Whoa.
I hope your DVR didn't crap out early last night. If it did, you missed Vic turning in his badge to Claudette ("It's kiss my ass time!") and resigning from the force. He's off to, presumably, put caps in the asses of Shane, Mara, and maybe even little Jackson. If this really is his plan, I imagine it might muck up his gig with ICE, which likely frowns on employees whacking other cops. And, really, at this point, it's clear that he's totally screwed, isn't it? Shane will either get caught, or the stink of the failed Ronnie assassination will (finally) bring all of the shit in his past to light.
But I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I?
"Parricide" began with the botched hit on the increasingly awesome Ronnie and his "Asian throw pillow" by Two Man, a dim bulb who was tapped for the deed by Shane more out of a desperation than, you know, his ability to hit a guy with a rain of bullets from a couple of feet away. Shane, meanwhile, was poised to put Vic down, in his own crib no less. Alas, Vic was saved by a last second phone call from Ronnie, and Shane had to suddenly pretend to be concerned about finding the shooter. And this was all in the first five minutes!
From there, "Parricide"–a Latin word for killing a close relative—was another incredibly tense, stomach ache-churning episode. Much of the action involved Shane trying to cover up his involvement in the Two Man shooting. You know, typical Strike Team stuff, right down to unplugging the world's worst police interrogation room camera to squeeze a suspect for extra special intel. Of course, this season has been about how the usual Strike Team stuff doesn't work anymore. And after all his wrangling, Shane couldn't escape the noose. The way Shane slinked out of the barn when it was clear his goose was cooked was a classic Shield moment.
Later, another layer of Vic's subterfuge–or "shield", or plain old bullshit–was peeled away, simply and matter-of-factly, by Mara, who quickly confirmed to Corinne that, yes, Vic killed Terry and, yes, the Strike Team robbed the Armenian money train and, yes, her ex-husband is a total scum bag. On top of everything else, Vic appears to have officially lost his family, as Corinne announced that she's picking up and getting the hell away from Vic … after she acts as a go-between for the fugitive Vendrells, of course. So, Vic doesn't have a family, he doesn't have his badge, and his surrogate family, The Strike Team, is deader than dead. Vic killed Terry, Shane killed Lem, and now Vic or Shane will either (1) kill each other or (2) bring each other down. Is there really another option here? Well, of course there is. I'm sure things won't play out as simply as I've just laid them out. The writers for The Shield are smarter than me, which is why I'm the one writing this blog.
Before I leave you guys, I want to address something that routinely comes up in the comments section, which is how The Shield compares with The Wire and–supposedly–comes up lacking. I'm not nearly as familiar with The Wire as I am with The Shield—I've only really watched the first season of The Wire, which I thought was outstanding, while I've seen every episode of The Shield, which is one of my favorite TV shows ever. Other than them both being cop shows and both being great, I don't think it's fair or appropriate to compare The Shield and The Wire. They set out to do completely different things. The Wire is a sober, journalistic examination of the bureaucracies behind crime and crime fighting. The Shield is, at heart, an action-adventure show the explores the duality of good and evil on a larger-than-life scale. They both do what they do incredibly well. If you love The Shield, is there any other show you'd rather be watching right now?
Grade: A
Stray observations
—Did anybody care about the corrupt priest subplot, or is Vic vs. Shane overshadowing everything right now?
—I know Claudette hates Vic, but I was still kinda shocked that she accused him of killing Lem in front of the Barn like that.
—Can Vic, after everything, really walk away from his job like that? Unbelievable.
—Ronnie totally referred to his date as an "Asian throw pillow." He's the man!
—Vic doesn't want to piss off Jesus? Christ isn't known for being this patient, is he?
—What do you guys think?