The last thing Shawn Ryan needed to do was to give his wife (Cathy Cahlin Ryan) a bigger part to play in the final stretch of his grand opus known as “The Shield.” Of course, I should have known that if anyone was going to bring down Vic Mackey it would be Corrine, and, well, that only makes her character that much more annoying. Is Vic Mackey a good guy? Not really, but the reason he went crooked in the first place was so that he could give his family a better life. Now, Corrine is punishing him for doing exactly that by turning to Dutch and Claudette for protection.
Protection? Has it really come down to that, even though Vic has stated time and again that he would never lay a finger on the mother of his children? And while we’re at it, would you like some cheese with that whine? Fer chrissakes, can someone just kill this woman already? She’s done nothing but cause trouble for Vic throughout the course of these last seven years, and he’s done nothing but protect her from the consequences. If anyone needs protecting, it’s Vic. Unfortunately, that’s not how the cards have fallen, and after being guaranteed immunity by Dutch and Claudette (even though the Assistant Chief would rather just arrest her instead), she spills the beans on everything she knows.
Of course, Vic isn’t aware of his ex-wife selling him out, because if he were, he might’ve gone on the run with Ronnie as soon as the idea was brought up. Instead, he convinces his last loyal friend to stick by his side, hoping that if everything goes as planned, he can land both him and Ronnie a gig with the feds. That isn’t going to be possible with Aceveda stealing all his thunder, though. Just when Vic tries to prove his worth to Pezeula and “the cause” in front of his new cartel friend, Beltran, Aceveda hijacks the meeting and beats the shit out of Pezuela as a way of saying, “Who’s dick is in who’s ass now?” It was a rare shining moment for Aceveda, but at what cost? Vic is quick to jump at the chance to talk directly to Beltran, and his first order of business as a member of Team Drug Cartel is to assassinate Pezuela. Instead, Vic fakes his death and brings him to the feds so that he can testify against Beltran, and in doing so makes himself look all the more important to the case.
Meanwhile, as everyone in town is busy looking for Shane, the happy couple is having a gay old time in their temporary living arrangements – skinny-dipping in the pool, cooking out on the back porch, and playing hide-and-seek in the house. That is, until a real estate agent walks in on them and Shane is forced to lock her in the pantry as they make their escape. With only one more day until the motorcade comes to town, Shane is persistent that they just lay low, but he didn’t plan on Vic putting a bounty on his head. When a couple of gang members recognize him while he’s picking up some groceries, they hold him at a gun point while they call their boss for the reward. Desperate to escape, Shane offers them twice as much ($20,000) only for them to take all $100,000 when they notice there’s still money in the bag. In response, Shane gives Vic a call to let him know what a terrible mistake he’s just made. Not only has he sent Claudette a letter exposing “one of his many sins,” but he demands that the money be repaid by tomorrow.
What Vic doesn’t know is that while Mara is on the other line with Corrine filling her in on the details, Claudette jumps in to offer Mara immunity and Shane a better deal than Vic will get if they turn themselves in. Luckily for Vic, I don’t think Shane is going to take the bait. Of course, I’ve been wrong before, but it just doesn’t seem like a smart move on Shane’s part – especially when their ride to freedom is less than 24 hours away.
