Post by -|E|- on May 22, 2007 16:35:37 GMT -5
April 10, 2007
Baptism by Fire. Episode 613.
Written by Scott Rosenbaum. Writer/Executive Producer
fxnetwork.com/shows/originals/the_shield/weblog.php
There are times as a writer when the demands of a script not only excite you, but scare the hell out of you as well. Writing Jon Kavanaugh’s send-off episode of The Shield was exactly one of those times. The stakes were high. Forrest Whitaker’s portrayal of Jon Kavanaugh had been utterly compelling and a joy for all of us to be a part of. How would we say goodbye to him? Would we send him off with a bang, or as Vic Mackey would like it -- a whimper?
It shouldn’t have surprised me that the answer was neither. The Shield has never been about black and white – always about the grays in between. Kavanaugh began his quest to bring down Vic as a cop with a strict moral code; dedicated to the letter, and spirit, of the law. But like all those who enter Vic Mackey’s orbit, he found himself sucked into Vic’s vortex of corruption, lies, and deceit. There’s a saying “to hunt a fox you must become the fox.” Yes, Kavanaugh became the fox and for a moment, appeared ready to follow Vic down into the foxhole, abandoning the moral code he spent his entire life abiding by. Ultimately he refused to enter the moral black hole and walked away.
A bang or a whimper? You decide. I can still see Vic Mackey’s self-satisfied smirk from the day we shot the final scene; Vic staring at Kavanaugh sitting in a jail cell, basking in the knowledge that (in his mind at least) he’d won. Did he? The scorecard at least says so. Kavanaugh lost his job, his wife, his attempt to bring down Vic and the Strike Team. Yet by confessing to framing Vic, and clearing his conscience, Kavanaugh won something very important; his humanity. So, who really won or lost? You’ll have to wait till season 7 to find out, but I assure you it’ll be worth the journey.
Baptism by Fire. Episode 613.
Written by Scott Rosenbaum. Writer/Executive Producer
fxnetwork.com/shows/originals/the_shield/weblog.php
There are times as a writer when the demands of a script not only excite you, but scare the hell out of you as well. Writing Jon Kavanaugh’s send-off episode of The Shield was exactly one of those times. The stakes were high. Forrest Whitaker’s portrayal of Jon Kavanaugh had been utterly compelling and a joy for all of us to be a part of. How would we say goodbye to him? Would we send him off with a bang, or as Vic Mackey would like it -- a whimper?
It shouldn’t have surprised me that the answer was neither. The Shield has never been about black and white – always about the grays in between. Kavanaugh began his quest to bring down Vic as a cop with a strict moral code; dedicated to the letter, and spirit, of the law. But like all those who enter Vic Mackey’s orbit, he found himself sucked into Vic’s vortex of corruption, lies, and deceit. There’s a saying “to hunt a fox you must become the fox.” Yes, Kavanaugh became the fox and for a moment, appeared ready to follow Vic down into the foxhole, abandoning the moral code he spent his entire life abiding by. Ultimately he refused to enter the moral black hole and walked away.
A bang or a whimper? You decide. I can still see Vic Mackey’s self-satisfied smirk from the day we shot the final scene; Vic staring at Kavanaugh sitting in a jail cell, basking in the knowledge that (in his mind at least) he’d won. Did he? The scorecard at least says so. Kavanaugh lost his job, his wife, his attempt to bring down Vic and the Strike Team. Yet by confessing to framing Vic, and clearing his conscience, Kavanaugh won something very important; his humanity. So, who really won or lost? You’ll have to wait till season 7 to find out, but I assure you it’ll be worth the journey.