The Shield - "Haunts"

I don't want to beat a dead horse here, so I won't say again how The Shield is the most consistently excellent show airing on broadcast television today. It's a breath of fresh air when placed up against other shows I watch that can't even begin to touch the excellent of their early days *cough* 24 *cough* Lost *cough*. This week I watched again broadcast from France, apparently, but rewatched again from FX's broadcast last night. At least they were identical as far as I could tell, outside of the titles. Apparently “Haunts” translates to “Passage A Tabac”. Okay. Outside the titles though, France is broadcasting episodes of the show two at a time, now weeks in advance. I believe they've aired all the way up through episode seven of this season. Bittorrent is your friend.

This week, we begin so abruptly with Shane being admitted to the hospital, that I think that I missed a beat somewhere in between episodes. But that's just how The Shield do. Shane is mess after taking a beating from an unknown assailant. Good thing Mrs. Ex-Mackey works at the hospital so she's right in the thick of it all the time. Mackey shows up with a beardless Ronnie and wants to know what's up. Shane tries to brush it off, but now Mackey has a new wrong to avenge. Suddenly, without warning, Mara AKA Shane's Imaginary Wife shows up fresh out of 2005. She hasn't been seen on screen since episode three of season five. Whew.

Mexican Metal Music. Titles.

Back at the Barn, Claudette meets with Mackey and Hiatt to discuss the San Marcos house murders. Apparently, Mackey is making a go of working under Hiatt. Claudette puts the boys on the case. They've identified all the dead except the arm missing a body. They're all prisoners and were all killed by machete, which makes the Salvadorans look good for the kills. Claudette also lets the boys in on the news that the Barn may be closing unless this case breaks their way.

Downstairs, Ronnie pulls Vic aside to tell him that he's not hearing anything on the street about Shane's beating. He worries that Guardo's girlfriend might have figured out what they did and put his people on them, but the fact that Shane is breathing makes it unlikely. Back on the job, they look over the San Marcos case with Hiatt and the newest member, Julian. They find out that the murdered had great guest worker visa forgeries, which gives them something to start on. Vic defers to Hiatt, who clearly appreciates it and so gives the lead to Vic. Vic and Ronnie head off to follow up on the forgery lead.

On the floor, Claudette checks in with Dutch about their serial rapist case. Dutch worries that their guys MO points to the possibility that he already has a fresh victim. In the San Marcos house, Julian struggles with the slaughter scene. Hiatt tries to teach him in the ways of detectives. Writing lots of notes isn't the way of Strike Teams. Vic threatens a forger with the murder raps and he reveals that he can tell the forgeries were made in Mexico. They question Guardo's number two about what the beef is between the “Aztecs and the Mayans” or as Julian said, surprisingly, “brown on brown”. The number two has one request, a dick-sucking from a hottie (basic cable immunity). Mackey agrees. The number two thinks that the Mexicans killed Guardo. The number two runs down who will be leading the Salvadorans now, which gives Mackey the name Hernan, which as you remember is the undercover agent that Dutch came across. Mackey offers a Hummer from the “hottie” male uniformed cop.

Dutch and Billings follow up on the serial rapist case with a runaway. There's one guy that gives the girls free food which makes him look suspicious for drugging the girls. The guys question him, but get nowhere.

Vic asks permission to follow up on Shane with a One-Niner and Hiatt lets him go. Vic finds out that the “underage pussy” (basic cable immunity) that is barely legal was Shane's squeeze. Mose, the Niner chief, just wanted to make sure that Mackey knew that he had nothing to do with Shane's beating. He tells them to talk to the girl to find out more.

In the Barn, a guy who runs a shelter shows up to help Dutch out. He's apparently the only one that responded to Dutch's requests. He has a list of at-risk kids. He has a daughter himself that has gone missing and he asks Dutch to take a look. It takes Billings to pick-up on the fact that the guy fits Dutch's profile. Dutch knows Billings is right and they take a closer look at the guy.

Meanwhile, Danny sees Shane's butt... in the hospital. She's on protective detail for Shane. Back at the Barn, Aceveda puts Claudette on the spot by asking her questions about the San Marcos investigation in front of his concerned constituent. She gives them the outline, but then takes Aceveda for the crap he's pulling. Dutch interrupts and asks for the room to talk to the shelter guy, but with a look, he indicates to his old partner to say no. Her refusal makes their discussion in interrogation seem rather innocuous.

On the street, Mackey follows up on Tillie, Shane's little squeeze, who seems genuinely concerned for Shane's well-being. She has an abusive step-dad who found out about Shane. Mackey heads out to find her old man.

At the hospital, Mrs. Ex-Mackey hands over Shane's personal effects to his imaginary wife, who promptly sees the condoms with his things. Highly suspicious for a man with a pregnant wife. Shane tries to apologize, but the Crazy Mrs. Mandrell ain't having it. Shane tries to drown his pain, physical and mental, in medication.

At the Barn, Hiatt grabs Dutch to get his information on San Marcos and questions him about Hernan. Dutch tells him about the fact that he's deep cover and how the moment that he tried to contact him, Hernan's handler showed up at his door. I've been watching too much 24, so I immediately think that Hiatt must be a mole. Hiatt isn't dissuaded from the pursuit so easily.

Mackey is stopped by his old friend who's got a bit of a job that he wants to throw Mackey's way. Vic tries to beg off, but he makes a convincing argument. Mackey has a heart that makes him do bad. The job is that a landlord wants a “cleaning crew” to scare off dope dealers from a complex where they deal around children and families. Vic can't say no, so he takes a look. Mackey can't turn away because his friend is simply a possible future version of himself.

Dutch and Billings continue to chat (read: question) the shelter guy. They show a tape of the conversation to the previous rape victim who IDs his voice. They go to his house which fits the MO. Discrete access, filthy house... except for a perfect out-of-date young girl's room, complete with padlock on the outside.

The old Strike Team drives Shane home from the hospital and he admits that he was sleeping with Tillie and that he got beat by his father. High on medication still, most likely, Shane wonder aloud if the other guys ever thought about just coming clean. He asks Mackey not to seek retribution on the step-father. Inside his house, Shane's imaginary wife does her best to be imaginary again because Shane's little black girlfriend called the house. She's horrified and tells Shane to leave.

Did you guys know that FX has the movies?

At the Barn, Hiatt has IDed the remaining arm from the San Marcos house as belonging to a low-ranking Mexican government official. They know that the Mexican government is trying to keep it quiet to avoid embarrassment. Vic jumps on Julian for taking notes again. Hiatt backs him, explaining that Strike Team hands over whole cases, not pieces. Mackey sees the type of teacher that he could have been.

Dutch and Billings talk to the shelter guy again, asking him questions coyly, but Billings tips it too far. He knows what they're up to and the guys know that they can't hold him. Dutch offers opening the daughter's case again if he tells them what they want to know. He agrees, but only if the news covers his daughter's disappearance. Once the cameras are on him, he admits to everything and tries to explain his twisted reasons. He even admits to abusing his own daughter and forcing her to leave. He slept with her because she reminded him so much of his wife. Billings is disgusted.

Vic hands some intel over to his old buddy and meets his cranky-faced partner on the deal. Mackey worries for his friend and offers to go along. The cranky partner is insane, chewing garlic for psychological effect and saying racist things right in front of Mackey's old friend. During the raid, after failing to clear a room properly, the partner loses his sadistic mind and chases down a dealer and throws him out a window. It's too much, even for Mackey. They cut the rasta dreads off and the sadist tries to superglue the guy's lips closed before Mackey stops him. Instead they make one guy piss and the other guy drink it. Lovely.

Elsewhere, Shane is snorting his oxycodin. Lovely.

Mackey tries to walk away while the sadist is making noise at him after the raid. He almost makes it until he hears a comment about guys on his team dying. Mackey lays him out with one punch.

At the Barn, Dutch breaks it to shelter guy that his daughter's body was found on an anonymous tip. The guy won't buy it. Billings can't take it any more and yells at the pervert.

In some city park, the new Strike Team rolls up on a late-night soccer game to catch up on Hernan. They make it violent to be convincing. They ask Hernan about San Marcos and he tells them that it wasn't the Salvadorans and that word is that other Mexicans did the hit. They ask about Guardo too, but he tells them that Guardo didn't kill Lem. They knew all about Emolia's snitching and where she is right now. They didn't even kill their own rat and there's no way that they killed a cop. Guardo was with Hernan in Mexico then. Strike Team II continues to make it “look good” by beating the shit out of Hernan while Mackey is convinced that Guardo didn't do the deed.

At home, Shane stumbles in high. He's panicking and begging Mara to take him back. He pulls his gun. She tells Shane that she won't forgive him for his cheating and that he should just go ahead and shoot her or himself. Shane breaks down babbling to himself about how Jackson can't know about “what he's done”. He admits to Mara what he did. About how it went down. About how he did it for her and their children, because he thought that he was going to turn on them. That's great. We already know that Mara is terrible with secrets (see money train) and now she's going to be carrying a ridiculous about of guilt as well. And now Mackey will have reasons to come after both Mandrells.

NEXT WEEK: Mackey's starting to suspect Shane. This is gonna be good.