What a great show. I’m going to be keyed up for another hour at least.
Claudette gets promoted.
Vic bangs K’s wife.
Is Julian the baby’s father?
I say there is no way Julian is the baby daddy.
Lem decides to take one for the team, and then the deal with Mitchell goes awry because Kavanaugh screws it all up from the inside out. Mr. K is one serious guy–the doppleganger of Vic if you will.
Vic screws Mr. K’s ex, and it appears that Mr. K is going to try to return the favor soon enough. If he does, Vic will probably kill him–or have him killed.
Finally Vic gets it on with the laywer gal, which I must say I called about four weeks ago or so. Thank you, thank you.
Claudette was great in this episode, and I’m glad she got the promotion. I think this would set up next season as the last for sure–with Claudette cleaning house at the barn. Will she be able to stay above the rest of dirt?
Finally, I have to say the Forrest Whitaker’s performance last night was incredible. I thought at the start of the season that he was going to suck–but at this point in the show, I can only think of Mr. K–not Forrest. He has really made this character an integral part of the show with his fine performance.
90 minute season finale next week!
Could a Mod please merge the 3 existing Shield threads?
Man, do I hate Vic. I’ve got a strong aversion to people getting away with shit, and the shit he gets away with is really, really bad.
Could Lem be any more screwed? If Vic has any prison pull, it is time to get rid of Antwone Mitchell and send a message to the One-Niners. Plus, he should get rid of the new street boss.
Kavanaugh’s fuse is lit, and it’s nearly to the dynomite. It is only a question of how long. Corrinne won’t touch him; she knows him. Gina (fine, fine Gina) didn’t know Vic.
Julian finally got some camera time, and did well with it.
Vic and the lawyer was telegraphed from the beginning. Don’t pat your back too much. Lem’s running won’t help Vic get it on with her (which I don’t think he did, as he was back with Lem pretty quick).
Claudette’s got the juice now. She doesn’t like Vic. She alienated Dutch. That is setting up some nice tension for the next season.
Billings is gone. He was a nothing anyway. That character never went anywhere.
Vic needs to start cleaning house on the one-niners on the street. Let Antwone know there’s a price for any thought he has of going after Lem.
Kavanaugh’s wife is nuts, so Vic doing her was no mean feat - when Kavanaugh shows up for Vic’s wife, that will go down differently. I didn’t catch the previews, so if they foreshadowed, I missed it. Probably something along the lines of her putting up a fight, and Vic “coming to the rescue”.
Finally - Gadarene: Yeah me too. Someone explain to my wife that there’s a difference between the characters and the show. The Shield, and (short hijack) the Soprano’s are both good TV, but that does NOT mean the lead characters are good people. Conversely, you can hate the characters they play, while still appreciating the show. Which is where I stand - I like the shows, but I’m not hanging any Vic or Tony posters in the office.
Come on now, I called it in the first episode she appeared in. I’ll keep patting if you don’t mind. Some people questioned my logic at the time even.
Julian’s scene was good, but how confusing would that be for a new viewer?
Corrine won’t touch him, but I’m not so sure that he won’t go after her in that way. Vic and Mr. K are bound for some hand to hand combat I think–and that would be great.
A new viewer, who wasn’t watching two seasons ago, will have to wait for explanation, which I’m pretty sure will come next episode. That is a storyline that gets wrapped up.
Vic gets nearly every girl in the series. I’m surprised he didn’t shag Mara or Glenn Close. Hot, young latina will probably get some Vic loving at some point next season, if she survives next week.
I thought he and Close had a shot actually, that last scene when he was at her place. How about Vic and Claudette! Now that would be a plot twist.
Young hottie can’t last too much longer, unless she is setting Dutch up for some sort of sexual harrasment lawsuit. I’m still not sold on her being as innocent as she comes off.
Another reason I hate him. 
Another great episode following last week’s so-so bridge episode.
I thought it very interesting that although Claudette has no love for Vic, her rant was at least partly responsible for getting Kavanaugh thrown out of the barn. It seems like Claudette knows that Kavanaugh’s investigation was causing more problems than it was solving at this point, and would rather deal with Vic’s bad behavior from within.
But geez, just when it seemed like Vic was starting down a cleaner road (I think he was sincere when he told the lawyer that he wanted to turn over a new leaf), the whole warehouse robbery incident looks like a major setback for him. It’s one of those things that, if the show were to continue on for a few more years, might come back to bite him again way down the road. Not unlike his cop killing in the very first episode, which was pretty much ignored for a couple of years after.
By the way, the Kavanaugh soliloquy about Vic when he found out the investigation was ending was quite a nice piece of writing and acting.
I’m not 100% sure that my nerves will be able to handle 90 minutes of this next week. I’ll find out.
I’m a new viewer. Would you mind explaining to me? Spoiler it if need be.
Julian, a very religious family man, is, at the very least, bisexual. The person he was describing in the interrogation room was himself as much as it was the prisoner.
I just listened to yesterday’s (Tuesday’s) Fresh Air which features David Mamet and Shawn Ryan discussing The Shield and The Unit. It has some very interesting facts and insights.
One element of Ryan’s portion that struck me is how much the audience is willing to “enable” Vic. It’s true for me. As was said earlier, I’m not hanging posters for Vic and Tony Soprano, but I’m damn sure pulling for them to get away with their stuff. Same with Jack Bauer.
I think Jack is different. Jack is serving the greater good at his own expense. He cares nothing for himself. Vic is all about “getting his”. This is why I would rather fact Bauer than Mackey. Bauer is tough, smart, resourceful, and can’t be killed. However, Vic is dirty, lowdown, tough, ruthless, seedy, and can’t be caught. Since Jack actually has a conscience, I would take my chances with him.
Obviously we’d want a real life Vic to rot in jail for life. The fun of this show is seeing how the character Vic uses his cleverness and street smarts to keep one step ahead of everyone.
Exactly. I think this show is fun, but I only care about it and its characters for about an hour and a half each week, give or take. And even then I don’t particularly love or hate them (or any other TV characters, for that matter). I like the way the acting, writing, directing and production of the show come together each week well enough to keep me entertained and interested. I have not had time to listen to the NPR interview, but the notion that I could “enable” a TV character is pretty puzzling to me.
Something that hasn’t been brought up yet: Aceveda. He is obviously just trying to stay in the middle of this thing to get the most information out of both sides. He’s very much a mastermind in these situations–as he has proven time and again in the past. A wonderful manipulator for sure.
So, how does it turn out for Aceveda?
Also, when Vic and Mitchell were talking at the end of the program, Vic said that his reach could cause Mitchell to be on the other end of a shiv (sp?). Mitchell then replies something like “If you had that reach then you wouldn’t be sitting here with me would you gray boy.” It definitely sounded like he called him “gray boy” but I’m pretty sure it must be something else. Any help from a DVR’r would be appreciated.
Just watched it 2 minutes ago. He definitely said “Grey Boy”. Not sure what that means though…
I think he’s underestimating Vic, though. Vic has been toned down the last 2 seasons, I also think he honestly was trying to turn things around like he said to the lawyer, but now he may have to go back to his old ruthless ways.
Can’t wait for the finale next week!
It’s an insult a black person would say to a white person. I’ve read it before, somewhere.