Goat3001

Forgetting the obvious that they're both murder, it's also the same because both were done for selfish reasons. The difference is that one could argue that Terry's killing was more selfish and the Lem killing was more unavoidable.

Remember, Shane was thinking at the time that Lem had flipped. He tried to get Lem to Mexico, he didn't want to go. They had more outs with Terry. Terry had just started his investigation. Vic could have played it clean until he could get Terry off their back (or done the side business behind his back). Instead, he killed him.

I get the difference that Shane was best friends with the guy he killed while Vic and Terry were barely friends. That's just not a 'huge' difference to me. Not enough for me to say that what Vic did is better or more excusable than what Shane did.

bootsy

Both killed someone in the end. THe same argument you use for Vic's killing can be applied to Shane's kill as well. Lem running away, going behind the teams back. The bottom line is neither is better or worse than the other.

Gunde

Yes. He was trying to understand and maybe experience what William Faulks told him about killing. Dutch is not a serial killer he's just an extremely dedicated detective/profiler.
There was no dropped storyline here.

If he had turned out to be a killer, it would quite frankly have ruined the show - at least for me.

DJariya

I was disappointed that Dutch never got to bang Tina. Fucking Steve McGarrett got a piece of her before he got canned by Patty Hewes.

Oh and regarding Tina, I was shocked to learn recently that Paula Garces has an 18-year old daughter.

stingermck

Damn. I always thought the guy from 5.0 looked familiar.

lisadoris

Well I just finished binging on all 7 seasons of The Shield and wow, that was some ride. Mackey didn't get what he deserved (he deserved to be sitting in a jail cell for all the crap he did) but it was a fitting ending for the character. I feel bad that Ronnie is the one who takes the fall for everything but thems the breaks. His only mistake was trusting Mackey in the end and not making a run for it when he had the chance. I spent the last couple seasons wanting Shane to catch a bullet so I wasn't completely broken up by his end but the circumstances were surprising. I was surprised that he took his wife and kid with him and the way he staged the scene was just heartbreaking.

I could have lived without the Andre 3000 storyline in favor anything else. CCH Pounder was just amazing throughout the entire series but the scene between her and Dutch where she lays out her future and then the scene where she confronts Mackey with the suicide note was just top notch.

Solid series finale that tied up a bunch a loose ends but left some things open. I have to pick a less intense show to binge on next.

Buttmunker

It's funny - between this show and one other , my favorite characters had the name of Shane. And neither Shane ended well in either show.

anomynous

Just finished it too. Pretty much everything you said.






Loved going through the whole series.

Goat3001

You know, I was re-reading my opinion from a few months ago and I agreed with you back then. Now that I think about it, I think killing Terry was worse than killing Lem. After all, Lem was a criminal. While he may be the one that felt guilty about all the things the Strike Team did, he still did it. Live by the sword, die by the sword. Terry, meanwhile, was one of the good guys. He was trying to bring down criminals and got killed for it.

The only reason I was really upset over Lem's death was because he was willing to take the rap for everything the Strike Team did and would have went to prison (and surely died) without rolling over on them. He was the good guy of the group. Shane didn't know that though so I still feel that what Shane did was as 'right' as what Vic did in the first episode.

I think Ronnie got what he deserved. Again, he was a criminal. Criminals go to jail. Yes, he trusted Vic way too much and yes he had outs and could have gotten away with it but it doesn't change the fact that he willingly took part in criminal activity.

As intriguing as it was to follow the Strike Team around for seven seasons, let's not forget that these were the bad guys. I think that's what made the show so great.

PerryD

It's funny that this thread got resurrected, as I also recently did a marathon viewing of the show over the past couple months. I can't imagine if I watched the show in real time having to wait weeks and months between episodes and seasons. Each season flowed smoothly into the next, it felt like one huge continuous story. I had purchased seasons 1 and 2 a couple years back around $18 each, but it wasn't until Amazon had a daily deal for $9.99 that I was able to buy up the rest of the seasons. I loved the show and was sad to see it end. Previously to the Shield, I watched all three seasons of Veronica Mars, and now I'm into Season 2 of Buffy (another show I completely missed while it aired) which all seasons should keep me busy for a few months. I watch one episode a day while riding my exercise bike first thing every morning, something I look forward to because of the shows.

Michael T Hudson

Watching Family Meeting was a lot harder the second time around. I have a 3 year old now and the murder suicide and the bodies on the bed were tough. Such a great show.

tbird2340

Just finished this series for the 3rd time last night.

This episode I think was the most powerful and somber episode of TV I have ever watched.. Had trouble sleeping..

To think Shane thought it would be better to kill his wife, unborn child, and son instead of the consequences.. Unreal.. Just no words...

Claudette reading the note to Vic.. Wow..

I still can't believe Vic turned on Ronnie.. So so sad...

andy434343

I remember feeling like utter shit when Shane did that back when The Shield aired. Feels like a lifetime ago...... Now being a father of two little ones, I can't imagine how much worse it would feel to rewatch it.

One of the best television shows ever.

Astrofan

One of the best series finales ever.

Original Desmond

Billings makes a Cameo in this week's episode of SWAT ! awesome !

Noonan

Yup. Ronnie is in the show The Fix too, as of a couple weeks ago. Too bad it's already canceled for a 2nd season.

Original Desmond

No this wasn't a case of the actor who played Billings being on SWAT, the actual character Detective Steve Billings exactly as from the Shield was in SWAT !

Actually seems fairly hard to believe given the Shield was over a decade ago and the character was about to retire,, but it's happened

dex14

Hey Shield fans! pic.twitter.com/y7y7B7OR08

— Shawn Ryan (@ShawnRyanTV) May 3, 2019

<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Osiris3657

I'm kind of glad this thread got bumped in light of Game of Thrones' final episodes. This show was tremendous for its entire run. I felt there was a slight drop in quality during the Glenn Close seasons, but still solid overall.(I'd give those seasons a B+ compared to A's for all the other seasons).

I really need to rewatch this show. One of the best of all time.

Noonan

Oh, no shit. I didn't realize he was actually Billings character! Not sure how I missed that.

Original Desmond

I would recommend getting the bluray box set which has been released only the last half year. Ton of extras and commentary tracks. Would make rewatching a new experience because you are watching/listening to new material

stingermck

Fantastic Oral History from EW. 20th anniversary this month

https://ew.com/tv/the-shield-oral-history/

bluetoast

Thanks for that link. There was nothing quite like 2008, with watching the final seasons of both this and The Wire week to week (or much earlier in the case of leaked Wire episodes )

Wolf359

Great article. May be time for a complete re-watch.

PhantomStranger

Greatest final season in television history. Most shows are on fumes by the sixth or seventh season.