I am – Hercules!!
Tonight’s episode of “The Shield” is the best and most gripping installment of this series I’ve yet seen. Let’s see what Capone makes of it …

Hello again everyone. Capone in Chicago here in Coaxial. After this episode, there are five episodes and counting in "The Shield's" Final Act. And as of this writing, I've now watched all but the final two episodes of this freakishly great show (these two will not be sent in advance to critics). This is actually going to be one of the most difficult episodes of the season to preview since so much happens that is critical to the final five episodes. This is the staging area, the launch pad, the place where we wait to hear the starting pistol...literally. Title? PARRICIDE [Here's the definition I found: "The act of murdering a person who stands in a relationship resembling that of a father." Considering where Shane's head was at the end of the last episode, this definition shouldn't come as any surprise.] Writers? Kurt Sutter and Gary Lennon, who wrote the first and second episodes of the current season, respectively. Sutter had written something like 17 episodes of the show prior to this one; Lennon was the writer/director of the 2006 crime drama .45, starring Milla Jovovich; this is his second time writing for "The Shield." Director? Guy Ferland, director of 10 episodes (including the premiere episode of this season), as well as episodes of "The Riches," "Sleeper Cell," and "Prison Break." Where did we leave off? Shane recruiting the pimp whose jaw was broken by Ronnie in the last episode for an unknown task that isn't so unknown. Where to we pick up? Shane is prepping for something big at home, wearing a baseball cap and gloves while stuffing guns into a small duffle bag. His anxiety level is clearly elevated. He goes over his alibi (which involves a food delivery man) with his wife. Since it's already evening, it's clear that whatever is going to happen in this episode, it's going to happen early and not at the end of the hour. Where is Vic right now? Vic is meeting with Pezuela, who wants to get a little use out of his new employee by getting him to eliminate a drug dealer in the community, a white priest named Father Morton (played by Silas Weir Mitchell), who Pezuela says is letting drug dealer operate out of his church. Vic figures out quick that the church also happens to stand in the way of a major Pezuela real estate deal. Vic does confront the priest and asks him to shut down, which he refuses to do. So Vic turns his attention to more familiar territory: the drug dealers who operate out of the church, who reveal to Vic that the priest has a secret that they know that makes it impossible for him to say no to them. How is Aceveda's campaign financing going? He meets with Pezuela, who tell him he'd like him to be mayor with his help and influence. He also tells him this is a one-time offer. How and what is my favorite hot FBI agent doing? Vic works with Agent Olivia Murray on using the priest to secure racketeering charges against Pezuela. Vic also takes the opportunity to lobby for a job as an inside man the feds can use in the future. Later in the episode Vic is back at the FBI office when Aceveda arrives to tell them of Pezuela's offer, which the feds tell him to accept. Vic also figures out that someone higher up than Pezuela in the Mexican cartel is in the city watching Pezeula's movements. Where is Ronnie right now? Ronnie is returning home from a hard day with a little honey on his arm. Just as he puts the keys in the door, shots ring out. Where is Shane right now? Not at Ronnie's place. He's hiding in the dark at Vic's place, waiting for Vic to come home. Does Vic make it home? Yes. Does Vic find out about what happened to Ronnie? Just as he gets home, seemingly to meet a similar fate, Vic gets a call. What happens when the bullets stop flying and the dust settles? The shooter is quickly ID'd thanks to partial plates, and Shane appears to be in the clear for Ronnie since Ronnie and the shooter had a previous beef. In a fantastic turn of events, Shane and Julien area assigned to find the shooter. At first, Shane uses this assignment to his advantage, but uniformed officers pick up the shooter first, throwing off Shane's game plan. Dutch and Billings go at the shooter first. That must be one hell of an interrogation. You bet it is. Shane does manage to get a few seconds of alone time with the shooter to find out where his gun is and retrieve it. Does the shooter give the cops Shane's name as the guy who hired him to shoot Ronnie? Yes. Is Shane in The Barn when this happens? If the front door hitting him in the ass on the way out counts as "in The Barn," then yes. Where is Shane's wife, Mara, when this is going down? At Corrine's house delivering a message that involves the murder of Terry Crowley and the money train robbery, as well as detailed instructions on how Corrine will keep the cops far away from her and Shane. What I liked. I like that I haven't told you half of the cool shit that goes down in this episode, but what I've given you is so fucking cool. This is that episode of the show where everything changes and nothing can go back to the way it was. The Strike Team is done. You will not believe the tension during the interrogation scene with Ronnie's shooter, especially when Shane sees where things are headed. Once again, the editing team cut that sequence together so beautifully, you can't help but be impressed. What I didn't like. I may never have anything to put in this slot again. How does it end? And truly do not read this if you don't want to know what happens to certain major characters. Corrine makes a deal with Vic--she'll help him if he stays away from their kids forever. Claudette tells Mackey that she wants him chained to his desk until his time on the force is done. She doesn't know where his loyalties lie with Shane, but she suspects he'll try to find him and kill him. Vic laughs in her face and says, "If this is all that's left of the job, I don't want it." His gun and badge land on her desk, giving him full permission to rogue out. -- Capone capone@aintitcoolmail.com

You Killed My Father!! Prepare To Die!!

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