Wednesday, November 19, 2008

It's Almost Over

Last night, the second-to-last episode of The Shield aired. I've tried not to read any spoilers about the final episode, but, based upon what's happened so far and where the show appears to be heading, I'm going to say that the show ends with Vic Mackey going down. And I don't mean to jail; I mean into the ground. And who's gonna do it? Well, I don't won't to jinx it by telling you, but, if you go back and read any post I've written about The Shield on this blog, you'll get a pretty good idea of who I think the triggerman will be.

And, with the end of the "evil" Vic Mackey comes the end of The Shield. But, with this particular ending also comes the reason I typically hate shows like this: They make us root for the wrong guy.

Vic Mackey is obviously an anti-hero of the highest order. He bends, even breaks, the law to serve his own twisted agenda. He is inherently evil, but, still...he's the best character on the show. It's not helped by the fact that all of the "good" characters are boring and tedious. It's impossible NOT to root for the charismatic bad guy.

But, since our society and morals require that evil be punished, guys like Vic Mackey end up going down in flames. And I end up being pissed off.

Regardless of how it ends next Tuesday, it's still been a great seven-year run. I just wish it had worked out a little bit better for my favorite bad guy. Who knows; maybe he walks away in the end.

There's still hope.

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