The Shield

Season 7 Episode 13

Family Meeting

Favorite
0
9.6
out of 10
User Rating
268 votes
20

EPISODE REVIEWS
By TV.com Users

Episode Summary

EDIT
Family Meeting
go
Amazon
Buy
iTunes
Buy
Hulu Plus
Subscription
Amazon Prime
Free Trial / Subscription
VUDU
Buy
AIRED:
The Barn looks into a woman's disappearance and the arrival of a major drug shipment.
FAN RECAP

Fan Episode Reviews (20)

SUBMIT REVIEW

  • The seventh season, and the series, ends with an episode which shows the final fate of all of the show's main characters and delivers a finale that won't soon be forgotten.moreless

    9.5
    By meathead704, May 04, 2011
    "The Shield" has delivered one of the best series finales in all of television history. This is the finale "The Sopranos" should have delivered. There are a number of positive points about this episode. Excellent performances, well written scripts and great suspense. I also like that there are no loose ends here. All stories, whether they be cases or the fates of individual characters, are brought to a plausible conclusion. In the end, I have mixed feelings about Vic. I actually found myself feeling a little sorry for him, but on the other hand, he didn't deserve to get away.moreless

  • Great finale. One of the greatest ever for a great show. CCH Pounder was right. Vic Mackey got exactly what he deserved.

    10
    By hurleyjunx666, Apr 04, 2011
    This was an absolute perfect way to end the series. At first I was disappointed with how it ended but after thinking about it, it couldn't be more fitting.



    Vic Mackey is not going to jail, going to die, going anywhere for that matter. That's right, he's ICE's slave doing a desk job that is worse than prison and death. It also shows what he has become. While he spent the entire series trying to protect his family, his team and his loved ones, he lost all of them in the process and now he's alone with nothing but a boring job at a department where he is viewed as a simple outcast.



    Shane oh Shane. I guess it had to end this way for you. Shocking ending for him but yet it was going to happen. Did you have to take Mara and Jackson with you?



    Ronnie should not have gotten his punnishment. He was the most loyal of the strike team and especially to Vic and this is how it ends for him. Brillant acting for David Rees Snell. When you saw the uni's drag him away from Vic, you could see the rage and anger and pain coming from him realizing that the person he would sell his soul for sold him out.



    Claudette and Vic's confrontation with Shane's aftermath was intense and without much conversation. Great acting for CCH Pounder and Michael Chiklis.



    Dutch, what becomes of him now? The whole Lloyd/Rita/Dutch triangle didn't seem like it got resolved but it did give an idea of where it's heading.



    This show has been one of the very few things I looked forward too since it came on. Now that it's over, TV will not be as exciting for a long time.



    Shawn Ryan, thank you for giving us the 7 best seasons of television that I could ask for. You and your team of writers and production members deserve praise and a ton of gold to take home.moreless

  • Not the way to finish that show.

    5.0
    By veselov, Feb 25, 2011
    I watched this episode, and how Vic bails on the immunity deal, all hyped in anticipation of what's gonna follow next. Seriously, had no idea this was the last episode, and for a good reason - it didn't feel like it! Months later, when I realized this was it, I looked back, and I just don't see how you end such a show of gory rule breaking with such a bleak finale. My anticipation was washed away with wave of disappointment and near anger. Come on, after 7 years of promises that Vic is either gonna get caught, get himself killed, or settle deep in Mexico with a big wad of cash, and no conclusion whatsoever. This wouldn't even look good on a season finale. All this these years I was literally held on the tip of my chair, trying to come up with possibilities of how are these guys going to weasel themselves out from this one, and who will have to die for it, and who will have to get betrayed. Look, OK, I'm not begging for a happy ending (which, granted, in this show is not at all obvious), but give me some closure! Let me see him get hammered, or get away yet again, don't leave me hanging dry.moreless

  • In the end the show achieved what it intended: it felt real and gritty. It was like a Strike Team shakedown punch to the gut of the audience. (spoilers!)

    10
    By AndrewMartin0, Feb 21, 2011
    This was one of the few endings of a TV series that I actually liked. It fit with the heart of the series and punched the audience in the gut like a Strike Team shakedown. It had a great balance of tying up story lines, while still shocking us and making us face the possibilities of how dark our own souls could get if faced with the situations the characters in the show faced. I will never use the term "Family Meeting" again, that is for sure! Shane walked the edge and fell on the dark side we always knew he would, while making the audience actually feel for him before the end. Walton Goggins proved his wealth of talent the past few seasons by taking his dumb hillbilly character to a deep and complicated place. I hope he has a long and successful career after his brilliance in this show.



    This episode was a great combination of all of the things that made this series so great: brilliant, layered writing; strong characters; amazing acting; and an ability to show how the dark side of humanity is right there next to us all the time. The scene with Claudette and Vic and the reading of Shane's note was exceptional with Vic not having to say a word, just like his last scene stuck in cubicle hell with pictures of the past his only companions - respect, friends, family, his balls - all things taken from him. It was like watching an amazing big screen actor commanding the camera with their face a clear window to the soul of their character.



    Vic's family found peace in the end in the only way we knew was possible - in a life without Vic. The fact he did not get to say goodbye was a fitting slap in the face for a man who gave lip-service to being a caring father but in the end could never be a man they could respect or feel safe around.



    In the end we were shown that Vic was ultimately a selfish creature, as he ended up with just himself - the ultimate reward of the selfish.



    I will miss the grit, the rule breaking, the eye into the underworld in a realistic way that the show provided, and lament the gutless TV drivel we are being spoon-fed now with no real characters that doesn't push boundaries or force us to look at ourselves and society critically. My utmost respect and thanks to all of the cast, crew and writers of The Shield. This show has left a mark on me, just like one of Vic's "interrogations".moreless

  • No state immunity for Vic

    6.0
    By LosAngelesGuy, Oct 04, 2010
    Gotta chime in on the Vic Mackey "immunity" thing. I'm a long-time viewer. The ICE immunity angle is completely bogus/whacked. The feds cannot grant immunity from prosecution for state crimes. Mackey would still be subject to prosecution by the state. Bad writing, ICE immunity a poorly conceived premise but good/great acting. I thought David Rees Snell's performance was noteworthy: in the finale, he showed stress/frustration over things falling apart, renewed hope/optimism, grief/regret, and, ultimately, rage (at Vic). Also: looks like is the new Big Man On Campus, including with Danni. But did I mention that the feds cannot grant the immunity that the writers would have us swallow?moreless
See All Fan Reviews

Cast & Crew: STARS

Michael Chiklis

Michael Chiklis

Detective Vic Mackey
Catherine Dent

Catherine Dent

Officer Danielle "Danny" Sofer
Paula Garcés

Paula Garcés

Officer Tina Hanlon (Recurring Seasons 5-6, Regular Season 7)
Walton Goggins

Walton Goggins

Detective Shane Vendrell
Michael Jace

Michael Jace

Officer Julien Lowe
Jay Karnes

Jay Karnes

Detective Holland "Dutch" Wagenbach
See All Cast & Crew

Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

Andre Benjamin

Andre Benjamin

Robert Huggins

Guest Star

Julia Campbell

Julia Campbell

Ellen Carmichael

Guest Star

Kyle Gallner

Kyle Gallner

Lloyd Denton

Guest Star

Laurie Holden

Laurie Holden

Agent Olivia Murray

Recurring Role

Michele Hicks

Michele Hicks

Mara Sewell

Recurring Role

Francesco Quinn

Francesco Quinn

Beltran

Recurring Role

See All Cast & Crew

Watch Online

Amazon
Buy
iTunes
Buy
Hulu Plus
Subscription
Amazon Prime
Free Trial / Sub...
VUDU
Buy

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

FILTER BY TYPE

  • TRIVIA (1)

    • The final scene featuring Corrine and the kids - in which they have been relocated by ICE - is set in Rockford, Illinois. This is not explicitly stated in the scene; however, the U.S. Marshal mentions the Burpee Museum of Natural History and their juvenile dinosaur, nicknamed "Jane," located in Rockford. Series creator Shawn Ryan was born and raised in Rockford, IL.

  • QUOTES (2)

    • (Reading Shane's suicide note to Vic)
      Claudette: "Vic led, but I kept following. I don't think one's worse than the other, but we made each other into something worse than our individual selves. I wish I'd never met him."

    • Shane: (to Vic on the phone) The mother of your children has been playing you. She would rather see you go to prison than to hug one of your own kids again.

  • NOTES (3)

  • ALLUSIONS (0)

See All Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

The Shield Listings

Full Listings
Thursday
No results found.
Friday
No results found.
Saturday
No results found.

Forums: The Shield

See All Posts

Watch Full Episodes: The Shield

See All Full Episodes

Season 7 Episodes

See All
Ep 14
Family Meeting, Pt. 2
Ep 13
Family Meeting
Ep 12
Possible Kill Screen
Ep 11
Petty Cash
Ep 10
Party Line
Ep 9
Moving Day
Ep 8
Parricide
Ep 7
Bitches Brew
Ep 6
Animal Control
Ep 5
Game Face
Ep 4
Genocide
Ep 3
Money Shot
Ep 2
Snitch
Ep 1
Coefficient of Drag

Contributors

Become a contributor
More
Less

Related Shows & Movies

TV.com Properties | Shows | Movies | Videos | News | Listings | Forums | People | Photos | Web Series | TV.com Blog
| Closed Captioning | Rating Guidelines | Mobile

CBS Entertainment | About TV.com | About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Ad Choice | Terms of Use