What'd everyone think? Have to admit, didn't think I'd see Claudette getting so aggressive when coming after Mackey (talking to his wife, etc). And I thought Ronnie was dead.

By the way, the song that they played at the end is by Flogging Molly, a LA-based Irish punk band. It's one of the best musical groups out there right now, and I highly recommend picking up their stuff. Their first national CD is Swagger, which is one of the best discs I've ever listened to. They're going on tour now, so if they're in your area I say check them out. http://www.floggingmolly.com.

Wow... I was totally not expecting Armadillo to end like that.. You could totally feel the intensity this episode as they were trying to search for him.

Glad Ronnie is gonna pull through, and why is Vic's wife not even giving him a chance? Mean..

Next week..

Thought it was another great episode. I too didn't think Armadillo would go out that way, but knew something was up when they brought that one guy in for smoking pot - they'd never do that if there was no second motive.

Great montage at the end as well. This episode could have worked good for a season finale.

Wow Shane and Lemonhead really earned their stripes tonight. I cannot believe how week after week this show keeps its intensity level so high. I wonder if Claudette is gonna back off Mackie now and is the Captain gonna stop "protecting" the strike team.

Next week spoiler:

Do you know the name of the song? Thanks!

I don't think so. This is set a good amount of time before the pilot. Vic already had solid control of the Strike team during the Pilot -- "accident" with the "new guy" that Aceveda tried to stick on him. This ep looks like Vic's first arrival at the station and how he got to where he is now.

Can't believe I missed the first 20 min. -- stupid UNC overtime. Anything important?

Also, didn't Dutch and Dani have a date/make out in one of the first eps in season 1? Or was that someone else? Just seemed kinda weird -- guess they never told anyone else about it.

Tuan Jim

I have to admit I was a little disappointed in the way the Armadillo story ended. I was really looking forward to Vic getting his hands on him and to me the way they ended it was a bit of a let down.

Poor Danny. She looks like she gets a huge break and then this happens. I'm surprised Claudette didn't think the strike team was in on it considering it seems like her mission in life now is to bring Vic down.

I've put your statement in spoilers, considering it pertains to next week's episode. You may want to re-edit... some people don't watch the previews for the next week.

In next week's "flashback", is this the one where Claudette is really fat and Vic dresses up in his dad's tuxedo to take Danny to the prom?

This episode again proves why "The Shield" is the best show on TV right now. Vic, usually so sure of himself, looked absolutely staggered when he realized that Armadillo was playing him right from the beginning. His team really came through for him, even if it came at Danny's expense.

Honk!

I loved the way the Armadillo story ended. That was perfect. I do feel bad for Danni as she was really starting to look at her job positively again, and this happened.

Next Week:

Great episode. I liked the way Lemonhead and Shane got rid of Armadillo. As soon as they put that guy in the cage with him, I knew what was coming. Looking forward to next weeks episode.

I liked this episode, but it felt a bit too "stagy" for the show. For example, at the end when the Shelter Chick is waiting for Vic in his apartment. How did she get in? How did she know when he would get home? How long has she been standing against the wall in that pose? I realize this sort of thing is standard on most television shows, but "The Shield" normally tries to raise the bar and avoid these clichés.

I understand what you're saying. It would have been sweet to see Vic explode all over the guy. On the other hand, though, it really added an extra layer of depth to Vic's character. Suddenly he came face to face with the consequences of his rage, and he realized that perhaps he's not quite the crusader that he thinks himself to be. To me, the resolution is perfect for the scope and depth of the show, and I'm really curious to see how Vic responds to his self-discovery.

The bellman could've let her in... he's probably grateful to Vic because Vic stopped that couple from fighting, so he wouldn't mind doing Vic a favor like that. As for why she was standing there, it's very possible (and likely) that she used a window to watch for him. When he pulled up, she stood up and hid behind the door.

Good points. Does it really matter in the end, though. The point of the scene was to show Vic's dilemma: He's struggling with the desire to be a better man, but his vices once again get the better of him. I love the way he intitally attempts to refuse her advances but then resigns himself to his weakness. Excellent acting there as the look on his face really shows his defeat. That scene, plus the resolution to the Armadillo story are perfect examples of how this show transcends typical TV dramas and reaches more the hights of good films.

Best Eps. of the year so far. I loved the way Armadillo's story ended, it really made Shane look like a badass to take that problem into his own hands and deal with it. Just thinking outloud here, but could Vic REALLY go straight, then have Shane get that taste of blood, and they start to but heads again, over the money train? That would be a great story to end the season, IMO.

If I Ever Leave This World Alive.

I'm hyping the band again. Anyone in and around Metro DC should join me in seeing Flogging Molly in Towson, Maryland on March 5.

As I remember it... (major spoilers):

The show opened in Vic's apartment, shortly after they found Ronnie and his burned up face (the end of last week's episode). The other members of the team are there. Obviously, Vic is upset and authorizes the other members of the team to take out $15K to $20K out of their stash (I can't remember where the stash came from), to pay informers so that they could find Armadillo. They agree to kill Armadillo once and for all (which is why Vic is upset later in the show when the other police arrive (because Armadillo called them) and he can't kill Armadillo).

Vic talks to some black guy in a wheelchair (a painter) who will help get the word out. He also sees a Mexican (played by a gjuy who looks an awful lot like Luis Guzmán) who just got out of prison and is real upset because he left his position of power within the prison to be a high member in Armadillo's group, but now that he is out of prison he wasn't give the job (something like that). He is real upset and wants to go back to prison. Vic gives him some money for some information. This is the guy who goes into the cage at the end and kills Armadillo.

Vic and the team raid a couple of places with Mexicans, in an effort to try to track down Armadillo.

A subplot starts up, with a Thai guy beaten and hanging on a hook in a loading dock (kind of like an alley). There turns out to be a security camera in the area, they are able to track down the guy (the young Thai guy). When they pull up to his house there is blood on his car. Dutch tells the female cop (I don't know her name) something like "It's not always this easy".

At the 20 minute mark, I believ that you saw the young Thai guy being interviewed, and a raid on a garage where they got information out of the guy by hitting one of his friend's knees with a crowbar. (I also missed the first 20 minutes, but then caught it on the encore at 10pm CST).

The death of Armadillo really suprised me. I thought the show was going to make him into the eternal bad guy, always chased by Vic but never caught (which would be a major cliche). It was a good move, time to move on to other major plot lines. My only problem is how did the guy played by the person who looks like Luis Guzman know that he would be in the same cage as Armadillo? That seemed like a little too much coincidence, unless Vic had some role in the placement of prisoners.


edited to remove the part where I said that the guy who killed Armadillo was played by Luis Guzman.

That wasn't Luis Guzmán.

Also, the guy in the wheelchair is a CI of Vic's from Season 1.

I could have sworn that was Luis Guzman. Oh well, it's somebody who looks very similar to him.

As for the guy in the wheelchair, I have not seen Season 1 so I didn't know he was a CI (I will probably end up buying Season 1 on DVD). Knowing that he was a CI from Season 1 does explain Vic's apparent friendship with him and why the detectives were so mad when he (the wheelchair guy) got roughed up later.

Do it, you won't be sorry. Nothing like watching Shield episodes back to back with no commercials.

did anybody see yesterday's Goody Day Live epsiode, where they went on the set of The Shield.


It was great Vic told them to cue the music which was(50 cent's In da club) and then he opened the door to the strike team office and there was Shane and lemonhead dancing for dollars in front of like twenty guys, and then once they saw the cameras they pretended to bust them by pulling out their guns, hiliarious, then later on they show Vic giving Shane a lap dance. It is so cool how good this cast gets along off camera, and it really shows in the quality of the show, IMO the best cop drama, ever ousted New York undercover from my old #1 show.

Wow, what a great episode. Michael Chiklis's (sp?) facial expressions were just amazing, especially when he realized that Armadillo was just playing him the whole time, and again, at the end when he initially fights off the advances of that other woman, and eventually gives in.

This show just continues to be top-notch!

IIRC, he was basically the head honcho in prison, Armadillo arrives, he cuts him in on the business to get in good with Armadillo. He's getting released and when he hits the streets, they treat him as an outsider i.e. getting beers for these bendejos. He says its no way to live his life, he'd be better off back in prison. Also, Armadillo to him, isn't good enough for prison.

Quote:

My only problem is how did the guy played by the person who looks like Luis Guzman know that he would be in the same cage as Armadillo? That seemed like a little too much coincidence, unless Vic had some role in the placement of prisoners.

Armadillo would have been in the holding cell until he was either transferred or his lawyer got him out. Shane and Lem knew he would be there and they offered the ex-con a way to get back into prison with his reputation back even stronger. It's always the same each show, women on one side of the cage, men on the other.