The Shield - "Recoil"

Most shows have no idea how to pull of the “penultimate” episode of the season, leaving most viewers saying to themselves, “Well, they had to take a bit of breather before what will surely be the awesome season finale.”  But The Shield never takes a breather.  I don't know if it's simply the fact that they just have so much awesome material to play with and that the writing really is that good, or if they are forced to make every hour awesome simply because they don't have that many episodes to play with. It leaves me hopeful for these abbreviated seasons of Lost at least.  With twenty-two (or more) packed into a season, it seems like any creative team would run out steam and spoil a great season with some filler.

Again, I am writing a review of The Shield from the road. Nothing so old world as England this time, but only Alamagordo, New Mexico.  Don't ask.  And again, I get to enjoy this show early thanks to those dastardly French pirates and I feel like a real reviewer with advance copies of the episode.  As always, if something I say seems wildly off, holler at me in the comments, 'cause you never know what those French might have done to our TV.

We begin with Mackey trying to follow up on the favor promised to him by the city comptroller, or whoever he was.  Mackey has too many enemies though and the guy is coming up empty on helping Vic keep his job.  At the Barn, Aceveda and his community crony press the Strike Team for information on San Marcos. They give them a bit of a lead, but something smells rotten to all the boys.  They know that Aceveda is trying to go around Claudette and her appearance confirms it. She begrudingly tells the guys to follow up on their lead.

Meanwhile, Shane is getting nervous about Run Lola getting him wrapped up in the Armenian mob.  She promises Shane that he will be made a partner in this country and get a cut.  He tries to give her advice on how to proceed to get the power that her father held.  She can't pull off too many assassinations, so Shane helps her go after the money man instead, the same guy who put him on the Iraqi gas station.

Mackey approaches Claudette and reveals that he knows that the panel is fixed against him.  Claudette immediately knows that Hiatt spilled the beans.  Mackey asks for a fair shot, but she's had enough.  He promises to solve San Marcos and save the Barn and then he wants to see if Claudette will still be able to claim that he's not needed.

Mexican metal music.  Titles.

The Strike Team hits up the crony's contact.  He heard in the joint a guy bragging about doing the guys at San Marcos. He went to the crony 'cause the Mexis would have had him do the murder himself he went to them with the information.

Shane brings Run Lola to Claudette with a made up story about Rezian's import business. Shane's plan is working and Claudette agrees to go after Rezian is Hiatt agrees.  The rest of the Strike Team is waiting on the parole officer to the jailhouse bragger, but Shane is turning Hiatt on to the Armenian strike.  Vic knows that something is up with Shane and wants to keep the team focused on San Marcos to save his own skin.  Vic manages to get Ronnie assigned to Shane to figure out what he is up to, while Shane warns Hiatt that if Mackey survives the panel hearing, he's going to kick him to the curb. Vic sniffs out Run Lola and knows that she and Shane are connected.  Ronnie thinks that there's no way that Shane would mess with the Armenians after everything they've done (read: money train), but Vic points out that he was dumb enough to dig himself a huge hole with Antwan Mitchell.  He always gets them in trouble.  Shane basically has shown time and time again that he thinks he can roll with the big boys the way that Vic does and every time it seems to blow up in his face.

The Strike Team hits up one of the San Marcos suspects, Javier.  He's a little less than cooperative, so Vic smashes his stereo.  They tell him that they've got him dead to rights and demand that he turn over the other suspects.  Vic promises to drop him in Byz Lat territory, but Hiatt blocks the play.  Vic is furious and thinks that Hiatt is going to be a mess once he's gone.

At the docks (I'm getting flashes of The Wire season two), Ronnie and Shane hit up a dock manager that wants to retire to Oxnard (?).  They get information from the guy by threatening to find the information other ways and telling the Armenians it was him.

Hiatt blows Javier's interrogation and Vic  looks like he's going to explode.  Vic smells the conspiracy beneath San Marcos, but Claudette needs her murders in the win column (really, The Wire). Vic tries to convince her that he's the only way to get the names of all three killers.  He promises Javier to keep his name out of the Mexis' minds if he gives up the other two.  Javier agrees, but only if he can hear it with his own ears.

Billings and Dutch investigate a murder with the unis.  The guy was gay and Billings has a field day with inappropriate comments. Billings is pissed that Dutch is still holding the vending machine nonsense over his head. CuteCop and Hiatt flirt a little while Danny and Dutch look annoyed.  None of this goes past Billings.  In interrogation, they talk to a guy that they like for the “gay” murder.  Dutch takes a soft approach whereas Billings jumps down his throat.  Dutch tells Billings to back off while pushing the vending machine angle yet again.  Billings has had enough.

At the docks, Shane and Ronnie wait on Rezian and Ronnie shoots down Shane's attempts at small talk. They bust up a deal and Shane takes a moment to threaten Rezian on behalf of his night job. 

At the Barn, Billings begins his dastardly plan of playing everyone off of each other in matters of love. Billings puts it in Hiatt's head that CuteCop is into him, which she is, but it's the idea that she might end up with Dutch instead that really puts his knickers in a twist.

Vic meets up with Santi and tells him that Javier is innocent and that he's still going to get the real killers for him. Santi begrudingly agrees to give Vic one day.  Javier hears the whole thing from the surveillance van and gives up the other names.  The only motive that he'll give for the San Marcos slayings is that “something big is going down,” which we've heard about a hundred times now.  It best be big next week, that's all I'm saying.  Guardo gave the order and told them to leave the Mexi official alive.

Later, Vic and Ronnie meet Hiatt on the street.  The guys aren't where Javier said they were, but Ronnie got some information about a bar where they are supposed to be drinking, but the lead doesn't check out.

Shane meets up with Run Lola who is sure that someone is in her house. Shane does a sweep and finds a guy trying to climb out the window.  He gives him a warning and tells him to pass it along that if the mob wants to keep earning, they have to follow Run Lola.

Elsewhere, Vic and Ronnie pick up the San Marcos killers, who they've cleverly stashed ahead of time in their favorite shipping container.  The two of them deliver the killers into the hands of Santi wrapped with a bow. Vic also reveals that Javier is actually the third killer.  He can get him later.  Right now though, Santi and  his boys beat the other two to death while Vic and Ronnie drive away.

At the station, Vic's city comptroller can't do anything for him.  There's just too many people that Vic's rubbed the wrong way.  Vic has no power, because the comptroller knows that there's nothing left for him to do. Vic is just flat out of luck.  Wilshire division found the bodies where Santi agreed to dump them.  Vic plays it clean, but Hiatt looks like he's about to puke.  Claudette thanks Vic for solving the case, but Mackey isn't done digging into the conspiracy.

Dutch continues to question the “gay” killer with Billings, but he isn't defending himself... and he isn't confessing.  Meanwhile, Billings continues to play his dastardly game, putting CuteCop onto Hiatt, mainly by convincing her that Danny is treating her bad because she wants him to herself.  Again, CuteCop's panties are in a twist because she can't stand the thought of Danny ending up with Hiatt.

Vic and Ronnie figure out that Shane is in deep and his “witness” is full of crap. Vic questions her and reveals that he knows all about Run Lola and her ailing father. He tries to put her off of Shane, telling her about how everything went down with Antwan Mitchell and the One-Niners. She gets spooked because she believes that Shane is still under investigation and that he will screw her in the long run. Shane catches her on the way out the door and tries to convince her that he has things under control, but she won't listen. Vic and Shane butt heads.  Shane is convinced that Vic is on his way to a security job in Northridge (next season!) and is now planning on staying so he can work his own deals.

Back in interrogation, Shane and Billings present the killer with the murder weapon found a short way away.  The guy lays on this story about progeria, where kids age at a rapid rate. Downstairs, Billings surveys his work with Hiatt and CuteCop makiing bedroom eyes at each other.  Vic tells Javier that his deal got screwed because the Mexicans got to his compatriots first.  Who shows up?  The one-armed official.  He wants his money back for cooperation in IDing the San Marcos killers.  Mackey discovers that the official went to school with Aceveda's community crony, who's looking like less of a crony all along. Mackey has a hankering for a case and it's making him salivate even more knowing that Aceveda is connected.  Vic meets with Claudette and shows her how things aren't going to get done without him.  Vic wants more time for the conspiracy, but Claudette wants him out, no matter what.  He hits up Aceveda in the hallway, but he's confident because he knows Mackey is done. But Vic knows that he's going to find that Aceveda even broke Hernan's cover.  Woo.  There's one hell of shitstorm brewing for the final episode and for once Vic is entirely in the right instead of trying to cover his ass.

Dutch tries to catch up Claudette on his case when he gets a text from CuteCop's stolen cell phone (Billings), inviting him over.  Dutch arrives in high spirits and is treated to a lovely view of Hiatt and CuteCop boning.  Hiatt catches sight of Dutch in the window and has no idea what to make of it. All while Billings watches evilly from his parked car.  All for some disrespect and a fight over vending machines.

The next morning, Mrs. Ex-Mackey puts in her episodic appearance showing Vic the ways he doesn't have to be a security guard in Northridge. She wants Vic to be able to take care of his kids, but Mackey isn't ready to lie down yet. The “crony” meets with Aceveda and wants to keep Mackey on the force since he solved San Marcos. Dutch feels a connection with the killer in interrogation because they both have the same delusions of prolonging the inevitable. Dutch understands killers far too well. Run Lola Run answers her door to find Shane with more reasons to keep him on.  He desperately tries to convince her that Mackey is full of it and even goes so far as to blame the money train on Vic and “his guys”.  Again, Shane doesn't use his head.  He just wants to discredit Vic, but instead with a simple statement he manages to put a target on Vic and Ronnie's backs, along with who knows who else.  Woo.

Meanwhile, Vic meets with Cruz the Crony who asks Vic to stop turning over rocks.  He wants Vic to stay on the job and promises him that he can keep his job.  The city guy may have had juice and not been able to help Vic, but Cruz has a picture. Huh?  Vic opens the envelope and stares with disbelief.  What is it?  It's the photo of Aceveda's gunpoint blowjob!  Holy crap!  I forgot all about this! Cruz leaves the photo in Vic's hands to use however he wants, as long as it doesn't come back to him.  He tells Vic to go save his job, but to stop digging into the conspiracy... immediately.

NEXT WEEK: Everything, and I mean everything, comes to a head in a spectacular super-sized episode.