Simon IS McNulty. Landsman's "elegy" said all that need be said. Jimmy is uncompromising, devoted to dogged pursuit of the truth, consequences be damned, and as often as not he was damned right back.

And I think that's exactly how Simon sees himself (and I for one agree and respect him enormously for his willingness to take so many unconventional chances). I don't think it's an accident (although it may have been unintentional) that McNulty was the one main character whose future was left starkly in limbo, the one "cycle" that was left unclosed. His job, his deepest source of identity, which also served as his soapbox from whence to pronounce his brilliance and superiority, was taken from him as he always suspected it would be. The Wire was Simon's detective's shield.

So for McNulty/Simon there's a profound, but resigned, sense of loss and a need to find a new windmill to tilt at. And while that future is open-ended, there's little doubt how it will be approached - with intelligence and brutal honesty, consequences be damned.

I think you hit the nail on the head. Much like George Pelecanos is Nick Karros in his early novels set in D.C., Simon is McNulty.

He'll probably end up bartending and taking on odd jobs as a private investigator. He and Bunk really do deserve their own show.

Like many viewers, I found the last episode hurried and a little ridiculous in the way it tried to tie up all the loose ends. But you can blame HBO for that more than Simon -- they called for him to sew it up in 10 episodes rather than the normal 13. Hell, I would be happy to live with the show for another few years and there is undobtedly enough great material, save for the uninteresting Sun plot,

I'll remember this season for episode 9, although I must admit I was delighted with the McNulty eulogy scene in episode 10.

Mike

i agree--i see mcnulty becoming a raymond chandler's Philip Marlowe with all that genius and toughness covered by an impaired and neglected exterior.