'Grey's' Isn't Going Anywhere
'Red Widow' Gets The Axe
The Shield: Parricide
(S07E08) "What if you get forced to do something... that you didn't really want to do?" - Two Man
I imagine that this is what it must look like inside my stomach after eating Taco Bell. For a while, I'm feeling full, loving that hot sauce, seasoned beef, and three cheeses. Having a good time and then bam -- everyone starts turning on each other and all hell breaks loose as the entire meal starts looking for an exit.
Yes, I've just compared The Strike Team to a gordita, but it fits, doesn't it? A big plate of nachos bell-grande can only agree with a Mexican pizza for so long. Doesn't matter which item you're associating with Shane. All that matters is that he's exiting first.
If you think about it and truly try to rationalize what Shane did, it was inevitable. Since murdering Lem, Shane has become this grotesque monster, a mere shadow of the man he once was, and Vic is arguably to blame for most of who his former partner has evolved into. That being said, this isn't the first time that we've heard of the the apprentice turning on the teacher. Granted, in this instance, Shane was provoked because of Vic and Ronnie's attempt on his life, but I feel pretty comfortable knowing that if Shane was shaken by Lem's behavior... well, you get what I'm saying. It probably would have come to this anyway.
However, this is Vendrell we're talking about here and if there were one person in The Barn who you'd pick to mess up something important... well, you'd probably pick Billings. But Shane is a strong second. When he "hired" Two Man to take care of Ronnie, it was over before it even started.
At this point, there isn't much about Shane that surprises me. For someone who claims to be such a family man, it still boggles my mind as to why he would want Mara involved in his plan and alibi. However, she's just as crazy and devoted to him. If that was ever a question, she proved it when she came to Corinne to lay out the "instructions" for Vic and Ronnie.
As for the rest of the episode, I loved the double meaning of the title. While Shane was plotting to take out two close friends, Vic was tasked with a "parricide" of his own - dethroning a local Catholic priest as part of Pezuela's development plan. You've got to give Vic some credit. Despite all the shit going on in his world, he still made time to help out the priest, his girlfriend, and son and he still got Pezuela the church shut down. Not a bad day's work.
Olivia is noticing, too. Vic is coming through for her on everything and it's looking more and more like a job at I.C.E. is in Vic's future. Didn't Olivia say she'd seen Vic's file though? Regardless of how inaccurate or speculative his file may be, doesn't it make her a bit worried about who she's getting in bed with here? Isn't there a page in there somewhere that says I.A.D. Lt. Jon Kavanaugh investigated Vic Mackey in the death of Det. Terry Crowley? Again - my taco analogy has got to apply here too.
More thoughts on "Parricide" --
- How about some of Shane's facial expressions? After Vic and Dutch played Two Man and he finally came clean, Shane made this "they got me" face that said about a million different things. It was amazing.
- Same goes for Corinne. Go back and look at her eyes when Mara tells her about Terry and the money train. She looked horrified to hear it and relieved that she was right about Vic all at the same time.
- And one more - Claudette's face when Two Man made the jab about "fixing what's going on under your own roof" was perfect, too. You know it's bad when a career criminal is telling you stuff like that. She looked genuinely hurt; paralyzed even.
- Anyone else losing interest in Aceveda? He's just sort of there for the sake of it. Getting him involved with Chaffee and Olivia feels a little forced to me.
- How many more comments could they have made about Ronnie's squeeze? Asian throw pillow, bamboo cage fantasy, Hanoi Hannah - the list went on. Funny stuff. That's one of the best parts about this show. It's incredibly serious and tense, but it still makes you laugh.
And then there was that ending. I've watched this episode three times now and I'll be honest - the first time I was up in arms about it. Who is Vic Mackey without a badge and gun? How does the show even work without him being a cop? But then I realized - the gun and badge have nothing to do with who he is. They just made his job a little easier. He's still the same man. He's just got a different mission now.
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