Tuesdays are shaping up to be the best night of the week, as long as THE SHIELD is on.

Well…maybe it was shaping up to be that way…but tonight’s episode has confused the hell out of me, as far as what I’m to expect.

The Kavanaugh angle developed way more than anyone could have expected in just the second episode of the season. Part of me thinks it is a mistake…they blew past so much potential here. I’m sure they have something they’ll be able to milk here…or maybe Forrest dropped out quick and they had to wrap this up early. Only time will tell on this front.

One of the things I’ve been struck with is how confident, efficient, and commanding Claudette has become this year. Friends I’ve watched the show with are surprised at how much I like the character. People misunderstand…I’ve always liked the character to some degree. But initially, she was rather bitter about Vic in the beginning and was obsessed about taking him down…Mackey, the dirty cop that we were all made to love. Somewhere, they fleshed her out much better so that you liked her. She was the mentor that always knocked Wagenbach down a notch, as you looked on with glee. But that was short lived, as she was written to be clouded by bitterness at getting passed over for a promotion (twice) soon after. She was stubborn about seeking or accepting help, even when her good health required it.

This year, she’s been in her promotion for long enough to hit her stride. She seems to have gotten her confidence back and isn’t letting it go for anyone. They really cemented this with how she stood her ground against Kavanaugh and Aceveda, while still being able to support, mentor, and listen to Wagenbach all at the same time. They’ve really made her quite sage, this season…she seems like she’ll be the show’s conscience, in place of the deceased Lemansky.

Seems like the Strike Team could benefit from having Lem around…which, I guess, fills my quota for stating the obvious here. Vic is a shattered man who is incapable of dealing with Lem’s death and is behaving irrationally, as he is often wont to do. The lengths he’s going to seek out his vengeance actually makes Shane look sane, despite everything he’s done. As Vic gets more and more reckless, it adds to the weight on Shane’s shoulders pressing him towards a confession. He inched perilously close tonight, with previews giving the hint that he’ll be at the verge of collapse before the end of the next episode…which, of course, means he’ll not even come close.

Or maybe that will wind up completely resolved next episode? Who knows, after what happens by about the half way point of this episode. Though, with the way things are wrapped up in the holding cell, I feel more confident that there was a schedule conflict or a star ego in play here. So, we shouldn’t expect the unexpected…

Come discuss it with us in the Official THE SHIELD Thread.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 10th, 2007 at 10:47 pm and is filed under Features, Kevin Huxford, The Shield. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site. Your comments will be moderated but will appear as soon as humanly possible.