The Shield Series Finale Next Tuesday 11/25, 10PM

FX ^ | 11/19/2008 | FX

[RabidBartender]

Reading all the Shield message boards, I gotta say the actors who play Claudette and Acevada do really well to make the viewers hate them.

A few years back, the actor who plays Dutch was joking in an interview on how the series should end - with Dutch coming home after work, going into his basement where there are 3-4 people chained to the wall in various stages of decomposure and Dutch saying “Well, who had a good day today?”.

Haha

[LS]

If you go to the FX website and the Shield site there, there are one-on-one discussions between Dutch and Claudette, Vic and Ronnie, Vic and Shane, etc. (the actors, of course) on what their roles were, how they viewed the series. It’s pretty informative.

[Blackirish]

what happend at the very end? Vic grabbed his gun....bust out Ronnie?....go cowboy...Wow haunting

[dead]

Here's the absolute most depressing part of the finale:

After a life of utter depravity and unspeakably evil crimes, Vic Mackey's ultimate punishment is getting a crappy job just like mine.

[RabidBartender]

Nah, he’s still out. He has his gun. I’m pretty sure he still has the “box” that’s been floating around all season.

Shane’s final actions really blew me away, as well as Vic’s final betrayal of Ronnie coming to light.

And....lol.....Billings getting 2 days of backpay for missing work is the entire settlement for the whole season’s lawsuits.

[RabidBartender]

"and I have a feeling that Shane is going to plea-bargain for Mara's freedom "

Very good prediction - that's exactly what he tried to do.

I had read a few days earlier that there would be a powerful scene with Vic and Claudette in the interrogation room - I really thought that Claudette was going downhill fast with her lupus and was going to execute him in the room since she had nothing to lose.

I feel closure though - extraordinary episode.

[LS]

I'm horribly disappointed and depressed. For all his pathology, Vic was the ONLY character you could count on to fight the bad guys to the end, PC-ness and constitutional technicalities aside.

The episode actually made it tough for me to sleep. I felt especially bad for Ronnie, who aside from Lem was the most loyal of all the cops. Strangely, I had nothing but contempt for Julian, Claudette, and Dutch. Yes, they played by the rules but to the exclusion of what really mattered, saving the public from the truly bad guys.

Shane's exit was predictable, as was Aceveda's ascension. All in all, the next-to-the-last episode was one of the greatest in TV history, but this . . . well, I just don't think the writers quite "caught it."

[LS]

Wow, you're 60/40.

Shane, you called. I thought he would turn himself in, take all the heat for everything, and save Mara.

I did think a better ending would have been to have the kid kill Dutch, and drive Claudette over the edge.

Vic "escapes," but is stuck in a private hell, but you were wrong on Ronnie.

The finale disappointed me greatly. For some reason over time, I've grown to hate Claudette and her disgust with Vic. She accused Dutch of being "sanctimonious," but if there is one officer in the show who was sanctimonious, it was Claudette. She was the epitome of following rules for rules' sake, while being of limited effect. In fact, I think over the six seasons, she never broke a single really big case. Dutch did; Vic obviously did.

Your call on Julian was perfect, and as you implied in your previous post, perfectly PC Hollywood.

[LS]

I found the finale depressing and disappointing. The thing with Vic is that for whatever reason (personal glory, adrenaline rush) he could always be counted on to take out the really bad guys. None of the others could. Dutch was partially effective, but only within his niche.

So Vic's betrayal of Ronnie, while understandable to save his family, was heartbreaking, while at the same time, the elevation of Dutch and Claudette (ugh) to hero figures was distasteful. Yes, they were "good little soldiers," but to a fault. As best I can tell, Claudette never solved one important case in the entire series. Of all of them, only Vic could be counted on to take out the trash.

Anyway, it ain't gonna change, but it sure isn't the ending I would have written.

[LS]

He did kill Crowley, who, according to the "code," was a snitch. I cut Vic a whole lot more slack than Claudette and Dutch, two "good little soldiers" who always play by the rules while the bad guys run wild.

It's like the lines from "A Few Good Men": who do you want "standing on that wall"? Vic? or Claudette?

I'd sleep like a baby with Vic on that wall, every night. Not so with Claudette.

[LS]

I hope you're right.

Very depressing finale. Ronnie's fate is just unacceptable. While he was along for the ride, he was not in on the Terry shooting until very late in the series. His "crimes" pale in comparison---but to me the worst of the lot are Claudette and her enabler, Dutch. Ugh!

[philsfan24]

I’m still trying to take in the finale. I didn’t get to sleep until late last night. At first, I thought it was really disappointing. Then I thought about it and I’m not sure. I can’t believe what happened to Ronnie. I can’t believe Vic sold him out like that. I did not see that coming. He didn’t deserve that and was always there for Vic and the team the entire series. That alone made me disgusted with Vic at the end. But the ending was interesting. After everything Vic went through, he sits down at the desk, with the computer, paperwork, and suit - ruined every life he every had come in contact with. You can see him look at his kids and reflect. You think it finally all caught up to him - all the stuff he did he finally learned his lesson. He goes into the drawer and it appears at first hes gonna off himself. But instead, he just mans up, puts the gun in his pants and keeps moving forward. He hit rock bottom, he paused for a moment, but just kept going. You could either say he’s very resilient or very evil. It leaves it up to you to think where he goes next. Is he going to break out Ronnie? break out himself? I guess we have to interpret our own way.

I still am not sure if I like the way it ended. I’m going need more time to think about it.

[LS]

Yeah, the Ronnie thing was probably the most disturbing thing. But I really did not like the way they sort of glorified Claudette. To me, she represented the worst of "going along to get along." For all the "integrity" she preached, she was always willing to let process overrule results, and that's why she hates Vic so much. Vic is about results, because sooner or later everyone is corrupted by "process"---witness Dutch, Billings, Julian---even Claudette lies about her condition when it, in fact, affects her job.

You are right that the ending was sufficiently open that Vic could be springing Ronnie, or could already be formulating his next move.

Finally, it's worth recalling that HIS main reason for the "money train" was that he had two autistic children to provide for.

[denydenydeny]

Shawn’s fate was predictable—especially in the second-to-last episode when they were squatting in the house and their life was almost domestic bliss; that was pretty much a big neon sign that it would not end well for them. Still, I didn’t expect the whole family to get the Goebbels treatment. That was haunting.

[LS]

Yeah, all that was missing was the valet who comes out and pours gasoline on the bodies.

[Blackirish]

I could not sleep after the finale. But you're right. You see all the pain of a life in ruins in Vics face. Vic tho...whatever you think of him ...s a real tough SOB. He mans up takes the gun and goes out into the nite. Where to? Free Ronnie? Rip off a drug dealer? Even kill his new boss. In a way Vic gets away in the end. He still has his badge and gun. The Ronnie part sucked big time.

[dead]

It's entirely possible that Vic was just picking up his gun because he was going home for the night.

I think the look on his face said that he wasn't quite finished with everything though.

There was no way he was going to go spring Ronnie though. Ronnie's done. Vic screwed him. As he said, he's "done worse."

[Sir_Ed]

REALLY??

Even though Vic is the personification of all the bad guy cops around in real life: Lon Horiuchi; the HRT team that killed all those kids in Waco; the JBT’s that abuse people’s rights and shoot their dogs when they break into people’s houses at night in accidental SWAT raids? Aalthough you are right about Claudette!

I loved the finale by the way...Vic;s career ended not with a bang, but a whimper!

I wish they had showed Dutch (one of my favorite characters) breaking Lloyd the psychopath Mom-killer, and I’m glad they didn’t show Julian going back to the homosexual lifestyle.

And Ronnie’s screaming at Vic as he was arrested, I don’t think acting gets any better!

And the Shane Vandrell character, also amazing acting, with a sad, but plausible end.

Every so often a show comes along that moves drama to another level entirely, and The Shield was certainly that...I’ve seen every episode, and am really sad to see it go.

By the way, as a side note, have you written any books or papers saying what we conservatives have to do to win future elections, or if it is even possible to do so?

See ya’, Professor,

Ed

[LS]

Hey Ed. No, I tend to write history, not political commentary. My predictions this time weren't too good. However, the value of history is that by and large, we are a two party system. Maybe not the same two parties, but largely only two parties. So either the GOP will get it together, or it will re-form as a conservative party that can and will win.

I am not a believer in "permanent" power. The GOP held power from 1865-1932 with only two exceptions (Cleveland and Wilson); then the Dems held congress with only one exception from 1932 to 1994; then the GOP held the presidency for the better part of 1968 to 2008.

Human tendencies to screw up as they are, even with "complete power," a party tends to stop listening to the voters on either side and soon is out of power.

[Sir_Ed]

Thanks, Professor.

I have a slight hope Obama will do the right thing and do what’s best for America, but a part of me wonders whether the Right is in fact correct that he is a Marxist stooge, trained from the very beginning to set us up a la Morales, Chavez and Putin into a Marxist or socialist state.

Speaking of history, one of my favorite authors is Paul Johnson, do you like him? I know he’s not Schlessingerish enough for academics, but I enjoy his books.

Happy Thanksgiving, Larry!

Ed