I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Vic Mackey is a master politician. Indeed, he's a sharp sonofabitch all around, and his setup for the big prescription drug bust this week was one of the most brilliant moves he's ever come up with.
This is one that plays different on multiple viewings, particularly not knowing how much Vic knows the first time through. They're dealing with someone selling cut price prescription drugs on the black market- with the quiet consent of Aceveda and the city. They would (understandably) tolerate this kind of thing as a way for poor folk to get meds they couldn't begin to afford legitimately. The only problem is that some schmuck is selling bogus prescription drugs, and getting people killed.
So here is Vic and the Strike Team back in the thick of it, quietly setting up a deal with the Russian mobster selling the crap that's been killing people. They're going to shut down the competition for him, forcing them to sell their good drugs through the Russian, and of course taking 10% for Vic's Strike Team.
Meanwhile, IAD agent Kavanaugh (Forest Whitaker) has them all in the trick bag. He's been pushing Lem around under threat of prosecution over this stupid heroin thing from six months ago, and making him wear a wire. But figuring that Lem and his wire have probably already been compromised, he's personally planted a bug in their clubhouse at the station.
So they're back to sending Lem out of the room for convenient bathroom breaks while they talk business. There's Kavanaugh listening to them talking after Lem leaves the room, and setting out the details of their setup- to be completed with Lem carefully placed somewhere else.
This is it, then. Here on this dock at this time, Vic's on camera with the Russian and a truckload of drugs, taking a big, fat envelope full of cash. Then for the kicker, at the insistence of the Russian, Vic turns on a new player he's brought in who has suddenly started acting nutsy, and shoots him dead just as IAD is moving in. Vic is on camera and tape taking a big bribe and absolutely committing a murder.
But of course, Vic turns out in the end to have known exactly what Kavanaugh was doing, and had immediately found the bug planted in their softball trophy (thus the episode title). Of course a criminal like Vic routinely sweeps for bugs. Duh.
So Kavanaugh has what he describes as a "tingly" feeling. He's about to cum down his leg. Then he's running in with all his backup in his moment of glory- and the supposedly dead compatriot jumps up off the ground. D'oh!
Vic has a perfectly legitimate explanation for all this, that it was a carefully setup sting operation - approved by Captain Billings, a useful idiot if there ever was one. The killing was a carefully staged execution designed to be the bond in blood with the Russian whom they were setting up a relationship with. It should have allowed them to get way up in the Russian mob, going all the way back to Moscow.
Now IAD has run in and completely destroyed their whole setup. To say that Kavanaugh was humiliated was n understatement. Not just humilated, but significantly discredited. His vendetta against these brave cops is obviously not just mistaken but highly dangerous and hurting the real police.
Vic did this all just brilliantly in a dozen different directions. For starters, he managed to do all this without ever admitting that he knew he was being bugged in the clubhouse. Indeed, seemingly at least halfway just for the purpose of playing with Kavanaugh's mind, he leaves it ambiguous so that he can't figure out that Vic knew.
He made a particularly clever bank shot by purposely meeting with their new attorney Becca Doyle in the bugged clubhouse. For starters, attorney/client privilege meant that nothing they said could be used against him. Yet for all the convincingly private talk, he didn't actually say anything that would be incriminating even if they could use it.
The main point of this meeting was telling IAD that he knew they were after him, and specifically that he knew Kavanaugh had been making Lem wear a wire. Plus, he's got a good story for his attorney and hidden IAD audience exonerating Lem of any accusation of tipping Vic off. He found the wire on Lem, see, and then made him tell about it. Of course, we know specifically better than that, that Lem had very carefully engineered a chance to tell Vic about it way earlier.
The most brilliant thing, though, is how beautifully Vic orchestrated the setup to look legitimate. The deal with the Russians SOUNDS like something Vic would do. It would get bad drugs off the street- and get Vic a nice bribe going. This is very much like stuff Vic absolutely has done over the years.
The special bit of brilliance was in the money. Vic made a point of letting Kavanaugh hear the attorney say that she was going to need $10,000 to take their case- and then sets up with the Russian mobster asking for just that amount as an initial payoff. Beautiful setup for Kavanaugh's expectations.
Ms Doyle was not thrilled when Vic told her later that he had purposely had a meeting with her knowing that they were bugged, and not telling her. This relatively modest move was thus also a subtle test for her level of tolerance for lying and deceit. This is important because you KNOW she's going to be in the middle of far more egregious deception and manipulation before long. Hey, she doesn't even have a CLUE what they're really even after Vic for.
Then there was that last little grace note in Vic's performance. Afterward in the clubhouse, Vic makes a point of cleaning up the clubhouse by throwing out their old trophy with the bug in it that he never let on that he knew was there. Shane objects about how they earned that trophy. "We'll just beat IAD again next year." As Shane obviously knew about the bug, that was obviously a set up for Vic's brag.
As Kavanaugh's assistant pointed out to him, they did (conveniently) beat an IAD team to get it. So Vic might not have known that they trophy was bugged. Vic left Kavanaugh exactly where he wanted him, thinking that Vic knew everything and was carefully sticking it up in him- but not able to know for sure. Just the kind of thing to keep him up nights. That's perfect gamesmanship.
Thinking it through then, Vic purposely let the Russian off the hook. He got a relatively minor arrest, though, and got the bad drugs off the street. He did get a basic solution to his immediate problem- and a major countermove to discredit IAD.
Meanwhile, Dutch and Claudette's case with the woman who had killed her roommate's boyfriend was perhaps not the most scintillating story they've had, but it was serviceable. The central story was not especially unique, but it was relatively brief, and not stretched out past the point of interest. Really, the best thing was how it provided a showcase for a little character study of the dead man's grieving girlfriend.
The best thing about this one though was the beginning. The killer had picked up a Mexican illegal as day labor at the Home Depot to help her dig a grave, and he had freaked out and injured himself jumping from a moving car. The short scene with Dutch prevailing on Julien to try the hole out for size was particularly cute.
Meanwhile, Claudette finally explains to Dutch about her medical condition. She's had lupus for 15 years, and it's just flaring up recently. That simple explanation has been drug out for five damned weeks of show, which does seem a bit much. Plus, it's just silly that a mature adult like Claudette would be that guarded about such a thing that long with her partner.
Obviously there's some kind of story coming with Dutch and the sub-competent new officer Tina. Now, no one's made any move or said anything, but the logic of both characters suggest some kind of humiliation coming for the Dutchman. Of course, he's falling all over himself to be understanding and helpful in correcting the new girl's screw-up. "Don't worry. Dutchman's got a plan."
Yet Dutch Wagenbach is not stupid. He's nothing if not self-aware, and he's going to be way too self-conscious to just be completely stupid. Still, this girl is so hot, and sympathetic. Dutch is just totally vulnerable. Plus, what's he supposed to do when she smiles and says "thank you"? What's he going to do, spit in her eye?
Seems like really this situation is a setup for exposition of the character of officer Tina. Is she going to try to exploit him in some wicked way, or will she show restraint, or even actual affection?
Framing the episode, we start with a brief scene of Emolia's change of heart. She's been SO completely despicable in her whole time. So now her vague discomfort with betraying her benefactor comes to the fore. Last week ended with Vic holding a knife to her throat, which seems to have been just the thing to prompt a seemingly in fact sincere change of heart. In probably less than a minute of screen time, she managed to covey this, and even try to give Kavanaugh back his money. Now there's something you don't see a snitch do every day.
The last scene didn't really accomplish anything to move the story along, but it was a nice reward in itself. After five episodes of his carefully controlled but obviously freakishly tweaked emotional states, Kavanaugh had a little breakdown. He was in control enough to run his assistant off first, so it wasn't really quite an out of control moment.
Still, this guy seems more dark and evil and manipulative doing right
than Vic does knocking heads and occasionally murdering some schmuck.
He really DESERVES the frustration he's feeling now, and it was good to see
him reduced to animal rage, throwing a chair through the window and
such. Good times.
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