If there’s one conclusion to “The Shield” I never thought possible, it was Vic Mackey receiving a Get Out of Jail Free card for all the crimes he’s committed in the past. Death? Sure. Jail? Why not? Heck, I’d even expect Vic to run away to Mexico before the feds ever agreed to give him full immunity, and after the events of this week’s episode, I still don’t think that’s how it’ll end. Of course, I have to start at the beginning first, as so much happened tonight that it felt epic compared to most weeks.
After Shane and Mara’s last robbery failed to yield the kind of cash they were hoping for, the fugitive couple has hit a dead end. Mara physically can’t take anymore, and she’s not doing so well mentally either after killing two people in an attempt to save Shane from a robbery gone wrong. With her shoulder busted and her pregnancy in its final stages, she begs Shane to throw in the towel and take her home. Shane isn’t doing so hot (he might have a big of drug problem and he nearly kills Tina when she tries to bring him in), but he isn’t about to give up any time soon. Unfortunately, I don’t think Shane has much of a choice. The presidential motorcade that will allow them to make their escape is less than 24 hours away, but with Mara hurt and no car to get around, it’s only a matter of time before Shane either gets arrested or killed.
Sure, they’ve got Corrine working to find them a new mode of transportation (which Vic agrees to take care of), but when the meet is compromised when Vic smells a trap, it pretty much guarantees that Shane and Mara are screwed. It also means that Corrine has to be arrested and thrown in jail to give Vic the impression that she wasn’t in on the set-up, and now, all Vic can think about is saving his annoying traitor of a wife. Luckily, Olivia has managed to secure Vic a job at ICE, as well as full immunity as long as he is able to successfully take down Beltran and his drug ring. When he discovers that the deal is only for him, however, and not Ronnie as well, he quickly turns it down.
That is, until he hears about Corrine’s arrest, at which point he promptly goes back to make the deal. As part of receiving immunity, Vic must confess to every crime he wishes to be protected from, and before he’s even finished with his first statement (the murder of Terry Crowley), Olivia is appalled. Her boss couldn’t have put it any better when he says, “He’s our bastard now.” It was an award-worthy performance by Michael Chiklis for sure, but the look on Claudette’s face when she arrives to find out that Vic has just been exonerated of every bad thing he ever did was absolutely priceless. Claudette takes her anger out on Dutch by firing him, only to realize that it’s the lupus that’s making her act that way. I think it was a given that Claudette would no longer be sitting in the captain’s chair by the end of the series finale, but this more or less confirms that she’ll be gone, and Dutch, most likely, will take her place.
As for Vic, well, he’s put himself in quite the predicament. Not only has he just screwed over Ronnie (who deserves this about as much as Lem getting a grenade dropped in his lap), but Olivia as well, who must now live with the fact that she set a guilty man free, and even set him up with a sweet three-year gig that brings in just over $60,000 a year. I’d hate to think that Vic doesn’t have some kind of contingency plan for Ronnie, but who knows at this point? One thing’s for sure: when Vic finds out about Corrine’s betrayal, it isn’t going to be pretty. That is, unless Ronnie (or God help him, Dutch) decides to strike back at Vic first. Should be an interesting season finale.
