 Well, that wasn’t exactly what he all had hoped for, now was it? Then again, it certainly doesn’t make the wait for the final season any shorter, either. The spotlight remained on Vic this week as he struggled to stay on the force. Despite a seemingly effective blackmail of Aceveda (after securing the original memory card containing the infamous photo from Cruz), the former captain continued his claims that he couldn’t help with his current situation. He did, however, offer up a suggestion: play the autistic child card with the head of the appeals (the only man with the power to turn the vote), who just so happens to have a grandchild with the same disease. Not content with using his children as an excuse, Vic turns to his last resort: crack the San Marcos case wide open. After tailing the one-armed delegate to a money drop with some Mexican intelligence former who’s joined up with the Mexican mob, Vic uncovers a plan that involves the Mexicans buying up land in Farmington as a means to both launder money and do illegal business. The smell of crooked politicians is too much for Aceveda to pass up, and so he teams up with Vic on the hunt. Unfortunately, Vic doesn’t have the kind of time needed to investigate a case of such proportions the right way. Instead, he goes straight to the source, pulling over the aforementioned intelligence officer to discover a trunk filled with boxes of blackmail-quality material. The guy didn’t go down without a fight, though – attempting to drive away before Vic jumped through the window and beat his ass – and now it looks like Vic finally has the case needed to guarantee his future at the Barn. A worthy story arc for the final season? You bet. Despite butting heads several times in the past, the Vic/Aceveda dynamic has always been one of the best thins about the series, and I can’t wait to watch the two of them working together again. And if that’s not enough, he might even get a final nudge from Claudette’s end. Granted, the weary captain called for more of a Vic-type when she so gloriously booted Hiatt from the job, but with his recent good behavior, she might just be willing to accept the fact that he’s going to be around a little longer than originally anticipated. Billings, on the other hand, isn’t so keen on sticking around. In fact, he’s actually informed Claudette of his intentions of suing the department for injuries rendered during the Vic/Kavanaugh brawl a few months back. He’s not stupid, either, as he made sure to document complaints about headaches and neck cramps every chance he got with Dutch, but can a place like Farmington really afford a $3.2 million lawsuit. Methinks not, which means Billings will surely return for one last confrontation with Dutch before the show is gone for good. And what of Shane? Well, he managed to escape yet another season unharmed, and without a confrontation with Vic, no less. It certainly looked like he had it coming after kidnapping Corrine and Cassidy (at gunpoint) and locking them in the back of a semi, but Vic has pushed that to the back burner for the time being. Shane’s actions were actually well intentioned (the Armenian mob was going to kill them), but all Vic is going to remember is that puddle of blood in his house. Of course, the blood was from Shane shooting the Armenian assassin sent to kill Vic’s family, but he’ll never know that he was protecting them. In fact, Vic thinks that Shane was sending him a message, and it’s only going to go downhill from there. For both men. After making a deal with Rezian (the gas station attendant killer he recently put in jail) that would allow him to stop Diro’s retaliation, Shane finds himself between a rock and hard place. He’s officially become Rezian’s bitch, working off the money train debt by doing favors for the Armenians. Vic, on the other hand, will probably kill Shane the next time he sees him. Then again, Shane might just be able to make things right if he can convince Vic that he was responsible for the safety of Corrine and Cassidy, but what are the chances Vic will actually believe him?
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Poor writing describes another disappointing season finale (if we can call it that)! FX elongated the airing to 1.5 hours in order to squeeze in 20 mins. of self-promotional ad (repeats) to its expected largest audience of the year. Clearly the high-expectations of this final episode were lost on the writers and producers.
Dutch has a new love interest…who cares?
Billings files a law suit (insurance fraud)…not funny!
Claudette keeps the barn open a little while longer (an old story line).
Mackey plays all-sides-against-eachother and barely squeezes by…(been there, done that)
When Shane is finally killed next year, who will really care?
Previous season’s finale disappointments evoked criticism; this year us viewers will become apathetic towards a show that (with its current writing and direction) should have ended many episodes ago!
I thought it was a good episode. They had to show the “previously” scenes to catch everyone up, and it was more like five minutes, not 20.
It looked like Shane and Vic were headed for a confrontation, but I liked the angle that Shane suddenly developed a conscience once Vic’s family was brought into it. Shane is going to have a tough time convincing Vic that his intentions were honorable, but he’ll get a chance to explain and the several phone calls that Vic wouldn’t take during the day should be evidence enough. If Shane was trying to make a statement with the Armenians, it doesn’t explain why there was blood in the living room. Vic will put the pieces together and forgive Shane (for that, anyway).
What I don’t understand is why Shane was so deadset on getting in with the Armenians that he would fess up about the money train. He created this giant pile of shit and now he has to dig his way out of it. Had he just walked away from Diro after Vic confronted her, he’d be back to square one instead of having to work off two million in debt.
The last few scenes were terrific. I was expecting Vic to go into the review board, but instead he tracks down the blackmail info and now he holds all the cards. You’re right about the Vic/Acaveda dynamic - it should be a very good for final season.
I was also surprised by the Dutch storyline though it became clear about halfway through that he and Dani were going to hit it off. The biggest surprise was that he did actually have a chance with the hottie cop “but never took it.” I hope he never finds that out!
I Liked the episode, it didnt sell out with a cheap cliffhanger and was entertaining in itself, watching Shane scramble around realizing he has gotten himself into another Antoine Mitchell hole. That is the difference between Shane and Vic, Shane doesnt know how to play everyone, he gets on one side and gets in too deep and is fucked. I had no clue what Vic was going to do when he walked out on the Review Board, and it will be fun to watch all those “suits” who wanted him out including Aceveda, change thier tunes suddenly.
I was a little surprised when Vic gave Aceveda his deepest darkest secret to bury once and for all. I would have kept it as leverage down the road, but Aceveda would have been plotting on Mackey to get his own leverage, in some way it shows that the two trust one another on a certain level. I also like the shows new “Villian”: Cruz. A new kind of bad guy… KINDA like aceveda but without the Badge.
RIP Lem - I was also suprised when he gave up the memory card, but I have a feeling that he has the “original” as leverage, even though he said otherwise.
Was this the finale of season 6 when Vic did not attend the review hearing? I didn’t know it was as the following Tues the show was not broadcast.
I thought Vic walking out of the hearing was well-written, because it would’ve been too predictable to see Vic dodge yet another attempt on his job. I think when he walked out he had finally accepted that he was out and that he was going out in a blaze of glory by getting to the bottom of the San Marcos murders.
Either that or he figured Pezuela wanted him and Aceveda out — because Pezuela could’ve done a hell of a lot more to save Mackey’s job, and Aceveda was still too clean for Pezuela to manipulate. Giving Vic the blackmail pictures got him off Pezuela’s back, and kept Aceveda in check.
I don’t see Vic staying with the Strike Team. Even though Hiatt’s out, there’s no way Claudette will want Vic back in the team, and they’re bound to run into morality conflicts with Julien. Maybe Season 7 will start with Vic out of the force, but still working on the side with Aceveda and Gardocki, trying to bring down Pezuela.
The way Vic operates, I think he’d be perfect for foreign intelligence ops and other CIA matters — working that thin gray line between right and wrong. I’d love to see a spin-off where Vic’s working for CIA/FBI/DEA after he’s booted out or chased out of Farmington.
…I also predict another showdown with the Armenians.