Yesterday I finished watching Season 7 of The Shield. I watched the show from the beginning, back when I was in Australia and watched it online as the seasons progressed. But yesterday I finished watching the final season on DVD for the first time, to really mixed emotions.For those unfamiliar with the show, it tells the story of Vic Mackey and his strike team, a bunch of corrupt cops in the fictional Farmington district of Los Angeles. Mackey was a thug and a murderer, but also a highly intelligent and charismatic operator who closed cases that others could not.
While the show was always dark, in the last few seasons, especially the final one, it was almost entirely bleak. The frenetic action never really slowed down, but it was clear that in many ways there was no point. Mackey and his guys had lost their souls long ago. Without ruining anything for those of you who may watch it some day, they all reap what they have sown.
The show had a lot to say, but it usually didn’t come right out and say it. It usually followed the maxim of “show, don’t tell”, to demonstrate what policework can do to people, the way people can give in to temptation – or not, the futility of the war on drugs. And it showed a little something about the human condition. For the first four seasons we could cheer on the cops, both good and bad, as they tried to close cases by whatever means they could.
But it wasn’t until the fifth season, when an Internal Affairs investigation started, that those methods were used on the characters we had come to know and care for over the previous years. The pressure, lies, threats, and intimidation were now used on the characters we knew and cared about, not on a random suspect-of-the-week. And they looked a lot less clever and a lot more brutal now that we knew those who were being subjected to them.
The writers behind the show did an amazing job of making us care, and they just got better as the years went on. The show became less enjoyable, but not less compelling. The acting was often top-notch as well, and some of Michael Chiklis’ most impressive moments as Vic Mackey were in the last season. Many of them were completely silent, as he was forced to confront what he was, what he had done.
This is the second time I’ve watched the series, and I don’t think I will watch it again for many years. But I’m glad I spent the time I did with Vic, Shane, Lem, Ronnie, Danny, Julian, Dutch, Claudette, Tina, Steve, David, and the countless other characters that made the world of Farmington a very real one.
Vic Mackey...someone I wouldn't want to meet alone on a dark night...he has no eyebrows!
ReplyDeleteI watched The Sheild on and off when it was on in South Africa, to be honest it always made me really angry. I don't think I got passed season 2.
Hi Stephi,
ReplyDeleteThere was the end of one episode where Mackey was striding down the street at night, looking very menacing and pissed off. A cop car happened to roll by, saw him looking all agitated and shone a torch at him. He opened his jacket to show his badge, and the car rolled on. But it was clear what he was.
" There was the end of one episode where Mackey was striding down the street at night, looking very menacing and pissed off. A cop car happened to roll by, saw him looking all agitated and shone a torch at him. He opened his jacket to show his badge, and the car rolled on. But it was clear what he was."
DeleteEven I particularly loved this scene.. The music, the look he gives to the cops, just about everything :)
Yep, some of the finest moments in the show were like this, little points that weren't so important storywise but were done with superb artistry.
DeleteLoved that show. Too bad it had to end. But it seemed like it HAD TO.
ReplyDeleteHi William,
ReplyDeleteYep, you are right. I'm glad that it ended badly and believably for the strike team. Even now, two years after seeing the finale for the first time, I am not sure if I like the specific ending that Mackey received. But the way actions have consequences was very clearly shown, as was the fact that life goes on.
love the show.. Mackey all the way :)
ReplyDeleteIt is a shame it never became as big as it deserved to, but it was a great work of art.
DeleteAnyone else notice that Season 4 showed a more compassionate, soulful side of Vic Mackey? One scene in an episode shows him talking to his daughter about the things that make a "good person" such as being honest and so forth. There was such a duality about his character. One side was a cold-blooded murderer who justified killing in any way he had to. And another side was really a caring person who did have morals and a good heart. A VERY complex character very skillfully played by Michael Chiklis.
ReplyDelete