The Shield

I just watched the final episode of The Shield last night. Man, it was unsettling. I won’t give anything away to those readers who might not have seen it. But I do want to talk about the series.

The first episode introduced a dirty cop named Vic Mackey who would be the center point of the show for the entire run. In that episode, Vic kills an undercover cop who was out to expose him and his “Strike Team” and their dirty dealings. Vic and his crew weren’t dirty cops in the cliché mold. They were guys who loved each other and their families. They believed that cops were a family, although they often had disagreements inside. And they often did some very heroic things which often left you cheering for them, but all the while never forgiving them for their transgressions.

As the series continued, the killing of the undercover cop continued to tear at the team. The team killed others, but they were drug dealers or killers themselves, but not another cop. Each member had to come to terms with the killing and it never quit haunting Vic Mackey.

The team was investigated by Internal Affairs in the fifth season and it almost put them away. A team member was killed at the end of that season because another team member thought he was going to rat them out. That was the straw that finally tore the team apart. They would never recover.

The final season was a slam bang ride of the downward spiral of Vic and his Strike Team. The remaining team members were losing it. Vic became less of a sympathetic character by the end of the final season. I stared sadly at the television screen as each episode progressed and Vic came apart more and more, finally compromising the one remaining friend he had so he could save his skin. But it all made sense and, while I was sad to see it end, it was a logical and fairly satisfying end.

I got into The Shield when I was still a cop. I had seen previews of the show on FX I immediately wanted to see it. I write short stories where the good guys are never that good and the bad guys are sometimes heroes. I knew the show was going to be right up my alley and I was right.

I remember my wife going to an orientation program for the spouses of officers during my rookie year. The show had just started and was already receiving rave reviews from the mainstream press and less than favorable response from the law enforcement world. The Chief of Police at that time (a man I looked at and still do with great respect) told the spouses that anybody who liked The Shield had a problem and he hoped none of his officers watched it.

Well, I not only watched it, I loved it. And I’m sorry to see it go. But as with everything, life must go on.