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May 22, 2007: The Math of the Wrath
With only three episodes left in this season, this week we get our setup episode for the final two. Dialogue-heavy and bloodshed-light, we get some more insight into Shane and the Armenians and find out that Hernan is not dead after all.
Shane’s in the middle of this gas-station murder and is talking to the daughter of the Armenian mob boss. Shane’s talking to her like she doesn’t know anything, but clearly she’s more on her game than he thinks. And soon she might be in charge herself, since Pop is on his deathbed. Meanwhile she’s paying Shane to look into some apartment robberies and he finds a nice hooker who’s able to give him a little bit of intel on the people who broke into her place. He gives it to her and she takes care of the problem herself. She seems to have Shane wrapped around her finger now. Man, Shane just can’t lay low for one minute and stay out of trouble, can he?
After all this time, we finally see Ronnie’s reaction to Shane in this one. Vic tells him about the documents Shane drew up and that he burnt them all. But then later Shane tells Ronnie about the very first paragraph, which talks about Vic murdering Terry while Shane stood there. Ronnie was certainly a little more rational than Vic when talking to Shane, but it seems like he’s mostly worried about getting caught in the crossfire and taken down as well. Ronnie’s in trouble now, too. There’s just no way this is going to end well. In the end, Ronnie wants to know from Vic when they can put everything behind them, but you have to hope he realizes that’s just never going to happen.
Speaking of trouble, the San Marcos murderer hunt is not going very well, is it? Hernan sends a girl to meet Vic and tip him off about a gun-store robbery. The strike team sets up surveillance and everything works smoothly right up to the point where the robbers hijack Shane’s truck. Except now, Hernan doesn’t show up at Vic’s checkpoint meeting and everything they did was for naught. Hernan has been leading them down a dead-end path. Vic seems to think that Hernan is in so deep that he’s truly in the gang now, and that does make sense. Part of Vic’s rationale is that Hernan probably killed the supposed snitch earlier in the day and dumped his hacked-up body to cover his own butt. Ronnie’s then very quick to point out that killing Terry was the exact same thing. How right he is.
Then there’s the side story, with three guys stabbing a socialite shopping for knock-off purses in a bad neighborhood. This story led to some great moments with the ladies of the show, including some rare bonding time. Dutch and Billings just can’t understand why this woman with money wants to travel to a bad neighborhood to save a few bucks, so Tina has to explain the pleasure the lady takes from knowing that she spent less than her friends every time she can pass a fake purse off as real. I for one, completely understand this. My wife and I have a knock0off store down the street in the local farmers' market. We call the purses “Prudu.” They look, feel and smell like Prada, but for $20 you certainly know you’re getting a Prudu instead. And this is always the busiest store in the market. Anyway, trying to explain it to the guys led Danny to say what could go down as the funniest line of the season: “It’s like trying to explain why you guys love your balls so much that you have to play pocket pool all the time.” In the end, the girls get a little time together as Tina takes Corinne to the store to get the purse she wants and Danny is already there: right before they are going to get raided. Nice.
Our other lady, Claudette, had some good moments in this one, too. When the agent tells her that if Hernan is dead he’s holding the Barn responsible, she says, “10:42 am, in case you need a time stamp for your ass-cover memo.” I also love the scenes where Claudette shows she’s in charge. The scene with her and Hiatt was great. Hiatt went against her orders with the gun-store robberies and she ripped him a new one for essentially being just like Vic. This also leads to Hiatt telling Vic that he’s out and being played by Claudette. Guess it’s a bit of Hiatt getting on Claudette’s bad side but also a sign that maybe Hiatt doesn’t quite think that Vic is that bad of a cop and is on his side. Obviously Vic isn’t happy but seems to respect Kevin for telling him straight up.
And that’s where we are as we head into the last two. Now that Vic knows he’s a goner, I can’t wait to see what mischief he gets himself into. No reason to hold back now, right? Brace yourself, folks.
Until next week, friends.
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May 23, 2007 12:02 AM
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what could go down as the funniest line of the season, “it’s like trying to explain why you guys love your balls so much that you have to play pocket pool all the time.
I laughed out loud at the scene of Billings pulling his hands from his pockets right after she said that! Priceless.
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May 23, 2007 1:20 AM
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I thought it was a solid outing. A great lead up to the final episodes.
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May 23, 2007 10:26 AM
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Only 2 comments?! Where is everybody today? Anyhow, loved this episode, as usual. Ronnie is taking things better than I expected him, too. I loved it when he asked Vic why he didn't tell him about Terry. I don't think Vic is really leaving ("The Shield" without Michae; Chiklis-no way!), but I think Kevin is a good fit. The idea Claudette said in the beginning of having two strike teams, that could be a good thing. I don't think Kevin would do things any different than Vic does. Shane, Shane, Shane! What are we going to do with him? He goes from one mess to another. I can't see him surviving this season unless he takes that b**tch of a wife of his and leaves town, better yet-the country! There weren't any surprises in the episode, but it was great. Loved the whole purse thing with the ladies!
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May 23, 2007 11:19 AM
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I thought this was a great set-up episode. Vic, Ronnie and Alex make a great team - much to Claudete's demise. As someone pointed out to me earlier - The Armenian woman that Shane has cozied up with is Franka Potente from Run Lola Run & the Bourne Identity. Shane's involvement with the Armenians spells trouble for him. Vic may not have to worry about getting rid of Shane - the Armenians may do it for him. They have a real knack for cutting off body parts - feet last year and testicles now - OW! These people are not to be messed with. If they only knew about Shane's involvement in the Money Train!!
I still think that Ronnie may be the one to do in Shane. And for certain it is not if it will happen - but when!
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May 23, 2007 12:26 PM
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It was actually rather nice not to have anything heavy going on in this episode. Kinda like giving us a breather after all of the tension-filled, jammed-packed epis we've gotten this season. I can't wait for the remaining episodes.
Does anyone else feel like this season of the Shield is like the Bizzaro Superman to this season of the Sopranos? We get action - then an episode to catch our breath with the Shield. With the Sopranos, we get several episodes of nothing really going on -- or lots of set-up, if you will, with only an occaisional payoff so far.
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May 23, 2007 12:57 PM
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I'm not particularly surprised few people contribute to the weekly blog. There's not much to say. It's a flawlessly executed TV drama. We can speculate endlessly as to how matters will unfold (particularly with the Strike Team). But I'd prefer to see for myself. It's vaguely akin to reading a great thriller. Or viewing an engrossing movie. There needn't be any interruption.
The Shield remains my favorite show. Fully realized characters, compelling moral dilemmas, verisimilitude, ample action, brisk dialogue, and appropriate and welcomed humor.
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May 23, 2007 1:41 PM
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"These people are not to be messed with. If they only knew about Shane's involvement in the Money Train!!" -Ranger99
Ranger, I think you are on to something here. Maybe the Armenians will be the ones Vic enlists to do Shane in. The previews for next week show Vic and the Mob daughter in serious conversation about who she should want on her side. I think Shane is going down and going down hard. He's trying to outplay Vic and I think Vic is the master here. As for Ronnie, I think he's always been a worker bee and it will be interesting to see if he gets out of this thing unscathed.
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May 23, 2007 1:43 PM
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As always, a GREAT episode. Just some light criticism though, David - a little less recap and a little more speculation to fuel the fires of discussion. We already watched the episode, so don't need a complete recap. Stoke the coals and let us blog-fans go at it!
I love the way this season is headed. I thought that Shane was going to be silent about killing Lem all season long, and when he came clean 2 eps ago, I thought it was a bit premature. I was wrong of course, and shame on me for not having more faith in the best writers, crew, and cast on TV!
How sweet is the irony that the Armenian mob could be Shane's saviors? The Armenian money train was ultimately what started the downward spiral for Lem (remember him burning the money and the ulcers that followed?) and eventually led to Shane's dispicable actions. NOW he's not only helping them, but getting in deeper and deeper. The promo for next week indicated that he could become a major player. Is he really capable of going that deep and still keeping some of his soul? Don't be so sure - take a look at Hernan.
I'm curious to know how high up Aceveda's developer friend/campaign contributor is connected with the San Marcos murders. I had a bad feeling about him from the first time he was on screen, and I was convinced of it last week when Aceveda confided in him about Hernan. And Claudette didn't come clean with Kevin about herself, the ST and Dutch being the only ones who knew - she left out Aceveda. Pretty ballsy of her to then turn around and accuse him of playing Vic-style games and not being trustworthy, when she's not coming completely clean herself!
Ah, what a tangeled web we all weave. I dare anyone to name any show currently on television that challenges your moral center like this one does! The only thing that sucks is there are only 2 more eps this season, followed by another too long of a wait before the final season. Looking into my crystal ball, I see an Armenian captain named Shane and a rouge Vic headed towards one hell of a showdown. I'm sure I'm wrong, but I can't wait to find out how much so!
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May 24, 2007 9:54 AM
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I continue to be impressed by the great writing & acting in this show. I'm not a fan of gore & blood so I look away for those scenes. From the posts I see here, I'm probably in the minority. Interesting, I saw a movie on FX the other day called "The Crow" based on dirty cops & guess who one of the cops was: Shane! Too funny. He thinks he's a good player as dirty cop but the bad guys are smarter than he is - He didn't do so great last time when he got framed for that girl's murder & Vic had to take care of him....again.
I'm concerned that if the Armenians take out Shane, his documents against Vic & Ronnie will come to light - Vic will be blamed for his demise.
Wish the season were longer or perhaps do two short seasons per year.
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May 24, 2007 12:51 PM
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It seems that we all believe that Vic is innocent, and Shane committed all of the crimes. Shane killed Lem, Shane was involved in the Money Train, Shane killed the girl, etc. What about the 24 page document that includes Vic in all of their dirty deeds. There will be no defending Vic from me! I'm not saying Shane is innocent, but he learned his behavior from Vic!
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May 24, 2007 1:33 PM
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