All Good Things

Well, it took six seasons, but The Shield has finally disappointed me. Now, there have been several times throughout the seasons that I have rolled my eyes a bit or swallowed down some distaste for a particular line or even supplemental storyline. But the last three episodes of this season were so below par for this show, I can't help but wonder if Shawn Ryan and his staff simply conceived these and wrote them as an after thought. Or, more likely, got so caught up in their 'genius' idea of Prodigal Son Shane and Vic going head to head in turmoil, vengeance and anger that they couldn't see the parabolic forest for the trees.

But here's the thing, Vic and Shane already went through this! Back a couple of seasons ago when Shane was under Antwan Mitchell's thumb, he and Vic and a reckoning.

So, Shane needs a plan and he goes to the ever familiar Armenians. The same crime family he and the Strike Team ripped off (to the tune of several million dollars) a few years ago. And who does he encounter? Franka Potente, one of the worst actresses working today, playing the grieving daughter of the Armenian mob boss. She is shy, uncertain, terrified. Fine, it works in the sense that Shane can manipulate her for his own purposes. But her sudden transformation into a cold-hearted, ruthless boss that gives the order to kill Vic and his family is so precipitous that not even Meryl Streep could have pulled it off. Let alone Potente, whom I'm sure can deliver a line in her native German, but when uttered in English, it's so devoid of thought and emotion it fails.

That coupled with Hiatt (Vic's would-be replacement as the Strike Team leader) and his sudden descent into asshole-dome (it's a word - Google it) just kill the intensity of the story as we are once again pulled out of the story by contrived writing.

The worst part of this is the real heart of the story, Vic's conflict to keep his job and the San Marcos killings and the crime and conspiracy involved, is overshadowed by the lack of focus. I understand that Shane and Vic have hit a crossroads since Vic found out that Shane killed Lem (another poorly thought out plot twist meant for more "OMG, I never saw that coming" which is the refuge of the uncreative writer).

So, Shawn, Kurt Sutter, Chiklis and the rest of the producing crew, get up off your creative asses and get back to season 1 and 2 form. This show has been too good to let it stir in the overbearing, hyperbolic acting of Forrest Whitaker from last season to the contrived, precipitous story lines and character arcs of this season.