“The Shield” — Back to One
Not so subtle imagery.
Tuesday’s episode of The Shield was as intense as the show gets. Unfortunately, I’m still working myself into the season and the whole thing kind of just washed over me. I’m not entirely sure what my deal is, but The Shield has yet to really grab me by the throat. It did manage to grab Guardo by the throat, however, and then proceeded to torture and kill him.
Thanks to 24’s complete overuse of Jack’s torture-lust, the technique has lost a little something as riveting television (though as you can see from the above picture, The Shield seems to be trying to at least apply some level of contemporary relevance).
What I find myself being drawn to this season is Walton Goggin’s portrayal of Shane. Since the show’s inception, the character has always been a live wire, and seems to always be the one who causes the most headaches for the strike team. After killing Lem last season, however, we’re clearly seeing a difference Shane Vendrell. He’s endlessly conflicted and his decisions are for the first time being weighed internally instead of just in an explosion of rage.
Maybe that’s the difference. Vic, as we saw in this last episode is still lashing out, but after five seasons I’ve all ready seen plenty of that. I’m ready for the fall, or for the moments when all of them have to start battling their consciences. It’s happening with Shane and its making a better show. Now that Mackey thinks he’s gotten his revenge, it’ll be interesting to see how he acts.
Eventually the tower will collapse. It has to.
