# The Shield "Family Meeting" Series Finale 11/25/2008 *spoilers*



## Kamakzie (Jan 8, 2004)

WOW! Shane and his family offed themselves! Crazy! I wonder how Mara and Jackson died? I didn't notice any bullet holes. Enjoy the desk job Vic HAHA. Poor Ronnie meet Antoine Mitchell. So with that ending I guess that means Vic is going on the run? Or is he going vigilante? Not much different when he had a badge!


----------



## SnakeEyes (Dec 26, 2000)

Shane offed them all. Probably something from the drug store.


----------



## Casual (Jun 18, 2007)

Shane gave them a batch of Jonestown Kool-Aid.

Poor Ronnie.


----------



## Kamakzie (Jan 8, 2004)

Ronnie will need to sleep with one eye open the rest of his life in prison!


----------



## TX WJ (Jan 2, 2003)

Wow.... what a great series. It was great to see Meldrick (From Homicide) in the last show.

Poor Ronnie, they all got the hell the deserve I guess.


----------



## Odds Bodkins (Jun 7, 2006)

I feel so gutted. What a run for the best cop show no one ever heard of... at least on basic cable.

Vic does what Vic does. He'll do his 3 years because he survives at all costs.

Bonus Question: Where did the rest of the Mackey's relocate to? Hint: Jane the T-Rex lives there.


----------



## jubrand (May 11, 2002)

Now that's how you end a series.


----------



## redrouteone (Jun 16, 2001)

It sucks they killed Jackson. I expected Share and Mara to die, I just hated to see the kid die. He was really the only innocent person in the show.

As for Vic, looks like he will suffer a fate worse than death. Vic is a real hands on guy and putting some one like that on desk duty will be torture.


----------



## Idearat (Nov 26, 2000)

_This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper._

No beach for Vic, but not behind bars either. Instead he's sentenced to writing 2200+ 10 page reports. Miss one and he'd better run since it will violate his agreement and get him busted.


----------



## BriGuy20 (Aug 4, 2005)

Odds Bodkins said:


> I feel so gutted. What a run for the best cop show no one ever heard of... at least on basic cable.
> 
> Vic does what Vic does. He'll do his 3 years because he survives at all costs.
> 
> Bonus Question: Where did the rest of the Mackey's relocate to? Hint: Jane the T-Rex lives there.


I think the guy said it was Pasadena.


----------



## Odds Bodkins (Jun 7, 2006)

BriGuy20 said:


> I think the guy said it was Pasadena.


Oh no... they had on scarves and coats. Cop dropped the name of a museum... They are in the 815!


----------



## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

I wonder how long it is before Vic eats that gun?

What does he have to live for? He has no friends, he has lost his family forever, everybody hates his guts, and he's going to spend the next three years 9-5ing it in a suit & tie, in a cubicle, doing paperwork, with a fluorescent light buzzing overhead. And what does he have to look forward to after that? No job, no prospects...

I give him maybe three months.


----------



## mgk (Oct 23, 2003)

Sooo....

How long till the spinoff..

Where Vic Busts out Ronnie and they run the cartels.


----------



## knownzero (Feb 26, 2001)

Wow. WOW! I liked the montage during the credits. Ronnie...I feel bad for him but when you deal with the devil, you can't expect anything less. Vic at a desk job for three years? I doubt it, too many people would be after him, someone eventually would catch up. Shane...what a mess. Overall one of the better series finale's I've seen in a while, way better than the Sopranos and as good as The Wire. Three excellent shows now gone, at least Sons of Anarchy looks good so far.

For those that never knew, the series was inspired by the Rampart scandal and was almost called Rampart.


----------



## Langree (Apr 29, 2004)

Vic's punishment isn't the desk, or the reports, it's the loss of his family.


----------



## redrouteone (Jun 16, 2001)

I see don't Vic eating his gun. He'll just became an empty shell of man and eventually someone will find him dead in a crappy apartment with an empty bottle of vodka in his hand.

I have to say this show will be one of my favorite shows of all time.


----------



## Knives of Ice (Nov 8, 2006)

Perhaps the best series finale ever to what was perhaps the best show ever. AMAZING.


----------



## SnakeEyes (Dec 26, 2000)

Rockford, IL


----------



## eMarkM (Apr 28, 2003)

The whole theme of the show has been of a man who was always able to outwit everyone around him and get himself out of jam after jam, but always at a price. A perfect ending to a near perfect series with him getting away with everything he did, but losing absolutely everything in the process. Seeing him sit there in silence in a suit and tie with the fluorescent lights buzzing overhead contemplating the ruin of his life was a great way to end the series.


----------



## LectermanTX (Sep 17, 2005)

TX WJ said:


> Wow.... what a great series. It was great to see Meldrick (From Homicide) in the last show.


He directed the final ep as well, in addition to a few other eps.


----------



## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

The way Vic looked in his suit & tie, walking between the cubicles, constricted not only by the cubicles, but by the suit. He "got away" with it, but got what he deserved all the same.

Isn't the upcoming Nip/Tuck season its last as well?

Greg


----------



## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

Complete and total ********. This was HORRIBLE.
I want to scream. I've loved this show since the beginning.
THIS SUCKED AS A FINALE.
UGH.
pitiful
in their words, "what a ***** way out"


----------



## JohnB1000 (Dec 6, 2004)

You guys aren't paying attention. Shane's suicide note explained that he had the family drink a cocktail he made, they didn't know. Meldrick said it was Berkley.

Funny how I was thinking the last 15 minutes really reminded me of the finale of The Wire and then Meldrick, aka the reporter showed up.

It was painful to see Ronnie go out that way, as Shane, who you had to end up feeling sorry for. Shane's demise with 30 minutes left made it interesting but I found the last 30 minutes a tad flat, maybe cause I really didn't want it to end. I was convinced Claudette would keel over before the end.

That was one hard to watch streesful silent scene with Vic at the end there.

And still no Tevon


----------



## tivoboyjr (Apr 28, 2003)

eMarkM said:


> The whole theme of the show has been of a man who was always able to outwit everyone around him and get himself out of jam after jam, but always at a price. A perfect ending to a near perfect series with him getting away with everything he did, but losing absolutely everything in the process. Seeing him sit there in silence in a suit and tie with the fluorescent lights buzzing overhead contemplating the ruin of his life was a great way to end the series.


Well said. I like how Vic's version of hell is a lot like my job.


----------



## 503Blunts (Apr 8, 2005)

It was like watching my house burn down.

Sad to see it go. 

The Wire & now The Shield.

We need another gripping police drama.


----------



## MrGreg (May 2, 2003)

Interesting they left the serial killer kid's case open. I expected them to find the mother's body by the end.


----------



## aforkosh (Apr 20, 2003)

TX WJ said:


> Wow.... what a great series. It was great to see Meldrick (From Homicide) in the last show.


Of course, as another poster pointed out, he (Clark Johnson) also directed this episode. Note that we also directed the pilot as well as the first and last episodes on "The Wire". (Thanks IMDB).


----------



## packerfan (Jan 8, 2002)

Why do so many of you think vic is going to keep working at that job? They way I took it, he grabbed his gun out of his drawer b/c he has made the decision to run. He realized he couldn't handle 3 years of working in a cube.


----------



## stark (Dec 31, 2003)

Something I thought about while watching this:

Did Dutch kill the woman? He had the perfect fall guy in the kid. And it would tie back to him killing the cat all those seasons ago.


----------



## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

stark said:


> Something I thought about while watching this:
> 
> Did Dutch kill the woman? He had the perfect fall guy in the kid. And it would tie back to him killing the cat all those seasons ago.


That would be a nice touch, but I really doubt it. He was too stunned when he realized the kid had out-smarted him; his ego hadn't allowed him to see the possibility until Claudette pointed it out. He wouldn't have been so gob-smacked if he had killed her himself.


----------



## TampaThunder (Apr 8, 2003)

TX WJ said:


> Wow.... what a great series. It was great to see Meldrick (From Homicide) in the last show.


Always great to see Clarke Johnson in anything and he is a marvelous director. Funniest thing though was that he was listed in the credits as "Handsome Marshal" as opposed to the plain and ugly marshals that were there. 

Great show. Great ending. Tremendous series.


----------



## VegasVic (Nov 22, 2002)

Great show. I was a little surprised the Danny/Vic storyline just faded away. She packed up and left to get away from him and then all of a sudden she was back and that was it. I would have thought once he got his immunity there would have been a little more to that storyline.

Can we please get Walton Goggins an Emmy next year?


----------



## crowfan (Dec 27, 2003)

Here's an interview with Shawn Ryan about the finale:

http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2008/11...LERT: 'Shield' Boss Answers Burning Finale Qs

It does contain spoilers on last night.

Awesome, awesome finale. I would have liked to get some more closure on the Lloyd storyline but overall I was very happy.

And who were the "four significant deaths" alluded to in the spoiler from last week's thread? Shane, Mara, and Jackson, but who's the fourth? Mara's unborn baby? Huggins? Lloyd's mom? Anyone else die?


----------



## ihatecable (Apr 16, 2003)

Really good ending, I also thought Vic was going to eat the gun at the end. There were a few loose ends that I would have liked to see. Like Dutch having some sort of fallout for being a cocky SOB all these years. They left you hanging for something bad to happen to Rookie girl cop lord knows she should have gotten killed few times over considering how sloppy a cop she was. Also would have liked to see somthing happen to Aceveda for being an all around dirt bag and politician.


----------



## TAsunder (Aug 6, 2003)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> That would be a nice touch, but I really doubt it. He was too stunned when he realized the kid had out-smarted him; his ego hadn't allowed him to see the possibility until Claudette pointed it out. He wouldn't have been so gob-smacked if he had killed her himself.


Right. I think they toyed with us a bit but once the clothes were found, it was obvious what had happened, and the rest of the episode made it clear that Dutch wasn't the guy.



packerfan said:


> Why do so many of you think vic is going to keep working at that job? They way I took it, he grabbed his gun out of his drawer b/c he has made the decision to run. He realized he couldn't handle 3 years of working in a cube.


I assumed he just had left for the day. Until below...



crowfan said:


> Here's an interview with Shawn Ryan about the finale:
> 
> http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2008/11...LERT: 'Shield' Boss Answers Burning Finale Qs
> 
> ...


The interview gives us some answers to the mindset of the writers. Thanks for posting that. Huggins was the significant death, I'd say. He appeared in an episode a long time ago and seemed to be the soap box for the writers in a way.


----------



## Mr. Soze (Nov 2, 2002)

Brilliant ending.

Seeing Vic walking down that hallway dressed in a suit and tie, getting his orientation was almost laugh out loud funny. Family in witness protection, all his friends gone, an admitted cop killer, stuck behind a desk, THAT was a much better ending than him getting killed. Now he's stuck in what must be a personal hell with the Sword of Damocles of joining Ronnie if he doesn't pump out reports every day.

The sight of Mara and Jackson laid out on the bed was tragic. That choked me up.

I felt bad for Ronnie, but he was far from a saint. Vic f'ed him but good.

What a great show. Sad to see it go, but they maintained the quality to the end.


----------



## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

packerfan said:


> Why do so many of you think vic is going to keep working at that job? They way I took it, he grabbed his gun out of his drawer b/c he has made the decision to run. He realized he couldn't handle 3 years of working in a cube.





TAsunder said:


> The interview gives us some answers to the mindset of the writers. Thanks for posting that. Huggins was the significant death, I'd say. He appeared in an episode a long time ago and seemed to be the soap box for the writers in a way.


You know, while he may have kept going after work, he does come back. He plans to come back. The pictures of his family, and especially the one of he and Lem, are all there. No, he plans to stick around.



VegasVic said:


> Can we please get Walton Goggins an Emmy next year?


If he doesn't get an Emmy, he certainly has things in the works. The other day there was a Variety article about a show AMC is developing for him. After The Shield it'll be weird seeing him as a good guy though. 



> Walton Goggins, of FX's "The Shield," is set to star in "Rectify" as a man released from a lengthy prison term after being exonerated by DNA evidence.


Greg


----------



## uncdrew (Aug 6, 2002)

redrouteone said:


> It sucks they killed Jackson. I expected Share and Mara to die, I just hated to see the kid die. He was really the only innocent person in the show.
> 
> As for Vic, looks like he will suffer a fate worse than death. Vic is a real hands on guy and putting some one like that on desk duty will be torture.


No, death would be worse. Jail would be worse too. Vic will be fine. His job at the barn had paperwork. While it was a dramatic ending, a desk job isn't really that bad. He'll do stuff on the side, on weekends. He'll search for (and find) his family. He'll get involved in the things that get him fired up and passionate. He'll survive, he always does.



Rob Helmerichs said:


> I wonder how long it is before Vic eats that gun?
> 
> What does he have to live for? He has no friends, he has lost his family forever, everybody hates his guts, and he's going to spend the next three years 9-5ing it in a suit & tie, in a cubicle, doing paperwork, with a fluorescent light buzzing overhead. And what does he have to look forward to after that? No job, no prospects...
> 
> I give him maybe three months.


I give him three years. I mean he's still working gang stuff. He knows it, he likes it. For a desk job it's still pretty sweet. And you know Vic, he'll slowly work himself back into the action. He'll lay low, do a good job and pretty soon weasel his way into investigations. He'll claim that he needs to see things outside the office, he'll do a great job and be an asset.

Kind of like hackers or counterfitters who get caught and then work for the people who used to hunt them.



gchance said:


> You know, while he may have kept going after work, he does come back. He plans to come back. The pictures of his family, and especially the one of he and Lem, are all there. No, he plans to stick around.


Exactly.

IMHO.


----------



## JohnB1000 (Dec 6, 2004)

I wish I hadn't read some of this stuff  They put a lot of emphasis on Huggins, who was a minor character and as said focused on TInal but all for nothing (I had overlooked that now it's bugging me) and considering Aceveda has been such a major character since day one his story really ended up going nowhere.

You feel bad for Ronnie because he was betrayed by the guy he trusted most, not because he was a good guy.

I'm not clear why Dutch needed to be punished (See above). Wims and he are really the only detectives in this show who had good honest characters. He even looks like he's gonna get the girl finally.

No one has mentioned Julian's "interesting" look at the gay couple, no idea what it meant but a good flashback to the early seasons.

Someone in the show mentioned it was 3 years since Crowley's death, finally an answer to my question 

The interview says there could be, in theory, a movie, god I hope not, it can't get any better at this point. Maybe an "Early days" one but not a follow on. I loved the joke about revealing that Dutch has a basement full of chained up victims


----------



## Gunnyman (Jul 10, 2003)

LectermanTX said:


> He directed the final ep as well, in addition to a few other eps.


Clark Johnson knows how to put a series to bed. He directed the Wire finale as well.


----------



## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

uncdrew said:


> I give him three years. I mean he's still working gang stuff. He knows it, he likes it. For a desk job it's still pretty sweet. And you know Vic, he'll slowly work himself back into the action. He'll lay low, do a good job and pretty soon weasel his way into investigations. He'll claim that he needs to see things outside the office, he'll do a great job and be an asset.


Nope the series ended, he'll go back to being Michael Chiklis.


----------



## nataylor (Apr 26, 2000)

I heard Vic was offered a police commissioner's job in upstate New York.


----------



## SnakeEyes (Dec 26, 2000)

packerfan said:


> Why do so many of you think vic is going to keep working at that job? They way I took it, he grabbed his gun out of his drawer b/c he has made the decision to run. He realized he couldn't handle 3 years of working in a cube.


He just wanted to go bust some heads like he always does.


----------



## jgerry (Aug 29, 2001)

I thought it was OK, but not the greatest. I feel pretty dissatisfied that after all that, Vic does 3 years in a cubicle and gets away with it all, while Ronnie gets the shaft.


----------



## TAsunder (Aug 6, 2003)

jgerry said:


> I thought it was OK, but not the greatest. I feel pretty dissatisfied that after all that, Vic does 3 years in a cubicle and gets away with it all, while Ronnie gets the shaft.


I think that's what you are supposed to feel.


----------



## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

Because the fairness of life has been such an overpowering theme of this show...


----------



## jgerry (Aug 29, 2001)

I didn't say my feeling were reasonable, I just felt that way!  

All in all, it was a great run and I got a ton of enjoyment out of the show. I may bust out my season 1 DVDs soon and re-watch those.


----------



## MasterOfPuppets (Jul 12, 2005)

I thought it was a great finale, and obviously hate that there won't be any new ones coming.

I like that they left SOME things open for interpretation (as opposed to leaving EVERYTHING open for interpretation like a certain HBO series). My thought is that Vic will "do his time" at the desk and move on to other means of survival.

In the end, Vic burned everybody he associated with. He got what was coming to him.
I was surprised that there was not a plan developed for sending Ronnie on the run, but the way it went certainly tied things up.
He ended the series all alone, abandoned by his family and burning his last friend. But he will get by, because that's what he does. All he did in the end was to take his "personal piece" back home with him.


----------



## JLucPicard (Jul 8, 2004)

Did anyone else get the feeling that although it was a pretty decent finale for this show, that they seemed to leave things open for a movie? I could see somthing based on the storyline of Dutch and his serial killer, with aspects of other things thrown in (Aceveda as mayor, Claudette's "passing", and of course, the Mackeys).


----------



## appleye1 (Jan 26, 2002)

JLucPicard said:


> Did anyone else get the feeling that although it was a pretty decent finale for this show, that they seemed to leave things open for a movie? I could see somthing based on the storyline of Dutch and his serial killer, with aspects of other things thrown in (Aceveda as mayor, Claudette's "passing", and of course, the Mackeys).


I'd like to see a movie, in about 20 years, when Ronnie gets out on parole.


----------



## Gerryex (Apr 24, 2004)

Hi ALL,

Great finale and it had many surprises for me. But the most shocking was that Vic really did screw Ronnie! I really thought that there was something else us viewers didn't see that would have allowed Ronnie to at least run. I also really thought that Vic would not screw any of his real friends. I posted in the previous thread that I thought Vic was very protective of his friends and would have NEVER set any of them up. Well I was wrong!!!!

But great ending, and I sure will miss THE SHIELD!!!!

Gerry


----------



## MikeMar (Jan 7, 2005)

Going into this episode I thought Vic would screw over Ronnie, but once we saw Vic see he probably wouldn't see him Family again, I thought him and Ronnie might run.

But wow, AWESOME show

GO COMMISH!!!!


----------



## tivoboyjr (Apr 28, 2003)

I read a few recaps/reviews of the finale this morning on my blackberry. Don't remember where I saw this or I'd include the link, but one of them mentioned that when Shane is on the pay phone talking to Vic, there is a "lost cat" poster on or near the phone booth that looks like the cat Dutch strangled. That would be more than a little out of character for this show, but very funny - especially given the weight of that conversation.

I'm sure I'm rewatching it tonight because my wife went to sleep before it came on and she'll want to see it tonight, so I'm going to look for that. Maybe it was just a random lost kitty poster that happened to already be there. I don't remember what Dutch's cat looked like, anyway.

I also read a few riffs on Vic as Dilbert or Vic joining The Office that were pretty funny.

In all seriousness, it has been bugging me for the last week or so - and more now - that Vic didn't find a way to tell Ronnie to run. It just seems that the Vic we know would have done that. Yeah, I know it would violate his deal if he told Ronnie, but how would the Feds know? It's not like they told Vic to stay away from Ronnie, and it's not like Ronnie didn't know that the bleep was about to hit the fan and he was at risk in a lot of ways. If Ronnie had skipped town, it couldn't have been much of a shock to anyone. I don't think Olivia ever told Vic that he had to lead Ronnie on about the immunity deal, did she? Seems that Vic just did that on his own. Vic has his own very distorted sense of right and wrong, but he was never really a weasel with his guys. ETA: I was writing this while the prior two posts were made, so this was actually an original thought when posted.

I may have to go back and watch this series from the beginning, too. Especially until Lost and some other shows come back in a couple of months.


----------



## MasterOfPuppets (Jul 12, 2005)

tivoboyjr said:


> I read a few recaps/reviews of the finale this morning on my blackberry. Don't remember where I saw this or I'd include the link, but one of them mentioned that when Shane is on the pay phone talking to Vic, there is a "lost cat" poster on or near the phone booth that looks like the cat Dutch strangled. That would be more than a little out of character for this show, but very funny - especially given the weight of that conversation.


I saw that there was a missing poster.
I didn't pay much attention and just assumed it was for a child.
It'd be kind of lame if one of the most important scenes for the series had some joke in it, but hey.



tivoboyjr said:


> In all seriousness, it has been bugging me for the last week or so - and more now - that Vic didn't find a way to tell Ronnie to run. It just seems that the Vic we know would have done that. Yeah, I know it would violate his deal if he told Ronnie, but how would the Feds know? It's not like they told Vic to stay away from Ronnie, and it's not like Ronnie didn't know that the bleep was about to hit the fan and he was at risk in a lot of ways. If Ronnie had skipped town, it couldn't have been much of a shock to anyone. I don't think Olivia ever told Vic that he had to lead Ronnie on about the immunity deal, did she? Seems that Vic just did that on his own. Vic has his own very distorted sense of right and wrong, but he was never really a weasel with his guys.


I think most people were probably expecting Vic to find some way for Ronnie to escape. That's what they always did.
But for a finale, it wrapped things up better, although it was definitely surprising to watch the complete fall of Vic Mackey.

I highly doubt there would ever be a movie.
All of the essential characters to the "chaos" are either dead or in jail.
It wouldn't be the same watching Vic at his desk job, Ronnie sitting in jail, Claudette dead from her illness and Dutch bumbling his way around the ladies.


----------



## tivoboyjr (Apr 28, 2003)

Oh, and one other bit of trivia I read is that the actress who played the lawyer who flirted with Dutch is Jay Karnes' wife.

ETA: Link to TV Guide interview with Shawn Ryan. Worth reading.


----------



## JohnB1000 (Dec 6, 2004)

Same TV Guide linked earlier in the thread 

He does mention a movie but I'd consider it more that he didn't want to rule it out. It could always be a Shield - The Younger Years or something focusing on Dutch and The Barn with Mackie getting pulled back in somehow.

I also was bothered by Ronnie not being told to run but I guess it was Shane's unexpected suicide that did it. We have to remember that Vic had not seen or spoken to Shane, he had only talked to him in aggressive / unpleasant circumstance, I don't think Vic though Shane would kill himself and until then he was covered. However once he knew Corrine was working with the cops he should have known.


----------



## tivoboyjr (Apr 28, 2003)

JohnB1000 said:


> Same TV Guide linked earlier in the thread
> 
> He does mention a movie but I'd consider it more that he didn't want to rule it out. It could always be a Shield - The Younger Years or something focusing on Dutch and The Barn with Mackie getting pulled back in somehow.
> 
> I also was bothered by Ronnie not being told to run but I guess it was Shane's unexpected suicide that did it. We have to remember that Vic had not seen or spoken to Shane, he had only talked to him in aggressive / unpleasant circumstance, I don't think Vic though Shane would kill himself and until then he was covered. However once he knew Corrine was working with the cops he should have known.


Really? I read the other one and this one is different. Maybe I screwed up the link or something - am in transit now and can't fix it.

UPDATE: They are different interviews. Both worth reading if you like the show.

Also, re Vic/Ronnie, I read somewhere (it's all blurring together) that for all we know Vic was planning to set up Ronnie with a farm in Colombia and just ran out of time. That's another way to look at it.


----------



## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

This episode was 98&#37; perfect. My only problem was that it should have ended with Vic in his cubicle when the cleanup crew turned off the lights.


----------



## leeherman (Nov 5, 2007)

Can anybody here tell me what the song is that plays over the closing credits of the last episode?

Thanks!

LH


----------



## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

redrouteone said:


> It sucks they killed Jackson. I expected Share and Mara to die, I just hated to see the kid die. He was really the only innocent person in the show.....


You mean "kids"....Mara was pregnant...


----------



## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

cheesesteak said:


> This episode was 98% perfect. My only problem was that it should have ended with Vic in his cubicle when the cleanup crew turned off the lights.


The cleanup crew doesn't turn off the lights, they're on a timer. It's like that in my office, after a certain time the lights are on a timer that has to be turned for each hour you want them on. When the timer's up, the lights go out. It did happen that way, he was sitting at his cublicle when the lights went out. Not complete darkness, but that typically doesn't happen in an office anyway.

Greg


----------



## tivoboyjr (Apr 28, 2003)

leeherman said:


> Can anybody here tell me what the song is that plays over the closing credits of the last episode?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> LH


"Long Time Ago" by Concrete Blonde. I knew it was Concrete Blonde but had to google to get the song title.


----------



## leeherman (Nov 5, 2007)

tivoboyjr said:


> "Long Time Ago" by Concrete Blonde. I knew it was Concrete Blonde but had to google to get the song title.


Thanks!

I like the song...never heard it before.

Happy Thanksgiving!

LH


----------



## TX WJ (Jan 2, 2003)

Best Buy had the Sheild on DVD on sale the other day, what was regually $68 was now $15.99 per season. Not into buying DVD's but this was a deal if you like to own the series.


----------



## jcondon (Jul 9, 2003)

I loved the season finale. You know Vic tried to tell Ronnie before he went up to talk to Cladette. She just walked in too soon. I think he was going to say run or something. Or wanted to at least.

Also I think the left the story line open with that kid and Dutch Boy just to show life goes on after the Strike team goes down. Dutch, Tina, Cladette, Jullian and the rookie cop and others keep working the streets as if nothing happened.

Really not much for me to complain about. I think Vic would do his time and either some how weasle himself out from behind his desk or do some shaddy stuff on the side and continue to be Vic.


----------



## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

jcondon said:


> I loved the season finale. You know Vic tried to tell Ronnie before he went up to talk to Cladette. She just walked in too soon. I think he was going to say run or something. Or wanted to at least.


Yeah, I think Vic didn't try to screw Ronnie, he just screwed up. He had faith in his own ability to come up with a solution, and he didn't tell Ronnie what was going on because he knew Ronnie would just run. But no solution ever presented itself, and by the time he realized he had to come clean and tell Ronnie how screwed he was, it was too late.


----------



## scottykempf (Dec 1, 2004)

Vic will work the three years. He will get his adrenaline on the side. He only has to work the job 9-5, the rest of the day is his. Once the three years are up, he will become Vic the Bounty Hunter and take down scumbags for money. He will also spend all his free time tracking down Corrine and his kids so he can see them again.


----------



## jcondon (Jul 9, 2003)

The Irony of it is he picked saving his wife over his Friend. Wife screwed him and took the kids a ran.


----------



## nataylor (Apr 26, 2000)

jcondon said:


> The Irony of it is he picked saving his wife over his Friend. Wife screwed him and took the kids a ran.


And there's irony in the fact Shane picked helping his family rather than running on his own, but ended up killing them.


----------



## Topher5000 (Jan 2, 2006)

I don't think Vic was going to tell Ronnie to run, but thought Ronnie had just been told he was being arrested & was going to apologize.
Seeing Mara & Jackson lying in the bed was quite emotional. I had been hoping Mara would go out violently, but that wouldn't have had the same power. Neither would not offing the kid.


----------



## anom (Apr 18, 2005)

jcondon said:


> The Irony of it is he picked saving his wife over his Friend. Wife screwed him and took the kids a ran.


He saved his wife from a situation that he had put her in. She didn't screw him, she finally made the only smart play she had.


----------



## mitchb2 (Sep 30, 2000)

I think Vic made the decision to go on the run at the end.


----------



## markymark_ctown (Oct 11, 2004)

great ending to a great show. just read tv critic alan sepinwall's review of the finale as well:

http://sepinwall.blogspot.com/2008/11/shield-family-meeting-goodbye-vic.html

great observation here:



> And it was that call -- and Vic's taunts about going to visit Shane's kids while Shane rotted in prison -- that led to Shane's horrifying decision to kill not only himself, but his wife and young son, to ensure they remained "innocent."


----------



## jcondon (Jul 9, 2003)

anom said:


> He saved his wife from a situation that he had put her in. She didn't screw him, she finally made the only smart play she had.


Except she wasn't really arrested and was turning on him first. If it wasn't for that he might have not taken the deal early screwing over Ronnie. After all he confessed to no way in HELL was Ronnie ever getting his deal.

I do agree Vic put his wife and family in danger and a bad spot though out the show. Just not THIS time. He only made the deal to save her from an non existant arrest. She alread had a deal. He just didn't know it. And the deal was to take HIM down.


----------



## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

markymark_ctown said:


> great ending to a great show. just read tv critic alan sepinwall's review of the finale as well:
> 
> http://sepinwall.blogspot.com/2008/11/shield-family-meeting-goodbye-vic.html...


Wow....great, great reading! Thanks!


----------



## mitchb2 (Sep 30, 2000)

"And it was that call -- and Vic's taunts about going to visit Shane's kids while Shane rotted in prison -- that led to Shane's horrifying decision to kill not only himself, but his wife and young son, to ensure they remained "innocent.""

Wow, hadn't thought about that. Just one more thing Vic has to live with.


----------



## JLucPicard (Jul 8, 2004)

One of the scenes that really hit me was when Vic walked back into the Barn and instead of any looks as that of a hero that he may have gotten before when walking into the place, all looked at him with the scorn and disdain comensurate with what they had discovered to be true about him. And particularly Vic's reaction to it - the realization that he was not a conquering hero returning home, and they all knew it.

This finale was so good on so many different levels! :up:


----------



## Topher5000 (Jan 2, 2006)

I'll have to watch it again. I was wondering how everybody knew what Vic had done. I would think that would mean that Dutch or Claudette would have had to let it slip. If that's the case, chances are good that Ronnie would have found out.


----------



## VegasVic (Nov 22, 2002)

Topher5000 said:


> I'll have to watch it again. I was wondering how everybody knew what Vic had done. I would think that would mean that Dutch or Claudette would have had to let it slip. If that's the case, chances are good that Ronnie would have found out.


Good point. Everyone in the barn except Ronnie knew Vic confessed? Doesn't seem plausible. Claudette and Dutch knew Ronnie was going to be arrested, no way they would tell everyone else.


----------



## tivoboyjr (Apr 28, 2003)

VegasVic said:


> Good point. Everyone in the barn except Ronnie knew Vic confessed? Doesn't seem plausible. Claudette and Dutch knew Ronnie was going to be arrested, no way they would tell everyone else.


I just thought everyone in the barn knew they were dirty cops and were due to get busted. I didn't think everyone knew about the immunity deal.

Just the whole thing with trying to kill Shane, then Shane trying to kill them then trying to find Shane and kill him and maybe his family, too, would be enough to turn a lot of the others against Vic/Ronnie. And there had to be rumors floating around for years about the other stuff - like Terry Crowley.


----------



## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

there's also the possibility they were quiet in the barn because of shane. Of course when ronnie got a call to come back immediately vic should have thought they were gonna take down ronnie. And would have been great if the barn got word of ronnie being arrested and they knew vic was doing a perp walk of sorts. 

When vic was told to change seats that sure was a display of power. Much like the power play on 24 last sunday with the presidents office scene. I guess vic knew wims wanted him to kill himself and was watching on the monitor. Would vic's agreement be invalid if he yelled Ronnie run instead of just Ronnie? I just was wondering if it was an intentional omission just to yell his name? And i guess with ronnie's "friends" in jail, he's either gonna be in solitary the rest of his life or else in some far away place. Id imagine the cartel's reach is pretty good in jail. 

Shane was a pig until the end with the teenage clerk and needing pens. But at the time i really didnt think he would need pens but turned out he did. I guess why not get rid of all your money if you knew u wouldnt need it after today.

I think the moment shane decided to just go home he knew he'd kill them all. I mean, an APB was out and he had to know someone would see him at home. Self destruction all the way. 

I like the fbi woman putting vic in his place. But i also enjoyed him accidentally showing her up when they 'happened' upon the drugs. What luck! 

I wish we would have seen vic with his name on a brown paper bag though. That would have completed the show. Oh wait, no, how about him in a standoff because he took something from someone else's lunch  The whole indoctrination was well done, including the putting of him in the least desirable cube right in the middle of everyone where he cant even pick his nose without anyone seeing. 

I understood he has immunity but wouldnt that be on just the stuff that was under the FBI jurisdiction? Is all the stuff vic did federal crime or could he be prosecuted for some of the local stuff?


----------



## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

forgot another thing: I thought claudette was trying to entrap the kid by leaving out some details. We never heard her say the clothing was burned but the kid said he didnt burn the clothes. Isnt that damning evidence?

And was him having his gun in the office his way of 'sticking it to the man' since it's not supposed t o be there?


----------



## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

newsposter said:


> ... I guess vic knew wims wanted him to kill himself and was watching on the monitor....


I don't think she wanted him to kill himself; there was no such indication.



newsposter said:


> Shane was a pig until the end with the teenage clerk and needing pens....


He was still high as a kite from doing coke so he had an excuse...


----------



## tivoboyjr (Apr 28, 2003)

newsposter said:


> I wish we would have seen vic with his name on a brown paper bag though. That would have completed the show. Oh wait, no, how about him in a standoff because he took something from someone else's lunch


Remember how early on in the show Vic used to steal Dutch's twinkies or ho-hos or whatever? That would be funny if some office geek decided to pick on Vic and steal his lunch every day. Talk about coming full circle. I think the office geek would soon take some "sick time" and never be seen again, though.


----------



## JLucPicard (Jul 8, 2004)

newsposter said:


> forgot another thing: I thought claudette was trying to entrap the kid by leaving out some details. We never heard her say the clothing was burned but the kid said he didnt burn the clothes. Isnt that damning evidence?


I'd have to go back and watch to be sure, but I'm pretty certain that Dutch or Claudette did tell the kid about the clothes being burned at Dutch's place.


----------



## toddvj (Apr 22, 2004)

JLucPicard said:


> I'd have to go back and watch to be sure, but I'm pretty certain that Dutch or Claudette did tell the kid about the clothes being burned at Dutch's place.


I'm pretty sure she said so, too. As far as his case being left open, it looked like he had county issue clothes on at the end when Dutch came in and asked him what he wanted to be called.

Anybody know what serial killer dutch was referencing when he was talking to the kid?


----------



## Bucweet (Nov 17, 2003)

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mack_Ray_Edwards&oldid=254218430


----------



## toddvj (Apr 22, 2004)

Oh, I thought maybe he had a catchy name (like Son of Sam, Hillside Strangler, etc.) but that you wouldn't know him by his real name.


----------



## scottykempf (Dec 1, 2004)

toddvj said:


> Oh, I thought maybe he had a catchy name (like Son of Sam, Hillside Strangler, etc.) but that you wouldn't know him by his real name.


I think that was the point that Dutch was trying to make, that you don't always know the name of a serial killer or that the kid was looking for fame.


----------



## Todd (Oct 7, 1999)

Wow, I just finished watching it this evening. I had gotten a bit bored with the show the past couple of seasons, but the final few episodes were excellent!


----------



## ihatecable (Apr 16, 2003)

To quote Tony Soprano: &#8220;Ok, let&#8217;s about the 400lb elephant in the room&#8221;. Did anyone notice when Vic spilled his gut in his official testimony, he never mentioned the FBI chick&#8217;s file in the blackmail box. If he did she would have been toast too. I would have thought he might use it as leverage to help out Ronnie, or at least get out typing five reports per day for the next three years?


----------



## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

if she has the file what good would him mentioning it be? she would deny deny


----------



## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

newsposter said:


> if she has the file what good would him mentioning it be? she would deny deny


Vic has a copy, too, doesn't he?


----------



## 3D (Oct 9, 2001)

ihatecable said:


> To quote Tony Soprano: Ok, lets about the 400lb elephant in the room. Did anyone notice when Vic spilled his gut in his official testimony, he never mentioned the FBI chicks file in the blackmail box. If he did she would have been toast too. I would have thought he might use it as leverage to help out Ronnie, or at least get out typing five reports per day for the next three years?


I thought she was going to fall on her own sword and use that to show that he didn't disclose all of his illegal activities, thereby violating the terms of his agreement.


----------



## BobB (Aug 26, 2002)

packerfan said:


> Why do so many of you think vic is going to keep working at that job? They way I took it, he grabbed his gun out of his drawer b/c he has made the decision to run. He realized he couldn't handle 3 years of working in a cube.


Completely agree. This man is made for the streets. It's an open question whether his first move would be to track down his family, bust Ronnie out of jail, or just head for Mexico, but he's not going back to that office.


----------



## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

BobB said:


> Completely agree. This man is made for the streets. It's an open question whether his first move would be to track down his family, bust Ronnie out of jail, or just head for Mexico, but he's not going back to that office.


My vote is for finding his family. Throughout the entire series run, it was quite evident his family came first (after shooting fellow cops, robbing money trains, torturing suspects, screwing politicians, etc.)....


----------



## VegasVic (Nov 22, 2002)

Given that two of his kids are autistic it might not be that hard to find them. And I always figured his daughter would call him at some point.


----------



## ihatecable (Apr 16, 2003)

3D said:


> I thought she was going to fall on her own sword and use that to show that he didn't disclose all of his illegal activities, thereby violating the terms of his agreement.


I missed a few episodes, did they ever mention what was in her folder and how much she stood to lose? Because I'm sure if she had to do any jail time I'm sure she would think long and hard before falling on anybody's sword


----------



## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> Vic has a copy, too, doesn't he?


in the parking lot he did say he gave up all leverage against her.


----------



## tivoboyjr (Apr 28, 2003)

ihatecable said:


> To quote Tony Soprano: Ok, lets about the 400lb elephant in the room. Did anyone notice when Vic spilled his gut in his official testimony, he never mentioned the FBI chicks file in the blackmail box. If he did she would have been toast too. I would have thought he might use it as leverage to help out Ronnie, or at least get out typing five reports per day for the next three years?


I'm still thinking he's going to use it as leverage to have sex with her. But now we don't get the nude scene (of her - not Vic).


----------



## JLucPicard (Jul 8, 2004)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> Vic has a copy, too, doesn't he?


I think he was going to copy the whole "blackmail bos" at one point, but when he got there to do it Aceveda had already taken the box. I don't think Vic did have a copy.


----------



## ihatecable (Apr 16, 2003)

tivoboyjr said:


> I'm still thinking he's going to use it as leverage to have sex with her. But now we don't get the nude scene (of her - not Vic).


If they ever revived the series or made a "Shield Movie" that would be a great opening scene,lol


----------



## tivoboyjr (Apr 28, 2003)

ihatecable said:


> If they ever revived the series or made a "Shield Movie" that would be a great opening scene,lol


It would look a lot like the opening scene in "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead."


----------



## ihatecable (Apr 16, 2003)

I was thinking more along the lines of the opening scene to "Dressed to Kill" with Angie Dickinson


----------



## tlc (May 30, 2002)

My recording cut off in the montage. The last thing I saw were three people shooting a grave. (Lem's?)

Was there anything new after that? Or was Vic leaving the office with the gun the last new thing?


----------



## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

tlc said:


> My recording cut off in the montage. The last thing I saw were three people shooting a grave. (Lem's?)
> 
> Was there anything new after that? Or was Vic leaving the office with the gun the last new thing?


Yeah that was it. Everything during the credits was montage material.

Greg


----------



## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

Do you still have to pay alimony and child support when your wife and children go into the Witness Protection program?


----------



## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

cheesesteak said:


> Do you still have to pay alimony and child support when your wife and children go into the Witness Protection program?


Why? Are you planning something?....


----------



## dolfer (Nov 3, 2000)

Just finished this up! *Awesome finale!* And an amazing season overall! I put Season 7 of the Shield up there with some of my all time favorites (Season 1 of Sopranos, Season 4 of The Wire, and Season 1 of The Shield) Much like the huge ensemble of The Wire, the entire Shield cast is stellar. Shane, in particular, really stood out this season. Top notch acting from him...

I hope all of these guys end up in some cool new stuff soon. Maybe HBO can come up with a new cop show soon and recruit some of these guys!??!?

I think Vic will play the game BUT at the same time start looking for his family. He would NEVER kill himself as some suggested. His ego is too huge. He believes he can figure out anything. Accomplish anything... Do anything... He would never stop trying. Someone would have to kill him.

P.S. Yes I know it's July... But that's why we have Tivos right? We watch *when* we want to! Unfortunately, I got to the final season of The Shield a bit later than I wanted... But thank God I eventually got to it!


----------



## VegasVic (Nov 22, 2002)

And completely screwed in the Emmy nominations. Incredible


----------



## tivoboyjr (Apr 28, 2003)

VegasVic said:


> And completely screwed in the Emmy nominations. Incredible


Yeah, that's a crime. It shows what a sham these awards are. Since The Shield is over and done with, there's probably too much hype from the marketers of the shows currently on and no one was carrying the torch for The Shield. Most of the nominated shows aren't even in the same league. House?


----------



## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

dolfer said:


> I hope all of these guys end up in some cool new stuff soon. Maybe HBO can come up with a new cop show soon and recruit some of these guys!??!?


Not by the same people, but there is another really good show on FX that you would probably enjoy if you liked the Shield. Sons of Anarchy. Season one has already aired, but season two starts in September and I'm guessing there might be a season one marathon before that. SoA is about a biker gang - not all that different than the strike team on the Shield, except on the other side of the law.

Same type of conflicted characters. They all have some good attributes despite being killers. Strong family bonds but ruthless too.


----------



## dolfer (Nov 3, 2000)

Thanks Justen... I might have to give it a shot.


----------

