The Shield (TV Series) Tapa Boca (2006) User Reviews

Stakes on this get much higher

[michaelchikliscares · 10/10 · 27 September 2019]

This is a pretty crafty episode. I already watched this show many times, there were no reviews left on season 5 so I would let them coming for the audience who reads reviews.

Vic and the strike team trying to figure out a way over Lem being wired and how to figure out what kind of witness saw him in Bettario's house, either him or someone else.

Vic triangleing back to Aceveda about the random trash pickups on their district of Farmington but this is a diversion for Kavanaugh under the wire to make it seem like Aceveda would have '' had regular '' meetings with Vic putting Kavanaugh doubt Aceveda stakes in this.

While under the microscope over Kavanaugh's scrutiny for the strike team I know Vic would look for some legal cover cosying up to Becca Doyle and creates this bubble of trust taking the case against them, it is interesting because never would of got themselves a legal presentation, she is a female and Kavanaugh is a real threat to them.

Since I am rooting for the strike team somehow but should be against them, Shane is pretty on spot reminding Vic about his blind spot for Emolia and her kid, so they go check on her in the house but the gardener says that a black man came by.

Dutch and Claudette are assigned to a horrible crime that took place , a child that was cut out of her womb, while Danny herself is pregnant Dutch has to test one of his dark theories on her which I found amusing and sick at the same time.

It comes back to Vic confronting Emolia and finding out that she gave Lem out but had 6 months to warn him, nice performance by both actors and the element of suprise , Kavanaugh rushing to the house.

10/10 for that amazing ending scene. This season does not slow down after this episode.

[EddyTheMartian007 · 10/10 · 18 August 2021]

This is when Season 5 becomes one of the most intense and exciting rollercoaster rides in TV. The beginning of this season was already amazing as the rollercoaster slowly goes up setting everything up, but after this episode the rollercoaster drops down full speed ahead, twisting, turning, flipping, and the season never stops. The episode already starts putting a ticking clock on Lem as Kavanaugh reveals that he knows he's been playing him leaving the room when the strike team is about to incriminate themselves. I love how Lem's excuse for this is faking taking a dump, and removing the wire. This situation brings out unexpected comedy, which is appreciated because this season is much darker than most.

Like with one of the darker cases as a fetus is kidnapped! WHAT?! This is a great and memorable case with some good twists, intense moments, and surprisingly good performances from all the suspects, plus a terrible ending with the borderline new born baby is found dead with it's body crushed. I liked how they incorporated Danny into the case too, The story explaining what happened was very well done and just horrifying but sadly believable in our world. It's just so shocking that people can be so stupid and ignorant, but even then were trying to help. The way she said they were trying to give the baby CPR and "The minute he pressed down... we heard everything crack." was just chilling and depressing. This is definitely a great case but I want to focus a bit more on some other parts of the episode so I kept it brief.

The strike team trying to figure out what to do in this situation is great. I always find these scenes of the strike team trying to fix these issues they've gotten themselves into so exciting. All the actors do a great jobs with their characters, and the dialogue is strong. Especially now with everything the strike team has gone through like in Season 4 it makes these scenes more powerful, like when Shane says maybe Lem should go to jail and they'll fix it from the outside, but Lem is obviously mad at Shane since he got himself in this place helping him back in Season 4. If I had to find an issue with this episode it would be that I did find it unrealistic that the strike team didn't even remember Lem's birthday.

This episode had a lot of layers going at once with the Lem investigation, the case, Claudette's illness, the strike team trying to find the witness, Kavanaugh trying to figure out how much they know, Corrine contemplating what to do, and more. It was an episode that just kept moving and it has great scenes. The scene between Corrine and Dutch is an unexpected one, but a nice surprise. Corrine having revealed to Kavanaugh he know who she is and Kavanaugh threatening that she could be obstructing justice if she tells Vic, she goes to Dutch for ask to advice, and Dutch of course helps out and explains Kavanaugh is right, so this puts her in a tough position, Dutch also asks about the medication Claudette is taking which is nice way to kill 2 birds with one stone in a scene like this.

I also wanted to mentions how this is seemingly one of the better directed episodes. It's not as obviously stylized as some other episodes, but the camera work felt al lot more smooth and had some longer takes than the usual quick cuts in the show. It transitioned between close ups and medium shots in effective ways, or showed multiple layers of story on screen like when Dutch is looking and the strike team in the background after finding out that they're under investigation from Corrine, which adds an extra layer of paranoia for the strike team. It made certain scenes work better, as well as the editing, like when Julien and Tina go to the guy selling fake body armor for soldiers and we see him come out with a big smile and it instantly cuts to him being arrested in the barn with a frown. Another example of this is when Dutch and Claudette are intercut interrogating different suspects for the main case which makes it more intense and engaging.

In the same way that last episode was about the performances these characters use to hide their real selves, this episode is feels like it's about these performances failing and the truth seeping out. Kavanaugh's performance with Corrine no longer works. Dutch finally has enough evidence to know Claudette's faking everything being alright and confronts her about her sickness, but Claudette is still not ready. Tina lashes out at Danni after a big mistake, showing her true naivety still. Honestly that scene made me cringe, she really needs to learn better. Danni can't keep up the performance for the interrogation with the baby killers, and puts Tina in her place. Emolia is revealed being the snitch. Vic's the only one who can keep up the performance even when Rebecca pushes on him with the misinformation he keeps giving her. We can clearly now see even more clearly how easily Vic lies and manipulates people. I love how he seems uncomfortable walking in at first but once he starts lying he's totally confident. The dialogue between Vic and Rebecca is so deeply ironic, the way he explains everything as them being innocent and trying to justify everything as for the greater good almost feels forced from Vic. He always pushes the lies a bit too hard. But even he can't keep it up when he finds out that Emolia had been playing a performance on HIM the entire time.

In the beginning of the episode I like how Shane suggest it could've been Emolia that snitched, but Vic keeps vouching for her. This is one of the people Vic helps out so much so it probably makes him feel better about the other bad things he has done, so to be betrayed by her at the end, especially Vic who values loyalty so much, absolutely shatters him... and this scene is absolutely terrifying. Vic shows his true colors, and the performance shatters. We've never seen Vic so angry before, it's insane. First he's genuinely disappointed, but understanding thinking she had no choice with that quieter "Why you lying to me?" he keeps trying to make explanations for why she'd do this, but when he finds out she's been lying since the start and she made it happen Vic becomes an animal. Or maybe he always has been that, a monster, hiding under the guise of a good cop. It's easy to forget how many terrible things Vic has done sometimes, but this reminds you he's not who he seems on the outside, and the audience didn't know him as well as we thought. This scene almost feels reminiscent of Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall in The Shining with Michael Chiklis' monstrous rage coming out at Onahoua Rodriguez shaking and whimpering with pure terror. I'm not going to lie, I was even questioning if Vic was going to kill her at one point. We see how the nice and caring act instantly drops once he know's the truth and starts yelling at her. The way they cut to that "SHUT UP!" too is brilliant, it comes out as shocking as it is to Emolia because of how they pan to Emolia but before the camera even settles properly on her it instantly cuts to Vic yelling at her. It actually made me jump myself when I heard it. I never thought Vic would literally put a knife to the neck of a mother, and it was just a riveting scene. I think part of the reason Vic is so angry too is because she kinda reminds him of himself, like when Emolia says "You knew what I was when you started running with me. I report on people for money, Vic. That's what I do!" he realizes that she just did it for the money like he has done some terrible things for. And then if the scene couldn't be more tense and excruciating to watch, Vic get's a call on his phone signaling someone is coming and Kavanaugh appears right there. Vic quickly puts on a performance, but even he can't keep up. I love the silence when Kavanaugh tells Vic to explain why he's there, Emolia actually manages to save him out of self preservation since Vic threatened her. This is just one of the most brilliant scenes in the show that shows another side of Vic we haven't seen yet, amazingly acted, insanely intense, and it gives us a taste of what's coming in Season 5.