The Wire - Brianna Confronts McNulty About D'Angelo

[@bananaempijama]

"Honestly, I thought Id tell someone who actually cared about the kid" this is brutal.

[@Activated_Complex]

Less of a telling off than she deserved.

[@TreWimsical]

If only he knew Bodie bought the carnations for the funeral

[@matthewmochan3161]

Yeah it is. The next most brutal line I can think of after this is Cutty getting told “you shouldn’t look then”... that was another punch to the gut!

[@ticalKoof]

She deserved it

[@phifediggy9659]

Made me tear up, Brianna didn't anticipate what was gonna happen. One of the few characters I felt truly sorry for, she thought Avon would protect him inside but he couldn't

[@iandhr1]

"There you go McNulty. Giving a f**k when it's not your turn to give a f**K" -Bunk

[@mechengr1731]

Bunk and Jay are probably mad they missed the show. Jay: "I would have brought popcorn."

[@royzellcooper8397]

Classic line thou bro

[@TT-dv9er]

The lines in this series

[@MrPete-pe6uk]

what the f**k did I do?

[@JasonShallPerish]

"Honestly? I was looking for somebody who cared about the kid." Call Bunk Moreland, we have a homicide. Victim named Brianna Barksdale.

[@FuNWithAChemicaLBomb]

More like a burn victim... homicide ain't going to touch that.

[@DynastyLuminous46]

Suspect is an Irish alcoholic.

[@samuelmuiruri4704]

she dead

[@33GLOCK]

@B K LOL

[@BadNewsBaltimore]

2222

[@ironman85000]

"I liked your son. All things considered, he was a pretty decent kid. And it grinds me that no one ever spoke up for him, and it seems to me that nobody ever will."This scene is McNulty at his best

[@dmoney8602]

All things considered he was a drug dealer…

[@heresYoshii]

@@dmoney8602all things considered, he saw beyond the narrow scope of the average hustler in the game. he was one of the few born into the game who had compassion, and that is why he ultimately could never succeed in it

[@dmoney8602]

It’s a fictional show. He was a drug dealer who was murdered in prison. You see allegory in anything even your toilet bowl and cum sock.@@heresYoshii

[@98loud]

@@dmoney8602 jfc it's like the themes of the show went straight over your head

[@tsarquinn8500]

@@dmoney8602 Pretty stupid to be saying “all things considered” when you’re specifically only considering one thing lol

[@KnockSquared]

When Brianna asked "why not come to me first" she already knew why he didn't, but she was hoping he wouldn't say it to her face...but this is McNulty we are talking about. He let her have it full blast !

[@shytguy]

Mcnulty was an absolute savage in this scene

[@money345atherley2]

and he was smooth with it too

[@BlackJohnnyCage]

KnockSquared 😂 Real Talk.

[@mygoogleemail2063]

KnockSquared she knew but she wanted to hear it. From the moment her son was dead she was blaming herself.

[@OpenPodBayDoor]

This is such a great McNulty scene. Half of him is just letting shit fly because he's frustrated, but part of him is still working her, twisting the knife. Not for any particular reason, because he knows the case is going nowhere, but just out of instinct, because working the angles on a case is all he knows.

[@probablynot7611]

“We hung more wire on your brother than AT&T”

[@J48038]

brother's crew*

[@crush_4103]

RIP Cingular

[@Tkieron]

Can we talk about how good the actress is playing Brianna? She's legit tearing up at this., Lip quivering. You forget it's a scene in a TV show.

[@hank1519]

Superb! 100% real.

[@prideaviles5867]

Franklin saints mum

[@DeyRapingEveryone]

No we can't talk about that

[@hank1519]

@@DeyRapingEveryone You are very funny!

[@brianwilliams6549]

Yeah, incredible acting by her in this scene. That change from hostility and defensiveness to guilt ridden grief (almost speechlessly at times) is brilliant

[@senatorturkey5332]

Possibly my favorite McNulty scene. "It grinds me that no one ever spoke up for him, and it seems to me that nobody ever will." Devastating and true.

[@ArbiterDan]

the use of the word "ever"... so simple, so true, so devastating.

[@nicoleallen6792]

Avon stood up for him and gave Stringer to Brother Mouzon and Omar.

[@austinboylan5476]

@@nicoleallen6792I personally think he wouldn’t have done that had Mouzone not forced his hand. This definitely made that easier but I don’t think it was Avon’s primary motivation in giving String up.

[@Nick_J_]

PEAK McNulty

[@albertmoreno6408]

SAVAGE

[@BabyBoiQue]

As hell

[@elephantshelf3617]

natural po-lice

[@durachokblead]

NATRAL POO-LICE

[@batchagaloopytv5816]

based

[@Mio248]

I love how she cried. Like, one of those cries that you try desperately to conceal from people nearby, but you’re too torn to shreds on the inside. Brilliantly executed as an actress.

[@deecee1647]

i didnt even know she was british

[@dontchatbreeze]

@@deecee1647 brianna, mcnulty, carcetti, stringer, are all british impersonating american accents, 3 of them major characters

[@deecee1647]

@@dontchatbreeze thought the dude who played carcetti was Irish

[@mastod0n1]

​@@dontchatbreezethe actress who played Brianna was only born in England. Her parents are Jamaican and I believe she spent a few years living there and then her family moved to the US when she was 10. Her normal speaking voice definitely doesn't have a British accent to it.

[@mastod0n1]

​@@deecee1647He is Irish. Just a lot of us Americans think Irish people are British because our education system is generally awful about stuff like that.

[@vashthestampede11]

One of the times McNulty being an asshole was 100% warranted. I love how absolutely nothing McNulty says is factually wrong, and for the first time in Brianna's life, someone finally told her what she NEEDED to hear, not what she wanted. Her biggest sin was something she couldn't run or hide from, and Mcnulty wasn't giving her any outs, because they both know she doesn't deserve one. I love the little detail of how he didn't even introduce himself or ask her why she wanted to see him. Just answered her questions and gave it to her straight. And he did it without once being purposefully cruel. I think his anger at the Barksdale family as a whole came out, especially the fact that D'Angelo, who he genuinely liked, was just tossed aside like garbage once he no longer had any use for them.

[@VersaceJesus]

Oh he was definitely trying to be cruel and rip Brianna's heart out. He had the autopsy photos ready and everything. But McNulty's ego and sense of justice is why he's such a great character. He's driven to do the right thing for the wrong reasons. To even the score by any means necessary . Often to the detriment of the people around him. Contrasted with someone like Slim Charles. Who is intensely loyal and ethical, while being willing to murder a child if they're "in the game"

[@yovtobe]

It's not like there was a happy ending here D'Angelo selling out his family would have been awful in a pride sense as well

[@jlop6822]

I LOVE the way he came off here. You can feel that it genuinely bothers him, beyond the job, on a human level that he ended up caring more about the well being of Deangelo than his mother. He’s not being purposefully cruel, he just can’t speak it any other way.

[@davidsamuels9557]

@@yovtobe "Selling out his family"? Avon put D'Angelo in a fucking rental car with a brick of cocaine in the trunk. There might as well have been a sign on the car that said, "Barksdale Cocaine Delivery". Then Mother of the Year made him take the 20 year sentence! Stop being a Barksdale groupie.

[@Wattywatasaurus]

I also like how he doesn’t even say goodbye or offer to walk her out. He just walks out and leaves her there. She’s not just in a police station, she’s also in a huge pit of grief and guilt, and he’s basically telling her to find her own way out, because to him, she’s not even worth normal human niceties.

[@GodlessScummer]

McNulty goes beast mode in this scene. He was brutal with Brianna but she absolutely deserved every word of it.

[@Maino88]

The acting in this scene is just....superlative.

[@sonnymp1337]

+1

[@richiehunt5097]

I agree. As great as Dominic West is, Michael Hyatt shines even more here.

[@Rucker1980]

Richie Hunt with Ms Hyatt, it wasn't even the lines, the way she conveyed emotions with her face and posture was incredible. The shock, the pain and shame were radiating off her

[@HemanParkFilms]

She always shines with the material she is given. The Wire was just on a whole other level.

[@yawgmoth5662]

There is actually nothing remarkable that occurs here. It's not otherworldly acting, it's just quality acting with a good script, dialogue, and cinematography (the way the shot moves to her wrist with the jewelry when she's trying not to cry).

[@marcemarc6516]

Such a heart wrenching scene but you can feel her insides twisting because she knows he’s right. She shaking from guilt. So well acted

[@cocotazo]

The end at 3:02 is powerful without words. You hear the sound of gold jewelry as Brianna brings her hand to her mouth. The same drug game that supplied the blood money for her jewelry is also what claimed the life of her only son.

[@eluddite889]

wow im a moron and i noticed that

[@mrivera6975]

Oh shit that's good

[@paradoxdea]

cocotazo Damn, that was deep bro!

[@ItsAllLove4Real]

YES!!! I'm sittin' here peepin' the bling cuz it's tinkling and thinking the same damn thing, smh.

[@HemanParkFilms]

Hysterical!

[@thierrytchoukouaha6543]

This last sentence from McNulty: "You're the one that made him take the years, right!!??......It's like taking an uppercut from a heavyweight...

[@Cheesusful]

To the genitals.

[@ibrahimabdi6285]

@@Cheesusful 😂

[@ziweiyuan]

Great little moment at the very end of the scene, too, when Brianna brings her hand up, watches and jewelry clattering. It underscores the real choice she made: humanity or money. She chose money and now she's seeing what it cost her.

[@Zamolxes77]

***** great comment dude, nice catch.

[@manchesterblue2007]

***** i buy that mate

[@carlagarrison8114]

ziweiyuan That cry at the end she was hurt by that slap in the face.

[@carlagarrison8114]

ziweiyuan Brianna played that part

[@marshallslade6626]

Deep

[@SolidMikeP]

"I was looking for someone who cared about the kid" DAMMMMNNNNN!!!!

[@thomassodomizer764]

He shamed her ass just like Bunk did to Omar.

[@Gryffilion]

Conscience do cost.

[@hemanroczko1799]

William May Ain't no other way I can see that.

[@killaskrilla5320]

That was one of the greatest scenes in the wire. Hands down. And the scene after with Butchie. Great Actors.

[@coolmacatrain9434]

Donette didn't care either, she was taking Stringer Bell's package!

[@TheNord06]

yeah well, she wasn't the one that convinced dee to take the years.

[@joemckim1183]

That's because she was getting points on the package.

[@joemckim1183]

@@TheNord06 A mother who talked her son into going to prison for nearly 20 years so she could remain living a rich lifestyle.

[@KtotheG]

McNulty didn't know that... but he knew that Brianna didn't care. David Simon really put single mothers on display in this series.... Dee's mom, Michael's mom, Wallace's mom, Namond's mom and that chick who left her toddler alone to go hangout in Season 5, when Freamon was staking out Monk's crib.

[@seabassdarapper]

​@@KtotheG Well, you also have a bunch of fathers who are dead or in jail. Unfortunately, one of the prerequisites for ending up in the street life to that degree is a failure at home, and if your father is out of the picture, who's left? By contrast, you have Beadie, who's kids are decent children from what I saw. McNulty's ex is a pretty good single mom if you consider her that. It's unfortunate that the socio-economic lines match racial lines so closely, but, I don't think it's explicitly mean to be a criticism of minority single mothers as much as it is a observation that following a bad path in life usually starts as a child and in the home.

[@jhead2007]

I like this scene because you can see that McNulty is taking the opportunity to get back at her for snatching D from the cops...He sticks the knife in deep and red hot with his last phrase. Also, he doesn't let her leave when she's about to but lets her have it with the photos..such a sweet scene! I love The Wire to this day.

[@BIGSEXXY62677]

Indeed!!! 💯

[@codyschwarz5155]

Wasn’t about her ruining his case. Just wanted her to understand the consequences of her actions. D never had a shot

[@blaze4metal]

@@codyschwarz5155 Yep. She was the one marching in there all high and mighty and got hit with the truth.

[@quentinparker7404]

I'm a firm believer in Karma. McNulty did an immaculate job of dispensing it to Brianna.

[@kevinkibble8342]

@@codyschwarz5155 Half and half I'd say. I think McNulty genuinely felt compassion for D, but he's also a man driven by his ego, and having his case ruined must have felt like a huge blow.

[@jimmyelam9809]

He literally crushed her soul at the end of their conversation. Beautifully brutal scene

[@shinlanten]

McNulty laying out the cold hard facts, no sugar coating.

[@samuelmuiruri4704]

people call it being an a** hole

[@holyreality02]

@NEGUS MBARKA he was right 100% on this one dipshit

[@djohnson7087]

Joel Johnson fr

[@k3vint0wn3r]

@@samuelmuiruri4704 but he's a special kind of asshole

[@balabanasireti]

@@samuelmuiruri4704 Nah.

[@shenmoney]

She felt all of that. The tears, that fell from her soul being punished. Great scene!!

[@shangtatum1770]

Agreed

[@aboutmillions]

He cut her so deep at the end. That's the best part!

[@vision-gc4hy]

AboutMillions She's a really good actress

[@burtonryan50]

Yeah well...she asked to be cut.

[@anthonybourdain2748]

he twisted the knife 360 degrees

[@bigman25plus25]

She destroyed his case. He got his own back big time.

[@aboutmillions]

Russell Mondy agreed the made the audience believe it was her real son. Great actress.

[@lostapwbm2790]

"You're the one that made him take the years, right?" Boom! Headshot!

[@mbarnett730]

I love how after he walks away and she raises her hand it shows all her gold jewelry- basically showing what she traded her son for

[@JJRichardson_]

That is deep

[@keyveehill]

I’ve always wondered. Did they enhance the sound of her jewelry clanging as she lifts her hand to fight her tears as symbolism for how that love of money not only cost her, her child. But her right to be called a mother. Brilliant writing directing and acting. This scene is amazing

[@jeffthornton6998]

That’s the running theory.

[@trendybistro]

They must of because after learning about Foley artist work, that wouldn't even register. Not to mention the always potent phones ringing "homicide". I know Baltimore is a busy city with more murders than you can shake a stick at, but the phone ain't ringing that much lol.

[@michaelotis223]

Fuckin A

[@southtxxbox]

McNulty at the end cuts deep...hurt her heart, but she had that coming.

[@mygoogleemail2063]

southtxxbox McNulty don’t flex

[@johnnyhinton3138]

Nope she didn't have that coming. Cause it was handled. String fucked that up as usual. And left Avon to clean it up as usual. The game is.You don't flip.You take your lick.

[@elliotmyers625]

@@johnnyhinton3138 She chose to have her child in prison to keep the money flowing to the family. That's why she had it coming. The "rules of the game" is some bullshit that gangs sell to people to keep control. Your loyalty to your kids should rise above that.

[@johnnyhinton3138]

@@elliotmyers625 I understand what u saying. But as you get older and wiser. You will understand. Its levels to everything. And they had already chosen as a family what direction they wanted to go in.. Dee was not a teenager. He was a growing adult and he made his choice of buisness. And his mom reminded him. This is the game.She wish it was someone else who took the drive..But it was him..So guess what?

[@elliotmyers625]

@@johnnyhinton3138 He was pushed out onto the corners as a kid. That's what Naimon's story shows you. When he's in the interrogation room, he talks about how it's all his family knows. They put you on a corner when you're a kid and they convince you that school doesn't matter. By the end of that, all you know is that life and you're trapped in it. Even Cutty struggles to do something else when he gets out of prison. The family made the choice for him. When he wanted to think for himself and get out of it, she guilted him into backing down.

[@Curtis.Dimes.]

" I kinda liked your son... all things considered.."

[@m.h.lockesteppe9834]

"I liked your son. All things considered, he was a decent kid." There ya go, bud.

[@AlexK42069]

@@m.h.lockesteppe9834 "I kinda liked your son, you know. All things considered, he was a pretty decent kid." There you go bud. Was it worth it being such nonce?

[@parhhesia]

At first I thought 'all things considered' meant D's crimes. On second thoughts it's another stab at Brianna. Despite being raised by her, D was a decent guy at heart.

[@Curtis.Dimes.]

@@m.h.lockesteppe9834 I put the ....for a reason, go look for Ann Frank

[@leonwelcome7025]

The acting by Jimmy in this scene is classic. I like how he completely brakes her and does so on purpose. Great scene. He let her know what timenit was. Broke her in half.

[@BadNewsBaltimore]

9996d5essss

[@paulaffleck]

This actress has sad eyes. Like gandolfini

[@cyruszdatvirusz1589]

8q

[@williamwoods9567]

So I just wrote a 2,400 word evaluation essay for my english 111 class. And it was about the wire, I covered my body paragraphs about the subtle dialog that was play out through the season, this was one of the quotes I used. The other body paragraphs were about "the game" and the police-- good police and "juking the stats" police. I love the technique David simon used to establish such an underrated hit television series. I concluded by saying how many of the fans who watch the wire enjoy for its subtle moments and character development. This was truly a underrated television series. Just the show alone, never has there been another cop drama that humanize heroin addicts, or had a Omar character to help the citizens of Baltimore. Thank you David Simon for producing this hit. I was extremely excited and honored to write an evaluation essay on the show. Much love for the fans as well! ❤

[@derisme1987]

jesus. He served up that ether with no remorse.

[@travyp.2430]

She doesn't deserve remorse. Her son is gone because of her. She should suffer because of that

[@CollectorChronicles]

“Drop that ether beat!”

[@jeffwillisjr53]

I never get enough of rewatching this... McNulty words was so true to the point D'Angelo mother died two times emotionally. and on the third charm she self-destruct when she confronted stringer and Avon about the truth... 🤐🚨

[@Z12superfly]

That moment when Briana realizes that she made D take the years because of her own selfishness is too real.

[@geordiejones5618]

Her acting was amazing. Like goddamn you see and feel that heart shatter.

[@TheKingOfRuckus]

The look on McNulty face as he walks away....too good😂

[@mauriceboone7865]

Yes sir!!! I thought I was the only one who caught that.. The look says lady you have the nerve to ask me why I didn’t come to you first ?? Bitch please!!

[@jontray87]

"DAngelo was strangled." Send chills everytime. The truth finally comes out.

[@JimmySteller]

Ironic for a man whose only wish was to breathe free.

[@ivandesantis858]

The different looks on both of their faces throughout this scene told its own story. These 2 actors knocked this scene out of the park. When fans mention all the great characters this show gave us they may go 20 deep before they mention Brianna but its those peripheral characters strong performances that put this show at the exalted level it deserves.

[@mikem591]

McNulty was the 'king' of these kinds of confrontations and could be incredibly persuasive. For him to get to Brianna said it all. She was tough and shrewd. You got to 'the best' to get to someone like her. He had an instictive sense about what buttons to push and was willing to push them. It made him incredibly annoying to his superiors, but that same quality flourished in cross examinations and persuading people like Bodie, who normally were almost impenetrable. Even though they didn't like to hear what McNulty had to say, they seemed to instinctively trust him, sensing he was 'natural police' and what he was saying resonated with them.

[@mikem591]

That's true. Bodie wanted to know if someone was 'real'. If they were 'real', from his point of view, they were alright in his book.

[@Gryffilion]

I love it when Jimmy sits down briefly to eat with Bodie, gets a call on his radio and says "We should do this again." The fleeting look of bewilderment and amusement on Bodie's face was amazing.

[@renzopeterson153]

That's a fair assessment but you neglect the fact that everytime McNulty had these moments with people, they were already at an emotional edge ready to crack. I think Jimmy saw and understood this, hence his approach.

[@BadNewsBaltimore]

ee8o8o8

[@waltjones6927]

He didnt get Stringer with that bullshit tho😂😂

[@paulaffleck]

Such great writing. Such great acting. Such unnecessary cruelty. Such an honest show.

[@tmdrdd]

(At 3:00) Like Cheese said, "Man, y'all some cold ass muthaf#(kas man." The real irony here is that D'Angelo's girl, Donette, was the one who cared the least about him in the end.

[@renzopeterson153]

Watcher Media Stringer called the least, clearly.

[@silverfox389]

@@renzopeterson153 I don't think you understood his statement, maybe read it again?

[@fhfs]

She cared about the money and lifestyle and with D locked up, She was looking for replacements like a flat tire on a car.

[@GGtheRealest]

@@fhfs but that's a lot of women when her being with you was based on that. She did what women do. Dee just didn't have her whole mind and spirit yet to make her not do that. There ain't a whole lot of women that are gonna sit around and wait that many years man. All the dudes in prison serving long bids think they got the same shorty waiting for em when they get out and that's just not the case lmao calling em every day in there won't be keeping em waiting lmao soon as they hang up, their homie is already fuckin that girl in the mouth.

[@veeedgee]

Screwing who killed him!

[@tarabrara1350]

We are watching this scene largely from McNulty's perspective hence it is easier to think Brianna got what she deserved. But looking from Brianna's point of view, this situation is fucking brutal. She probably grew up being taught the importance of sticking with the family, which leads her to convince D to do the same. Now she finds out the same family has thrown D under the bus for protecting themselves. Where did she go wrong? By convincing D not to snitch on Avon? Or by grooming D in the first place to join the family business? Or by not getting out of it herself long before that? We might think these questions have a trivial answer, but they are very tough questions for someone in Brianna's shoes.

[@jlop6822]

It’s a brutal situation, yes. But, above all, you protect your children. Period. She didn’t push him back in the game for loyalty to Avon as a principle, she pushed him back into the game because loyalty to Avon is what drove her lavish way of living in comparison to what they grew up with. It was a decision based off selfishness, not loyalty to Avon

[@falseprophet1024]

Do you have that same sympathy for someone raised into the kkk? She is a big girl, and she made her own decisions. At a certain age, you have to take responsibility for your own actions, and can't blame it on your bad upbringing.. She deserves every brutal thought that pops into her head. She should be wondering which of her decisions cost her son his life.. In all reality, though, I highly doubt moms like her actually care about their kids...

[@d.s.9692]

This writing is so damn good, and here's why: the entire purpose of this conversation is to destroy Brianna. That's McNulty's purpose from the beginning. In a way, he's giving her a rundown of all the people who don't care that her son was murdered: the police are perfectly willing to let this one go. And Avon obviously didn't take the blood they share into consideration. And the person who killed him probably didn't even care too much, because it was obviously a calculated hit. And he mentions that even he himself does not really care anymore. Finally lays the boom on Brianna that she obviously didn't care either. So gracefully done.

[@mijreed]

She had it coming though.

[@dyingearth]

He qualified by saying that he's not supposed to care as ordered by his boss who does not want to investigate this as a murder.

[@claymac7895]

She went to him and asked the questions, he didn’t seek her out. How could he have a purpose when he was simply answering her questions. He didn’t set out to destroy her, he simply set out to bring the truth to light.

[@eirtars]

@derek your analysis is good but i think you missed the point about McNulty playing his strings. He's just playing with Brianna's psychology. It was his plan all along when he went to see Donette : to move some shit in the barksdale clan. Of course hes overdoing it with Brianna cuz he knows shes living the good life out of the drug trade and respect that omerta principle, and because she stopped Dee from flippin and making Avon fall aswell.

[@eirtars]

@@claymac7895 Correct, and play his strings aswell to get something back from it. It was his plan from the begining. Search a breach in the barksdale organisation.

[@DrexelRivers]

that was the most brutal 3 minute takedown of a person without one punch being thrown.

[@fullmetalastro]

"Squeezed against the sides." GOD ITS SO COLD

[@williammiller1265]

Malcolm Nicholson it is a cold statement

[@hanklesacks]

Damn

[@amyellawrence6516]

William Miller what does he mean by that?

[@SteveLaneGalway]

@@amyellawrence6516 A Mother that didn't really care on one side, and being killed by somebody who should not have been able to kill him, by his uncle, one the other side

[@pouihurmen]

@@SteveLaneGalway you mean String

[@sassytabasco]

If your beer is ever too warm, just hold it close to McNulty's heart. (Simultaneously... she kind of earned that)

[@ninelivecat]

This scene gave me the chills amazing show

[@Max-cr5ex]

Final nail in the coffin for Brianna, knowing that while she always looked out for her son she tried to raise him as the next Avon, when he would of been better & happier being pretty much anything else

[@homework1992]

Like Wee-Bey told De’Londa, “Who the fuck would wanna be that if they could be anything else?”

[@KtotheG]

She emasculated him like Delonda did Namond. Single mothers need to accept the fact that they are not MEN. Boys need softness and nurturing from their mothers... and toughness and leadership from their dads.

[@johnlocke8642]

@@KtotheG speak it bruv

[@mariahyohannes]

@@KtotheG Lack of father's in the home

[@KtotheG]

@@mariahyohannes They don't want fathers in the home. That's the problem.

[@pWasHere9]

I would say it is more like McNulty confronts Brianna about D'Angelo.

[@sully6172]

I literally celebrated this scene when I first saw it. She pretended to be above it all, but in the end she cared more about her cut of the family trade than the life of her son, and it took McNulty pointing that out to her for her poison mind to realize it.

[@fleshcookie]

McNulty aint scared of nobody

[@carcharodonoodle]

Nope. He just gives fucks when it's not his turn to give them.

[@Gregolian]

This scene is definitely one of the more powerful ones in the entire series with how in such a short time McNulty just speaking cold truths breaks someone. Show's what Landsman says later at the "wake" about "You were one of the best, if I was dead on some corner, I'd want you standing over my body". What made McNulty the best though was ultimately his own downfall too sadly.

[@MikeJones-im3qn]

When Jimmy says it grinds him that no one ever spoke up for deangelo Brianna moves a little bit like that hurts her to the point where she's about to cry. Great acting. You know she's remembering when deangelo is asking "what about me". I feel bad for her in a way. Obviously she now knows that he had some good in him and wasn't meant for the game and she knows she should have let him take the deal so he could live a new life. Powerful stuff. I just watched the series for the first time and am watching it again with my girlfriend. I'm glad I didn't watch it live. I would have hated waiting weeks for new episodes. Ha. Gotta be in my top 5 shows

[@erichsmall9395]

What are the other 4 shows

[@WhoopsieDayZ]

@@erichsmall9395 Deadwood, Sopranos, Mad Men for me. The fifth would be hard to pick. Maybe Boardwalk Empire? Better Call Saul? Season 1 of True Detective? Something like that.

[@gonufc]

I know there are all the set piece events and "Stars" of The Wire but the woman that plays D'Angelo's Mum was one of the people that stuck with me the most- she was incredible at that tortured loyalty and total devestation about what happened. It was heart breaking.

[@NardoFree2]

One of my favorite scenes.....Mcnulty's voice and tone was on point....more wire than AT&T....... Great line.

[@DucksAndDucks]

This is one of the best acted scenes in the series in my opinion, with Brianna stealing the show. Michael Hyatt does such a great job transforming from cocky pissed off arrogance to puddle of tears as it all started to make sense.

[@DougglesMagnificent]

God-level acting by both!

[@j2times2006]

Great writing and fantastic acting by West and Mrs Hyatt. The expression on her face as mcnulty walks out is killer. She slowly crumbles without saying a word. It’s all in her facial expressions.

[@stirlingattfield7678]

Acting, dialogue, emotional heft, attention to detail, ramifications and realisations - all off-the-chart, absurdly good. Arguably the best scene in the entire series.

[@TiesOfZip]

This scene shows why this show was so damn good. It feels real. No overly dramatic music and over acting. Just a hard hit in the gut.

[@JERMAINE650]

You can say what you want about Brianna she was a better mother than Namond's mom

[@MrLilfee]

lol yeah, way to set the bar high

[@JERMAINE650]

Delonda was dependent on the Barksdale family, Brianna was independent while Avon was around and after he left. Think about that little man

[@leonwelcome7025]

Any mother who allows or promotes their child to that lifestyle is a horrible mother. They both are mothers who should be jailed. She sucks just as much as Namonds mom.

[@perman07]

Leon Welcome I don't think she sucks just as much, but as MrLilfee said, way to set the bar high. Even if you're a better mom than Namond's mom, you can still be a pretty terrible mom. DeLonda basically miscalculated and didn't expect other elements of Avon's operation going behind Avon's back. Avon would never have killed De'Angelo. She should have realized that in the world of crime, you're basically on your own, no matter what bullshit an organization spouts about loyalty.

[@marchfifth1754]

Leon Welcome Or maybe your reality and someone else's reality are two different things. Right and wrong is not universal. Your truth is different from my truth, to you she was a scumbag supporting drug dealers. To her she was living the only life she knew.

[@liverdave1977]

This scene is absolute genius! Mcnulty tels it as it is, and Breanna knows it!!

[@curtisck813]

McNulty broke her down like a Lego set,The Wire,best television series ever!!..Even Brianna can act her ass off..what is her name in real life? #RESPECT

[@IGotAllOfThat]

Her names in the description

[@atm1058]

Wow, this show is so unbelievably good. The writing is second to none.

[@JasonX2]

Wow what a brutal scene, painful truth is one of the big hallmarks of the wire.

[@manjuhs8444]

This show is far more better than anything out there. It's just brilliant

[@shane49734]

This show was so powerful with its delivery. I miss this style of show

[@love1orhate1boxingnewsupda61]

Thats why it havent been duplicated yet This show acting was so real it was real That it actually was real

[@rory693]

Geez! what a series. These KZbin clips! Everything is so strong!

[@OnMyGrindEveryDay]

This why this was show was so great.. there are good guys on BOTH sides of the war.. As a convicted felon, I still got respect for cops like McNulty.

[@At0mHeart]

And as a person who hasn't seen the inside of a jail i liked omar far more than nulty i kind of hated him

[@SifuPL]

This last shot of her wiping away tears with a hand dressed in gold. To call this series a work of genius would be an understatement

[@melbias5046]

mcnulty did not go savage mode, he just spoke the truth, and no one likes to be told the truth because the majority cannot take it. plus, a wise person would have figured out that was no suicide anyway, it just doesnt make it as one.it looks as a set up. and the cop knew it right away, common sense.

[@julio87th]

they did know but the police would rather leave it as a suicide then actually try to figure out the murder when there was no trace as to who couldve done it.

[@dyingearth]

Well, the cop really don't care, as suicide of a known drug dealer won't messed up on their statistics. If it's a murder, they'll have some idea who order it (Stringer), but it'll be a stone whodoneit as there's practically no physical evidence and no witness.

[@tochiRTA]

he definitely went 21

[@munstrumridcully]

Though he didn't know it, the reason it her so much was because McNulty told her a half-truth. He made her think Avon killed D, _and_ that it was her fault for making him take the time. If she knew it was String that did it, I think it might have backfired and just made her see red at Stringer and be even more strongly bonded to Avon.

[@Cheviedollaz]

“You were the one who made him take the years right” -- power in words

[@NYCentralSpotter1070]

Now, one thing to understand is that it actually took almost no effort for McNulty to figure out Brianna's complicity in D'Angelo suddenly backing out of the deal: The cops have a general idea of who most likely visits who in cases like this. D'Angelo suddenly had a change of heart following a visitation by her. So it wouldn't take much for McNulty to conclude what happened.

[@DarthUchiha91]

He didn't have to conclude anything. He saw it.

[@MauriceBoone-jm2xu]

There is no general idea who visits they k now exactly who visits and when

[@thesargs]

It's scenes like this that make The Wire so uniquely powerful and unforgettable. People who have watched the show remember everything that has led up to this moment and they just nail it with the writing and the acting to make a scene that always hits like a hammer when you rewatch it, even out of context so many years later.

[@GyrosHunter]

The way McNulty handles the conversation is Emmy.

[@A_10_PaAng_111]

The winner of the Mother of The Year Contest and McNulty just handed her the prize. A Reality Check!

[@BacalaoBrad]

Easily one of the most powerful scenes of the series ......

[@SankofaNYC]

How do this show not win every award?!?!? How are these actors and actresses sought after and receiving super high pay days?!?! My Lord!

[@seandlax9]

I mean, it did win a bunch, but it was also overshadowed by The Sopranos. Despite The Wire being the better show.

[@SankofaNYC]

@@seandlax9 Yeah, i was really referring to emmy awards

[@lecuyerdooley1084]

Avon should have told Brianna what went down with D'Angelo. He truly had nothing to do with it and would have never, ever agreed to it. Avon was a gangsta, but he had a heart when it came to his blood. He shouldn't have let his sister suffer thinking that he had anything to do with her son's murder.

[@Zamolxes77]

Lecuyer Dooley Avon didn't know about D'Angelo, not until season 5 I think, when String fesses up. If I remember right, Brianna confronts both of them and by that time Avon knows

[@lecuyerdooley1084]

It was in season 3 that Avon knows, but he never tells Brianna what happened to D, even when she was pleading with him to know.

[@planetmurkury]

+Lecuyer Dooley He wouldn't rat out his boy like that. Agree to have him killed? Sure. But not that.

[@planetmurkury]

I think Avon got the logic of it, you know? He just couldn't bring himself to do it. And, yeah, it's kind of dumb considering what happens to String later and how Avon set him up.

[@dbstewart86]

Avon couldn't. He's in a catch-22 when Brianna asks him about it. If he tells her String set it up, she'll assume it was with Avon's approval, otherwise String would be dead. If he somehow convinces her that String did it on his own, the question becomes why wasn't String killed the moment Avon found out; that complicity still seems like approval. Beyond that, she'll think family means nothing to Avon because he ultimately did nothing. This pretty much put Avon in an all lose situation where Brianna would never trust him again.

[@TheFreelanceTeacher]

One of the best scenes in TV history. These two pulled off something electric here. Poignant and amazing.

[@deRoyLight]

Jesus... This show was so good.

[@doorlock232425]

So many layers, such great acting, such dialogue...The Wire...THE GREATEST TELEVISION SHOW OF ALL TIME!

[@jositoxxx1]

This scene is perfect! I just noticed that when brianna starts crying realizing that jimmy is true, you can see that she's got plenty of gold but her son is dead!

[@silasself7235]

Going back looking at this scene, Great acting, makes my eyes well up😭😭😭

[@Masons4Liberty]

The way she cries and that jewelry she’s wearing…see some small similarities in her character and Carmela soprano. They endure tragedy, but it’s completely 100% their own creation and ignored multiple chances to get away from it. Because of what? Gold jewelry?

[@thepotcallinthekettle4409]

Damn near every scene was award winning. This really STILL IS the BEST series ever

[@JustSomeCanadianGuy]

McNulty inadvertently gets Stringer killed. Tells Brianna, so Stringer tells Avon, who because of that gives up Stringer. If McNulty kept his mouth shut he'd have arrested Stringer the day he was killed. :) It's this kind of storytelling that makes The Wire the best show.

[@VClarity]

That's not why he gave him up. He gave him up because Stringer put a hit out on Brother Mouzone, who then demanded to Avon that he give up Stringer and Avon complied because he cares most about his reputation above all else.

[@austinboylan5476]

+VClarity But Avon may have resisted Brother Mouzone's request had Stringer not killed D.

[@jefffromjersey52]

Both Very good points... again awesome story telling.. just perfection.

[@VClarity]

Austin Boylan Perhaps, but for me that wasn't implied or hinted at in the series :-)

[@Taospark]

It's even better when you find out that the show used really good sound design in lieu of music. Brianna's clicking of gold bracelets at the end implies the tradeoff she received for her son's life.

[@pelu101]

I can understand both they're point of views, they were both right and wrong, Brianna convinced D'Angelo that family is important and he is who he is because of where he grew up and Avon took care of them when they needed it the most, she reminded him of the code. D'Angelo tried to get out of that and couldn't no matter how much he wanted too. Avon was the kingpin but his family was his weakness and Stringer saw through that and took it upon himself to make sure D'Angelo never squealed even though he was never going to after the talk he had with Brianna.

[@EricH928]

Stringer didn't need to kill D. D wasn't going to talk. He wasn't happy, but he wasn't going to talk. Stringer was just being the devious, arrogant ("I know better") bastard that he was. Funny thing about Stringer--the people around him are blind to how devious he is because they are not that devious. Stringer would do great in a corporate or academic setting.

[@richp.1234]

There was a chance D would've talked later down the line. A small one, but alas still possibility.

[@marshallkelly5769]

Stringer was a snake

[@arndd19]

greatest show ever. I'm hyped just watching that scene.

[@mikem591]

2:44 - Sealed the deal and the beginning of the end of the Barksdales...McNulty tore up Brianna's narrative of the Barksdales family in a few minutes. He shook her world with the truth, which wasn't an easy thing to do with someone like Brianna. Brianna would have made have made a good kingpin.

[@brothatothanight1379]

Fuck Brianna with every sick dick in B-More....What type of women pushes her only son into selling drugs just because her father and brother did? Not to mention she forced him to do jail time and not let him walk away from the game. Some kinda mother she was...smh....

[@Elamdri]

Have you met Delonda Brice?

[@BALAGOTME]

You afraid to go to baby booking? The fuck is wrong witchu!

[@Acoha7]

There’s a continuity error around 2:18. The teabag in Mcnulty’s cup appears in the scene while he threw it out at the beginning.

[@adils786]

"Squeezed between the sides" Goddamn that's a cold thing to say to his mother

[@YOUNGBROADIE]

Gotta respect McNulty was who he was with everyone regardless of who they were even bosses even to a fault at times getting him in trouble but still never switched up. Respect

[@TisBoiGoTSkiLLz]

I'm on my first watch through and I just watched this scene. Absolutely floored me. McNulty was brutal but he should've been, she was a terrible mom.

[@truebeliever786]

Such incredible, top-class acting from both of them!!

[@lambchop613]

Is that an accent slip at 2:03 I hear Mr West?

[@OliviaParas]

damn..I noticed McNulty could've let her walk out the room before showing her the pictures. But McNulty being McNulty, he let her have it full-blast "I was looking for someone who cared". Leaving her crying wiping it off with the jewelry she got cause of the lifestyle she had

[@obiwon76]

One of the best scenes in tv history.

[@teehamp1306]

15 years later (2024) and I STILL watch every episode

[@jasonyung5749]

"he asked for no quarter, and he gave no quarter" -- Jay