The Shield (Season 6 - 2007)
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Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjJ03w57eXM
This is the first time I've ever gotten to watch Season 6. I only stopped watching before because I had moved a couple of times and had lost track of the show. But I did buy the DVD sets when they came out, but never could find a time to watch a full marathon. Same goes for final Season Season 7). I've literally had Season 6 on DVD since 2008. Sheesh!
Anyway, I was very curious if Forest Whitaker would return given that Glenn Close was one and done before exiting the show. I was hopeful that Whitaker would come back because his character is imperative to continue his assault on Mackey, Shane and Ronnie. Good news is he does come back. Bad news (for Mackey) is that he is taking a different tactic to get Mackey anyway he can and that means taking a page right out of Mackey's own playbook by becoming a Dirty Cop himself.
He was holier than thou in Season 5, so it's fascinating to see the same person turning to such drastic measures to get his man by concocting a story that implicates Mackey as the one that killed Lem. I hated Emolia last season and I hate her even more this season (if that's even possible) because she is the puppet to sell this bullsh*t story to Wagenbach. The really bad news is that Whitaker's run on the show ends at the conclusion of Episode 2 when he confesses to framing Mackey, which in turn lands him in jail, thus ending his run. After that, it intensity that all of Season 5 and the first two episodes of Season 6 does take a huge hit. It's still got one thing going for the remainder of the season and that is Mackey hunting down the one who killed Lem.
The first half of this season is great, especially for Walt Goggins who plays Shane. Watching him wrestling with the agonizing guilt that is crippling him for killing Lem was amazing to see. It goes to whole other level when he finds out that Lem never intended to turn on him and Mackey and Ronnie. It reaches the apex when Shane confesses to Mara that he was the one that killed Lem. It's one of the best acting jobs I've ever seen. Truly amazing performance watching him break down as he does. It was so damn good that when Mackey eventually figures out that Shane was the one and confronts him on it, the scene itself was kind of a letdown. Didn't help that I had also built it up in my head for the past 7 years. Sheesh!
The rest of the season was about watching Shane literally turning into the weaselly coward that he was back in Season 3. Bonus points for bringing back the Armenian's and the Money Train arc. Now everyone seems to be turning on each other, which of course creates doubt, especially Ronnie as he is stuck in the middle. I'm really looking forward to the final season to see how it all plays out. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned into a Mexican Standoff between the three and they just kill each other. Overall, a very entertaining season, if a bit underwhelming at times. Love the Dutch / Billingsly partnership that produces a lot of funny moments. Odd seeing Alex O'Loughlin and Franka Potente showing up on the series in sizable roles. Worth a Rent. FYI, with Kenny Johnson gone, it did f*ck up the chemistry of the show, which is something I absolutely saw coming. Not quite the same without Lem there.
The Shield (Season 6) DVD Screencaps
Coming soon...