It’s because those last few episodes he was working as a regular detective and, unlike in special units like the Strike Team, regular detectives have a dress code to adhere to, I’d imagine.
On the issue of his ever-changing facial hair: I heard that the actor playing him was a friend of the series creator Shawn Ryan and got in because of this (much like Vic’s wife being played by Shawn Ryan’s wife). They weren’t sure of his acting ability so they just had him mostly in the background, and I guess since he was such a minor character they didn’t really have a problem with it whenever the actor wanted to change his look. If he had been a major character from the start they probably would’ve cared more. This is just speculation on my part, though.
I was really rooting for Ronnie at the end. I always thought he was the smartest guy in the bunch, but just didn’t draw attention to himself.
What I really wanted to happen, going into the last episode, was to find out that Ronnie had actually been playing Vic, when Vic thought he was playing Ronnie. The time for the “big bust” would come, and we’d find out that Ronnie had somehow set up Vic to be screwed, and then Ronnie disappears or something.
Sorry to bump an old thread I watched the final three episodes last night. It blew me away. I loved the series from the start but this was probably my favourite closing of any series, ever. I was surprised Ronnie or someone else didn’t pwn Vic. I was actually expecting in one scene for Vic to be gunned down. An amazing finale to an amazing show.
I’m in the same boat! I just finished the last episode about 2 weeks ago.
I think I liked “The Wire” better, but “The Shield” was pretty entertaining. I thought the ending was awesome. I honestly can’t see Vic lasting too long in his 9-5 cubicle hell.
I’m going to start watching “Sons of Anarchy” next.
Vic a “good cop”? No, not really IMO, only in the very loosest sense of the term. He was “effective” to the degree he could bluff, bully, intimidate, or even beat what he wanted out of someone, but I wasn’t seeing a lot of “good instincts” in the decisions he made over time as practically every one would eventually would bite him in the ass. He was "effective"on almost feral level, but the point that he made a lot of very bad strategic decisions was brought home in the last season when the pigeons came home to roost.
One thing not mentioned about the The Shield, and a kind of criticism of the later episodes…
It was earlier on, in effect, two shows together. The other being the cases of Wagenbach and Claudette team (Jay Karnes/CCH Pounder), which were the kind of things which were a much more graphical and horrible version of what would later become Criminal Mind (Serial Killers, unusual cases). One such episode features some of the most chilling moments of television I’d seen…
The criticism being that their part of the show kind of weakened and disappeared in the later series sadly (I think, its been a while since I’ve watched it).
There was a woman missing, and police were asking door to door. They get to one door, where a couple answers. They answer ok, policeman is satisfied and heads off.
Camera tilts around door. The woman in question is there. Suspended from ceiling. With her arm having been severed. The couple had been torturing and mutilating her and more was to come. The police were so close but didn’t get there,
I know this post is two years old, but this is true. Ronnie was little more than a glorified extra in the pilot (he’s uncredited and I don’t think he has even one line).
Det. Claudette Wymms became my favorite character. Good moral center, almost always manages to maintain that center, and the scene in (IIRC, last episode) where she reads Shane’s suicide note to Vic, just before arresting Ronnie right in front of him, was just awesome.
Dutch was too insecure to “step up” to any kind of leaderhsip, but he had his partner’s (Claudette’s) back right up to the end.
The Claudette/Dutch dynamic was a kind of fun-house distorted mirror image of the Vic/Shane dynamic.
Both Claudette and Vic were smart, agressive detectives. Vic’s two main problems were:
He’s not as smart as he thinks he is;
Everyone else isn’t as dumb as he thinks they are.
Dutch and Shane are both followers. Dutch relies on intelligence and education, even if he is otherwise a bundle of insecurities. Shane relied on agression and intimidation. Both masked their insecurities with their respective “strengths.”