Tell Fitzy or any of the other crew members that he gave Billy the wrong address and he still showed up at the correct one? He calls Billy over to correctly finger him as the rat, but no one else is at least curious as to what he had to say to him either.
But whatevs, it is still a very satisfying viewing.
"And what about the sh*t weasels, the ones that blast out the basement door?" - Col. Curtis
Delahunt was an undercover Boston cop.
shareThis is a commonly debated issue. Was Delahunt a cop or no? When he returned fire didn’t he tag one of the other cops? I do not think he was a cop personally. He was in too deep. He didn’t tell on Bill because he died before he could decide.
shareDelahunt was a cop. He had no reason otherwise to keep Bill's secret.
shareWatch it again. I’ve gone back and forth. It’s meant to be ambiguous.
shareI've watched it countless times; your belief that it's meant to be ambiguous doesn't answer the question: Why would he keep Bill's secret? He asks that question himself, and as viewers we're confused as well, until the movie tells us: He's an undercover cop.
shareI think he asks bill why because he liked bill but is realizing himself that bill may have been a cop all along. Like he’s just figuring it out, wanted to ask Bill first, and before he can tell the others he croaks. He was conflicted about exposing Bill.
Then there’s the “hide the body in the Marsh” scene where the news says the guy was a cop and Frank says it’s the cops saying he was a cop to throw him off finding the real rat.
He was a cop. He had no reason to cover for Billy if he wasn't. He liked him? Yeah, maybe sure, but what gives you that idea? They had no prior interaction, no previous relationship shown for you to drawn the conclusion that he cared about him so much that he'd be willing to cover for someone who was on the side of the people who had just cost him his life.
shareThere’s arguments to be made for both sides, he doesn’t tell on Billy which indicates he might be a cop but he participates in throwing Queenan off the roof, doubt an undercover cop would do that, surely they’d have to break cover if an innocent life or especially another cops life was in jeopardy.
shareIf he was a crim, maybe he felt by not ratting out Billy he would in a small way atone for the bad things he had done just as he was about to die. Sort of like a "deathbed conversion".
shareI never considered Billy's showing up at the correct address to be proof of being the rat. Delahunt tells him 314 Wash on the phone call, whereas the real location is 344 Wash. It could have been easily explained by Billy how he found them where they were, which is a matter of a few doors down the street. There were cars parked and commotion going on. Not hard to go where the noise is.
Also, as far as Delahunt and the others know, Billy is just arriving on scene, all the more evidence that he had to search for them a little bit.
Delahunt was an undercover cop. His handle(s) died. He can't get out from the mob. He had no choice, it's his life now. That's also what would happen to Costigan if both Queenan and Dignam died.
shareSorry but I had to laugh at this statement. If Delahunt was a UC and his handler died, he would received a new handler. If it was so super secret that no one could ever know the identity of the UCs then the UC, Delahunt would simply go to the Police Department, give his info and they would get him out.
When Queenan was killed and Dignam was on leave, this is exactly what Billy did. He went to the PD and gave his info.
You don't get stuck in an undercover operation for life because someone died.
You do if someone erases your file ;)
shareWho's laughing now?
shareHis file was only erased after it was realized that Billy saw the envelope. Had that not happened, he would have been paid and on his way.
One of the biggest reasons I never believed that Delahunt was a UC was because he aided in the murder of Queenan when they threw him out of the window.
From the people in that room, Delahunt was the boss and could have done any number of things that did not include the murdering of a MSP Captain.
**Either way, thanks for responding because this message board doesan't seem very active. It has a good layout like IMDB and I'm surprised that more people don't use it. Am I missing something?
The IMDB boards shutting down was heartbreaking to me. Finding this forum was a most welcome discovery.
shareI couldn't agree more...AND, I only found it a month or so ago and I think it's been around for a while.
IMDB was probably my most active site that I visited and it was shame the message board section was shut down.
Thanks