Category: The Shield (Page 8 of 11)

In all six years of “The Shield,” I don’t believe we’ve ever seen Vic Mackey quite like this before – unless, of course, you count his memorable beatdown of Armadillo in season two – and I have to say, it’s good to see badass Vic is finally back. Picking up right where the last episode left off, Vic continues to bullshit Nadia (Guardo’s girlfriend) as he sets a meet with Guardo. The El Salvadorian thinks nothing of the ransom, dropping off the money with a posse of fellow gangbangers so he can deal with the kidnapper in his own way, but when he’s captured by Vic and taken to an abandoned warehouse, he soon realizes that it’s something much bigger.

The guy actually gives up a name a little too easily (which should have been the first clue that he was lying), but Vic checks it out, only to find that the guy Guardo gave up has been in jail for over a month. With an alibi secured, Vic returns to the warehouse he has Guardo tied up in and tries a new method: torture by way of a thick metal chain to the face. Guardo looked like he was definitely in a world of pain, and there’s no doubt in my mind that Vic never misses a single episode of “24.” Still, it looked like Shane had finally convinced him to back off, because, well, the guy would have spoken if he knew anything (right?), but Vic’s one persistent dude, and so he shoots Guardo in the head.

In the words of Jack Bauer: damnit! Just when the Strike Team had finally been cleared of all suspicion, Vic had to go and ruin everything by murdering another innocent in cold blood. Now, Guardo is hardly an innocent man, but he didn’t have anything to do with Lem’s death, and Shane only feels worse for it. Plus, it almost more than assures that Vic will feel the sting of his brash actions in the very near future. That is, if he’s still around. Claudette is strongly pushing for Vic’s impending retirement, and she’s even bringing in a new guy to begin training as his replacement.

Meanwhile, Dutch and Billings work a multiple homicide involving an ex-Armed Forces meth head running around town stealing amphetamine from pharmacies, and Ronnie jumps onboard to lend a helping hand. It was great to see Ronnie get a little more face time than usual, and we can only hope that this trend will continue through the end of the series. It just might if Tina’s sudden flirtatious behavior around him matures and we see the two become a couple. Though methinks Dutch wouldn’t be too happy about that.

Of course, Dutch Boy already has his hands full. Between partnering with Billings (whose Odd Couple team-up is priceless, by the way) and his newfound static with the FBI (who have ordered him to drop all inquiries into the El Salvadorians), he may not have the time to continue wooing the young up-and-comer. Let’s hope I’m wrong, or he may continue his investigation into the Strike Team.

On a side note, it looks like Danny took the sergeant post she was offered at the end of last week’s episode, but it’s probably safe to say that we won’t be seeing too many repercussions of her decision. That character died a long time ago; right around the time Julian officially became a waste of space. Seriously, though. Is Michael Jace perfectly content with acting as background nowadays? I couldn’t care less, but it’s an interesting observation that needs to be dealt with sooner than later. Just ship the guy off to another station and get back to the good stuff.

It didn’t take very long for Kavanaugh to buckle under pressure. Or better yet, the guilt of framing an innocent man. After getting a warrant to search Vic’s apartment – which conveniently led Dutch to a variety of perfect evidence – an APB is put out on the Strike Team leader for further question. It should have been a dead giveaway that Kavanaugh was up to no good when Billings himself stated the obvious (“Vic wouldn’t off his own guy”) – not to mention Shane’s remark about a possible set up– but apparently Dutch and Claudette aren’t as smart as we all thought.

Then again, both proved us wrong later on. First, Dutch tricked Kavanaugh into giving himself away when he interrogated Emolia without his knowing, and then Claudette pulled the old good cop shtick on Emolia that led to Kavanaugh finally confessing. He must have felt pretty darn guilty for forcing all this on the single mother, and as a result, he was arrested and sent to lockup. It was nice to see that he had the courage to confess, but it would have been so much better if Dutch actually caught him in the act. Goodbye, Jon Kavanaugh. We despised thee well.

Meanwhile, the Strike Team continues to search for Guardo, but after they hear about Vic’s warrant over the radio, Shane and Ronnie are sent packing. Vic heads across the border to stir up the pot with some Biz Lat banger named Salsetta, but after taking the guy hostage (in his own territory and surrounded by twenty other Mexicans, no less), he doesn’t get what he needs. Instead, Vic decides that kidnapping Guardo’s girlfriend is the quick and easy route to settling things with the presumed cop killer, despite extreme hesitation from Shane. We all know why, of course, but Vic has yet to find out. The previews for next sure point toward the possibility that Shane will come clean, but I think that it’s still too early for that bomb to drop. Plus, does anyone really think that Shawn Ryan and Co. are ballsy enough to kill another character so soon?

Unfortunately, because most of this week’s episode was dedicated to the sudden implosion of Kavanaugh and his career, not much else happened. Shane has certainly been trying to drop subtle hints that he’s responsible for Lem’s death, but neither Vic nor Ronnie seem to want to listen. We also discovered that Danni passed her Sergeant’s exam, but with one caveat: she has to accept the job. Now. Also, Aceveda stopped by to let it be known that – yes – he’s still on the show, but his pointless discussion with Claudette was nothing but filler material. Maybe he’ll play a bigger role in the case against Vic now that Kavanaugh’s out of the picture. He is, after all, the man that started it all.

It seems like forever since fans of “The Shield” were presented with the shocking death of resident nice guy Curtis Lemansky, but after watching the season six premiere, I’m prepared to agree that it was entirely necessary. This may come as a surprise to many, considering my earlier reactions to the event, but the potential is simply too delicious to pass up; especially now that the show is gearing up for its big finale.

The episode begins with (surprise, surprise) the Strike Team visiting Lem’s grave and, appropriately, honoring his death with an improvised 21 gun salute. It doesn’t take very long before Vic starts questioning how Guardo (Lem’s apparent murder) could possibly be involved, however, and yet despite any real motive, it’s still his only lead. The El Salvadorians may not have had a hand in Lem’s death, but it sure is the Golden Ticket when it comes to gang pride. Everyone is lining up to plead guilty to the act; even those who arrived in the country days after Lem was killed.

Meanwhile, Shane is really feeling the burn of killing his best friend, but when he finds out that Lem was never offered a second deal (but rather agreed to a longer sentence), Shane is forced to deal with the fact that he did so for no reason. As a result, he’s got a death wish that might just come true before the end of the season. That is, if he doesn’t die by his own hand or some junkie arsonist before then.

Kavanaugh isn’t about to believe the El Salvadorian angle for a single minute, either, and though he’s wrong in his accusation of Vic’s involvement in the murder, that doesn’t stop him from launching an investigation of his own. This includes spreading his charm a little too thin and continuing to spread a web of lies, just so that he can see Vic behind bars. Not because he’s necessarily guilty; just because. Still, the guy’s getting a bit out of hand with the whole framing. He’s convinced Emolia to deliver a false statement and has just planted evidence in Vic’s apartment tying him to the case. It’s a desperate move that will eventually result in his downfall, and it couldn’t come at a better time.

I really like the Jon Kavanaugh character, but now it’s just getting out of hand. With Claudette as the new captain and Dutch not at all impressed by his lies, the guy’s going down sooner rather than later. Plus, he’s got Vic threatening to kill him (“You think I’m a cop killer? You’re a cop, right?”) and the Asst. Chief threatening to seize his stripes, so the future doesn’t exactly look bright for the surly IAD agent.

As for the rest of the episode, it was a bit of crapshoot featuring characters that have been dead to me for the past few years. Julian and Tina worked a bullshit case involving a porn shop owner who is terrorized by the grandson of an old woman he fucked for his “Dick In Grannies” video series, and Corrine gets into yet another forgettable tiff with Danny about her relationship with Vic. Oh brother, we’re in for another wild one.