The Shield finale

[gregstephens]

Here's to the most intense and one of the best series finale shows ever made.

[HairOnFire]

It's sorta funny how my wife reacted to the finale, comparing the ending of The Shield to the now legendary ending of the Sopranos. In both examples most of storylines are tied up neatly, but the ultimate fate of the lead character is left to the viewer.

So anyways, my wife sits there screaming at the TV...."Show it. If Vic is going to kill himself I want to see it. Don't leave me hanging. Show it."

And I sit there laughing..."That's just the point. He won't kill himself. He'll do his three years sitting at a desk listening to the neverending hum of flourescent lighting, and when his time is up he'll toss off the suit and tie, pull the gun out of his desk drawer and walk right out the front door."

Prompting my lovely wife to say...."Yeah, well you're the type who actually liked the ending of "No Country for Old Men"

[gregstephens]

It's sorta funny how my wife reacted to the finale, comparing the ending of The Shield to the now legendary ending of the Sopranos. In both examples most of storylines are tied up neatly, but the ultimate fate of the lead character is left to the viewer.

So anyways, my wife sits there screaming at the TV...."Show it. If Vic is going to kill himself I want to see it. Don't leave me hanging. Show it."

And I sit there laughing..."That's just the point. He won't kill himself. He'll do his three years sitting at a desk listening to the neverending hum of flourescent lighting, and when his time is up he'll toss off the suit and tie, pull the gun out of his desk drawer and walk right out the front door."

Prompting my lovely wife to say...."Yeah, well you're the type who actually liked the ending of "No Country for Old Men"

I was kinda like her...I half thought he was going to off himself. Wouldn't be in his character, however.

Two points that were inferred, but I thought could have been tied up more definitively...did Acevado win the mayor's race, or was the guy that got killed his only opponent? Also, I wanted to see Lloyd actually fess to killing his mom.

Otherwise, very well done.

[HairOnFire]

I was kinda like her...I half thought he was going to off himself. Wouldn't be in his character, however.

Exactly the point. I loved the way they portrayed Vic nearing his breaking point, only to pull away at the last moment with a snarl. What the future held was left to the viewers imagination, but IMHO they made it clear that Vic wasn't Shayne and he wasn't going to take the easy way out. Above all else the man was a survivor....like a cockroach.

Two points that were inferred, but I thought could have been tied up more definitively...did Acevado win the mayor's race, or was the guy that got killed his only opponent? Also, I wanted to see Lloyd actually fess to killing his mom.

Otherwise, very well done.

Claudette made it clear the actual mayoral election was no more than a formality. As for his dead opponent, I saw it as another example of the survival theme, with the always scheming Acevado(sp?) finally reaching his goal even as the younger and more idealistic rival dies in the streets before he can learn the rules of a crooked game.

As for Lloyd, I didn't mind the open ended conclusion. In fact, the strength of the series was the way storylines weren't neatly tied up 58 minutes into each weeks show. Lloyd's day is coming. Life in the Barn goes on.

Last point. The series may have been about crooked cops and flawed characters that you sometimes rooted for despite everything you knew, but it was also about good cops doing their best in impossible conditions, and I thought that message came through loud and clear in the finale. So no complaints from this chair.

That said, with the passing of both the Wire and the Shield I'm left without a favorite drama to watch.

[gregstephens]

I was kinda like her...I half thought he was going to off himself. Wouldn't be in his character, however.

Exactly the point. I loved the way they portrayed Vic nearing his breaking point, only to pull away at the last moment with a snarl. What the future held was left to the viewers imagination, but IMHO they made it clear that Vic wasn't Shayne and he wasn't going to take the easy way out. Above all else the man was a survivor....like a cockroach.

Two points that were inferred, but I thought could have been tied up more definitively...did Acevado win the mayor's race, or was the guy that got killed his only opponent? Also, I wanted to see Lloyd actually fess to killing his mom.

Otherwise, very well done.

Claudette made it clear the actual mayoral election was no more than a formality. As for his dead opponent, I saw it as another example of the survival theme, with the always scheming Acevado(sp?) finally reaching his goal even as the younger and more idealistic rival dies in the streets before he can learn the rules of a crooked game.

As for Lloyd, I didn't mind the open ended conclusion. In fact, the strength of the series was the way storylines weren't neatly tied up 58 minutes into each weeks show. Lloyd's day is coming. Life in the Barn goes on.

Last point. The series may have been about crooked cops and flawed characters that you sometimes rooted for despite everything you knew, but it was also about good cops doing their best in impossible conditions, and I thought that message came through loud and clear in the finale. So no complaints from this chair.

That said, with the passing of both the Wire and the Shield I'm left without a favorite drama to watch.

Try Sons of Anarchy. It's produced by Kurt Sutter, who worked on the Shield. It's a very intense show. Wednesdays at ten.

[BlainThePain]

I was kinda like her...I half thought he was going to off himself. Wouldn't be in his character, however.

Exactly the point. I loved the way they portrayed Vic nearing his breaking point, only to pull away at the last moment with a snarl. What the future held was left to the viewers imagination, but IMHO they made it clear that Vic wasn't Shayne and he wasn't going to take the easy way out. Above all else the man was a survivor....like a cockroach.

Two points that were inferred, but I thought could have been tied up more definitively...did Acevado win the mayor's race, or was the guy that got killed his only opponent? Also, I wanted to see Lloyd actually fess to killing his mom.

Otherwise, very well done.

Claudette made it clear the actual mayoral election was no more than a formality. As for his dead opponent, I saw it as another example of the survival theme, with the always scheming Acevado(sp?) finally reaching his goal even as the younger and more idealistic rival dies in the streets before he can learn the rules of a crooked game.

As for Lloyd, I didn't mind the open ended conclusion. In fact, the strength of the series was the way storylines weren't neatly tied up 58 minutes into each weeks show. Lloyd's day is coming. Life in the Barn goes on.

Last point. The series may have been about crooked cops and flawed characters that you sometimes rooted for despite everything you knew, but it was also about good cops doing their best in impossible conditions, and I thought that message came through loud and clear in the finale. So no complaints from this chair.

That said, with the passing of both the Wire and the Shield I'm left without a favorite drama to watch.

Get Showtime and watch Dexter and Brotherhood. Dexter is about a serial killer that works for Miami Police Forensics and Brotherhood is about two brothers from Providence Rhode Island. One brother is a semi-corrupt state representative and the other brother is a street thug.