Also, I don't think Avon is threatening McNulty- it has more of a "You won this one" vibe. Avon knows "it's all in the game". And I doubt McNulty takes it as a threat- the police, and in particular homicide detectives, aren't targets of the drug gangs. Too bad for business.

That's my take on it anyway.

You're probably right. Drugs gangs usually don't kill cops, it brings too much trouble on them in retribution, which was why Avon was so annoyed when

Kima got shot

.
I thought it was good the way McNulty was so passive when they won the case, as Johnny Storm pointed out, he thought

Kima getting shot

was too high a price to pay.
As usual with The Wire, its what goes unsaid has more weight than what is said.

Ostrom

And Stringer's 'nicely done' ties it together

smithcity

I think the smile had something to do with Avon feeling that even though he was going to prison, he had got one up on McNulty. By playing "the game" with dealing with the prosecution, he got a light sentence while D'Angelo who had briefly turned informer and given the detectives everything the wanted to know was landed with 20 years.
When McNulty says, "what have I done?" he's realising that even though Avon has been prosecuted, the detectives haven't really won the war.