Did Did McNulty want to be on a boat?

August 2, 2009 5:23 PM

I have a question about the character McNulty on The Wire, at the end of Season One. Spoiler ahead:

So McNulty ends up on a patrol boat. Is that because that's where he wanted to go, or did not want to go? I know early on in the season he has a conversation about where he wants to go and where he doesn't. Later, he is specifically warned about the question his superior ends up asking. So did his superior ask because he really wanted to place him where he wanted or did he ask so he could place him in the worst case scenario? Did McNulty answer truthfully or lie?
I just started on the second season so I was curious.

posted by P.o.B. to media & arts (23 comments total)

You'll find out soon enough, then.
posted by Pants! at 5:30 PM on August 2

If I recall correctly, he was sent there as a punishment by his superior. He didn't want to go there.
posted by SpacemanStix at 5:30 PM on August 2

McNulty did not want to go there. They asked him where he didn't want to go so they could punish him for being a god damned troublemaker who didn't care about the numbers.
posted by milarepa at 5:31 PM on August 2

Later on, he mentions that Sgt. Landsman is "probably the son of a bitch who sold me out to Rawls in the first place".

Because of this, I'd extrapolate that when Major (Colonel? I don't remember his rank) Rawls asked him "So tell me Jimmy- where don't you want to go?" McNulty lied.

Then, assuming McNulty was lying, Major Rawls did his own research and found that McNulty really didn't want to go to "the boat"... and sent him there.
posted by Seeba at 5:32 PM on August 2

On preview, what Spaceman/Milarepa said.
posted by Seeba at 5:33 PM on August 2

Thanks!
posted by P.o.B. at 5:36 PM on August 2

IIRC (though my memory might be hazy), Lester warned McNulty about being asked where he least wanted to serve. At the end of Season One, I think it's Rawls who nails McNulty with this question. Just look at Rawls's relationship with and feelings towards McNulty and I think you'll have your answer as to whether Rawls had McNulty's best interests at heart.

Anyhow, as Season Two wears on, you'll also get a good sense of McNulty's relationship with that boat.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 5:37 PM on August 2

My impression was that McNulty wanted to be on the boat, at least initially; thanks to Freamon, he knew that his superiors would assign him to whichever detail he said he didn't want as a punishment, and figured being out on the water beat being stuck behind a desk for 13 years like Lester.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 5:41 PM on August 2

I just finished watching Season One and me and the wife were talking about this. She swears there's an earlier conversation in the season where McNulty reveals his feelings about being on a boat to Lester, somewhere in episode 4 or 5.

However, judging from his expression as Bunk and Lester see him off and what they hand him, he hates being on the boat.

What a great fucking show. We were halfway through the first season and ordered the rest of the series 'cause it was that good.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:46 PM on August 2

I think the boat was the least bad of the believable options. He couldn't, for instance, have said "Narcotics," because Rawls wouldn't have believed that was where he least wanted to be. The boat was a believably least-wanted post, and yet for him, it wasn't as bad as other options he wanted to avoid.
posted by palliser at 5:47 PM on August 2

Yes, there's a conversation early in the season where he's saying that he could handle almost any beat, except the boat because he gets seasick.
posted by lampoil at 5:56 PM on August 2

Oh, color me stupid: "After McNulty files his report, he is warned by Sgt. Jay Landsman that another such stunt will likely leave him walking a beat in the Western District. When McNulty seems unconcerned, Landsman asks about his worst-case scenario. "The boat," McNulty says, laughing. The marine unit." -Season 1, Episode 1

Seeba is correct!
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 5:58 PM on August 2

I don't actually think Rawls expected an answer out of Jimmy. I don't even get the sense that Jimmy bothered with a real answer. Rawls is way too canny for that - either Jimmy tells him the truth, and gets shafted, or Jimmy lies, and gets shafted.

Brandon's wife is right (mostly) - according to HBO's episode guide, it was in the very first episode and it was in a conversation with Landsman, not Lester:

After McNulty files his report, he is warned by Sgt. Jay Landsman that another such stunt will likely leave him walking a beat in the Western District. When McNulty seems unconcerned, Landsman asks about his worst-case scenario. "The boat," McNulty says, laughing. The marine unit.

This actually makes a lot of sense - Rawls would have easily been able to get this tidbit out of Landsman.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 6:00 PM on August 2

Landsman told Rawls that McNulty didn't want to go to the boat, but he did it out of a genuine concern for McNulty, not having been warned by Freamon what such a question really meant. Landsman admits such to McNulty at some point but I don't know in what episode.
posted by cali59 at 6:14 PM on August 2

The conversation between where Lester warns McNulty about what to say occurs at the end of episode four in Season one.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:21 PM on August 2

Landsman told Rawls that McNulty didn't want to go to the boat,

Huh, I don't remember this at all... do you recall around when this was?
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 6:25 PM on August 2

I do remember McNulty saying he didn't want to be on the boat because the diesel fumes make him sick. And If you've ever been on or near a workboat/tugboat, you can see that the engines vent right off (and sometimes onto) the deck instead of out the back like small pleasure boats. I thought the conversation was straight talk but I also kind of thought they were kidding with each other.
McNulty has a conversation with Bunk about ten minutes into the first episode of season two about Landsman telling Rawls.
posted by P.o.B. at 6:35 PM on August 2

I think you've had your question answered, but here's something else you might be interested in—we've been watching the Wire for the first time recently (just finished season 2) and I discovered the "What's Alan Watching" blog when I was looking for more info. He's been re-watching and commenting on the shows; there's a "Wire for newbies" and a "Wire for veterans" post for each episode up through season 2, ep. 9. (I'm ahead of him now and wish he'd catch up!).

He does a pretty good analysis of each show, and I always learn more about something I've missed.

(Also, watching with the closed captions on helps me get a lot more out of some of the dialog.)

Wire Season 1 for newbies
Wire Season 2 for newbies
posted by TochterAusElysium at 6:53 PM on August 2 [4 favorites]

Looks like Landsman admits he told Rawls 44 minutes into the first ep. I guess I should've just watched, thanks for all the answers anyway.

Omar is my new favorite anti-hero
posted by P.o.B. at 6:59 PM on August 2

If it makes you feel any better, I had the same question after the end of season 1 and immediately got online to figure it out.
posted by TochterAusElysium at 7:15 PM on August 2

My interpretation is that McNulty used Freamon's advice and likely said he didn't want to go on a beat in the Western. However, Rawls likely consulted with Landsman afterward and got the boat tip out of him and knew McNulty had lied. Landsman told him that, in fact, the boat was his worst imaginable assignment. I think this because when McNulty heard he was going on the boat, he looked genuinely surprised then suddenly not surprised as he likely remembered his conversation with Landsman about the boat.
posted by i_love_squirrels at 5:45 AM on August 3

>Omar is my new favorite anti-hero

If that's the case in the first season, you're gonna love the later seasons, when Omar attains nearly godlike status as an antihero and all-around badass.
posted by Gordion Knott at 7:00 AM on August 3

What would Omar Do?
posted by wherever, whatever at 11:03 PM on August 3