Season 3 of The Shield is Epic for a number of reasons, but the big one is the aftermath of taking down the Armenian Money Train. You would think that at the conclusion of last season, the Strike Force pulling off their biggest heist and payday ever would send them into the sunset with nothing but clear blue skies. WRONG! Along with a huge pile of cash comes the paranoia of looking over your shoulder, waiting for the other shoe to drop. What makes this arc so damn rich is the layers upon layers the story line keeps spitting out over the course of the season. The biggest implication of the Money Train heist is that it literally rips apart the Strike Team...a team that was once thought to be unbreakable. Everyone is turning on each other out of fear. They are dirty cops and it's not completely out of the question that one could 'bury' a problem.

Look no further than the Shane and Tavon throw-down. Epic fight that leads to a disastrous turn of events. I always liked the Tavon character and it kinda sucked that his run come to end with him in the hospital.  Lem takes it one step above by finally destroying the Money Train loot by burning it. It was the smartest thing to do with the Armenian's and the US Treasury Department hot on the heels. Throw in marked bills and it was worthless. But Vic, Shane and Ronnie don't see it that way. Adding to the mix is Shane's girlfriend/fiance/wife. Can't stand Mara and that made her a great foil to Vic, who up till now has been able to keep Shane on a leach.

Dutch-Boy's story got very interesting. Still out to prove that he is THE authority on catching serial killers, and by catching one again this season, reveals a side of him that no one, especially the fans, knew anything about. Who would have ever thought that interrogating a killer for a few hours would send him home to strangle a cat? The p*ssing contest between Wyms and David reaches a boiling point when he refuses to vacate his post as Captain, thus keeping her in limbo for the entire season. This is only skimming the surface as their is plenty more that makes Season 3 a Must-Buy.

As with previous seasons, it's great to revisit the series and see actors that I had totally forgotten were on the show for an episode or two. Clark Gregg shows up as the serial killer. I had been wracking my brain trying to figure out where I knew him from when I saw him popping up in all the Marvel films as Agent Coulson. Now I know. Natalie Zea shows up as Vic's love interest for a few episode and she was another actress that I was trying to figure out where I had seen her before when Justified had started. The best was seeing Kurt Sutter returning as Margos Dezerian, the head of the Armenian Mob making EVERYONE's life a living hell. All around a fantastic season. Love it.

One final thought about this season is that it serves up a art-imitating-life scene for Michael Jace when his character Julian has cops showing up on his front door when neighbors complain that he is the instigator of spousal abuse against his wife. That tripped me out because I had totally forgotten about that scene.