I was pleased when season 6 continued the desperate pace and quality that season 5 had reintroduced into The Shield and I was looking forward to season 7 totally unaware that it was the final season of the show. With this in mind it is perhaps understandable that my main concern throughout the season was where on earth the show was going to go because it seemed to be driving itself into the group. I wasn't thinking this episode to episode though, only about where the next season would go and how much longer they could continue down this road before they either had to end it or it just got silly. Of course we know now that this problem is not one we need to worry about and that The Shield just about got away with it, ending with plenty of exaggeration and unlikely extrapolation but still making it work.
It does this by driving itself forward on the back of Vic with the same desperate air of being trapped and increasingly fighting for breath. This puts the viewer right in the middle of this emotional energy and stops us asking too many questions or really putting a lot of thought into whether the show is realistic or not (it is not of course and it lost the right to claim it is quite some seasons ago). This desperate edge is informed by a comparatively complex plot that is an elevation of the ongoing themes of Vic playing games with the gangs in order to do right by doing wrong or to do wrong by doing right, depending on who he is presenting his actions to and why. This storyline doesn't stand up to scrutiny though and I do not agree with those who claim this as the best TV show ever. To me the show is not some masterpiece that transcends genre but rather a TV drama/thriller that nails its genre really well making it a great genre piece, rather than an all round performer.
I'm a fan though, so this doesn't matter to me because, when it delivers on what I have come to expect then The Shield is a great piece of work, as it is throughout season 7. The arch of the narrative is strangely satisfying and ultimately ends at a place that just feels right while also balancing the different views of those that watch the show. You see, to me, Vic has always been someone who I should not look up to in any way. Maybe in season 1 there was mileage in the "doing bad to get good results" thing but this vanished quickly and what we are left with is that he is a man of his own making, serving his own needs no matter what certainly no better than the aspects of Shane that he detests so much. To me then the final episode delivered perfectly, putting him in his own prison from which the only escape would lead to into, well, a real prison. However to those that love the idea of him out there doing his thing his way, the final shot also offers the idea of him going out on his feet in the only way he knows how. It is open to interpretation but to me the final season brings his desperate game to a close in a fitting way that delivers "justice" without it being moralising or obvious. Indeed if anything it does feel "unfair" that the Strike Team end the way they do but yet it also works as the "logical" conclusion.
With the focus so much on this thread, season 7 has less time for the other characters doing their own things in the way that other seasons did. OK we still have Danni, Dutch etc all with their own subplots but the show is so dominated by the main flow that these barely distract and certainly are not given enough time to slow down proceedings or take much away from the rest of the show. There are missteps though and I thought that the addition of another mayoral candidate (played by Andre 3000) in the final episode was pretty unnecessary and pointless. Clark Johnson' cameo and directing was cool though and nice to end the series with a H:LOTS actor just as the first episode had done with Reed Diamond (although I'm not suggesting the same quality of actor in linking those two!). Talking of cast it is no surprise to learn that yet again Chiklis commands full attention with a character and performance that he will probably never have again certainly one cannot imagine him playing any sort of tough character in the future without it being compared back to this. It is to his credit that I feel like everyone else should be classed "supporting actors". This is unfair though because the work is roundly good across all actors whether they be the more interesting turns from Pounder, Karnes, Goggins and Snell or those with less to do this time round (such as Jace, Marciano, Dent and Garcés). Unlike other seasons, there is not a lot of character development (outside of the desperate drive into the abyss that some are on) but otherwise everyone delivers on the drama, feeding into the atmosphere of the show and bringing it home effectively.
And so it ends. I am pleased though because I did wonder how much deeper they would go before it became more daft than compelling. As it is they called it just right and, after a bit of a dip in some of the middle seasons, concluded it all really well, with a season that builds on 5 & 6 to grip, twist, turn, surprise and excite. It is not a perfect drama across the board but it does what it does with great efficiency and I enjoyed season 7 a great deal indeed.
It does this by driving itself forward on the back of Vic with the same desperate air of being trapped and increasingly fighting for breath. This puts the viewer right in the middle of this emotional energy and stops us asking too many questions or really putting a lot of thought into whether the show is realistic or not (it is not of course and it lost the right to claim it is quite some seasons ago). This desperate edge is informed by a comparatively complex plot that is an elevation of the ongoing themes of Vic playing games with the gangs in order to do right by doing wrong or to do wrong by doing right, depending on who he is presenting his actions to and why. This storyline doesn't stand up to scrutiny though and I do not agree with those who claim this as the best TV show ever. To me the show is not some masterpiece that transcends genre but rather a TV drama/thriller that nails its genre really well making it a great genre piece, rather than an all round performer.
I'm a fan though, so this doesn't matter to me because, when it delivers on what I have come to expect then The Shield is a great piece of work, as it is throughout season 7. The arch of the narrative is strangely satisfying and ultimately ends at a place that just feels right while also balancing the different views of those that watch the show. You see, to me, Vic has always been someone who I should not look up to in any way. Maybe in season 1 there was mileage in the "doing bad to get good results" thing but this vanished quickly and what we are left with is that he is a man of his own making, serving his own needs no matter what certainly no better than the aspects of Shane that he detests so much. To me then the final episode delivered perfectly, putting him in his own prison from which the only escape would lead to into, well, a real prison. However to those that love the idea of him out there doing his thing his way, the final shot also offers the idea of him going out on his feet in the only way he knows how. It is open to interpretation but to me the final season brings his desperate game to a close in a fitting way that delivers "justice" without it being moralising or obvious. Indeed if anything it does feel "unfair" that the Strike Team end the way they do but yet it also works as the "logical" conclusion.
With the focus so much on this thread, season 7 has less time for the other characters doing their own things in the way that other seasons did. OK we still have Danni, Dutch etc all with their own subplots but the show is so dominated by the main flow that these barely distract and certainly are not given enough time to slow down proceedings or take much away from the rest of the show. There are missteps though and I thought that the addition of another mayoral candidate (played by Andre 3000) in the final episode was pretty unnecessary and pointless. Clark Johnson' cameo and directing was cool though and nice to end the series with a H:LOTS actor just as the first episode had done with Reed Diamond (although I'm not suggesting the same quality of actor in linking those two!). Talking of cast it is no surprise to learn that yet again Chiklis commands full attention with a character and performance that he will probably never have again certainly one cannot imagine him playing any sort of tough character in the future without it being compared back to this. It is to his credit that I feel like everyone else should be classed "supporting actors". This is unfair though because the work is roundly good across all actors whether they be the more interesting turns from Pounder, Karnes, Goggins and Snell or those with less to do this time round (such as Jace, Marciano, Dent and Garcés). Unlike other seasons, there is not a lot of character development (outside of the desperate drive into the abyss that some are on) but otherwise everyone delivers on the drama, feeding into the atmosphere of the show and bringing it home effectively.
And so it ends. I am pleased though because I did wonder how much deeper they would go before it became more daft than compelling. As it is they called it just right and, after a bit of a dip in some of the middle seasons, concluded it all really well, with a season that builds on 5 & 6 to grip, twist, turn, surprise and excite. It is not a perfect drama across the board but it does what it does with great efficiency and I enjoyed season 7 a great deal indeed.