The Shield
ok, i'm totally gonna geek out here for a minute so feel free to change the channel if need be.
so, one of my favorite all time tv shows came to an end just a few minutes ago. it was an excellent series finale; one of the few 'final episodes' i can think of that didn't really disappoint in any way. i have one small beef and i'll get to that later.
first, i've been watching this show since the very first episode. i remember seeing the commercials waaaaay back when i was still going to UTI. i remember really wanting to watch it but i must have had to work or something because my dad taped it and i remember him telling me how good it was and that i'd really like it. i've been hooked since that very first episode and i honestly dont think i've missed a single one. at the very least, not a single one of the last 4 seasons. this show's been with me for a long time. i remember watching new episodes in the kitchen at my parents house, at my first apartment, at the reston house, hell, i even sped to mercedes training in new jersey just so i could make it to the hotel in time to catch a season finale. [it was the season 5 finale where shane murders lem by dropping a grenade into his car after he refused to run to mexico to evade capture. the pivotal moment in the series that the final 2 seasons revolve around] if it was a tuesday night, and the shield was on, there was no where else you could get me than in front of the tv.
this has been an incredibly heavy show since its inception, easily one of the darker, more depressing shows on tv but there was something about the way vic mackie was always successful in bringing his form if vigilante justice to the streets that was almost as bright and warming as watching superman knock the snot out of someone. the show was always ruthless and never, ever failed to surprise in the way these guys got what the wanted. like when vic burned some dudes face on the hot coils of a stove. it was in season 5 that things started to spiral out of control and there was more than one occasion the show went just a bit over the top and i ALMOST started to wonder if it had gone too far. but you could sense the end was nearing and not that they had jumped the shark. so when i found out that season 7 would be the final season, it was almost a relief.
the final 6 episodes of season 7 were nothing but one shocking cliffhanger after another. after each episode, i'd wonder for days what was going to happen next. never have i been so wrapped up in a tv show. i remember when i was a kid and all the spider-man comics wove together and i'd have to rush to the comic store every friday afternoon to get the new issues (my comic store guy was [is] the best. he totally let me buy the early 'preview' issues on friday before they came out on wednesday. hot damn) it felt the exact same way. and the last episode did not disappoint in any way. the ONLY way shanes story could end was with his death. and not only was this the outcome, the true nature of his character came through in its most potent form when he also ended the lives of the only people to stand by him, his wife and son. i loved the tip of the hat to the 'forgotten' story line of julian being gay from the early episodes (he ended up married with children mid series) when he spaced out watching a happy couple eating lunch while his partner was talking to him. vic's ex-wife got exactly what she wanted, a life without vic and a fresh start. i feel for the kids but she was always an innocent, unknowingly dragged into a world of crap. i kind of wish they had shown dutch and wims getting their last collar together but the 2 of them telling their suspect, with full, unbridled, confidence, that they were going to bring him down, that it was only a matter of time, was actually a much more fitting send off to the characters. my singular gripe with the finale was that they let ronnie get arrested. i fully understand and accept that him getting arrested adds to the shitpile that vic has to live with for the rest of his life-never seeing his kids again, 2 of his best friends dead, both their blood on his hands-but ronnie as an individual character in the series, deserved to get away from it all and live a life of freedom, not be treated as nothing more than punctuation at the end of a sentence.
which brings me to vic mackie himself. since i first heard that this was going to be the final season, i had worried about one thing. that vic mackie would kill himself. i knew how hard the series could be. that it was certainly within the realm of possibility that suicide would be the outcome and when shane killed himself, they FINALLY showed you they werent fucking around (since it took a whole hour to get to. in the "final 90 minute episode" this is a long way in.) to me, a vic mackie suicide would have been the easy way out and a very clean break for the a series that liked clean breaks. it would have been an almost fitting punishment and perfect escape plan. it would have been an insult to everyone that hung on all these years to all the bullshit cliffhangers to wrap things up in such an unintelligent fashion. but lo, the series that never disappointed, did not drop the ball, did not miss the shot at the buzzer. the end for vic mackie could not have been more perfect. i can think of no better way for the character of vic mackie to fade from the television screen. after a career on the streets, cracking skulls and getting answers the hard way, after dealing with drug lords and disease addled prostitutes, vic mackie ends up with a desk job. a desk job he cannot walk away from or he goes to jail. it was absolutely brilliant. and then, best of all, the final moments.
CLEARLY the creators knew that vic mackie offing himself was in backs of all the viewers minds. vic sits there at his desk, looking at pictures of his kids who he'll never see again and his best friend that's now dead and he looks like he's about to cry when the lights shut off on him and the office goes dark. he hears police sirens and goes to the window, only to see 2 police cars in hot pursuit. he goes back to his desk and sits there for a moment. he pulls out his keys and opens a desk drawer. he unlocks a box inside and pulls out his handgun. he stares at it for a minute, contemplating something. then he stands up, slips the gun into his pants and heads for the door with that classic vic mackie 'im gonna get the bastards' swagger. roll credits. fucking awesome.
awesome.
so, one of my favorite all time tv shows came to an end just a few minutes ago. it was an excellent series finale; one of the few 'final episodes' i can think of that didn't really disappoint in any way. i have one small beef and i'll get to that later.
first, i've been watching this show since the very first episode. i remember seeing the commercials waaaaay back when i was still going to UTI. i remember really wanting to watch it but i must have had to work or something because my dad taped it and i remember him telling me how good it was and that i'd really like it. i've been hooked since that very first episode and i honestly dont think i've missed a single one. at the very least, not a single one of the last 4 seasons. this show's been with me for a long time. i remember watching new episodes in the kitchen at my parents house, at my first apartment, at the reston house, hell, i even sped to mercedes training in new jersey just so i could make it to the hotel in time to catch a season finale. [it was the season 5 finale where shane murders lem by dropping a grenade into his car after he refused to run to mexico to evade capture. the pivotal moment in the series that the final 2 seasons revolve around] if it was a tuesday night, and the shield was on, there was no where else you could get me than in front of the tv.
this has been an incredibly heavy show since its inception, easily one of the darker, more depressing shows on tv but there was something about the way vic mackie was always successful in bringing his form if vigilante justice to the streets that was almost as bright and warming as watching superman knock the snot out of someone. the show was always ruthless and never, ever failed to surprise in the way these guys got what the wanted. like when vic burned some dudes face on the hot coils of a stove. it was in season 5 that things started to spiral out of control and there was more than one occasion the show went just a bit over the top and i ALMOST started to wonder if it had gone too far. but you could sense the end was nearing and not that they had jumped the shark. so when i found out that season 7 would be the final season, it was almost a relief.
the final 6 episodes of season 7 were nothing but one shocking cliffhanger after another. after each episode, i'd wonder for days what was going to happen next. never have i been so wrapped up in a tv show. i remember when i was a kid and all the spider-man comics wove together and i'd have to rush to the comic store every friday afternoon to get the new issues (my comic store guy was [is] the best. he totally let me buy the early 'preview' issues on friday before they came out on wednesday. hot damn) it felt the exact same way. and the last episode did not disappoint in any way. the ONLY way shanes story could end was with his death. and not only was this the outcome, the true nature of his character came through in its most potent form when he also ended the lives of the only people to stand by him, his wife and son. i loved the tip of the hat to the 'forgotten' story line of julian being gay from the early episodes (he ended up married with children mid series) when he spaced out watching a happy couple eating lunch while his partner was talking to him. vic's ex-wife got exactly what she wanted, a life without vic and a fresh start. i feel for the kids but she was always an innocent, unknowingly dragged into a world of crap. i kind of wish they had shown dutch and wims getting their last collar together but the 2 of them telling their suspect, with full, unbridled, confidence, that they were going to bring him down, that it was only a matter of time, was actually a much more fitting send off to the characters. my singular gripe with the finale was that they let ronnie get arrested. i fully understand and accept that him getting arrested adds to the shitpile that vic has to live with for the rest of his life-never seeing his kids again, 2 of his best friends dead, both their blood on his hands-but ronnie as an individual character in the series, deserved to get away from it all and live a life of freedom, not be treated as nothing more than punctuation at the end of a sentence.
which brings me to vic mackie himself. since i first heard that this was going to be the final season, i had worried about one thing. that vic mackie would kill himself. i knew how hard the series could be. that it was certainly within the realm of possibility that suicide would be the outcome and when shane killed himself, they FINALLY showed you they werent fucking around (since it took a whole hour to get to. in the "final 90 minute episode" this is a long way in.) to me, a vic mackie suicide would have been the easy way out and a very clean break for the a series that liked clean breaks. it would have been an almost fitting punishment and perfect escape plan. it would have been an insult to everyone that hung on all these years to all the bullshit cliffhangers to wrap things up in such an unintelligent fashion. but lo, the series that never disappointed, did not drop the ball, did not miss the shot at the buzzer. the end for vic mackie could not have been more perfect. i can think of no better way for the character of vic mackie to fade from the television screen. after a career on the streets, cracking skulls and getting answers the hard way, after dealing with drug lords and disease addled prostitutes, vic mackie ends up with a desk job. a desk job he cannot walk away from or he goes to jail. it was absolutely brilliant. and then, best of all, the final moments.
CLEARLY the creators knew that vic mackie offing himself was in backs of all the viewers minds. vic sits there at his desk, looking at pictures of his kids who he'll never see again and his best friend that's now dead and he looks like he's about to cry when the lights shut off on him and the office goes dark. he hears police sirens and goes to the window, only to see 2 police cars in hot pursuit. he goes back to his desk and sits there for a moment. he pulls out his keys and opens a desk drawer. he unlocks a box inside and pulls out his handgun. he stares at it for a minute, contemplating something. then he stands up, slips the gun into his pants and heads for the door with that classic vic mackie 'im gonna get the bastards' swagger. roll credits. fucking awesome.
awesome.