MovieChat Forums > The Departed (2006) Discussion > Billy’s actions at the end

Billy’s actions at the end

posted 3 years ago by Boricanator (1443)
8 replies | jump to latest

Rewatching the film, I am not exactly sure what Billy was trying to accomplish.

He didn’t need to sneak out from the police station. Just play it cool, get the money and leave. Then he can work to get evidence on Sullivan and the later would never suspect a thing and wouldn’t have erased his file.

Later on, Billy had evidence on Sullivan. With Castello gone, Sullivan was no longer protected.

He could’ve gone to Internal Affairs or even the press. He didn’t need to pull that stunt on the rooftop.

[–] tph890 (489) 3 years ago

His mentor had been murdered, and he wanted revenge. So it was personal now. At least that’s the vibe I got from how things played out. He wasn’t being rational, but he did at least have a backup plan just in case his passion-fueled decision backfired. I think maybe he just didn’t want the guy to get away again, so he decided to do it himself.
And it works for the story, in my humble opinion. Things get dirty when you’re dealing with rats.

[–] Ace_Spade (9574) 3 years ago

Once he realizes that Sullivan is the mole, though, he probably figures his chances of survival just dropped. He might want to get the heck out of the police station because at any moment Sullivan might make a move. Costigan doesn't know that he's not being set up. What he does know is that a lot of people are dying and he might be next.

It's been a bit since I've watched the movie, though, so I could be forgetting details here.

[–] tph890 (489) 3 years ago

“His chances of survival just dropped”
I totally agree. He was already on edge and super paranoid. This new development certainly added to that sense of imminent danger, and then informed his following actions.

[–] Ace_Spade (9574) 3 years ago

Yup. He got scared, he got paranoid, he panicked and acted. Fight or flight, all the way.

It's not all dumb, either. In his line of work, fast decisions and quick plans save lives. And he aaaaalmost got away with it, too, so there was so logic to it.

[–] Boricanator (1443) 3 years ago

True, he was very paranoid. He probably wasn’t thinking clearly. Although, Sullivan making a move in a police station with so many cops and surveillance would’ve been dumb. Costigan could’ve also asked his friend in the academy to accompany him.

[–] Ace_Spade (9574) 3 years ago

Making a move in the cop shop would've been dumb, yeah. Billy panicked.

Now, I do think there is a small amount of logic here, which is that Billy doesn't know what he doesn't know. And because his identity was such a secret, known to so few people, it would be really easy for Sullivan to bluff his way into a clear upper hand.

[–] daveyh (632) 3 years ago

That was my first reaction when I read the first explanation of this thread, but then I thought - after running away from the building, it's reasonable to believe Billy had gone in to hiding.
This is because Sullivan wouldn't have to make a move there and then. He could get his address or whatever from the file he was in the middle of looking up. He could have told his unit to follow Billy, that he still didn't trust that it was over etc (and Billy had just watched him walk through to a standing ovation from the department so clearly carried a lot of clout and influence). So his only move was to get out of there before Sullivan had chance to put any kind of tail on him.

[–] tanstuff (72) 2 years ago

Completely agree:

"He didn’t need to sneak out from the police station. Just play it cool, get the money and leave. "