Season one, episode three, “The Spread”
For the first time on The Shield, I had a hard time believing what was going on. Yes, even a cop on cop shooting is more believable than what I saw in this episode. I hope it isn’t a matter of the bar being set so high in the pilot that every subsequent episode is an exercise in trying to clear it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not (really) complaining, but I do expect a little more from The Shield.
I’m mainly pointing at, of course, kidnapping an NBA player for a day. Sure, it made for a lot of fun, what with the autographs and the groupies, but it just doesn’t ring true. People like that just don’t go missing, right? An NBA player being mixed up in drugs and crime isn’t anything new (Ironically, I tried Googling the one story I’d heard recently that closely matched Trip’s, but instead found about six other NBA player/drug related stories I hadn’t heard about). I just don’t see how Vic and the Strike Team get away with it this time. Sure, blackmailing the player into silence is their only play, but it is just too public of a thing to just go away.
Shane is going to be the weak link in the Strike Force. Granted, it’s not like I had an opportunity to get to know him before he participated in the cold blooded murder of a fellow cop, but he sure seemed to be having a nutty with Trip. His guilt, though, is a little reassuring. It also opened a window, albeit a tiny, tiny window, into Vic’s guilt.
I can only imagine that Vic experienced more guilt when he met with his son’s teacher. As a parent, whom else do you have to blame when you find out one of your children might have those types of challenges. Vic being who we think Vic is, it won’t be surprising for him to soon be taking that frustration out on the streets.
Wyms and Dutch-boy continue to make a good team. Vic may not like their way of doing things, but he wasn’t above using them and their methods like Vic was used in the pilot. I also am a little curious why Vic handed off this case, especially to Dutch-boy. If he has so little respect for him, why entrust him with tracking down the rapist?
Oh, and damn, that sex was a bit more graphic than I expected.
Clacked by Ivey West 
on Jun 22, 2010 @ 13:00 EST5EDT
