The more I watch FX's The Shield, the more I'm impressed. The more the mood of the show, the characters, the writing, the wisecracks, get under my skin.
The last scene that we were left with is a haunting one. Curtis Lemansky (Kenny Johnson) is sitting in that blown out car, skin broiling on his features, his sad earnest eyes searching for some final way to put the pieces back together of his shattered life, his world. Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) taking a wild-eyed Bald Bull's run at Internal Affairs Lt. Jon Kavanaugh (Forest Whitaker), the culmination of an investigation that ended with bad blood – much of it real – on everyone's hands.
It's fascinating that Kavanaugh's investigation spins all the way back to the pilot episode of the series and the shooting of Terry Crowley (Reed Diamond). The Shield is great at not allowing the past to quite slip away, just as in real life. It keeps lurking and looming and slipping and dodging, popping up to unpleasantly visit at unexpected junctures.
Vic Mackey is one of the great characters of crime drama, and it's easy to compare him to one of the greatest characters, crime or otherwise, Tony Soprano. Both Tony and Vic see themselves as warriors and heroes, imperfect beings in a corrupt and violent world who do what they need to do in order to survive. Loyalty is paramount – Vic always circles back to "protecting the team" and Tony preaches respect and honor to both of his "families." Interestingly, both men tend to neglect their loved ones in favor of both professional duties and extracurricular activities.
And both characters also seek a return to the way things used to be. For Tony, it is the hyper-idealized mafia-run neighborhoods of his father's generation, a time before drugs rotted the old order to the core, when crews looked out for one another, and not being a rat (read = keeping your mouth shut) really meant something. Vic, on the other hand, would likely love to turn the clock back to the time just prior to the events of the pilot episode, when his marriage was more or less intact, two of his kids had not yet been diagnosed with autism, and the Strike Team had not yet made the fateful decision to murder a fellow police officer who was under orders to investigate them.
Article comments
1 - Jeff Harris
I agree with you that Mackey is one of the great TV characters. In looking forward to the next season, you left out one of my most-anticipated conflicts...how will Mackey handle working under Claudette?! When she was in charge of the strike team, he could always get around her by manipulating Aceveda, but now there's no one left to keep Claudette off Mackey's back!
2 - Eric Berlin
Great point, Jeff, though I find their relationship far more ambiguous. Mackey respects Claudette more than nearly any other cop, though of course he differs on "tactics." He already proved that he could respect a female boss (Glenn Close's Capt. Rawling) under the right conditions.
3 - El Bicho
Good write-up, but...
"I state "possible" because we don't know for sure whether or not Lem is dead."
He's dead, unless you are referring to his presence continuing in the character's imaginations. Ryan made it clear in interviews. Also, the new trailer for next season lists Lem's date of death.
4 - Eric Berlin
Thanks El B -- I was going just by what they showed in the final episode. I think the finality of Lem's death will be a good thing in terms of the storyline.
Sad though, too -- I really liked old Lemansky! Man, was that episode a heartbreaker.
5 - empath
Oooh. Thanks for the Shield write-up, Eric. You just reminded me what an exciting season we have coming up. I've watched last season's finale 3 times now, and it still kicks me in the gut every time.
One of the things that has always interested me about Mackey is the fact that the worst act in the long litany of criminal acts that he has commited was the first act that we witnessed. He has never been quite as bad since that first show. As we get to know more about Vic, that act, and the callous way it was performed, almost seems out of character. It will be very interesting to see how Lem's murder will effect Vic's personality. Will he struggle with his desire to be a good cop, or will he become more like the cold, almost nakedly evil Mackey we saw in that first episode?
6 - SFC SKI
I could have used a spoiler alert, oh well. The Shield has really been a showcase for truly great writing and acting, and plausible plot twists that come out of nowhere as well. It truly lives up to the definition of "riveting" drama.
Unfortunately, I'll have to wait for the DVD release to catch this season, but I am looking forward to purchasing it as soon as I can..
7 - Eric Berlin
empath -- thanks and you bring up a great point about Mackey. I think on some level the show is about Vic trying to "get past" his misdeeds, but it's very difficult to explain away murdering a fellow police officer. That's the event, likely, that set his and his team's course off the rails.
SFC -- This episode premiered a few months ago. Should a review of The Wizard of Oz include spoiler warnings (smile)?
8 - Al Barger
Oh, Lem's good and dead. They didn't have medical personnel attending him. People get killed on The Shield, they stay killed.
Now, how long before Vic clues up about Shane killing Lem, how long can Shane keep it in?
What was most groovy was the way they sat this up. It was played as Of Mice and Men - the episode before that was titled "Of Mice and Lem." It was my first clue what was coming when they started talking about Lem wanting to meet this baby Shane's wife is carrying. It had a tone distinctly similar to George talking about the rabbits.
Oh, Hundreds of pictures of The Shield
9 - Eric Berlin
One of the bread-and-butter plays that The Shield runs to perfection is the long-term coverup. As per usual, it will be Mackey keeping a lid on things (he still needs to hold off Kavanaugh!) while he finds out what the real deal is.
10 - Al Barger
140 IMAGES OF LEMONHEAD'S FUNERAL