(S07E03) "I don't need the box. I have you." - Vic
Quicksand. Vic and Ronnie finally uttered the one word that has been lingering over The Shield since the beginning. Sure, as a team, they've had some wins and some losses. Despite the fact that they seem to keep coming out on top, it's finally becoming clear that they've been slowly sinking all along.
I mentioned last week that Ronnie's discontent with Vic has been simmering all along and it's deeply rooted if you think about it. From Armadillo burning his face in season two (Vic's fault), to Shane killing Lem in season five (arguably Vic's fault), to this season where Ronnie finally murdered someone for the good(?) of the team (with Vic's urging), he's been getting angrier and angrier, if you ask me.
Now, with Vic and Shane off doing "business" with Rezian, and Ronnie getting thrown into short-handed situations like the raid at Demetrius Harms' house, it's just adding on more layers. When he finally said "I'm not gonna drown for Shane ... or you" I practically applauded. Good for him! The question is, what will he do to ensure that?
As for Shane and Vic, I think they're probably handling the situation with Rezian as well as humanly possible. Well, at least Vic is anyway. Although, I'm still not convinced that keeping Shane completely out of the loop is the smartest thing to do. There's another situation where discontent can breed very quickly.
Granting Rezian three wishes might come back to haunt them though. Who's to say that he won't want more than three? Regardless, as long as Vic keeps playing the Armo boss as well as he is (the set-up with Olivia hitting the gun raid and nabbing Galoolian (spelling?) was brilliant), Rezian will probably fold to Vic's demands and let the past stay in the past.
The one thing that Rezian doesn't seem to realize is that Vic and Shane will just keeping picking off anyone who knows about the money train as long as they have names. Maybe Rezian really is stupider than I give him credit for. So far though, Vic is making all his wins big ones. He earns more trust with Rezian, gets rid of a lieutenant who knew too much, and even gained some more brownie points with Olivia and her Fed buddies. I really can't believe how easy ti was for Shane to steal all those guns either. The police department isn't too smart either... but we knew that.
More thoughts...
-
I'm a little surprised the way Dutch is sort of setting Claudette and Danny up together. I get that he cares for each of them. Wyms needs help because of her Lupus and Danny needs to get off the streets because of Lee. However, after seeing the way Danny handled Yuan in the extremely twisted gang-bang case, I would have expected Dutch to try and nurture her obvious detective skills. She'd be a better partner than Billings for sure.
-
I know people will want to talk about it, so I'll just merely mention it - Tina going undercover as an amateur porn star. Wow.
-
I can't believe they brought Axl (the grandma f*cker) back! Gotta love the final season of The Shield. All the kooks get one more appearance.
-
Vic made a good point with Aceveda. If he's going to hold on to Pezuela's blackmail box for now, he's going to need a much better alibi for the Justice Department if he intends to get Cruz. It really doesn't look good.
-
Burnout was back too. I had forgotten about him.
-
I know Vic got Claudette on-board for Olivia's involvement in the gun bust, and I can accept Olivia not picking up on the convenience of Vic's intel, but Claudette is smarter - with or without Lupus. I feel like this should have raised a flag.
-
Wonder if we'll see DSS showing up in Vic and Corinne's future. Underage drinking, arm bruises... doesn't look good.
-
What's Vic going to do when he finds out that Shane does have a copy of all those files? Or that Mara has read them?
How about the ending? At this point, it's all about pacifying Shane and making him feel safe until Vic figures out what to do with him. His forgiveness was obviously disingenuous, but it made Shane smile and feel like he's back on Vic's good graces. Yeah right. Shane is more of a fool than Rezian if he thinks Vic will ever truly forgive him for Lem.
However, part of him must realize that if he still kept one copy of the files like I said. Plus, he and Mara are gearing up to get out of Dodge. So maybe there is a plan buried in his head somewhere.
Mike Henry and Daryl Hall on a Cleveland Show Thanksgiving
The TV Squad Podcast: The Prisoner, '80s TV, soap news and more
Let's talk about spoilers ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-17-2008 @ 10:41AM
drturnbuckle said...
So how do they hide the paper trail of towing Burnout's SUV? Did Shane wear gloves the entire time? If not then his prints are all over the truck and the guns, the Feds just might find out who the SUV 'belonged' to (if Burnout really registered it) and he says the last he saw it, Vic confiscated it. Unless I am missing something, they either took some huge chances or made massive errors in judgement (Vic & Shane or the writers, either or both).
LW
Reply
9-17-2008 @ 2:11PM
Jessica said...
Vic didn't have to worry about the paper trail or anything involving Burnout and the SUV -- by bringing Claudette, the department and the Feds in on the whole thing, anything "illegal" that he did was a part of the plan in their eyes.
9-17-2008 @ 10:41AM
Midnight13 said...
Forgivness? I doubt it. Shane is a loose cannon, and its going to get him or Vic and Ronnie killed. I vote for Shane. I feel bad for Ronnie because he always seemed like the level headed one out of the group, but he always so willing to do Vic's bidding. And he could turn out like Lem with guilt and self-incrimination if he's not careful, smart that he's distancing himself from those two. I wonder if he and Tina are still together, see how he ran out that van the second he thought Tina was going to be put in a compromising position?
Reply
9-17-2008 @ 10:41AM
John Howard said...
This was the worst episode of The Shield I've ever seen. I don't know if the direction was bad, or if it was completely the bad writing, but all the dialog seemed very forced and unnatural. From the whole stupid thing about the guns being clean because they've been processed, to Vic's horrible transparent setup ("What's that? A Police radio? Run!), which didn't even allow you to pretend that it's possible, to Dani getting the girl to open up by telling her about her experience, it was all too contrived and just didn't fit. Dani's story in particular served only to move along both her plot and the plot of the victim, but it was in no way believable that the girl would suddenly open up after hearing her story. Vic's planting of the bug was the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen on this show, he might as well have winked at the camera when they showed it in his hand.
They really need to do better than this for the final season.
Reply
9-17-2008 @ 11:06AM
David said...
It's funny, I was thinking along similar lines this morning on my way into work. Episodes 1 and 2 of this season were, in my opinion, vintage The Shield, but episode 3 was really, really weak. The worst acting, I thought, was after Cassidy ran back into her room. Corinne and Vic had a terribly-written and badly directed exchange (where she asks him to leave the house).
All I could ascribe this episode to was the WGA strike and Chiklis doing his best to keep the show together through it. So I gave 'em a pass and said to myself, "Self, just enjoy the season!"
9-19-2008 @ 10:12AM
Jimmy said...
Classic post. Nice work.
9-17-2008 @ 10:42AM
Matty said...
"to Shane killing Lem in season five (arguably Vic's fault)". I really have to disagree with that. Vic has done a lot of bad things- but he had nothing to do with Lem's death. It was Shane that got into bed with Antwon Mitchell, which led to the death of the little girl, which led to Lem taking the heroine and getting caught up by IAD-- as well as Shane being the one to doing the deed. As far as I am concerned, every bit of Lem's death is Shane's fault as well as all of the problems they find themselves in now as well (as well as Maura's). Shane has turned into Vic, but without any of Vic's good qualities. Nothing short of him getting killed in the last episode will please me.
Reply
9-17-2008 @ 1:17PM
Adam said...
David, now that you mention it, I have to agree. I was laughing at Vic's attempt to cry and be emotional towards Shane. Then I saw his look after Shane left and knew that Vic was playing a dude who's playing the character of another dude.
I really miss Claudette and Dutch working together.
Will her Lupus play out more do you think? They keep showing her pills quite a bit. Mabye she'll get close to Vic again and he'll have to swipe her bottle!
So sad it's going to be over....
Reply
10-02-2008 @ 1:11PM
dudley said...
hey guys,
I didn't understand a few things,
who is this burnout guy? i don't remember... at first i thouht that might be the guy who's vic old partner (the black retired cop) wanted vic's help to get his revenge on him....
second, how did shane got out of the warehouse? i think i missed something, how did he overcome the guard, and who opened the gates for him???
also, who's this dimitrious guy? the name sounds familiar, what his story? anyone got a photo of him?
btw tina as a porn star reminded me her first appearence on the shield as a hooker undercover (when she said she got herpes so she wuld skip the b.j request), this time how did she skip the b.j request? i didn't get all that she said......
thanks!
Reply
9-17-2008 @ 4:05PM
Scott said...
I think Mara has made her own copy of the files and she will use them to bring the whole house of cards down..
Reply
9-18-2008 @ 12:13PM
GoldenGoat said...
Poor Tina. Every time she goes undercover, someone tries to orally violate her.
Reply
9-18-2008 @ 2:23PM
oddsphere said...
It looks like shane's wife made a copy of the files, she is going to bring everyone down, I think she is going to get sick of shane and take him and mackey down.
Reply
9-19-2008 @ 10:11AM
Gabriel said...
i agree with Scott.. that whore Mara made a copy of Shane's files and will use it when the time comes.
And Vic is gonna pop her at Ep.12
Reply
9-19-2008 @ 10:12AM
Gabriel said...
I always knew Billings was a good cop.. despite everything he did. He's just lazy and unmotivated but he doesn't let his feelings get in the way like Dutch (who I hate) does.
He saw Danny all committed to the job and I think he got the message and started to be helpful.
Reply
9-22-2008 @ 4:10PM
pvarine said...
It's not Vic's fault that Ronnie needed 19 stitches. I fail to see how he and Julian were going in 'undermanned' when there was no one home but the family pet.
SOMEONE was going to get bit by that dog. And what was Ronnie doing letting the scumbag go in first?
I hadn't thought about Mara making a copy of 'the document.' That would mean that right now - I presume Mackey and Ronnie are going to be burning their copy at the beginning of the next episode - there are THREE copies of this thing out there. That's not good.
...what if Aceveda somehow got a hold of it and simply added it to Pezuela's box of blackmail when he turned it in to the feds? He could take the whole Strike Team down without even trying.
Reply