When FX launched its first drama, The Shield, the promoted it with the tagline: "The Road to Justice Is Twisted." If you didn't believe the show had a mission statement from the start you can't deny it now. The Shield's series finale, "Family Meeting", contained everything a great episode of the show should: drama, drugs, twists and heartbreakingly awful decision making. Decisions that have cost and irreparably damaged lives. Some of those decisions weren't necessarily made in this episode, but instead were set up years ago. Vic's own road to justice (Did he really get any? More on that later.) began years ago when he had friends, family, and a great opportunity to run an experimental team in the Farmington district of L.A.
read more
In the ultimate penultimate episode of all time, The Shield's final act prepped itself to close out the series in it's typical, unrelenting fashion. Double dealing, backstabbing, murder, and drugs were the order of the day in Farmington. Oh, and with a show like this I suppose I should specify I'm talking about metaphorical backstabbing.
read more
Petty Cash
Season 7, Episode 11
Corinne agrees to be Vic and Shane's go-between---and also agrees to cooperate with Claudette and Dutch as she does so. Meanwhile, Vic comes to an understanding with Aceveda and seeks one out with Olivia; and Claudette assigns Ronnie to work with Julian to investigate the murder of a high-school football star, keeping Ronnie out of the Barn---and unable to intercept the letter Shane sent to Claudette detailing the Strike Force's "sins."
read more
Party Line
Season 7, Episode 10
While Shane remains holed up in L.A. with Mara and Jackson, Corinne decides to cooperate with Dutch and Claudette, who's now spearheading the LAPD effort to bring down Vic. Meanwhile, Vic plays Aceveda, Pezuela, Beltran and ICE against each other. But Ronnie's tempted to simply give up and run to Mexico. "And you should run, too, man," he tells Vic.
read more
After last week's game changing episode, The Shield delivered us one of the tightest, most suspenseful episodes in the series run. The show, winding down to its Nov. 25 series finale, is anything but short on plot right now with Shane and his family on the run, a demoted Ronnie, a budding serial killer on the loose, a Mexican coup of the L.A. political landscape and a shield-less Vic Mackey.
read more
During The Shield's seven season run, there are a handful of moments one can point to which color every event that comes after it. Going all the way back to the pilot, you'll find the murder of Terry Crowley. At the end of the second season The Strike Team hit the Armenian Money Train. That money, which Lem ultimately burned, tore the team apart during Season 3. While Season 4's star was Glenn Close, it was the introduction of Anthony Anderson's Antwon Mitchell which really shook things up. And how could you not mention the murder of Curtis Lemanski in Season 5? This week's episode brought us another one of these turning points. The Shield as we knew it will never be the same.
read more
Vic's review-board hearing is moved up unexpectedly (but the result isn't unexpected), putting new pressure on his mission to take down Pezuela---which hits another snag when the Feds take over the investigation of Robert Martin's murder. Meanwhile, Vic ramps up his quest to stay in his infant son's life; Shane tends to private business as he probes a prostitute's murder; and Dutch is disturbed by what he finds at Claudette's house when he and Billings investigate a neighborhood break-in.
read more
The aptly titled sixth episode of The Shield's final season featured Vic Mackey pulling the strings as hard as ever over the various gang members in Farmington, Dutch and Claudette briefly re-teaming on a possible murder case, the return of a long lost strike team member and a long standing feud seemingly coming to a head. With only 7 episodes left in the show, things are really starting to come together. I just can't figure out what's going to happen next.
Read my complete recap, after the jump.
read more
The freight train that is The Shield continued to shuttle towards it's final destination this week. With only eight episodes left the writers aren't wasting any time setting up what are sure to be the show's final story arcs.
This week's episode began with an investigation into Robert Martin's assassination. You may remember The Cartel murdered Martin in order to send a message to the Armenians, who are believed to be in possession of The Cartel's "box-o-blackmail." Speaking of the box— seemingly offended by the moniker I've chosen to give this plot device, the writers have seen to it to name it the "box of sins"
read more
Genocide
Season 7, Episode 4
Following a fire at the Armenian safe house that killed two of his lieutenants, Rezian asks Vic to set up a meeting with the Mexicans, who think (thanks to Vic) that the Armenians have Pezuela's blackmail box. Meanwhile, an angry Cassidy goes to Danny with questions about her father; and Dutch questions a teenager who shot an intruder, who turns out to be the youth's classmate. Rita: Frances Farmer.
read more
Corrine finds herself in legal trouble; Vic works an angle to make himself valuable to the Armenian mob; Tina targets a producer of adult entertainment.
read more
Snitch
Season 7, Episode 2
The Mexican-Armenian gang war heats up, enabling Vic to position himself as a valuable commodity to both sides. Meanwhile, black-on-white violence hits Farmington; Corrine and Cassidy confront Vic; Billings returns to work; and an Anglo rock singer is killed when someone in the predominately Hispanic apartment building where she lived drops a concrete block on her head.
read more
The seventh (and final) season begins with Vic challenging Shane and dealing with threats to his family. Meanwhile, a federal agent arrives in Farmington to investigate a recent wave of violence.
read more
