The original post: /r/movies by /u/pi__r__squared on 2025-01-03 04:14:34.

“Do you want to be a cop, or do you want to appear to be a cop?”

&

“What we do not deal with is self-deception….in five years you will not be a Massachusetts State Trooper.”

Billy seemed like a genuinely moral and good person. Did they assume his violent tendencies from childhood would prevent him being successful as a cop, and then sought to use that weakness to their own advantage by having him go in with Costello? It is a noticeably violent environment, and surely a welcome challenge for someone as intelligent as Billy. Were they just setting him up for success in an unconventional way, while also making sure they benefitted from the arrangement?