The Shield: Season Seven
Returns to FX on September 2nd
Does it seem like forever since you've seen Detective Vic Mackey and friends? There's good reason. The season being touted by the FX website as “The Shield: The Final Act” was filmed to begin broadcasting during the show's usual April-May period, but executives decided to hold it back to put up against their competitors' strongest programing premiering in this fall.
Past Impressions
The most impressive thing about the Shield has been its consistently strong writing and the cohesiveness of its plot line. Actions taken by characters five or six seasons ago still have importance, as the sins of their pasts really do come back to haunt them.
Despite constant references to earlier events in the Shield's history, the show has avoided seeming stale and repetitive. That's not only a credit to the writers but also to the many tremendous guest stars who have severed for a season or two in the cast. Anthony Anderson was an excellent villain as smooth and cunning drug lord Antwon Mitchell. Glenn Close played an impressively hard-nosed Captain Monica Rawling and it was a shame that she had to leave the series so soon. Forest Whitaker, who never seems to play a bad role, was dynamic and believable as Internal Affairs' Jon Kavanaugh, becoming increasingly obsessed with doing whatever it took to bring Mackey to justice.
In season six we saw Mackey's student in working the wrong side of the law, Shane Vendrell who is played by Walton Goggins, exposed for his role in fellow Officer Curtis Lemansky's death and expelled from the Strike Team. Shane tries to forge some alliances of his own for protection but isolated from his only friends and wracked with guilt over his actions, his behavior grows rapidly more and more self-destructive. Shane just keeps placing himself in bad situations and in the end he's forced to reveal to the Armenians that it was he and the Strike Team who were responsible for taking that bundle of money that they've been searching for all these years.
The Coming End
As the final act begins, Vic Mackey- the ultimate take-charge cop, will be put on the defensive as not only he but his entire family are put in life-threatening danger. We've seen how nice a guy he is most of time, now we'll find out what happens when you hit him on his own turf and make him angry.
It's hard to imagine the final act of the Shield being a disappointment, and while it may take a while to reach your TV screen, just try to remember that sometimes good things are worth the wait. After all, it's kept us from having to say goodbye for at least this long.
Caution
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