Just when you thought The Shield couldn’t get any more exciting, season six arrives with more twists and turns than a celebrity marriage! We were left at the end of last season with the stunner of Lem’s murder, Danny’s baby daddy issue, and the specter of Kavanaugh’s personal vendetta against Vic gaining psychotic momentum. Phew!
Well, this season loose ends are wrapping up quickly and new ones are coming unraveled. It’s just the second episode and Kavanagh’s already in jail, Shane is ready to combust with guilt over his murderous secret, Claudette’s job has already been threatened, and Mackey has tracked down the man he thinks is Lem’s killer. The storylines thus far this season do not disappoint and I am waiting with bated breath to see what happens next week. And I have to say that the idea that we may soon be rid of Kavanaugh’s wild-eyed obsession is a huge relief. The character out and out gives me the creeps, and his not so surprising slip into planting evidence and bribing witness made him even harder to stomach. But it’s okay Forrest, you certainly proved your Oscar-winning chops. It’s the character we love to hate, not you.
And then there’s David Aceveda. I’m sorry, Councilman David Aceveda. Shudder. Now, I can’t tell you how happy I am that there is a prominent Latino character in this impressive ensemble, and I adore the actor, Benito Martinez, but Aceveda’s smarmy police captain turned politician makes my flesh crawl. But don’t think I’m accusing the show of stereotyping. Hell no, every character is questionable on this show.
In fact, that is what is so fascinating about The Shield. No one is totally good or completely bad. Mackey began the series by murdering a member of his team and stealing money. He had no redeeming qualities whatsoever (other than being played by the brilliant and intense Michael Chiklis). Slowly we are seeing the character evolve, and — I hope you will forgive me — become a kind of anti-hero. And even several of the more virtuous characters — such as Dutch Boy and the much missed Lem — are guilty of morally questionable acts. At the very beginning of the series, I contacted a high school friend of mine who is a detective in a New York neighborhood comparable to Farmington, and asked her if the show was accurate. “Accurate? No. It’s an overly dramatized view. But of all the cop shows I’ve seen, The Shield is the closest in its grittiness, its darkness.” She was the one who told me that when you are called to a crime scene, where a pimp has just stabbed a drug dealer in a dispute, you wonder: who’s the “bad” guy here?
Article comments
1 - Mat Brewster
I was very surprised to see Kavanaugh taken care of so quickly this season. It's a bastard of a character, but played to perfection by Forrest.
Wonder when they'll find out it was Shane who killed Lem, and what Vic will do to him when he does.
Good stuff.
2 - El Bicho
"I was very surprised to see Kavanaugh taken care of so quickly this season"
I agree. I felt cheated by his sudden change of heart. Not believable. The writers took the easy way out.
3 - Baronius
"No one is totally good or completely bad."
Really? I'm a couple of seasons behind, but it seems like most everyone is completely bad. Aceveda and Claudette both put their careers before police work, and the Strike Team are all murdering thieves. Dutch is the only decent one I can think of, and you make it sound like he sells his soul too.
4 - Ann Cardinal
"you make it sound like he sells his soul too." He doesn't really sell his soul (and being kind of a dork isn't a crime), but his arrogance gets in the way of his efforts. Remember that episode, I think it was in Season 4, when he's so certain a suspect's wife is telling the truth and that he's figured her out but meanwhile she knows her husband is dismembering another victim and putting them in the trunk of their car? That same season he offers Claudette up to clear his own name. Dutch isn't evil, but he isn't a boy scout either.
5 - Bill William
Would somebody be kind enough to tell me on which channel The Shield is aired? I had been recording some very old reruns on a local TV station and am about to begin Direct TV service, partly because I thought The Shield currently airs on FX channel. But, I can not find anything in the Direct TV schedule about The Shield except for early morning reruns on the SPIKE channel.
Have I missed the latest season on FX or what?
Thanks for any info you can provide.
6 - Ann Cardinal
Hi Bill. Yes, I'm afraid you missed this season, it is rather short I'm afraid. It ran on FX (Tuesdays at 10:00, at least in my neck of the woods) but I'm pretty sure it is rerun over the summer as I saw an episode was on earlier this week.