I am – Hercules!!
James Hibberd of the Hollywood Reporter attended a Monday afternoon screening of the final two “Shield” episodes with series mastermind Shawn Ryan. Says Hibberd:

The final image of "The Shield" is one you will never see coming, yet is wholly earned by episodes leading up to the finale. Ryan says he’s planned this moment for about three or four years. He also described marathon meetings with writers to help generate ideas for the fates of the characters. “I was always suspicious about any ideas that came to us in the first hour or two," he says. "My feeling is if it came to us quickly that it would come to others as well. So we'd knock our heads together for five hours more."

Hibberd also thinks some fans may not like the ending. Find all of his story on the screening here. Capone has the lowdown on what I regard as another excellent installment, the one airing tonight.

Hello again everyone. Capone in Chicago here in Coaxial. After this episode, there are four episodes and counting in "The Shield's" Final Act. From this point forward if you aren't 100 percent caught up with the current season, I'm going to advise you not to read my summaries of the final three episodes that I've seen (Episodes 7.9-7.11). The final episode of "The Shied" airs November 25, and on my wall calendar at home, I've got a bag black circle around that date with a sad little rain cloud drawn over it. That will be a dark day indeed, and I can't wait to find out just how dark we're talking about. Let's move on… Title? MOVING DAY Writers? Adam E. Fierro, writer of 11 prior episodes of "The Shield," he is also one of the show's co-executive producers, and staff writer Lisa Randolph, who also did Episode 7.4 this season and one episode from last season. She's also written an episode of "Gilmore Girls." 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? Corrine makes a deal with Vic--she'll help him find Shane if he stays away from their kids forever. Vic turns in his gun and badge so he can hunt Shane unencumbered by Claudette. Shane and Mara are on the run. Where to we pick up? Vic and Ronnie break into Shane's place to look for clues where he might have run. All they find is prescription meds for Shane's son, left behind by accident, which means that might be how they track Shane down. Vic and Ronnie agree that Mara probably knows too much about things the Strike Team has pulled in the past, and she might be a liability that needs to be dealt with as well. Before the episode is done, Vic and Ronnie come to an understanding about Shane and Mora's fate. Hey, don't other cops work in the Barn too? Dutch is still attempting to get close with Rita, the mother (Frances Fisher) of a teen boy he believes deliberately killed a classmate earlier this season and is showing serial killer tendencies. When we first see Dutch in this episode, he's at Rita's place helping her clean dishes after a date-like meal. It's so date-like that the mom makes a move on our hero. Later in the episode, Rita comes into the Barn after her son has told her everything he and Dutch talked about; he has led his mother to believe Dutch is only trying to close to her to keep an eye on the boy. She's a little pissed. But later that same day, she ends up at Dutch's place to confess something to him about her boy. Oh, and Claudette announces that she's officially shutting down the Strike Team, which mean Julian gets bumped back down to his blues. Claudette announced to the squad that finding Shane is the team only priority and that the feds have been notified. She also confronts Ronnie about Vic's whereabouts and intentions in looking for Shane. Ronnie insists that Vic just wants Shane behind bars for a very specific reason and lets her in on a Strike Team secret that I did not expect him to let go up so easily. Billings ex-wife comes in to let him know that a registered sex offender has moved into the neighborhood where she and his daughter live. Billings and Dutch pay the guy a "courtesy" visit, but the RSO knows his rights and that these two are out of their jurisdiction. Later in the episode, Billings returns to the man's house, and the situation is far less civil. Where is Corrine right now? At home waiting for her 8pm phone call from Mara for an update on the police's effort to find her and Shane. It doesn't take Mara long to realize that Vic is also there on the line. Before the call is over, Vic and Shane are on the phone talking. How is Aceveda's campaign financing going? He meets with Pezuela about moving into a new campaign headquarters and war chest. There's another man in the room, clearly someone Pezuela is trying to impress. Rather than work with Aceveda, he's playing the tough guy with such classic lines as "The dick is in your ass." Aceveda retreats from the meeting and goes to the feds. The feds soon find out that the mystery man's name is Beltran and that he's on a worldwide federal watch list. Being the only person who knows what Beltran looks like suddenly gives Aceveda a little bit of juice with the feds. How and what is my favorite hot FBI agent doing? Vic meets with Agent Olivia Murray, and she updates him on the Beltran situation. Vic wants her to formalize their arrangement by putting him on the federal payroll, but the feds don't see him as much of valuable asset now that he's no longer a cop. Vic must prove them wrong. Where is Shane right now? Getting fake IDs, swapping cars, and trying to find a safe place to buy his son some much needed medication. The kid is in bad shape, and he may need to go to the hospital. Does Vic find the location of Shane and Mara's hotel? Yes. Do Vic and Shane come face to face in this episode? Yes. Does one of the two men end up dead or arrested before the episode is over? Yes. What I liked. I know this is going to sounds strange, but there's a twist involving Shane and Mara that reminded me so much of "The Riches," it made me laugh. It also happens to be a great twist. And Dutch continues to remind up what a beautifully written character he is. You also get the first signs that Ronnie might start to play both sides of the fence. He's keeping in mind that Vic might not be able to help him once the dust settles, and it might be good to keep Claudette close. What I didn't like. The episode is a little crowded with something like four or five plots going on, but they're so beautifully braided together, it's hard to get mad at too much of a good thing. How does it end? [Inviso-Text] Corrine gets her nightly phone call from a pissed-off Mara. Mara is encouraged to turn herself and the still very sick son in for the sake of Jackson and a second one on the way. -- Capone capone@aintitcoolmail.com

10 p.m. Tuesday. FX.

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