Post by daddy989 on Jul 22, 2006 14:22:53 GMT -5
First off let me start by saying I’ve been an immensely huge Shield fan since roughly around the latter part of Season 1. That's when I caught my first episode and started watching the show on a regular basis. A few months later, I purchased the DVD and the rest is history. To anyone that will listen, I’ve maintained that the Shield is by far the best television series to ever grace the airwaves. We all know how superb the acting, writing, directing, story lines, etc. all are, and everyone associated with this show on any level has contributed in some way to making it the best. All that said, I’ve been thinking about something for a while now and would love some feedback from the people I respect most: other Shield fans across the country.
Looking back, it’s clear to me that somewhere along the line things changed for the worse. I don't mean the show itself, as I’ll also maintain the last episode I watched is every bit as good as the first one, and every other in between has been solid as well. What I mean is, somewhere along the line the overall tone of the show changed and began going to a dark, difficult place to accept-- not just for the Strike Team, but for many of the other characters as well.
I used to look back and hold the third season of the show responsible for “doing everything in,” namely the Strike Team, because it seemed to be where their most severe problems started. From that point forward, it appeared the events led to them never fully trusting each other again, and things that always seemed to work themselves out (making us happy in the end) started taking turns for the worse. No matter how much the team butted heads, they always sorted things out to the betterment of everyone around them. No matter how much they bickered, they always knew they had each other's backs. No matter how far their backs were against the wall, the always overcame, ahead and together.
Obviously one of the story lines that took charge in Season 4 and really manifested itself into Season 5 was Lem's trouble and the way the whole thing was setting up to end. No matter how much every one of us loves this show, I'm sure we're all disappointed with how his situation had to turn out, and I always held Season 3 responsible for this. After going back and watching it again however, I realized that my initial thoughts weren't exactly correct. Not only was Season 3 very solid (and I used to like it least), the team was tighter than ever throughout most of it.
As obvious as it was that the end of Season 2 would come back to haunt the Strike Team, it really wasn’t the immediately resulting (and ensuing) chaos in Season 3 that caused things to become undone. It goes without saying that the money train really seemed to start the troubles that couldn’t be gotten out of anymore, but the team was somehow able to muster the strength to fight through most of its corresponding madness. Despite being sought after from every conceivable angle throughout Season 3, they indeed stuck together and for the most part worked out their differences. As bleak as things were looking, the Strike Team worked together and continuously persevered through most of it-- up until what I consider the real turning point to be: episode 3.15 (with a little help from 3.14’s ending).
Once Lem burned the cash (a decision I can respect both sides of), Shane and Lem’s undying friendship flipped into complete distrust, and the result was a whole new set of team trust issues manifesting themselves for the first time-- so much so they would never be conquered. The manner in which Season 4 begins and develops is obviously proof of this (a split team, a rogue Shane, and a plethora of bitterness amongst the former team members), and with the exception of the last few episodes of that season, most of it and the next focus around the team continuing to have trust issues and falling apart. Even when it appears the team is back together again, after Lem gets busted Shane and Ronnie both continuously question his loyalty throughout Season 5-- and we all know where that leads.
Then there’s the Acevada component. Even though Season 3 ends with him and Vic not only respecting but working with each other, Season 4 starts with a severe turn in that relationship, adding to the chain reaction of team trust issues. As much as Acevada is famous for working both sides of the fence, it appears at the end of Season 3 that he’s finally finished looking into the Strike Team. Obviously the start of Season 4 illustrates a complete turn in that (i.e., Acevada’s letter of “non-recommendation”), which not only restores the head butting with Vic, it also began a new level of “bad” in their relationship that would come back to haunt the team.
These are the planted the seeds that led to the Strike Team's real demise; instead of simply overcoming issues and becoming stronger in the end because of them, subtle fractures in the brotherhood started becoming irreparable clean breaks-- something I’m sure none of us really ever wanted. I understand that "happy endings" aren't always realistic and shows that have too many of them don't seem real enough. However, I really wish there could have been another way for the team to overcome the internal bickering, and not have to end with a guy most all of us loved and at the very least respected, being done in like that. Not to mention setting the show up for another potentially bad path that we may equally dislike: the team continuing to come apart, piece by piece, in a progressively painful way. I know it goes without saying that Season's 6 and 7 (or 5-B and 6 if you prefer) will be every bit as solid as their predecessors, but if things continue down their current path, it could be an ugly road. In the end, we may all look back at episode 3.15 as where this turn for the worse really occurred.
Looking back, it’s clear to me that somewhere along the line things changed for the worse. I don't mean the show itself, as I’ll also maintain the last episode I watched is every bit as good as the first one, and every other in between has been solid as well. What I mean is, somewhere along the line the overall tone of the show changed and began going to a dark, difficult place to accept-- not just for the Strike Team, but for many of the other characters as well.
I used to look back and hold the third season of the show responsible for “doing everything in,” namely the Strike Team, because it seemed to be where their most severe problems started. From that point forward, it appeared the events led to them never fully trusting each other again, and things that always seemed to work themselves out (making us happy in the end) started taking turns for the worse. No matter how much the team butted heads, they always sorted things out to the betterment of everyone around them. No matter how much they bickered, they always knew they had each other's backs. No matter how far their backs were against the wall, the always overcame, ahead and together.
Obviously one of the story lines that took charge in Season 4 and really manifested itself into Season 5 was Lem's trouble and the way the whole thing was setting up to end. No matter how much every one of us loves this show, I'm sure we're all disappointed with how his situation had to turn out, and I always held Season 3 responsible for this. After going back and watching it again however, I realized that my initial thoughts weren't exactly correct. Not only was Season 3 very solid (and I used to like it least), the team was tighter than ever throughout most of it.
As obvious as it was that the end of Season 2 would come back to haunt the Strike Team, it really wasn’t the immediately resulting (and ensuing) chaos in Season 3 that caused things to become undone. It goes without saying that the money train really seemed to start the troubles that couldn’t be gotten out of anymore, but the team was somehow able to muster the strength to fight through most of its corresponding madness. Despite being sought after from every conceivable angle throughout Season 3, they indeed stuck together and for the most part worked out their differences. As bleak as things were looking, the Strike Team worked together and continuously persevered through most of it-- up until what I consider the real turning point to be: episode 3.15 (with a little help from 3.14’s ending).
Once Lem burned the cash (a decision I can respect both sides of), Shane and Lem’s undying friendship flipped into complete distrust, and the result was a whole new set of team trust issues manifesting themselves for the first time-- so much so they would never be conquered. The manner in which Season 4 begins and develops is obviously proof of this (a split team, a rogue Shane, and a plethora of bitterness amongst the former team members), and with the exception of the last few episodes of that season, most of it and the next focus around the team continuing to have trust issues and falling apart. Even when it appears the team is back together again, after Lem gets busted Shane and Ronnie both continuously question his loyalty throughout Season 5-- and we all know where that leads.
Then there’s the Acevada component. Even though Season 3 ends with him and Vic not only respecting but working with each other, Season 4 starts with a severe turn in that relationship, adding to the chain reaction of team trust issues. As much as Acevada is famous for working both sides of the fence, it appears at the end of Season 3 that he’s finally finished looking into the Strike Team. Obviously the start of Season 4 illustrates a complete turn in that (i.e., Acevada’s letter of “non-recommendation”), which not only restores the head butting with Vic, it also began a new level of “bad” in their relationship that would come back to haunt the team.
These are the planted the seeds that led to the Strike Team's real demise; instead of simply overcoming issues and becoming stronger in the end because of them, subtle fractures in the brotherhood started becoming irreparable clean breaks-- something I’m sure none of us really ever wanted. I understand that "happy endings" aren't always realistic and shows that have too many of them don't seem real enough. However, I really wish there could have been another way for the team to overcome the internal bickering, and not have to end with a guy most all of us loved and at the very least respected, being done in like that. Not to mention setting the show up for another potentially bad path that we may equally dislike: the team continuing to come apart, piece by piece, in a progressively painful way. I know it goes without saying that Season's 6 and 7 (or 5-B and 6 if you prefer) will be every bit as solid as their predecessors, but if things continue down their current path, it could be an ugly road. In the end, we may all look back at episode 3.15 as where this turn for the worse really occurred.