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--The end of the end begins with Vic being forced to lie to Ronnie's face about the ICE deal. Ronnie is all goofy smiles, as he believes he'll get off the hook with Vic. There is a palpable difference in Vic when he lies to a friend as opposed to someone he doesn't care about, but survival trumps all and he makes Ronnie believe that as soon as Beltran goes down the two of them will have their lives back. They meet Beltran and tell him to meet the black "Board of Directors"--or BBOD--to finalize their drug distribution deal (sadly Dick Parsons is not on this board). Beltran is hesitant, but eventually convinced.

--Cathy Cahlin Ryan has really stepped up her game as Corrine the last few episodes. Now that she knows who Vic is, she's more terrified of him than ever. And when Dutch tells her about Vic's deal, she freaks out. Would this man who's killed and hurt so many hesitate to hurt a woman he maybe never truly loved?

--Shane and Mara finally seem to be realizing that they're not destined to run like wolves. Or something like that. Mara, seeming to realize the end is near, decides that she and Shane should name their unborn daughter before she's taken into foster care and named by strangers. Actually rather sad. So they name her: Frances Abigail Vendrell. Kind of a cute name. Mara is in bad shape, can't even go to the bathroom by herself between the pregnancy, and broken collarbone. Plus Shane seems to be doping the hell out of her. Shane having to wipe Mara sitting on the toilet while Jackson plays in the tub is kind of another road from their fun and games in the squatter's house.

--Claudette tells Olivia that the Feds need to put Corrine and the kids into protective custody. She agrees. And so Vic goes to visit his family, thinking everything is about to go back to normal. He plays with Matt, wishes Cassidey luck in her soccer game, does everything a doting father should. Little does he know this is the very last time he'll ever see them.

--Shane tracks down Billings (probably the easiest cop ever to tail), and tells him to makes Claudette an offer: Shane comes clean on everything and takes the rap for all their new crimes, provided Mara walks. Claudette's disease is getting to her, exacerbated by the stress of everything going on.

--The Lloyd Dressler case takes an unexpected turn, as Lloyd shows up to report his mother missing--while pointing his finger at Dutch as the suspect. I definitely thought Lloyd was going to ambush Dutch, but this is perhaps even smarter since Dutch had something of an improper relationship with Rita and everyone at the barn knows Dutch can get to close to cases. Plus the little smile from Billings when he hears about this is priceless. For a moment, I thought Dutch just might have killed Rita. We know he has that gene in him, and that if he weren't a cop he could very well be Lloyd Dressler.

--Robert Huggins is back! Huggins (Andre 3000 of Outkast), last seen as a crusading comic book store owner ("Just hosin' down the hos!") is running for mayor of Farmington. Great continuance of a great storyline from earlier in the series. Huggins is tired of corruption and sweetheart deals between cops and criminals, and to Aceveda's chagrin Huggins is connecting with real folks far better than he does. Aceveda is the older establishment man with years of experience, Huggins is younger, more charismatic and passionate and gives the people hope. Wow, what are the chances of a political race like that happening? Huggins is arrested for disorderly conduct (though the cops smile as they handcuff him), and when Huggins later asks for the standard police protection given to mayoral candidates, Tina blows him off. Huggins is later shot and killed, and yet another leader in the black community dies before being able to turn things around. Was Aceveda behind it? Wouldn't surprise anyone.

--The meeting between the Mexicans and the blacks couldn't go worse. Beltran is a no-show, and the blacks want to know what happened to their $200,000 (of course the Mexicans only got $100,000 of it since Vic stole the rest to try and pay off Shane). Everything goes to hell and they're about to walk away, so ICE decides to take what they've got and arrest the BBOD and Mexican lieutenants. Vic storms off pissed that Olivia missed out on Beltran just to rid herself of his task. Vic decides he has to take down Beltran anyway, but Olivia wants nothing to do with it. And when Aceveda seems to pass as well, Vic and Ronnie are left all alone to try and take down Beltran. Here's where I definitely thought something was going to go terribly wrong.

--When Shane finds out that Claudette won't give Mara immunity (she freaking killed two people), Shane is left with only one card to throw in: Vic. Shane calls Vic from a pay phone, threatening to tell everything if Vic doesn't aid him. Of course Vic already has his immunity, so Shane has lost all his leverage. Vic lets him know this with glee. What Vic doesn't know, and what Shane is happy to inform him of, is that Vic's own family turned on him. Vic's reaction is devestating, and his only response is to lash out at Shane, who gladly returns fire. "Who you got, Vic?" This is one of Walton Goggins's best moments, as he hangs up the phone, crying, knowing his family is out of options and out of time. Vic goes to Olivia, who confirms that they've taken Corrine and the kids. Vic is destroyed, but has no leverage over Olivia, who despises him. Duh. "I...I never got to say goodbye to my kids," says Vic. Replies Olivia, "You said goodbye to them the moment you shot another cop in the face." For the first time, Vic has no power to change anyone's mind, and his despair is just wrenching. Olivia has no sympathy for him, and he has no leverage over her. For perhaps the first time, Vic Mackey has no options.

--Shane returns home from the store (after given the young clerk a nice tip, a sign that he doesn't think he needs money where he's going), and waves hello to his neighbor. Of course the neighbor, scared witless, calls the cops. Shane calls for a "Family Meeting" as the police surround the Vendrell house, and break down the door. Suddenly a gunshot is heard, and the cops find Shane having put a bullet through his head--and Mara and Jackson laid out on the bed, having been poisoned by Shane. Their bodies posed in beautiful harmony, Mara holding a bouquet of flowers, Jackson a toy truck. Just awful, awful, awful. And Shane's family meeting is a reminder of the Strike Team, four men who once called themselves a family, now all of whom are either dead or broken. In this family, loyalty results in the darkest betrayal of all.

--Vic and Ronnie track down Beltran, and manage to get the drop on them, taking out several soldiers before the cavalry arrives. Beltran is shot in the leg and Vic is forced to use him as a human shield (love the image of Vic using other people to deflect fire aimed at him) before cops swarm the place and arrest all the bad guys. Turns out Olivia and Aceveda were in on it all along, but wanted to be sure Vic and Ronnie got the goods before moving in. So Vic and Ronnie make one of the biggest drug busts in Farmington history, Aceveda gets his great press coverage, and Vic and Ronnie are heroes. For now. Gotta say, I was shocked nobody bit the bullet here. And at this point, I had an idea of how the show would end. Shane is dead, Beltran is in custody, Corrine taken away. Vic's list of enemies--and friends--is shrinking.

--Cute moment when Billings's lawyer hits on Dutch, who's nearly oblivious to it until Danny reminds him. Which of course reminds us of their unresolved kiss at the end of last season, but also shows how much Dutch has grown. Danny: "Looks like someone's been working on their game." Dutch: "Oh yeah, what game?" Danny: "See, that's what I'm talking about." Claudette seems to have broken Lloyd Dressler (though this could have been better explained since he never confesses and they never find his mother), but then lays down the bombshell we all knew was coming. Claudette is dying of Lupus. Dutch is shocked, and they have a wonderfully tender moment as we're reminded that despite all their differences, despite Dutch's issues and Claudette's tunnel vision, that they compliment each other perfectly. They did their best work when partners, and Claudette's eventual death will affect few people more than Dutch.

--And then we reach the climax, as Ronnie and Vic are called to the barn. Vic doesn't know why he's been summoned, but he walks into the police station to a reception chillier than an Eskimo's fridge. Vic, who used to rule this place through sheer force of personality, who was once respected for bringing in some of the best collars the city, is now seen by his colleagues for what he is: a cop-killing, drug-dealing criminal. Ronnie, in tears, informs Vic of the death of the Vendrell family. Vic is taken aback. Not so much for Shane, but for Mara and Jackson. Claudette calls Vic in to speak to him about it, and Vic takes his normal seat on the interrogator side of the table. Wrong side, Claudette informs him. That's her chair. Claudette doesn't ask him any questions, just lays it out. After all his busts, after everything, his legacy boils down to a wife and son killed by Shane who was Vic's surrogate son. Claudette reads Shane's suicide note, then leaves photos of the dead family for Vic to see. Vic comes ever so close to breaking down, but channels his grief into rage and rips the camera from the wall. "Bill me for it," he says. "Fine. First payment is due now." Then it happens. The rest of the barn surrounds Ronnie and arrests him for about 87 different crimes right in front of Vic. Ronnie finally learns that Vic left him in the dust, and Vic can do nothing as his only remaining friend is dragged away in handcuffs. Ronnie's surprised reaction is great, as is Dutch's bewilderment that Ronnie could even ask what the charges were. 

--Vic, knowing he has nothing, left, goes to Olivia to try and trade intel about a Vietnamese drug crew for the whereabouts of his family. Not only will Olivia have none of it, but she informs Vic just what his role will be at ICE. He will not be on the street. He will be in the office. Writing reports. Sitting at a desk. Any violations, he goes to jail for the rest of his life. Oh yeah, and he has to wear a suit.

--Corrine and the kids see their new home, shown to them by a fed agent played by Clark Johnson (Gus from "The Wire" in a nice cameo).

--And so here comes Vic Mackey, seen in a suit for the first time since before taking over the Strike Team. An ICE employee tells him about office hours, makes sure he knows to label his food in the kitchen, tells him how to use the phone. Everything a good employee needs to know. Vic takes a seat at his new desk, and carefully lays out photos of his three children, and one last photo: Vic and Curt Lemansky, in happier days. Chills. Later that night, Vic hears a siren, goes to the window to see a police chase. Now the sheriff, the gunslinger, the rogue, has to watch as his former life passes him by. Vic once wanted to keep the peace, to be the man criminals bowed to. Now he must watch from behind venetian blinds, his tie tightly knotted around his clean white shirt. What Michael Chiklis has accomplished in this episode without words in this scene and his scene with Claudette is simply breathtaking. A mail carrier drops papers in Vic's inbox. Vic's eyes well up and then...the lights go out. Vic snaps out of it. Removes his gun from the lock box and walks away.

The End

I will try to do a greater analysis of the final episode, as well as the whole series once I have a chance to digest everything. Suffice it to say this was a fantastic final episode, and even though it might not have ended the way many thought it would, it ended in a way most true to its central character. Sure Vic could have gone out in a hail of bullets, but that would have been the hero's death, the death deep down Vic might have always wanted. To Vic Mackey, his whole life was his family and reputation, knowing his was the alpha dog of all alpha dogs. His survival instinct kept him alive, but in a prison he'll never be able to escape. And for Victor Samuel Mackey, his final fate is perhaps the only one worse than death. What becomes of Vic? Does he take Shane's way out? Does he look for Corrine? Continue to bust heads on his own time? As series creator Shawn Ryan said in a interview, "I do think the sharks swim forward."

Tonight is the final episode of "The Shield". I'm both excited and sad about this, as "The Shield" is one of the greatest police/crime dramas ever (at least in my lifetime), and Vic Mackey undoubtedly has a place among the iconic characters of all time. Never has there been a character so adept at pure survival, at finding the tiniest chink in the armor of anyone he meets and exploiting it, wedging a crowbar in there until he exposes the person's heart. If Don Corleone said to keep your friends close and your enemies closer, Vic would have mad the Don proud. And tonight, it all comes to a close. Will Vic die? Live? Go to prison? End up a broken down nobody like his ex-partner? Tonight's 90 minute episode will bring to a close seven seasons of brilliance, and thankfully, like "The Sopranos," the final season of "The Shield" has not missed a beat (ignoring the pooping in the shower episode of Sopranos).

Check back tomorrow for a recap and analysis. For now, here are a few of my favorite scenes (unfortunately YouTube doesn't have a lot of them):

Kavanaugh lets loose on Claudette and the chief. Kavanaugh was the antagonist to Vic, though ironically everything he says is completely true.

The final scene of the first episode ever, Vic Mackey's original sin. Not many shows can say that the beginning of the end came in the first episode. And yes, when this episode aired "Bawitdaba" was still a bad ass song.

Vic finally learns the whole, hard, devastating truth about the death of Curtis Lemansky. 

Wow. I'm shaking from the ending of this episode. It really feels like we're at the end of the line, and everything is finally coming together. The climactic scene between Vic and Olivia was just stunning. We'll go with another random thoughts style post because my brain is too fried for anything else.

--He might not have made a good cop, but it's safe to say that Shane has made an even worse criminal. After the ridonkulously dunderheaded real estate holdup last episode, Shane ratchets things up to an eleven by attempting to stick up some old CI informants after a poker game. He ends up back in some sketchy apartment, doing coke with two knuckleheads who look like they came straight from the Michael Cera coke/singing scene in "Superbad." Shane has to do a few lines to keep up appearances, but then things really go to hell. One of the guys suspects that Shane might be a cop, and a struggle ensues. Mara busts in with Shane's gun, and shockingly kills two people, including an unarmed woman. Plus she breaks her collarbone in the scuffle. Shane steals the money, and manages to get the injured Mara out. The wheels are officially off the Vendrell train, and the anti-Bonnie and Clyde are now skittering all over the road on hubcaps. Side note: I don't believe we've seen any of the Strike Team guys do drugs before, so Shane snorting a few was quite surprising. Not as surprising as 99% of the things he's done, but still surprising.

--It was good to see Danny back, but she didn't do anything of note. Still, I was worried they were going to ditch her altogether. She deserves a better going out. Maybe some sort of knock down, drag out fight with Tina once and for all. Sadly, it does not look to be in the cards. Though with Vic (and perhaps even Corrine) going down, it would be ironic if Danny ends up looking after all of Vic's biological children.

--Shane and Mara are quickly fingered for the robbery and murders, and Vic knows Shane will be caught any moment now and he has to get his ICE deal in place. He manages to get Beltran to push up the big shipment before Shane goes down, so he can get immunity before Shane spills the beans. The ICE deal is the only thing Vic can rely on, and he even tells Ronnie they have to leave Shane alone and put all their eggs in the ICE basket. When Olivia balks at making the deal happen so quickly, Vic threatens to leave the bust. Plus he works Aceveda over to the point where the mayor-in-running comes to Vic's defense. The degree to which Vic has played Aceveda over the years is just frightening. Is Aceveda George W. Bush and Vic Karl Rove? Maybe, though Rove has more hair than Vic. Vic looks like he's out of options without ICE, that he might have pushed too hard, but then Olivia calls to officially offer the deal. Vic feels like a free man, and maybe it's time for that cup of tea and Nicholas Sparks novel to cool his jets. Oh, just wait.

--Shane, the idiot savant, gets spotted by the cops and nearly kills Tina. He apparently did some drugs to "even himself out" after the coke. Yeah, that'll work. Sure. Sadly, he lets Tina live. Poor Julien, after last week's episode he's back to role player status, and lets Shane slip out right through his fingers after spotting his car. I still feel that some of the regulars--Dutch, Danny, Julien--got shafted with good storylines to make room for the Cartel angle. And did they really need to introduce Beltran? Couldn't they have just kept Pezuela as the point man? That's the one dark spot on this season, the convoluted ICE investigation/Cartel operation that took the spotlight off characters we cared about. But I'm nitpicking.

--Shouldn't Shane at least ditch that brown leather jacket? I mean the guy is wandering around Farmington in basically the same clothes he ran in.

--Something's going to happen between Dutch and Lloyd Dressler. I get the feeling that Lloyd is setting Dutch up to ambush him  and make the detective his second victim. I also hope Dutch learns the whole truth about the Money Train heist, since he suspected Vic all along. At least stray neighborhood cats will be safe from Dutch's wrath if this happens. Plus, now Dutch's relationship with Billings seems permanently fractured after Dutch's half-assed statement and his pressuring to have Billings release the sex offender. Will this factor into the final episode?

--Great scene when Vic and Ronnie go to sign their deals, only to be informed the deal is only for Vic. Vic was a fool to think they'd sign Ronnie over right away considering he'd been working for ICE for all of five minutes. You can see the fight leave Vic for a moment when he hears the news, and you can see he was salivating to sign that thing and leave Ronnie in the dust. Still, Vic shuns the deal unless Ronnie's involved too, though it seems like he did it more for showmanship to let Ronnie believe he's on his side. Vic wins bigtime points with Ronnie for that, but he's second guessing himself before the door closes.

--So Claudette tries to set Vic up again by having him meet Corrine to aid and abet Shane, but Vic spots the cops (who are practically holding road flares) and warns Corrine (whom he still doesn't know is working with the cops). Claudette is forced to arrest Corrine for appearances, and Vic sees his whole plan falling apart. Vic nearly has a panic attack in his car in a great moment. Vic never lets on any hint of weakness, but Corrine's arrest was not only unplanned but against a member of his family, and Vic is just stunned. In Vic's mind, not only is he jeopardizing his freedom but now Corrine's as well. She's the only one in this game who's really innocent.

--Wow. So the inevitable happens. Vic goes back to Olivia, and says he'll sign the deal as long as ICE gives Corrine immunity. No mention of Ronnie, who will have to wait indefinitely for his deal. Vic has officially thrown the last member of the Strike Team under the bus. "I'll string him along until we're done," Vic says later. And after seven years, the Strike Team, in word and in deed, is no more. Vic's family has turned against him. He has nothing left. And when Ronnie finds out, and you can be sure he will, I doubt he'll be polite about it. Olivia agrees to the terms. And this brings us to one of the best scenes in series history, perhaps the most tension-filled scene in any show I've watched since the Soprano family dinner at Holstons.

--As part of his immunity deal, Vic must come clean on any and all criminal activities. He spends nearly a full minute gathering himself for this moment, the moment the whole series has led up to. The range of emotions Vic goes through here is riveting, and for a moment I thought he was simply going to walk away. Finally Vic musters the strength to talk. And he finally admits to murdering Detective Terry Crowley in cold blood. Wow. The look on Olivia's devastated face is just chilling, as she had no idea the degree of Mackey's evil. Not only that, but now she's given federal immunity to an admitted cop killer. "Is that it?" Olivia says, after Vic's confession. Vic nods at the recorder. "How much memory's that thing got?" This is Michael Chiklis's Emmy scene. Just beyond chilling, especially as the scene goes on and Vic admits to the Money Train heist, Margos's murder, setting up O'Brien to be murdered by the Armenians, Lem's death, his torturing and killing of Guardo. Everything. Vic goes from remorseful to cocky to sad to cathartic to...I don't know what. And when Olivia tells him their meeting with Beltran is soon, Vic refuses to leave, saying he needs to get every last bit on tape to make sure he's granted immunity from all of it. Even as his soul goes down in flames, Vic is still watching his own ass.

--Vic was aware that both Aceveda and Kavanuagh knew he killed Crowley. "I was too good," he says. Wow. I don't think I took a breath during this entire scene. And Olivia's look of utter disbelief...call me Dianne Wiest, because I can't speak.

--Claudette and Dutch are tipped off about Vic's deal, and enter just in time for Vic to reveal more misdeeds. Claudette nearly has a nervous breakdown, unwilling to believe that after all the atrocities Vic has committed the man is about to walk. She goes nuclear and fires Dutch for his silly beef with Billings, but calms down when she realizes she's acting out. Things still have yet to play out fully, but Claudette's anger is just palpable as Claudette realizes that the stain she thought she was going to wipe from the barn is going to get away clean. 

--Mara can't take it. She's got a broken collarbone and she's a murderer. Not a whole lot going for her. She wants Shane to take her home. Do they even still have a home? Not quite sure what she's asking of him, I guess to give themselves up. I think Shane and Mara give Dina Lohan and Lynne Spears a run for Worst Parents of All Time.

--Great end scene between Olivia and Vic, as she's just overwhelmed by what's taken place. "You're a sick, twisted man," she says to him, knowing her career is likely ruined for recruiting Vic. "Do you have any idea what you've done to me?" Vic replies, "I've done worse." We know it, he knows it, and whether he's remorseful or not, he thinks he's getting away with it. Thus we see the tragic rise and epic fall of Victor Samuel Mackey. Yes, we learned that Vic has a middle name. Samuel. Hee hee.

--Whatever happens next episode, whether Vic lives, dies, goes to jail...something tells me it will all fit. If Vic dies, he will deserve it. If he ends up in prison, he becomes another criminal. If he gets away with it, it will be the perfect coda to a career spent somehow finding the smallest hole through which to wriggle out of. Without a doubt, Victor S. Mackey is one of the most brilliant minds in television history. Whether or not his past has finally caught up to him is something we'll learn next week. And on Tuesday, December 2nd, at 10:00 pm, when I realize that "The Shield" is no longer on, I will definitely miss one of the greatest cop dramas of all time. One week until Vic Mackey's farewell ride.

We'll do this in a more "Random Thoughts" style:

--This might have been Cathy Ryan's best episode yet. To say I've been underwhelmed by her past performance as Corrine is a massive understatement, but she did a terrific job of conveying her fear of being placed smack in the middle of the Vic-Shane-Ronnie-Dutch-Claudette trap, while also showing her emotional conflict in selling her ex-husband down the river. Corrine knows what she's doing is the right thing, but has a hard time reconciling the fact that she'll be an accomplice in putting the father of her children in jail. At the same time, she also seems to have finally realized just how far Vic and Shane are willing to go to protect their own necks, and her fright is multiplied tenfold by the possible repercussions of her working with the cops. Would Vic turn on her to protect himself? I think Corrine believes it's possible.

--It was nice to see Julien with a meatier role in this episode, and I think his strongest moments have come when forced to straddle the line between being a cop who must see the world in a colorblind way and being a black man who grew up and keeps the peace in a city in which seemingly every young black man ends up in prison or a morgue by age twenty five. We've seen that there are black heroes in Farmington, but they're either gunned down (like Cervantes in season 6) or turn out to be a wolf in sheep's clothing (Antwan Mitchell), making it even harder for Julien to believe he's making a difference. An interesting arc this season could have been Julien himself filling that role, but sadly he's taken a backseat to the Cartel storyline.

--A Danny mention! Hooray! It seems that with Vic out of the barn, she's thinking about returning. Though I doubt we'll see her again, at least they finally acknowledged that one of the show's stars had in fact left.

--Even though Vic seems convinced that his plan will work out perfectly, the others aren't so sure. Ronnie clearly has serious doubts. "The wheels are coming off," he says, and Vic can only placate him. The wheels are coming off, and fast, but Vic just doesn't notice it.

--I do wish Dutch and Claudette did a little more investigating into Mackey, it seems they're kind of sitting back and waiting for new info to smack them in the head. I do love how Claudette is totally focused on bringing down Vic, as she feels he's tainted the barn for years without any push back. Vic is Claudette's White Whale, and she'll bring him down even it it means her health.

--The Cartel subplot is making a little more sense, and Vic brokering a deal between the Mexicans and the Blacks was an interesting development. It also shows that even though Vic might not have a badge, he's the most persuasive force in the city and can get his claws into his enemies even deeper than his friends.

--My favorite line of the show? When Vic tells Beltran that Pezuela never realized what he had in him. "He had an action hero on his payroll," Vic says with a sneer. This is how Vic sees himself now. Whereas once Vic truly did care about making wrong things right, truly did care about justice, now he's totally 100% looking out for his own ass. And he also knows that he can get things done to a degree that nobody else can. Pride comes before the fall, and Vic's ungodly huge ego (which has served him well in the past) will bring about his undoing.

--Though Shane's trap to snare Vic would have worked if not for the unforeseen snag of Ronnie having to step in, the Real Estate heist might have set a new level for Vendrell incompetence. First he goes in without a mask. Then he forgets how to open a safe lock. Then he brings his pregnant wife and young son in to help, and lets a hostage hold his son while he and Mara steal the money. Just wows all around. Sometimes I wondered how Shane manages to get his pants on in the morning.

--I got chills when, during Ronnie's introduction to Beltran, he said about Vic, "He taught me everything he knows." And Vic's cocky smile...just chilling. We've seen just how far off the rails Vic has gone this season, and Ronnie seems to have taken Vic's path rather than Lem's.

--But on a better note....WE HAVE A CLETUS VAN DAM SIGHTING!!! Woohoo! Shane used his famous nom de plume on the package sent to Claudette, which of course turns out to be a big F.U. to Ronnie and Vic. Priceless.

--The true extent of Vic's ability to become a chameleon was on full display this episode. Part of his brilliance is his ability to tailor his personality to any person in any situation. He's a doting husband with Corrine, an empathetic mentor with Ronnie, a loyal soldier with Beltran, a trustworthy friend to Olivia, a dominant master to Aceveda, a pragmatic businessman to the blacks, and a proud father to Cassidey. Who exactly is the "Real Vic Mackey?" I wonder if even he knows.

--I do wonder how the two main storylines--the Cartel and the Vic/Shane/Dutch/Claudette confrontation--will be worked out in just two more episodes. But this season has done just a fantastic job of keeping tension throughout, and whereas Vic has always done a good job of keeping his friends close but his enemies closer, he's finally allowed his enemies to learn the truth. Just so we're keeping tabs, here are the people who have it out for Vic:

Shane: For any one of a million reasons.

Ronnie: Because he doesn't trust Vic anymore, and realizes that if Vic is caught he'll bring Ronnie down with him.

Dutch: He's always suspected Vic for the money train heist, and taking down the city's most notorious cop would be a big feather in his cap.

Claudette: She believes Vic is the antithesis of everything a cop should be, and her ability to truly turn things around in the Barn (and in Farmington) rests on cleansing the stain of its worst legacy.

Aceveda: If Vic is caught, he could expose Aceveda's numerous shady dealings and end his political career once and for all.

Beltran: If the Mexican Cartel ever finds out that Vic has been playing them to ICE, he'll be found in a million pieces which will be ground into paste and sold in little bags of heroin.

The black gangs: If they find out that Vic has stolen $100,000 from them (the payoff money for Shane) they'll have 100,000 reasons to see him very, very dead.

Danny: If she realizes that her son will never be safe as long as Vic is alive...well, Danny has killed in self defense before.

Olivia Murray: Her potential deal to get Vic into ICE would go haywire if her bosses knew just how dirty he was. And if Vic is caught and starts talking, Olivia might go down for working with him.

Mara: She would tear Vic limb from limb before letting anything happen to Shane.

Corrine/Cassidey: Being taken down by his own family might be the most poetic justice Vic could ever face.

Vic and Ronnie are getting desperate in their efforts to track down Shane. They know it's only a matter of time before he and Mara are caught, and when that happens Shane will spill his guts to make a deal (remember when Vic threatened to "scorch the earth" with what he knew about Aceveda). It's scary that Vic seems completely prepared to kill Mara. Ronnie is tired, desperate, and on top of that he's getting scared. Vic seems to be deluding himself into thinking everything will work out, but Ronnie is more realistic. After he and Vic get nowhere with one of Mara's relatives, Ronnie mentions he's thinking about the big R: Running. Vic talks him down, not for Ronnie's sake but because if Ronnie runs even more suspicion will be on Vic. Vic admits he's considered running in the past, but isn't willing to give up his family. Sadly, they've already given up on him and he just doesn't know it. Vic asks Ronnie for a little time to find Shane, and if they can't track him down, he says they'll both run.

So what is Vic's brilliant idea for finding Shane? Putting a $10,000 bounty out on him with numerous gangs, the caveat being that they must deliver him alive. This is very un-Vic to put so much stake in his enemies, but shows just how much of a bind he's in. This is a similar tactic to Shane hiring Two-Man; sloppy and impetuous. The Torucos are hardly trustworthy, but since Vic's out of a job and Ronnie is chained to a desk, the gangs have far more reach than they do and Vic is running out of options.

Shane comes home(?) to their squat to find Mara swimming naked. He joins her (Walton Goggins tushee sighting--aagghhh!!!), and they have some kissy kissy time. I officially have the maturity of a toddler. They have a tender moment in the pool, and later we see Shane playing piano--neither we nor Mara knew he had this talent--while Mara dances and plays hide-and-seek with their son Jackson. These intimate family scenes are actually rather touching, as we see the kind of life that Shane and Mara wish they led and misguidedly still think they can. As Mara says later, the last few days made her forget everything that's going on around them, and she was, for once, truly happy. Needless to say this happiness doesn't last as a broker arrives to show the house they're squatting in and Shane is forced to pull a gun on her. I thought for a moment he might kill her, but the Vendrells simply flee to live another day. Again we're reminded that Shane is not the brightest tool in the shed. Did he really think they could live in that house and barbecue and nobody would ever notice? Yet for all the wrongs Shane has committed, like Vic there is a part of Shane that is a dedicated family man, perhaps to an even greater degree. There has been more passion in his relationship with Mara than Vic has had with anyone, save perhaps Danny, but even that was fleeting.

Corrine summons Dutch and Claudette to the hospital, and after being granted immunity tells them about Shane and Mara contacting her, and how she thinks Vic tried to kill them. After Two-Man fingering Shane, this is probably the most important development yet as far as the cops learning the truth about Vic. For years they've always known Mackey was dirty, but they never knew just how much so. And when Corrine mentions "something to do with the Armenians," Dutch's eyes go wide since he long suspected the Strike Team for ripping off the money train. They plan to tap Corrine's phone to try and catch Vic talking to Shane, as well as getting a lead on Shane's whereabouts.

Vic, finding that his shot to land with ICE is going down the drain, realizes that as long as Aceveda is their go-to guy he'll be out of a job. Vic confronts Aceveda, telling him to back off the case so that Vic can be the primary. Vic then goes to Pezuela and Beltran, trying to convince them to give him more duties (so he can get cozier with ICE). Suddenly Aceveda shows up and gives Pezuela a verbal dressing-down, leading to a fight which Aceveda (shockingly) wins. He has correctly assumed that Beltran is in town because the Cartel isn't happy with Pezuela's public crimes (the Cartel knows there's more money in drugs than in real estate), and by belittling Pezuela in front of his boss Aceveda knows he will be elevated in the eyes of Beltran. This was perhaps the ballsiest stunt Aceveda has ever pulled (except for the, you know what in season 3), to the point where even Vic is stunned.

Vic tracks down Beltran, desiring to replace Pezuela in the Cartel and refusing to submit his position to Aceveda. Turns out they're correct about Beltran's fondness (or lack thereof) for Pezuela, and Beltran tells Vic that if he kills Pezuela, he's in. Vic confronts Pezuela, but instead of killing him tells him that he's a marked man. Vic then brings Pezuela in to ICE, and Olivia offers to protect him if he turns on the Cartel. Pezuela holds out, figuring he's a dead man either way, to Vic's delight, because it gives him more time to get closer to Beltran.

Meanwhile, Vic's bounty pays off as two gang members recognize Shane and pull guns on him and Mara (and Jackson). They're ready to bring him in to Vic, until Shane offers them $20,000, doubling Vic's offer. They accept the double bribe, but then see the rest of the $100,000 Shane stole from the Armenians and take it all. Shane convinces them to finally leave with the money, which they do, but now Shane and Mara are hunted and broke and even more desperate.

Thanks to Billings having a man crush on Ronnie, Ronnie learns that Dutch and Claudette know more than they're letting on. Man, David Marciano's Billings is just perfectly played. Dutch and Claudette listen in on that evening's phone call from Mara (after narrowly missing Vic finding out earlier. Mara is in near panic when she calls, and Claudette can sense it. Meanwhile Shane calls Vic, telling him that as payback for the bounty he's sending a letter to Claudette confessing to one of the Strike Team's many nefarious deeds. He correctly assumes that Vic will have to leave Shane alone while he tries to intercept the letter, and by the time he does Shane will have a chance to flee the state. Shane also tells Vic that he needs to bring them $100,000 (to replace the money the gang took) by tomorrow afternoon, and that Corrine must bring it. The penalty if he does not? Shane tells Claudette the truth about Terry Crowley. 

Then Claudette takes a chance, and picks up the phone to talk to Mara. She offers Mara and Shane the chance to make a deal if they turn on Vic. She presses all the right buttons, telling Mara to think about her children. Mara sounds like she's about to agree, but when she hangs up, she immediately tells Shane that Corrine is working with the cops. Shane deflates, as he knows tomorrow is his last chance.

The last few shows have been more about setting the stage for the end than really progressing the plot, as we get little moments like Shane and Mara playing family that are slow yet poignant. Corrine looks like she's finally turned on Vic for the last time (we'll see how long that lasts), though as Claudette observes, "Who knows how deep Mackey has his claws in her?" It's very interesting to see just how much Shane and Mara love each other, and it's safe to say that even though they're both pretty rotten, they have a bond that Vic and Corrine never did. Vic will claim to his dying breath that everything he did he did for his family, but he has barely any family left. Corrine is about to turn Vic in, while we have no doubt that Mara would take a bullet for Shane.

I also got to thinking about the parallels between Vic and Shane and another crime drama pair: Tony Soprano and Christopher Moltisanti. Like Tony, Vic was always the mentor, the father to Shane's Christopher. One of my favorite scenes is from season 2 when Vic is shot and Shane comes to visit him in the hospital. Vic, lying there drugged up after surgery, tells Shane he wants to play golf with him. Shane breaks down in tears, says that's all he ever really wanted. That scene was perhaps the closest he and Shane have ever been, Vic was always the more cautious, the more thoughtful one, whereas Shane is more impetuous, more emotional. If Vic saw ten steps ahead, Shane saw one. There are also similarities between Mara and Adrianna. Both women simply dream of a happy, normal life with their men, whom they know are dirty but love anyway (Mara is more complicit than Adrianna, but they have both pulled the wool over their own eyes). From the beginning, there was no sexual chemistry whatsoever between Vic and Corrine (though I did wonder how much of this might have been the awkwardness of Shawn Ryan not wanting his wife to do anything risque). They were husband and wife in word, but not in deed, whereas Shane and Mara are very much in love in every way. It's impossible to picture Vic playing piano while Corrine plays with Cassidey. While Vic considers himself a family man, he has really never been there for his children, except to make money or in cases where their lives have been threatened.

I'm really annoyed that they still haven't mentioned Danny's departure, and at this point Julien is basically window dressing. The cartel subplot gets more convoluted by the week, but the drama between Vic and Shane (and now Corrine, Mara, Dutch and Claudette) is simply fantastic. We're still not quite sure just what the Cartel's plans are exactly, but I imagine that will be revealed soon enough. And it's only a matter of time before Dutch and Claudette learn the full, nasty truth about the Strike Team, about Lem, and about Terry Crowley.

I do wonder how it will all end, and what the most satisfying and appropriate conclusion might be. There's certainly a chance Vic will die, but there would almost be more poetic justice in his being incarcerated, or even becoming another Joe Clark, losing everything and everyone and being forced to live a life totally alone. Death and jail just feel too simple for Vic. Shane, on the other hand, seems to be running on borrowed time. But what happens to Jackson, Mara and her unborn child remains to be seen.

Still, this season has been unbearably good, each episode tense and fulfilling. There are few wasted moments, and nobody knows how things will end. Only three episodes to go...

--Shane prepares for his strike against Vic and Ronnie, as we see a photo of him, Mara and Jackson in the background. A reminder that he and Vic have deluded themselves into believing that every rotten thing they've done has been for their families. Two Man, Shane's indentured assassin, surprises Ronnie coming home with a date (Ronnie has sex?), but botches the hit, accidentally hitting the girl in the arm. Meanwhile Shane waits in Vic's home with a gun aimed at the door, but Vic gets a call from Ronnie that draws him away before Shane can kill him. Shane is less than ten minutes into his plan and it's already gone haywire. Mara taking instructions on how to cover Shane's trail is pretty chilling, and confirms that she really is Shane's female equal.

--Pezuela meets with Vic, asking for Vic's help in closing a church that prevents one of his developments from getting a liquor license. Turns out the priest fathered an illegitimate child with a drug dealer's sister, and is being forced to provide haven for the dealers. Closing a church is low, even for Vic's standards, so he tries to find away to save the mother and son from the dealer while also keeping Pezuela close.

--Pezuela blackmails Aceveda into making him a part of Aceveda's eventual run for mayor, promising him funding and influence. Aceveda goes right to ICE, and finds Vic already there. Seems Pezuela is aware he's being watched, and is trying to consolidate his influence by getting the future mayor in his pocket. The ICE chief wants both Vic and Aceveda to play along and stay undercover, which Aceveda is far from comfortable with. Olivia convinces him that voters will respect a man who risked his life to nail a cartel kingpin, and that's all the convincing Aceveda needs. And as Vic says, "Don't worry, if Pezuela wants to kill you, it's me he'll hire to do the hit." That must be reassuring. On the way out, Vic tells Olivia that he's interested in taking on a spot with ICE once he's done at the barn. Olivia tells him it'll be a tough sell due to his spotty record, but she'll run it up the ladder.

--At the barn, all forces are mobilized to find Two Man. Shane is a nervous wreck, trying to impede the investigation at all turns and convince the rest of the team that Two Man deserves a dirt nap, not a jail cell. Shane is scared that Two Man might flip on him, which begs the question as to why he trusted him in the first place. This highlights again the difference between Shane and Vic. Vic has now proven that he can't kill Shane in cold blood--while Shane was very ready to kill both Vic and Ronnie as well as Two Man--and Vic would never entrust anything important to a random lowlife like Two Man. Sure enough Two Man gets picked up right away, but Shane manages to get the location of the gun to get rid of it to hurt Dutch and Billings's interrogation. Thanks to an assist by Vic, though, they get Two Man to crack and admit he was forced to carry out the hit by Shane. "I was his slave, the gun was my oar." An incredibly tense scene, as Shane slowly slinks out of the barn as Two Man gives up Dixie boy on a platter. This is probably the single biggest turning point in the series (for reasons I'll go into later).

--Shane escapes, but suddenly Mara appears at Corrine's door. She tells Corrine about Vic killing Terry Crowley and the money train heist, and the truth about the hit man in Corrine's home. She says that unless she and Vic keep Shane abreast of the cops' investigations, Shane will take Vic and Ronnie down hard. Corrine goes to the barn and confronts Vic (as is usual this season). Only this time, when confronted about Terry and the money train, Vic doesn't have the energy to deny it. "I've done things that I thought I could justify at the time, but are pretty hard to defend right now." Corrine agrees to help Vic one last time, but after that she's taking the kids and leaving for good (about six years too late). Losing his family is the price Vic has to pay to stay out of prison.

--Ronnie and Vic realize they need to find Shane before any other cops do, because even with their help it's only a matter of time before his dumb ass is found. And if he is found, Vic and Ronnie will never see daylight again. Vic knows, though, that if Shane has crossed state lines he won't be able to get out from under Claudette's nose to find him. Vic sees what he needs to do. He marches into Claudette's office, takes his badge off and hands it to her, officially resigning from the force. Claudette knows something is up, knows there's a reason Shane targeted Ronnie, and yells at Vic as he leaves, "If you try to get in the way of this investigation, just like you did with Lemansky, I'll lock your corrupt ass up." Vic smiles, offers one last pithy comment, and leaves the barn no longer a police officer. 

One of the best episodes ever, and a show where going forward nothing will ever be the same. For a long time, all of the worst deeds of the strike team have been kept secret, but with Two Man fingering Shane this is the first time the rest of the barn has had a real thread to pull. And what they're inevitably going to find won't be pretty. Vic handing in his badge was a powerful moment, as he seems to finally grasp the reality of his situation.

So now Vic is off the force, Shane is wanted for the attempted murder of a police officer, and for the first time Vic seems to realize the ramifications of what he's done. And it's only a matter of time before Claudette pieces together the truth. We really feel like we've entered the final lap, and with five episodes left every moment will matter. Vic knows he has nowhere else to go, and his attempt to get hired at ICE was, in a way, him waving the white flag. He's run out of options, run out of strings to pull (everyone he's tried to leverage has ended up hurt or dead like Robert Martin). And even though Vic managed to survive Shane's hit, he'll never again be a cop, and likely never have his family again. If he can kill Shane to stay out of prison and take a job at ICE, that's as far as he can possibly get. But now Claudette is on Vic's trail, knowing there had to be a reason Shane wanted Ronnie dead. It's only a matter of time before the full extent of the Strike Team's deeds are known. And I want to see Vic have to face his friends, his peers and his family when they are. I do wonder how this will affect Vic's relationship with Pezuela, since he'll be of little use to the cartel king without a badge.

I wasn't able to recap last week's episode, but my heart was in my throat when Danny left at the end. She sees what Corrine was never able to--that being a part of Vic's life endangers you and everyone you care about. I won't be surprised if we never see Danny again (though it was odd that it wasn't mentioned in this episode), but you can't fault her. She wants her son to grow up safe, with only positive role models. After what's happened to Cassidey, she knows being a part of Vic's life won't allow that. My quibbles so far are small, and are mainly that we spend too much time on the Olivia subplot at the expense of characters we've followed for years (Dutch and Julien in particular have had almost nothing to do this season). But this episode was a game changer, and the countdown is officially on.

Post-Bouchercon thoughts to follow in the next few days. In the meantime, here's a recap and review of this week's episode of "The Shield." Note: I watched the ep on my computer rather than live--darn presidential debate--and this is essentially a running diary.

--So Aceveda wants to turn in the blackmail box. Figures. He knows the longer he waits, the more suspicious it looks when he finally turns it in. And Vic is torn because if they hand it over early, they lose all leverage with both Rezian and Pezuela. Vic looks more distraught than usual here. If he meant his words from last episode--that he wants to bring down Pezuela to atone for all his wrongdoings--than turning over the box is akin to waving bye-bye to any sort of peace. Vic wants to catch Rios redhanded, and get him to give up Pezuela. Aceveda gives Vic a deadline. Does Vic ever get any open-ended assignments? 

--I was totally expecting someone to jump out and accost Tina, shades of her failing to clear the room for Danny (which still hasn't really been addressed). But finding a naked dude covered in blood? Not a bad silver medal. But man, based on those noises he was making I was expecting another alley pleasure seeker. Nice to be wrong.

--A somber note as Vic and Ronnie meet at Lem's grave. This harkens back to the opening scene of Season Six with Vic, Shane and Ronnie meeting at the grave while Johnny Cash's "I Hung My Head" plays in the background (one of my favorites in the series). This scene gave me chills. It's the first time Vic has shown how he's affected by the weight of Lem's death in a while, and he reminds Ronnie they still have a score to settle for Lem's murder (i.e. Shane). Vic tells Ronnie he has a plan to make all the wrong things right, all within Aceveda's deadline. I'm dumbfounded as to how he's going to manage this, considering he not only has Shane, but the Armenian and Mexican mobs to worry about.

--So Vic presents the "plan" to Shane: they're going to sell the Armenians the blackmail box, end their business with Pezuela and shake down the Armenians for some cash. Shane likee, especially the money part. Of course Ronnie and Vic have ulterior motives which will surely come to light. And suddenly Shane's, "I feel like a huge weight has been..." is interrupted by...TAVON GARRIS. Wow. I'd heard Tavon would be coming back, but man what timing. Last we saw Tavon, he was laid out in a hospital bed after flying through a windshield thanks to Shane and Mara (and an iron to the back of the head). Dude is scarred up, and oddly doesn't mention Shane's assault (if we recall, Vic lied and convinced Tavon he attacked Mara, to save Shane's ass). Tavon and Julien have an awkward moment, as the only two black members of the Strike team. Shane looks about as comfortable as George W. Bush at an economic summit.

--So Tavon, out of the the hospital, is now working Hollywood division. Seems one of Shane's former rape suspects, long thought dead, has resurfaced in Tavon's neck of the woods by reaching out to his young daughter (side note: I always liked Tavon's character. It's good to see him again.)

--Tavon apologizes to Shane? Oh, right, while Tavon was laid up Vic convinced him that he assaulted Mara (to save Shane's ass after Mara nearly decapitated Tavon). For whatever reason this missing rapist is a sore spot for Shane, and he tells Vic he might need to jet from the intel sale. Shane seems upset by Tavon's reappearance, as he seems reminded of just how ugly he is (it was Shane's racism and insecurity that led to Tavon nearly getting killed). Somewhere beneath the rot, Shane does have a heart. Kind of like the grinch.

--So Corrine is on drugs (I officially nominate her and Vic for "Worst Parents of the Millenuem"), Vic tells Pezuela a way to take down the whole Armenian mob, and Shane sets up a trap to catch the rapist, Barba. Shane is acting like a...wait...good cop? His words to the daughter, Camille, "Better you deal with trouble now rather than look over your shoulder the rest of your life," is a perfect summation of the Strike Team.

--Turns out Vic's intel sale is actually a ruse to set up a Mexican/Armenian bloodbath, with Shane caught in the crossfire. And it turns out that one of Robert Martin's assassins is the same guy who assaulted Danny in the storeroom. Claudette goes nuclear on Ronnie when he can't give Vic's whereabouts, since he's out learning that Rios and his Mexican assassins are planning to flee the country after tonight's meeting with the Armenians. Vic tells him, "If you put one of them in the ground, make sure you put them all there." Oh man, this is not going to end well.

--Olivia Murray tells Vic that Rios has been flagged for surveillance, and she wants to turn herself in over a guilty conscience. Vic convinces her to hold off, since if she does he loses Pezuela. Olivia's guilt here is striking in comparison to Vic, considering her sins are relatively minor. Yet Vic, Shane and Ronnie have all committed murder and other atrocities and are still trying to pretend they've got good souls.

--Shane catches Barba, and can't bring himself to talk to Tavon about the night he got hurt. This is one of Shane's best episodes ever, great acting by Walton Goggins, as Shane goes from cocky and brash one moment (dealing with the Armenians) to contrite and remorseful (when Tavon reminds him of who he really is). Like the bloody narcoleptic guy Claudette and Dutch grill, Shane knows what he does is wrong, but somehow cannot stop himself.

--Tavon confesses to Shane that he knows he didn't hit Mara. Shane, genuinely overcome with guilt, offers to transfer from the barn once the intel sale is over, to leave Vic and Ronnie for good. When Corrine shows up at the station pleading with Vic not to take the kids away from her over the drugs, he, like Shane, has a crisis of conscience. Is this what people think of him? And is that who he really is? As he and Ronnie lead Shane to (presumably) his death, Vic decides to call the deal off. Vic: "We still have a choice." Ronnie: "Do you think Shane gave Lem a choice?" Vic: "I'm not Shane." Right there, that's the heart of the show. Great moment.

--Vic tries to get a hold of Shane, who's a sitting duck as he waits at the meeting spot. Vic's desperate attempt to get through to Shane while Ronnie tries to run interference to let him die is pretty chilling. Shane goes to check around the perimeter, and meanwhile two Mexican assassins show up and annihilate the entire Armenian mob as Shane escapes to watch from the shadows.

--Turns out naked alley dude didn't kill anyone, but slits his own throat because Dutch and Claudette make him think he did. Ick. Vic shows up at Corrine's, letting her know the family is safe. Of course he doesn't tell her why ("Hey honey, that Armenian mob boss who wanted to kill you because I stole three million dollars from him? Yeah, he's dead because I orchestrated a hit on him by a Mexican gang whose dirty boss I've been taking money from while providing him with intel. And I decided not to kill my former best friend who blew our other friend up with a grenade. Don't you feel better?")

--Dutch has a breakthrough with Billings, telling him he needs Steve to do what Claudette used to, namely challenge him, make him prove his assumptions. Shane arrives home, and it turns out he stole the hundred g's from the blackmail deal. Not only that, but he knows Vic and Ronnie tried to have him killed. "And the worst part is," Shane says, "they think I'm too stupid to even realize it."

Final thoughts: A tense episode throughout. A little heavy-handed at times with all the talk about living down the past, but the acting and story more than made up for it. This episode was one of Walton Goggins's finest hours, as he breathed a hint of humanity back into Shane. And for all of Vic's bluster about finding and killing Lem's killer, when it came down to it he simply couldn't kill Shane. This shows how Vic has changed over the series, since in the first episode he was able to kill Terry Crowley in cold blood, yet couldn't even allow Shane (who's done far worse things than Terry) to take a bullet from a random Mexican assassin. And now Vic is pinned down, in Shane's sights for setting him up, and Ronnie's for trying to halt Shane's murder. I wasn't sure how things were going to play out at first, but now it seems almost certain that Vic is going to go down, and go down hard.

We open as Federal Agent Olivia Murray--now exposed as being in Pezuela's pocket--asks the Strike Team to be a part of a rescue operation. Since the team is still alive, it's clear she hasn't told Pezuela they've been playing both sides, so they have to go along. It seems a Cuban drug lord the feds have been tracking is in Farmington to do a deal (where he'll be arrested), but while in town his daughter Noelle was unexpectedly carjacked and kidnapped. Murray needs Vic to rescue her in time for her father to make the meeting. The catch is that the drug lord has his own thugs looking for her, since he doesn't want anything to do with the authorities. So the Strike team has to find the girl without letting daddy know the cops or FBI are on the case. Of course Vic is skeptical, and Aceveda is worried about that and potential blowback from Robert Martin's murder. Vic leaves wondering if he's being set up by Olivia, or if the case is clean and dry like she says. 

On their way to visit a chop shop known for using stolen cars, Shane tries to convince Vic to turn over the blackmail box to Rezian, who would then deliver it to Pezuela, clearing their debts and ending the Mexican/Armenian war. Vic tells him he needs the box to bring down Pezuela, which Shane scoffs at. After years in Farmington, Shane feels like every time one boss is brought down another one pops up. The system is broken, he says, and they need to take care of themselves alone. Vic disagrees. "Pezuela is a down payment on me being able to live with myself."

When they hit the chop shop, the owner speeds away. A chase ensues, and when the team snares him he admits to running because a team of thugs already killed several of his employees. It seems the Cuban guy isn't against making a few bodies to find Noelle, and is following the same leads as Vic. The owner doesn't know anything, so Vic turns to young carjacker Deena (last seen in season 3) who's plugged in. Vic and Ronnie arrive and are greeted by several shotgun blasts from a terrified Deena. It seems daddy's thugs have been there as well, killing Deena's boyfriend. Vic is running out of options, and the deadline is growing closer.

Back at the barn, Claudette learns that her nemesis, serial killer Kleavon Gardner, is defending himself, and wants to depose her before the trial. She agrees, though Dutch is worried her Lupus medication has her off her game. In the deposition, Kleavon corners Claudette by forcing her to admit she was on heavy medication while investigating him, a reminder of the DA Claudette previously exposed, and how it's now come around to bite her. Facing the possibility of Gardner getting off (as well as embarrassing the department) they reluctantly agree to take the death penalty off the table and give Kleavon life in prison. Claudette realizes she's no longer the firebrand detective she once was, but a figurehead who's becoming more of a distraction than she should (as Aceveda and Billings were before her). She decides to bring on Danny to help, just like Dutch was hoping would happen.

Meanwhile a banger beating victim tells Vic that a gang stole the car and kidnapped Noelle, so Vic gets an idea. Since the strike team is three white dudes and Julien and can't pose as gang members, they arrest the bangers who beat up the girl and get them to pose as robbers (with Julien undercover as one of their members). They break into the jackers' warehouse, and let the kidnapped girl "accidentally" escape--right into the passing car of one Danielle Sofer. The real cops then arrive, and the plan goes off without a hitch. And as far as Vic can tell, Olivia was on the level.

Corrine shows up at the barn to tell Vic that Cassidey has been suspended from school for being at a "Pimps and Hos" party, where drugs were involved. Since pictures were posted on the Internet, Vic finds the kid in one of them, braces him, and learns that the whole party was Cassidey's doing--drugs included. Because he sees how far off the rails his daughter is going, and how his parental responsibilities are being challenged, Vic refuses to sign over his rights to Danny's baby.

Dutch brings in an FBI profiler to take a look at Lloyd Dressler, whom Dutch still suspects is a 16-year old serial killer in training. The profiler interviews him, and agrees that something is off about the kid. Then, in a bold move, Dutch convinces Kleavon Gardner to take a look at the kid's interview tapes. Kleavon tells Dutch he's seen the look on Lloyd's face before. Dutch asks, "Where?" Gardner responds, "In the mirror."

Shane finds Ronnie at the barn and, since Ronnie has Vic's ear where Shane does not, hetries to convince him to get Vic to turn over the blackmail box. Shane admits that he knows Ronnie will never forgive him for killing Lem, but that following Vic will likely lead to prison or worse for all three of them. Ronnie goes to Vic, still untrusting of Shane, but sides with Shane and tries to get Vic to hand over the info. Vic refuses, confessing that Aceveda is now in possession of the intel. Ronnie doesn't seem convinced that it will all work out okey-dokey in traditional Mackey style.

Vic confronts Olivia Murray at the end, telling her he knows about her debt to Pezuela. It turns out she made an investigation--in which her brother would have been fingered--go away. Pezuela found out about it, and now he's squeezing her. Olivia says she just wants to figure out how to get out from under him. Vic smiles, saying he knows just the guy for that kind of job.

Another strong episode, but what stands out most is Vic's admission of knowing what a wrong life he's led, and that he must atone for it by bringing down Pezeula. He sees the Cartel as the biggest threat to Farmington yet, and by taking the leader down he just might save his soul. Ever since Ronnie killed Zadofian, he's teetered on the edge of becoming Vic (who does bad things but has a good heart) or Shane (bad to the core). It can be argued that Ronnie has been the most loyal member of the Strike team (he's the only one who seems to still be losing sleep over Lem's death), but now Ronnie sees Vic as unable to control the maelstrom he's started, and wonders if Vic is putting his job over the safety of the team. It's only a matter of time before Ronnie and Vic have it out. Perhaps violently.

The subplot involving Dutch and Lloyd Dressler is pretty good and fits in with the larger picture, since Dutch sees this as a culmination of everything he's ever done. "Who's the better cop?" he asks Billings. "The one who arrests someone who committed thirty murders, or the one who prevented those murders from ever taking place?" Perhaps the most compelling part is that we get the feeling Lloyd is just like Dutch was when he was that age. It remains to be seen, though, whether Lloyd really is a serial killer or if Dutch is simply looking for more recognition for catching a serial killer (a la season 1). 

I don't love the Claudette/Lupus angle, and haven't ever since it was introduced. It seemed to come out of nowhere and be there mainly to elicit sympathy for Claudette. Her disease will obviously play a big role this season, but to me Claudette's most poignant moment came at the realization that she's become just another bureaucrat. She misses being on the street, misses the challenge, and knows her time at the barn might be coming to an end.

There was certainly an abundance of subplots this episode, maybe too many, to the point that neither Pezuela, Rezian, Tina or Cassidey got any screen time. And Julien hasn't had much to do at all, other than take orders from Vic or interrupt the rest of the team while they're talking about nefarious deeds. I don't care too much about Vic and Danny's fight over the baby, and Corrine's sole job seems now to be to show up and whine about Cassidey. But the Cassidey subplot is really going somewhere, since it strikes at the very heart of who Vic is. No matter what he's done he's always looked out for his family and tried to do the right thing by them. He's been a bad cop,which he is resigned to, but now he's finally realizing that he's been a bad father as well. And whereas Vic is constantly threatened by guns, gangs and violence (not to mention Pimps & Hos), losing his daughter is the most painful of all.

The episode begins with the discovery of a burned-down warehouse containing the crispy bodies of two of Rezian's lieutenants. Vic correctly assumes that since Pezuela failed to kill Rezian in prison, he's not going to stop now that the Armenian head honcho is outside. At first Vic is concerned that Rezian may have been killed in the blaze--which means his family would have been greenlit--but when he finds Rezian the mob boss is alive yet rattled. Knowing the Armenians don't have the money or manpower to fight a war against Pezuela's Cartel, he asks Vic to set up a sit down with Pezuela to air out their differences. This throws Vic, since if Pezuela and Rezian meet he'll be exposed as playing both sides against each other.

Vic goes to Pezuela and proposes the meet-and-greet, but Pezuela demands that for a meeting to take place Rezian must bring the blackmail box. Since Vic knows the Armenians don't really have the box, and those demands throw a wrench in any meeting, he agrees to propose the terms to Rezian. Vic also tells Shane about Pezuela's plan to buy up Farmington with Cartel money, which means the gangs would eventually run the city. When Shane replies, "I don't see why that's our problem," Vic sees just how wrong Shane has gone. Whereas Vic has always had an inner moral code, a desire to see evil brought to justice, Shane has none of that, as evidenced by when he was willing to let the stolen guns fall into Rezian's hands. As long as Shane has a badge and a paycheck, he doesn't care who gets hurt.

Meanwhile Vic goes home to apologize to Cassidey for losing his temper, but his daughter could care less. She walks out the door, Vic realizing just how alienated from his daughter he's becoming. Then, instead of going to school, Cassidey knocks on Danny's door, asking to see Danny and Vic's son. Danny is confused, even more so when Cassidey asks her if she thinks Vic killed Terry Crowley. When Danny says no, Cassidey tells her that Jon Kavanaugh did. Apparently Cassidey's been reading up on her dear old dad. Corrine finds Cassidey and takes her away, leading Danny to question just how involved she wants Vic in her son's life.

Vic goes to Rezian, who shockingly says he'll sit down with Pezuela because he has the blackmail box. Of course this is b.s. since Vic and Aceveda have the box, but Vic can't call Rezian's bluff without arousing suspicion. Instead he agrees to set up the meeting, knowing the team could be walking into a set-up. Since Pezuela doesn't want to expose himself, he sends a middleman, Armando Rios (not this Armando Rios), to negotiate in his stead. Vic asks Olivia Murray, the federal agent helping out, to look up Rios from the federal side, while Julien does the same from the barn. 

Dutch and Billings investigate the death of a high school student, killed by a classmate whose home he broke into. Everything looks squeaky clean--the shooter acted in self-defense, the victim a known bully who terrorized the school--but Dutch recognizes behavior in the kid that frightens him. Dutch suspects that the shooter, a loner from a broken home, may have lured the bully to his home in order to kill him and make it look like a robbery. Suffice it to say Dutch's assessment of the kid--detached, narcissistic, intelligent--fits the profile of a young serial killer. And while Dutch can't prove the kid did it, he has a feeling that this victim won't be the last.

At the sit down, Rezian admits to Rios that he doesn't have the box, but tells him that he wants no war with the Cartel and that he'll even deploy some of his own manpower to help find the box. Rios agrees, to Vic's chagrin, since if the Cartel and the Armenians are working to find the box eventually the trail will lead to him. So he has to drive another wedge between the Cartel and the Armenians, and in order to get Pezuela's blood boiling again he convinces Aceveda to release one piece of the blackmail intel--info about city controller Robert Martin (last seen when Vic helped clear his daughter of prostitution and drug charges). Martin has been the lone voice of dissent in erecting a monument to the victims of the Armenian genocide (one of the few times the show has used a real incident to further a storyline), so Vic and Ronnie threaten to blow the whistle on Martin's insider trading. Martin agrees to announce plans for the monument at the Armenian parade, enraging Pezuela who assumes that it was Rezianwho  blackmailed Martin. Pezuela knows Rezian will likely be at the parade, and in order to start the street war (and avoid civilian casualties) Vic tells Pezuela that only Armenian foot soliders are to be targeted. Instead chaos erupts when a Cartel assassin ignores the Armenian presence...and guns down city controller Martin. Vic and Aceveda are devastated, since they unwillingly lured an innocent man to his death. 

Making Vic's bad day worse, when he shows up at the barn Danny asks him to sign a waiver forgoing all of his parental rights to their son. Vic never seemed to have any desire to help raise Danny's baby, but since she wants to make it official he feels hurt and betrayed. Between Cassidey and Danny, Vic realizes that everyone he cares about is isolating themselves from him.

After Martin's murder, Vic gives fresh info to Olivia Murray to track down Rios, hoping still to bring down Pezuela. But Aceveda shows up and informs Vic that Murray--whom Vic has been trusting with precious intel all season--has a file in the blackmail box as well. She's on the hook to Pezuela, and anything she knows, he knows as well...

I'm condensing the last two episodes into one piece, since last week went by in a blur and I didn't have time to do a recap of episode 2. We're in the process of moving, while also trying to sell off a bunch of furniture (including the very desk I'm writing on at this moment). Anyway...

Episode two begins with Vic's gang war plan going straight to hell, as Pezuela forgoes a foot soldier war (which Vic had hoped for) and decides to go right after Rezian in prison. If Pezuela succeeds then Vic's family is greenlit, so he needs to find a way to keep Rezian alive. Vic, who's still in close with the One-Niners, arranges with their head dog to have some of their imprisoned foot soldiers keep Rezian alive. Is it just me or, aside from Antwan Mitchell, have the One-Niner bosses been more interchangeable than the Mets bullpen? Note: this is the fastest one of Vic's plans has ever collapsed, and it shows how off his game Vic is. That he didn't realize Pezuela, who's not a dummy, wouldn't just lop the head off the snake proves that Vic is slipping.

The mayor, meanwhile, institutes just about the dumbest policy ever, publishing a "Top Ten" list of the most dangerous gangs in Farmington. While this is ostensibly to keep citizens informed, Vic correctly ascertains that this will simply be motivation for gangs lower on the list to climb the ladder, and for gangs higher up to do more to retain the top spot. And when an innocent man is killed, Vic knows better than anyone else that someone is making a move for a higher ranking.

Dutch and Billings investigate the death-by-concrete-block of a band singer, and when nobody in her building complex claims to be a witness Dutch drags the entire tenant roster down to the barn to stew. Billings, meanwhile, is milking his "bare minimum" to the max, infuriating Dutch. Yet right as Dutch is about to lose his cool and send everyone home Billings cracks the case, which does not sit well with Dutch since Billings is as motivated as a hermit crab. Cassidey Mackey, meanwhile, tries to turn Vic in for assaulting Mara. Fortunately for Vic she talks to Billings, who dismisses her claim. But Vic sees that something is definitely wrong with his daughter.

After Rezian escapes an assassination attempt (thanks to One-Niner protection), he begins to trust Shane even more. Vic solves the "Top Ten" murder, which was committed by a Spook Street soldier peeved that his squad didn't make the Top Ten list. The shooter, a young black man, is viciously unrepentant, and when Claudette grills him she loses her cool and jeopardizes the case. This isn't the first time we've seen Claudette struggle with the realities of being an African American policewomen in a district in which crime is overwhelmingly committed by minorities. As she told Julien earlier in the series, "Don't lecture me about the struggle, son. I am the struggle." This also throws a wrench in her attempts to shove Vic out the door, since he proved his value by solving the crime when nobody else believed it was related to the Top Ten list.

Vic then goes to Pezuela and demands a $10,000 a week payoff to keep feeding him information about the Armenians. Vic, meanwhile, also teams up with Aceveda to hide the blackmail box. They each take a key, and agree to place trust in the other. Let's just say I have a feeling this won't quite work.

Rezian is starting to trust Shane more, but demands that Shane steal a massive quantity of stolen guns from police custody as part of Shane's restitution. Vic, seeing a way out, surprises Rezian at the next meeting, saying that stealing the guns is Rezian's first wish (after 3 wishes, all debts are paid). Vic secretly needs to know just how many of Rezian's lieutenants are aware of the greenlight on his family, and he figures getting closer to Rezian might accomplish this.

Ronnie and Julien get a tip about a small time porn producer who's dealing drugs, so they recruit Tina to play an aspiring "actress" to take him down. They nail the guy (after he feels up Tina and nearly gets his nads yanked off), but find out he's just a small fish buying from a whale named Harmes. The Strike Team goes after Harmes, and Ronnie assumes Vic will have his back.

Vic and Shane devise a plan to steal the guns, with Shane sneaking into the warehouse inside an impounded car while Vic keeps an eye on things outside. But Vic is pulled away when the P.I. spots his son Matthew wandering the streets. Vic arrives home to learn that Cassidey was drinking and lost track of Matthew, and the cops are arresting Corrine for child neglect. Because Vic is occupied, Shane is forced to steal the guns on his own, and Ronnie, preparing to take down Harmes, is forced to go in without backup. 

It turns out that Cassidey (who previously tried to turn in Vic for assaulting Mara) was drinking and let Matthew, who's autistic, out of her sight. When Vic and Corrine confront her she pushes Corrine, and Vic loses his temper. Cassidey flees, and Vic begins to see that his daughter is rebelling against him, and he is losing the only thing left that he truly cares about: his family.

Shane manages to steal the confiscated guns, but Ronnie walks into Harmes's apartment and gets mauled by a pitbull (dude's got the scars to show from being friends with Vic). When Shane and Vic arrive to deliver the guns to the Armenians, Vic smells a setup and jets with Shane and Rezian. Seconds later the Feds arrive to bust the gun swap. Vic and Shane convince Rezian that he was set up by his #2 (no, not this #2) and that he needs them more than ever. Yet when they leave Vic admits to setting the whole thing up, including the bust, and purposefully keeping Shane out of the loop. Shane is pissed since he wasn't clued in, but Vic makes it clear that while he'll work with Shane to save his family, he trusts Shane about as far as he can throw him. Shane reminds Vic that he still has leverage (the Strike Team Manifesto) and that he'd better start communicating more.

Vic goes to the blackmail box to get a file to help keep his badge, but realizes to his horror that Aceveda has moved it. When Vic confronts Aceveda the councilman tells him he knew Vic would try to steal from it, and the fact that he's here just proves it. Vic can't argue this, so he just threatens to tell IAD that Aceveda has it. Aceveda informs Vic that he would be implicating himself as well, and Vic reminds Aceveda that the councilman has a hell of a lot more to lose than he does.

Meanwhile Dutch, Danny and Billings investigate the kidnapping of a young girl, who it turns out was a lesbian whom her brother had kidnapped in order to be "retrained" sexually. Danny gets the girl to break down and confess to her assault by telling her how she almost died recently, a story she later tells Dutch she made up (but we know is true). Because of this, and the onset of Claudette's Lupus, Dutch tries to orchestrate to have Danny assigned to desk duty to help Claudette. Yeah, like that's not going to backfire. 

Back at the barn, Ronnie is PISSED at Vic, both for leaving him undermanned (causing him to get mauled) and for having anything to do with Shane. Vic tries to quell his anger by reminding Ronnie that he's only working with Shane to save his family. Shane then arrives, and turns over the Manifesto to Vic as an olive branch. Vic doesn't know that Shane still has a copy, and Shane doesn't know that Vic still hates his guts. And Ronnie, who has previously always stood by Vic, is now a powder keg. "I won't go down for Shane. Or for you."