The Shield “Possible Kill Screen”
Original Air Date: Nov 18, 2008
Tom R - TwoCents Staff Writer
tom@thetwocents.com
I always get nervous when shows bill themselves as “riveting” or “thrilling” or “unforgettable”. It’s a lot of hype to live up to. More often than not, it sets you up for disappointment. The Shield, however, lives up those adjectives. Particularly in the last few episodes, those words may not be descriptive enough. Example: The closing moments of this episode:
Olivia: “Do you have any idea what you’ve done to me?”
Vic: “I’ve done worse.”
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[photo: FX]
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The Shield
ReplyDelete“Possible Kill Screen”
Original Air Date: Nov 18, 2008
Tom R - TwoCents Staff Writer
tom@thetwocents.com
I always get nervous when shows bill themselves as “riveting” or “thrilling” or “unforgettable”. It’s a lot of hype to live up to. More often than not, it sets you up for disappointment. The Shield, however, lives up those adjectives. Particularly in the last few episodes, those words may not be descriptive enough. Example: The closing moments of this episode:
Olivia: “Do you have any idea what you’ve done to me?”
Vic: “I’ve done worse.”
But before that key moment, we have Shane trying to hustle money from lowlifes from his past. Unfortunately, as Mara comes to his aid, she ends up shooting a bystander, bringing more heat on them. Julien and Tina find his car, and he drags Tina into an alley. She almost talks him into surrender, but he runs off.
Vic manages to get Olivia to offer him immunity, but the deal doesn’t include Ronnie. He refuses, but when the police pick up Corinne, he comes back to Olivia to accept, as long as Corinne’s freedom is included. She offers him immunity, but he has to disclose the crimes they are protecting him from. In an incredibly well-played scene, Vic looks almost like he doesn’t know where to begin. He recounts everything to Olivia, starting with Terry Crowley’s murder. The Justice agents are stunned by what they are covering up, leading to the final moment mentioned above. Amazing to watch Chiklis spill his seven years worth of secrets, and to watch the others crumble.
Dutch is asked by Billings to give a letter of recommendation regarding his comp case. Dutch brings the matter to Claudette, also blowing the whistle on Billings’ frame-up of a sex offender. She chews him out for not bringing the frame to her attention, since he is now implicated as part of the event. He gets Billings to free the offender in exchange for the letter. Claudette walks into the Justice offices as they are debriefing Vic and finds out he will walk for everything. Furious, she takes it out on Dutch, and fires him.
The blow-up between Dutch and Claudette comes as a complete surprise. The two characters have been through so much together, as partners and friends. I’ve said this before, but it’s a relationship that’s easy to overlook when Mackey’s schemes take center stage. But it’s the parallel of the rogue cops and the honest cops that brings this show to its best level, and that’s the way it should take its final bow.
So there’s my two cents…What do you think? Drop them in the comments or drop me a line at: tom@thetwocents.com .