Road to Perdition : How can he not know?

How can he not know?

I find it astonishing that a clever hit-man like Sullivan not know the repercussion of a failed assassination attempt by Harlen Maguire on his life. He should've known that he will come after him. I simply don't like the ending.

As I say, messing with people's heads can be a lot of fun. You should try it.

Re: How can he not know?

He knew that Harlen was a hired gun. He might have assumed A) That they called him off and didn't think he would have a personal vendetta against him. Or B) That he got arrested or bled to death after their shootout.

Re: How can he not know?

I just re-watched this film after many years, and am amazed at how much more I gained from it with the time and a fresh perspective. I don't think Chicago betrayed Sullivan. They wanted Conner out of the way of his father's legacy, and could have easily removed him and trapped Sullivan at the hotel with an ambush. Their first instinct was to also remove the boy as insurance for later revenge - the fact he grew up be the narrator indicates they didn't pursue him and the peace offering made with Sullivan was genuine.

My impression is that after the maiming of his face, the assassin continued his vendetta regardless of Chicago's treaty. I also feel Sullivan was savvy enough to know a betrayal was in the works, which is why the gunman caught him unawares.
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