The Shield Finale - Review

[TreesOnTheBeach]

Great show, great episode. But maybe I am just weird, but I felt for Vic. He was a likable guy.

[L2TDfelanPL]

tuesday nights on f/x were like sunday church days to a catholic for me....loved this show. I DID NOT SEE SEASON 6 OR 7...THX FOR RUINING IT TV...LOL

[Tempest111]

I feel bad for Ronnie. Antwon Mitchell is gonna have him beat up, raped and killed.

[Jimmybuz1]

My three favorite cop shows are hill street blues, Dexter, and the shield

[maxx1bonesaw]

i REALLY thought that Dutch was going to end up being the killer of the mom. After he strangled that cat, I just think it would have been a hell of a twist to finish it off. The murder case with the kid and his mom was just left hanging.

[emill910]

@maxx1bonesaw yeah i kinda had that feeling too

[tiyenin]

HURR DURRR, he didn't leave because his wife couldn't leave, and he wasn't leaving her behind, and he wasn't letting her go to jail and his kids go into the system, so BANG BANG BANG.

[blabbermouth777]

Wow, that guy has a real dry satirical sense of humor. That was funny. That joke about a spin off from The Shield was hysterical. That joke about Vic getting Ronnie free was quite clever to especially with the cast from Prison Break. The joke he made about crossing the boarder without his kid's prescription was funny to. The kid would magically live if Shane runs out of LA with his family. Not to mention the intended tragedy. The guy had me really believing he didn't get it. Great prank dude!

[Scanman22]

Vic absolutely tried to get Ronnie the same deal, but when Carrine was "fake" arrested, he took the deal to get her off scot-free! That is the only reason he fukked over Ronnie. . . . . . . He didn't want to but his ex-wife along with Claudette & Dutch tricked him causing Ronnie to get F'ed over! Poor guy. . . . .

[Grantrus71]

I'd like to see Ronnie somehow make a deal for reduced time that sends Vic to Lompoc Correctional Facility where he deserves to be. Vic didn't confess to EVERYTHING. Everything big but not everything. I know my commentary here is about a year late but I just recently watched the entire series over about 6 months. A cop friend of mine got me the entire box set for my birthday a while ago. :o) My favorite show of all time tied with "The Sopranos" I'll be re-watching for a long time!!

[Grantrus71]

I liked Ronnie too but I must disagree with the idea of Ronnie getting busted out of prison. Shane, although he took his family with him, gave himself the justice he deserved. Lem was murdered by Shane. Ronnie's got to pay for his participation in all of the shit...if for nothing else, cold blooded murder of that gunshot wounded Armenian in that motel room. In all, The Strike Team kept order in Farmington ala Cosa Nostra but with a lot of collateral damage. I'd like to see Ronnie (cont.)

[IHATEMYBROTHER2]

Psych a FAKE psychic Detective series.

[IHATEMYBROTHER2]

DEXTER not really much of a cop show but still a good show about cops.

[PabloChangPhoto]

what a great friggin show! i never caught it as it aired but over the last month i watched every episode in order (netflix) and it just blew me away..best cop show ever!!!! (imho) next....the wire, dont know a thing about it but lots of people say its a great one too??

[VIERO666]

Mara, shanes wife, said she did not want to take a trip because of her new injury. Shane had already planned to leave after he jacked those two dudes. but mara said no.

[Mr8studnu2]

thanks for posting

[sabree]

Im not.lol

[IDCtwenty]

You make it sound like Ronnie did nothing wrong. He wasnt forced.

[sharpnova2]

monk if you can count it as a cop show. dexter if not.

vic smiled at the end because he was going after the sirens.

[vaz05]

the finale was brilliant. the best thing for me was shanes suicide note when he says "i wish i never met him(vic)". although vic hates shane for killing lem you just know that deep down he's devestated shanes popped himself and the way things have turned out between 2 best friends. infact i was gutted myself too. from the vic-shane phonecall to claudette et al finding their bodies was gripping.

[doncarters66]

I just love the shield I also enjoy law and order but I would like it more if they would tell u the sentence on law and order

[JDubya2k]

Ronnie was a weak, sleazy loser who got what he deserved.

Helllo! Dirty cop!!!

[jablivesinlondon]

Shane couldn't leave LA because Mara was injured and she said that she couldn't take a long journey.

[rockero1590]

great cast and great show im a big fan but i missed the last episode i just saw the episode when vic gave his testimny to the feds ... and betraye s ronnie u know at that moment vic mackey pass from been the anti-heroe to the scumbag corrupt cop, and the finale was the best u know a guy like mackey without power of his shield prisoner of a desk labor great finale, and probably the best punish to a guy who manipulates everyone on the show can do nothing about it, great show

[RPenta]

@rockero1590 I disagree with one point; Vic Mackey was always a scumbag cop; just he eventually became a scumbag cop who got caught.

[EATMAN888]

@RPenta he didnt really got caught he beat the system fucked up his life but beat the system.

[excersizer]

why did it have to end... i mean they could have easily squeezed another two seasons out of the shield. what a pity

[patrickfb123]

What a great cop show. I love this show so much I brought all of the DVDS of the show. I would like to see a spin off of The Shield....possibly an ICE show. Vic Mackey was the J.R. Ewing of Police Detectives....Hope to see Vic again soon.

[cmlegend]

boring !

[EATMAN888]

dont think so vick got off good to me! il take a desk job over jail any day!

[rickbrownell]

I didn't feel that anyone deserved anything. They all got what was coming to them and life goes on. I wish I could create characters that could be wrapped up in such a succinct way.

[thatkrazyguyukno]

Fantastic program. I got a bit watery-eyed at the final shot of montage with the picture of the guys as it fades to black. I just thought "It's over..."

[anonbg]

Nice one Ryan. I think its interesting the way they made Vic lose our symapthy in the last two series. I think we shouldn't forget that he wasn't a total bad guy and did help some characters. Also it was interesting because Vic never admits to himself that he was looking after number one, it wasn't as simple as him being the only one who got off. You can almost hear him argue that he didn't plan it that way, it just happened. Of course it was Vic that would accuse Shane of behaving this way.

[rickbrownell]

Great analysis. I believe this is it, though. No more of Vic Mackey. The ending is perfectly suitable in my opinion. Where does it all go from here? In our own minds, mulling over the Strike Team's BS, their wiggling out of everything, staying one step ahead of the law.

[ezcheeser21]

God bless The Shield! You raised a good question as to why Shane didn't just run away, instead of the suicide route. I think it finally showed that he has a conscience. He knew he didn't deserve to live with all of the crap that he did. Shane was always my favorite character and I believe he came to the conclusion that most would come to. Although, I would've spared my family I guess... not sure what was up with that. Maybe he didn't want their lives to turn out half as bad as his was?

[kekolt]

@ezcheeser21 I think he just didn't want them to suffer as they were innocent [quoting his thoughts]. Ant he wanted to be with his family who he loved A LOT.

[xqsmee]

In comparisson, between The Wire and The Shield, Vic Mackey and the Strike Team take-the-cake with a silver fucking

.380 with one in the chamber... A hand grenade, and a semi-automatic pump-action 20-gauge-sawed-off-shotgun....

[xqsmee]

NO SPINOFF!!!!! NO MOVIE!!! PLEASE NO!!!!!! Leave it be, fuck, it sucks that The Sheild had to end...... but since all great things come to an end, this is the best way to end it. The best. Oh and tvchinwag, being a Canada native yourself , cool how the whole L.A. So. Cal. Gangsta trangression translates. Cold har truth, average review at best to a show that blows "The Sopranos" out of the water...... Anyway, wicked posting my friend, great, and i mean GREAT clips, edited very well. Peace!

[monteral12]

Why did ronnie get arrested. This I don't understand there was no hard evidence of his envolvement???

[JRilla1870]

@monteral12

YOU KNOW HOW THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION WORK RIGHT? WHEN VIC CONFESSED I'M SURE IN FEDERAL COURT THE FEDS WILL BE ABLE TO PROOF THAT HAD AN ELEMENT IN VIC's ACTIVITY''s

THERES MOBSTERS THAT GOT ARRESTED

WITHOUT ANY HARD EVIDENCE ALL THEY NEED IS PROOF CONSPIRACY AND THAT YOU KNOW KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT VIC DID AND IF THE USE AND R.I,C.O ORGANIZED CRIME TRIAL RONNIE COULD BE JAILED VERY EASY IN A FEDERAL COURT AND ALL THEY NEED IS CONSPIRACY VIC ADMITED TO HIS GUYS PEOPLE APART

[crackbinge]

Vic's taped testimony. That's pretty good evidence.

[chejota]

The amount of symbolisms in this series was amazing!, the best one is Acevedas's character...as a true politician he literally had to "suck" his way to the top...he made it!

Then Shane's working his own deals and using Vic's words and threats portraying a young Vic.. the difference..No brains.

Women under extreme pressure...Corrine and Mara were the major weaknesses in their partners life which at the end were their downfall..

[idicula1979]

Vic Mackey, David Aceveda, Dutch where GREAT characters that that should be rememberes as such. And I think Dutch was a great foil and when they wanted to make Dutch more serious they brought in Billings as the foil. But this was one of the great tv shows OF ALL TIME!

[mackey087]

one more episode, vic busts ronnie out on his way to jail, gets his revenge on corrine for screwing him, julian "im so fucking holy" gets killed by ronnie, ah man so much more could have happened. shawn ryan, come on man give us more

[Brad2325]

I just watched the last two episodes last night with a friend on his TiVo. Some of the best writing, acting and directing I've ever seen. These weren't cookie-cutter action show characters; these were as close to real people as you're ever gonna get on TV or in a movie. Everyone - Vic, Shane, Lem, Ronnie, Dutch, Claudette, Billings, Dannie, Julian and everyone else - they were all real personalities, with flaws and vices and strengths and everything real people have. What a great ride.

[brainadult1868]

The Shield was a fantastic show and it will be badly missed.

Lem and Ronnie were the fall guys because both Vic and Shane were rotten apples, but together they all added many dynamics.

The power of the show is that you had so many great actors and parts to be played, and some of the smaller roles also added spice.

It was non-stop and always moving.

Very rare indeed and for people who were hooked, then just like life, it is time to move on!

[unspeakable28]

I agree a little about Shane, when he had the money it was foolish to hang around LA, but that aside it was great story line and Vic who was responsible for all of it gets away clean. I also love Billings he makes me laugh and his character grew alot and big part of the shows sucess. Only sour note was ronnie, he will not get off as others suggest, vic gave them the money train, delivering 100k, and he murdered the guy in the hotel, the drug dealing etc, no way back from that.

[unspeakable28]

I think spin off`s are no good and would take away from the shows legacy, it is the best tv show ever, i just finished the 7th series and i am so sad, it was so well written , Vic loved ronnie and it was tearing him apart to do it to him, but he always put his family 1st and thought he could work something out. Excellent ending as i just wanted to cry when HR lady tells him about not adjusting thermo without permission etc. He is trapped there for 3 years and has no family or friends , nothing.

[shogunsetsu]

i stopped to see this vid the first moment the guy started to ask why shane, high as hell, wouldn't just leave the city without money to start over, no family or friends to go, knowing that his son would go to foster care and with a bronken bone pregnant wife that woudn't take a walk to the sidewalk that was also to go to jail...

[lordshampoo]

i didn't really care about ronnie until after lem died, then he actually became a part of the show. i guess i'm saying his character was misused/not used enough until lem died.

also, i wonder what would've happened with shane if he hadn't been doing all the drugs. Would he have decided to leave town instead or would he had done the same?

my god this was the best show ever made. i cried after it was over :(

[jdhdkdkdj]

i think if they were to do a spin-off it would be a great injustice to the show...This was the best show on television..Please dont do a spin-off, let it rest in peace.. i love all the characters, but i think doing a follow up would not be good..

[DjiXas]

I would expect The Shield movie with the continuous story like this:

It starts where Vic took his gun and left and goes to save Ronnie.

I was actually expecting different end, like this:

Vic and Ronnie, Shane gets busted and they know that they will be arrested tomorrow.

So they take all of their guns and goes for a night killing spree... Then it shows the scene in the morning... Like hundreds of gang members killed, smokes all over and Strike team says: you can arrest us now...

[myassishaunted]

thats the gayest thing i've ever heard.

[phildee13]

tthere was a fake spoiler that i read that was better than the real it had claudette dying on here desk det. walken back got acused of stalking his serial killer suspect vic kills shane and wife goes to plant the gone and cardoky shoots vic and says its finally over im not going to be the next one corin goes to serve restraining order and finds out vic is dead hell ya best ending

[jdhdkdkdj]

does the guy posting this have absolutely no personality. show a little excitement when u talk about my favorite show

[dolls4his]

Kenny Johnson plays Lem's long lost twin brother/cousin... whatever. Not sure in what capacity. I just love the guy. lol

My favorite cop show now is Saving Grace for the obvious reason. Kenny Johnson.

Great review. Thanks.looking for Vic.

[dolls4his]

Will miss it. I can see a spinoff.

Vigilante Vic helps the Decoy Squad crack cases. Chastity now a cop, always looking for him.

Antwon and Ronnie has the street gangs looking. Julien, hears from him off and on.

Dutch is Captain of Decoy Sq after Claudette dies. Trish always knows where Vic is. Those two always did click.

Ronnie is released because with Vic gone, they think he lied about his involvements.

[tooltime9901]

I wonder if Vic's confession is even enough to convict Ronnie. as a confession, it could only be used against Vic himself. As testimony, Ronnie's lawyer could cast massive doubt on Vic' credibility. they would need corroborating evidence, and we know that Kavina was unable to find any trace of Ronnie's cut of the money train cash.

[AlexMarkey]

They could have busted him for the money transaction he for Vic, though.

[kidstl]

shawn ryan really fucked us with this lame ending...it was good up to this point, but mackie needed to die for all the shit he did...

this was just a micro natch up from the sopranos ending....

I SURE THE HELL HOPE THE FINAL EPISODE OF BATTLESTAR GALATICA ISNT LIKE THIS PIECE OF SHIT SHIELD ENDING...PS I COULD HAVE DONE A BETTER ENDING, AND HAVE WROTE AN ALTERNATIVE ENDING THAT MAKES THIS LOOK LIKE JUNIOR H.S. YEAR MASS COMMUNICATION CLASS...

SHAWN RYAN really fucked the fans over !

[XiaoPow]

You're a tard. Don't even compare Battlestar Galactica to The Shield. Vic rots much worse alive than dead.

[kidstl]

hey fuck you....vic is an evil like say hitler / mao....oh yeah didnt kill millions but that "same" mindset....

as long as he lives , people are at risk...he should have been offed at the end of the episode by say a rouge federal agent...surely word got out at i.c.e. the whore shit he did , killing terry crowdly in cold blood, BTW, i guess you think it was "ok" for vic to kill terry...i dont get why people think vic is so great, he killed an unarmed undercover innocent man !!!

[XiaoPow]

I'm sorry? I'm saying it's much worse for Vic being alive having no one or anything than being dead. English comprehension perhaps?

[skippythec]

Check out the Ronnie Gardocki Appreciation Association (RGAA) on Facebook

[onlyhalftime]

I don't think Vic survives the 3 years, it's Vic Mackey "I don't do desks" lol. I think that's where Shawn Ryan was hinting to the end, because the sirens wailing, Vic sits down at his desk, grabs his gun and smiles. I think even under contract Vic still does thing the Vic Mackey way. I'm not saying he gets caught, I'm just saying that we all know Vic can't walk the line lol. And The Shield was the only t.v. show I watch. I tried Sons Of Anarchy but it didn't work out for me.

[onlyhalftime]

Dude, watch the show Shane tells you why he doesn't immediately leave.

[mrgreenjelloman]

i doubt it was irony when vic was smiling in the end. and yeah i wouldve liked to see that "serial killer" put away, but the shield has always been about vic mackey, then the strike team, then everyone else.

[jaymacky]

I am gonna miss this show allot! One of the best COP shows I have ever seen, more and more drawn into the plot! It will be hard to beat this show. In my opinion..... (T.T)

[mikeyg2210]

Great review..2nd best is The Wire. Shield is #1 of course. Ill take a look at that DaVinci's Inquest.

[MissMarie84]

I hate that Vic let Ronnie fall - but he tried his hardest to save him. Only when Corrin(sp?) was in "trouble" did he drop Ronnie - he was trying to save his family. The deal was that if Ronnie ran - the deal with Vic was off and he, his wife AND Ronnie would go to prison.

Vic wasn't trying to save himself when he dropped Ronnie, he was trying to save his unknowingly backstabbing(in the kindest way) wife.

Vic did some bad things, but he loves his family and he loved the strike team guys.

[tacobelldoug]

I hate that shane killed jackson and mara (and li'l Franny Abby) but I think it was just him seeing his family in a good moment and wanting to preserve that. Like he said in his note "They're in heaven now, and we'll always be a family." I also think it said a lot about Shane's character when he offered to turn himself in if they'd drop the charges on Mara. He was willing to go to prison to keep his family together. Wow.

Good Review

[kingSpiegs]

Ok, I'll check it out. Tell me what you think of the wire.

[kingSpiegs]

Favorite cop show after teh Shield? Of course The Wire. If you haven't seen it and you like the Shield - see it.

The British "Life on Mars" has a great tough guy cop that makes the show worth watching.

Also, I really like "Life" on NBC. The stories are unusual and often funny. No "Straight A student who we discover was a call girl and is now dead."

[tvchinwag]

thanks for the heads up on the wire., I'll be sure to take a look.

I watched a couple of episodes of the british Life, but couldn't get into it... maybe it needs another try.

Search youtube for davinci's inquest., the production company has posted a few full episodes. Its is a damn fine program.

[kingSpiegs]

I liked it too. It would be cool to see Vic go on. BUt it's great to get closure.

I think Shawn Ryan said he wanted to keep some things hanging. So the serial killer made sense. But it seemed like they got him when they asked him for a nickname.

[jobe129]

Nice review man.. I don't think Shane could flee the city because the passports were taken and he couldn't drive because Mara was injured and wanted to go home.

A great ending. Our worst fears were confirmed when we realise he was the coward and evil individual everyone thought he was. Betraying he only true friend was the final straw.

[tvchinwag]

I thought the story spent a little too much time on Shane in Mara in the last season, now I know why., what it was building up to. Heavy. Seriously, what other show on tv would have that kind of an end to a family?

[jobe129]

Damn straight. I was sure they couldn't top the image of a shrapnel ridden Lem dying in the car, looks like they did!

[Thundernoob2]

Yea i really like this show although it didnt end how i thought it would , couldnt believe what happened to ronnie and shane.

[tvchinwag]

poor ronnie. I was hoping he would get his own spin of show. , well maybe not.

[thomas242007]

i was hoping ronnie would run, that was tough to watch for me him going to jail, like man that suck to be him right now, vic was a douchbag for leading ronnie on about him having immunity when he didnt, i hope chiklis has another show on the back-up, he could do a follow up with the vice squad crew pretty easily, and i thought vic looked like a gorilla in a suit