The Shield
Season 7
Episode 1 Synopsis
Coefficient of Drag

Wow, this one wasted no time getting off the ground. Where do I begin? Okay, Shane is arriving home late at night. He opens his door and sees Mara bound and gagged on the couch. Shane pulls his gun and starts looking through the house for an intruder. Vic and Ronny jump out of the shadows and start beating him in retaliation for what Shane did to Vic's wife and daughter. In between blows he tries to explain why he did what he did. That he was trying to save their lives because of the hit that was put on him by Diro Kazhekian. That she found out Vic was responsible for the money train heist. (Again, Shane leaves out the part that he is the one who told Diro) That he is the one that shot the sent assassin in Vic's house. Vic and Ronny aren't sure what to believe but tell Shane they are going to check out his story and be back for him if it isn't true. Shane releases Mara and gives her the backstory on why Vic did what he did. Mara is worried and wants Vic out of their lives. Vic spins a tale to his wife about Shane overhearing someone talking about hurting his family so he tried to protect them not hurt them. Leaving out the fact that hit is legit due to the Armenian Money Train heist

Meanwhile, in Farmington the Mexican cartel is trying to send a message by having 2 El Salvadorians executed and having their bodies dragged along a stretch of street that separates the Mexicans and El Salvadorians. Leaving a blood trial a mile long with the mangled body parts at the end of the marker. Claudette wants Vic to see if he can get any leads on this. But he and Ronny are trying to find the would be assassin that was going to kill Vics wife and daughter to get information from him to see if Shane was telling the truth. Shane is also trying to find the guy too so he can turn him over to Rezian and the Armenians.

Shane is too late. Vic and Ronny find the man holed up in a hotel room recovering from his wounds. Shane hides outside wating for Vic and Ronny to leave.Vic begins to be beat him. Ronny gets Vic under control and they do indeed find out that Shane is the one that shot him. Vic leaves and after he is gone Ronny kills the man shooting him twice in the chest then he too leaves. Ronny has clearly shown his loyalties to Vic and will probably be a darker character this year. Shanes mind spins out of control as he goes upstairs and finds the dead man. He then cuts off the mans feet to make it look as if Diro Kashekian ordered the hit putting the blame on the Armenian Mob.

Billings returns to the barn continuing his lawsuit and scam. He is supposedly being offered a settlement to make the problem go away, but Dutch enlists his help on an old case that Billings worked regarding a murdered wife a few years back. Billings continues to play the part of the disabled cop but does help Dutch if anything just to help speed along his settlement. Unfortunately for him, he did too good of a job with the investigation showing he is trying to scam the Barn. Claudette tells him that his lawsuit now has no merit and it would be best to get back to work. Billings agrees but says he will be doing the minimal work required of him. Like that is any different than before, right?

Vic and Aceveda drive to a remote location with the blackmail box of goodies that Pezuela had collected. Vics plan is to take out one of the files of a high ranking official and use it against him as leverage to help him keep his badge. Acevada doesn't want that and thinks they should reach out to Pezuala and tell him that other parties are trying to buy the box to use for their own personal clout of owning the politicians in the city. Vic convinces Pezuala to help him keep his job in exchange for finding the information.

A witness comes forward to tell Vic that she can identify one of the drivers of the body drag. Many of them are holed up in a store loaded with weapons. The police move in on them and a shoot out ensues with bullets flying everywhere. Vic drives into the store pinning the baddies and allowing the cops to arrest them all for their cache of weapons. Later while getting all the weapons cleared out, it seems one of the men was still hiding in the store. He jumps out and attacks Danny from behind. He takes off as the other officers on the scene, including Hanlon make their way back into the store. Danny is upset because she thought the room was cleared out and vows to have the person fired that failed to clear out the room properly. It possibly was Hanlon but we don't know yet.

Vic and Ronny are meeting with Shane later that evening. Vic and Ronnie know that Shane is working for the Armenians but need to keep him under control to think they trust him. They plan to turn the Armenians against the Mexicans and create a gang war of epic proportions.

I thought it was a pretty good season opener. Especially since it is the last season it appears that all hell is going to break loose this year, and I predict that more than one main character is going to die before its all said and done. I love this show

The Shield
Episode 10 Synopsis
Spanish Practices

Vic wastes no time in going to see Aceveda to show him the picture Pezuela gave him as he pays him a late night visit. David meets him outside. Aceveda dismisses it as a fake but you can see the anguished look on his face to see that this past skeleton has come tumbling out his closet. He gets a lawyer right away that threatens Vic with blackmail and extortion charges along with everything else under the sun. Vic knows the picture isn't enough so he goes back to Pezuela to tell him he needs more than just the picture. Pezuela complies and gives Vic all copies of the picture along with the memory stick in hopes this will give David the incentive to help him with his upcoming panel hearing.

But, in the big picture of things Vic wants to form an alliance with Aceveda to find out what Pezuela is into. He convinces David to talk to Claudette about releasing the $230,000 that was being held by the Mexican diplomat in the San Marcos case so he can follow where the money is going and why? Claudette is skeptical but does what she is asked. She also knows that Vic and David are upt to something.

Shane now feeling the pressure that he told Diro Kashekian about the Armenian money train robbery back peddles and tries to convince her that he made a mistake regarding what happened. She isn't convinced. She wants those reponsible for the heist murdered. Shane goes to see Rezian, Diro's chief rival to take over the Armenian mob in prison and get his guidance on what will be done. Rezian tells him that Diro will not only kill those reponsible but also go after their families as well. Shane is up to his neck in deep **** as he now realizes that he has put Vic's family in danger for his revelation about the money train heist. Like a deer caught in the headlights his mind goes into overdrive. He tries to call Vic to let him know but Vic doesn't take his call. Shane drives over to Corinne's house and takes Corinne and Cassidy hostage and drives them to a storage container and locks them in while he puts spin control on the impending damage he has caused. He is trying to protect them, but they think he has gone nuts. He goes back to Corinne's house and waits for the hired assassin that will soon be showing up. When he does a fight ensues with the assassin being shot in the scuffle (but not fatally). Shane tells the gunmen Diro is no longer in charge and that Rezian will now be running things. Man, Shane flip flops and waffles more than John Kerry.

The barn's rumors are running abound as word gets out that Hiatt slept with Hanlon and that Dutch was seeing peeking through the window. Dutch knows that Billings set him up but can't prove it so he decides to let the matter die down. Billing meanwhile decides to file a lawsuit for 3 million dollars against the Barn for some bull**** fake injury claim. Dutch also investigates the murder of a local transient nicknamed "Miracle Joe" who was somewhat of a legend in the community. He was well liked, never gave anyone any trouble and his ability to survive everything from gunshots, stabbings and even being hit by a bus is what earned him the moniker. A witness saw somebody dumping his body. Dutch finds out that "Miracle Joe" died of natural causes and the person that did the body dump did it more as a prank as he told Dutch that he was dead when he found him. Dutch locates the mans nephew and is clearly moved by the story the nephew told him regarding his uncle and how he came to become a homless recluse. Dutch is later comforted by Danny and the two later share a warm embrace and kiss,. It's about time these two hooked up.

Vic goes to the office where he followed the Mexican diplomat too. He see's the bag of money taken by someone else in a car and while the car is gone, he goes into the office under the ruse that he is a copier salesman. While the secretary at the office tries to usher him out Vic opens a door where there are machine guns on a wall as well as maps showing Farmington District areas highlighted. It appears thet Mexican cartels are moving north of the border and Vic goes to Aceveda to plot their next move. Vic's board hearing is later that evening.

Hiatt now wanting to run the strike team his own way wants to try and stop a gang initiation from happening where the new members are beaten up by others. Against the wishes of Vic and Ronnie, Hiatt stops the initiation from happening. Unfortunately for the new members to earn their stripes, instead of beating up on each other, they go out and commit acts of violence upon innocents. Vic and Ronnie go to the gang leader to find where one of the new members is before he pulls a gun on an unsuspecting victim. Hiatt's way of dealing with this situation was clearly wrong as it created more of a headache than it was worth. Claudette pretty much gives Hiatt his walking papers after this as he is clearly not the leader she thought he was.

Vic gets a call that shots were heard fired from his wife's house. He arrives to find his wife and daughter missing and blood on the floor. Shane later releases Corrine and Cassidy. They go back home and tell Vic what Shane did to them. Vic is clearly flusterred by what has happened to his family and he and Ronnie plan to deal with Shane at a later time

Vic is nervously waiting for his panel hearing. His family shows up surprisingly to support him and he is overcome with joy. As he is called into his panel hearing he looks at his family and walks out not even attending his hearing. He instead waits again outside the business he visited earlier to get more intel on what is going on. One of the business associates gets in a car and leaves and Vic follows him. He puts on his dome light and pulls the man over. Vic asks for him to open his trunk and instead of complying revs the car and takes off, but not before Vic jumps in the drivers window and pummels the man as the car slowly crashes into a wall. Vic pulls the man from the car and beats him up some more. Vic has Aceveda show up in a taxi to come out to the sight discreetly. Vic shows him what was in the trunk. It appears that Pezuela had a blackmail file on every major polictician in the city in hopes to get his real estate deals going without any glitches. Acaveda is stunned by what he sees. (Pictures, DVD's, and a paper trail a mile long)

After seeing all this evidence, Vic asks….."Is there enough here now to help us break up this operation and keep my job?" David knows this is too much to pass up and it appears he and Vic will be partnered up to stop the Mexican cartels from trying to take over Farmington. Next season looms.

I have to add this episode was good, but not season finale good. I almost wish the season would have ended last week and this episode would have been the first episode of season 7 as there was no real bombshell moment like Lem being killed in last years season finale. It was well written and directed and gave us some story lines to dwell on for next season….(I.E. what will become of Shane as he basically traded away his life to Rezian of the Armenian mob to keep Vic's family safe? Will Billings lawsuit have any merit on the closure of the barn? Dutch and Danny's possible relationship? And of course the Mexican cartels moving to Farmington to branch out their business dealings.

I can't believe next season will be the last as this show has been the best thing on television by far over the last 6 years.

The Shield Season 6, Episode 9 Synopsis
"Recoil"

(First let me preface this by saying……Holy Sh*t! This is getting good.

Aceveda comes to the Barn with Cruz Pezuela asking for answers on the San Marcos killings. Cruz is the Mexican real estate developer that Aceveda has become friends with in hopes of strengthening his political sway. Pezuela has even promised Acaveda $200,000 toward his political contributions when the killers are found. Pezuela wants the killers found so that he can continue to gain favor with the Mexican community. Pezuela gives Mackey information that may lead him to the killers. The tip pays off as Vic locates an El Salvadorian named Rincon that gives up two of his men. Vic and Ronnie turn the two over to the Biz Lats where they are beaten to death as retribution. Vic hopes that by solving the case he can save his job as his appeal hearing is coming up soon. He even seeks help from the councilman who he helped keep his drug addict daughter out of the media which would have hurt the councilman, but it seems to be of little help. All signs point that Vic will be forced into early retirement.

Meanwhile, Shane is getting in even deeper with Diro Kashekian, the daughter of the Armenian mob boss. He talks her into knocking off all of her rivals that will come to take ownership of the mob once her sick father dies; in essence becoming partners with her in the Armenian Mob.

Vic gets wind of this and tells Diro that Shane is nothing but trouble and that this will blow up in her face. She becomes worried by what Vic confides to her and tells Shane to leave forget about their arrangement. Shane becomes angry with Vic for interfering with his new connection. He later goes back to Diro to tell her that Vic was responsible for the Armenian money train robbery a few years back. (He forgets to mention that he was also involved as well) This angers her completely to the point she now wants Vic dead. Shane has clearly stepped into a big pile of dog doo!

Dutch gets embarrased by Detective Billings as Billings secretly sets up a love tryst with Detective Hiatt and Officer Hanlon (What a manipulator he is), but Billings makes Dutch believe that Tina really wants him. He even takes her cell phone and sends Dutch a text message telling him to come over to her house. Dutch is excited at the prospect and rushes over with a bottle of wine and a skip in his step, but right before he knocks on her door he hears the sounds of loud moaning coming from inside her house. He peeks in her window and sees Tina riding Hiatt like she's on a racehorse. I mean she is going to town on him. Hiatt looks up and sees Dutch at the window too. Dutch is horrified. He is unaware that Billings set him up. He thinks Tina is the one who played him for a fool and he is clearly embarrassed.

Vic's frustrations about his appeal are starting to show. The case has been closed but as he digs deeper into the San Marcos killings he wants to find out about the diplomat that got his arm chopped off at the murder site and the $230,000 dollars he was carrying. As he starts to turn over rocks to look for more clues, he finds out that somehow Cruz Pezuela is involved but he doesn't yet know in what capacity. He goes to Aceveda to tell him this, but Aceveda stonewalls him and tells him nothing can save his job. But Vic's questions are starting to upset Pezuela He asks Aceveda to keep Vic on the police force but Aceveda tells him that is impossible and the he will be voting to force Mackey into early retirement at the panel hearing. Vic goes to see Pezuela at one of his construction sites to let him know that he isn't giving up on finding out who was behind the San Marcos killings and he will do everything in his power to find out. Pezuela tells Vic to quit asking questions and to leave it alone and he can get his job back for him. Vic doesn't believe him as he knows that Acevedo's vote holds a lot of weight in the proceedings. Pezuela gives Vic an envelope that Vic opens up. He looks incredulously at the picture he is holding. It is a picture of Aceveda doing something with his mouth and it ain't blowing up a baloon(We all remember that episode……) Pezuela says……"Instead of standing up like a man to his captors, he got on his knees and took a **** in his mouth, I'm sure this won't go over very well with the voters" He gives Vic the picture to use as leverage in his appeal hearing.

It seems Vic now has the ace up his sleeve to blackmail Aceveda into letting him keep his job. Next week is the season finale and it looks like its going to be a good one….. I can't wait.