The Shield – Aceveda turns the heat up

Season one, episode two

It is damn tough to follow a pilot with the kind of intensity that we saw last week but the second episode of The Shield manages to keep the momentum going without delivering another massive shocking moment for the sake of having another shocking moment. I wasn’t exaggerating when I said that I had to pick my jaw up off the coffee table, but I don’t want to have to do that every single week. Aceveda’s investigation, assuming Mackey set Crawley up to die, instead of killing the man himself, would have been a much more palatable story than what we, and Mackey have to live with. Too bad for the captain, Strike Force blood is thicker than water, and much more so than internal affairs .

So Mackey is feeling guilt for gunning down Crowley? I sure hate it for him. I get that he understands that he was in the wrong, but it looks like he’s obviously subscribing to the ends justify the means way of thinking. At the end of the day, I like Mackey, but I’m not entirely sure I know why I like him, and recognize that I’m not supposed to. Vic Mackey is certainly not your father’s anti-hero (Though, I wouldn’t consider Han Solo an anti-hero, but it was a different time I guess).

Poor Julien. The rookie can’t preserve a crime scene, and can’t avoid the department’s hazing rituals.  His greenness is a nice contrast to Mackey, even though they’ve not really shared any screen time yet. One is fresh and unfamiliar, and the other is the definition of compromised. I look forward to watching these two as time goes on, as it will be interesting to see what happens to Julien as his experience on the force grows.

So, can you redeem a man who shot one of his own? I can’t imagine how that works, but I’m interested to see if they can turn around Vic Mackey in the eyes of viewers. Or, will I always “hate” this thug the way that we’re supposed to, never buying in to the ends justifying the means. Either way, I doubt Mackey will be changing his ways anytime soon, and Aceveda isn’t going to stop gunning for him. When the unstoppable force meets a prissy captain, I’m going to guess that the cop that gets things done will get the nod.

Notes & Quotes

• The reactions of the Strike Force outside of the crime scene was pretty convincing.
• In most police funerals I’ve seen (on TV), the Detectives and other non-uniformed officers are in full dress, so it was weird to see the Strike Force not.
• Just like I found the juxtaposition of the press conference and the chase, this week the two funerals, and their different traditions, were a nice contrast.
• “If you feel the need to put on a dental dam, I got to question what your face was down there in the first place.” – Mackey
• I love the “Strike Team was here” playing card/calling card that Mackey threw down at the gang bust.

Clacked by Ivey West
on Jun 15, 2010 @ 14:14 EST5EDT