THE SHIELD
SEASON THREE NOTES
Season 3, Episode 1 “Playing Tight”
Air date: 3-9-04
Viewing this season 3 premiere twice consecutively on 3-9, my first observation is that it was actually more interesting the second time through, which is actually typical of the whole series. Knowing where the whole thing is broadly going, repeated viewing allow you to concentrate on the nuance.
A fair amount of this episode might be described as exposition, setting up a range of plot lines for the whole coming season. Some of the Aceveda-Wyms politics and the Aceveda-Mackey stuff did not have quite the immediate dramatic satisfaction one might like, at least watching it the first time through. In lesser hands, this would make for a less than scintillating episode. On the other hand, we're talking about the greatest cop show in the history of the television medium, so even the set-up scenes have a lot of interesting details and implications.
Even the Aceveda-Wyms setup looked more interesting the second time through. The subtexts are more dramatically intriguing than the basic expository stuff. Watching the second time or third time, you can concentrate on the details.
-------------------------------------------
Most curious, for example, to carefully parse out Claudette's apparent changes in attitude. As recently as two episodes ago as the independent auditor was wrapping up, Claudette was not even interested in the captain's job- which was consistent with her series-long lack of upward ambition. She's always been happy just to be a good detective bringing justice and healing bit by bit. She absolutely turned down the job when it was first offered to her in last season's finale.
Now, however, she's gotten some whiff of power or something. She of course wants the job in order to clean up all the corruption and abuse, and make the world a better place and all. That's what she says. I'm sure that's exactly what she's telling herself as well.
She's kicking and screaming when Aceveda decides to stay on in the job for a few months until he actually takes his city council seat. "I'm not going to let you do this to me!" Ch-ch-ch changes, as David Bowie would say.
Most jarring of all was hearing her bitter complaint that Aceveda was "stealing" her idea about how to squeeze some more coverage out of the system. Twice. This comes from the same woman whose main character establishing line of dialogue from "Day One" was "Credit is overrated." She seems to be right real interested in getting her due credit now.
Question: How much of this new ambition really comes from the high principles of wanting to clean up the department, and how much is power seeking ambition late blooming. I for one am often scared of the power seeking of people who honestly think they're just trying to help out more than of the more directly greedy folk. I might tend to suspect that Aceveda or even Vic is more honest with himself in some of these things than Claudette might be once she's started on a crusade.
-------------------------------------------
The most fascinating dramatic scene just in its own right came from Julien confronting one of the ex-cops who attacked him last season. Besides his own rage, Vic was laying it on him about how there were respect issues around the shop because he hadn't done anything about having been beaten.
Thus Julien is waiting outside one of the guys' apartment. Julien being the good Christian that he is, as the guy is coming up the stairs, he's praying- something about how 'you are the rock of my life.' The words didn't seem that important, but there was a quietly psychotic tone to his voice by which you can subtly tell that the guy was not in his right mind. He's been pushed just too far, between this guy's behavior last season even before the season finale beating- going on to Julien's new 10 year old stepson about his homosexual history most particularly, added to the current "respect" issues.
It's kind of like the situation in the first season where this very same officer talked him into the blanket party. The memory of that episode alone would have been a clue to someone slightly smarter than this dumb ex-cop that Julien has some weird stress points that you'd best not push.
Most intriguing on second viewing, watch Julien carefully when he ends up attacking the guy. He starts talking to the guy like he just wants a private confession, maybe an apology. Julien has at least told himself that he's not coming to do violence. Then the guy blows him off, and Julien grabs him, and ends up twisting his arm up behind his back bad enough to leave him laying on the ground with the arm still behind his back, muttering in horrible pain and unable to move. Listen carefully to Julien, and he appears to be praying the same prayer, and in nearly the same quiet tone even while he was badly hurting this very deserving jackass.
Julien has a little psycho part way down deep that could make him more dangerous than Vic if he gets pushed. Vic's always under some kind of internal control- even when he's operating outside of what the law demands.
Julien, on the other hand, was talking out of his head tonight. He's the one of this crew who could lose his grip for a minute and hurt a bunch of people. I could perfectly well imagine him absolutely literally KILLING Tomas (the ex-boyfriend) if he showed up again the wrong way and approach. Julien ain't right. You gotta love him.
-------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------
The groovy neo-rockabilly song over the closing montage scene comes from an outfit I'd never heard of called Kings of Leon, a good rockin' ditty called "Holy Roller Novocaine." It is an outstanding song, but more importantly an absolutely perfect song to be coming out of Shane Vendrell's truck, a dirty emotional and violent sounding tune for a redneck Southern cop.
Link Soup
morethings master
photo gallery index
MP3
sammy davis
little richard photos
buddy holly pictures
fats domino images
chuck berry pictures 01/
02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12/
01/
02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12/
01/02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12
01/
02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12/01/
02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12/08/
09/
10/
11/
12/
manchurian candidate pictures
24
lucille ball images james
blunt photos
clint eastwood pictures lena
horne images team
america pictures
robert mitchum photos
bruce springsteen pictures
mariah carey pictures
ann coulter photos
sissy spacek pictures
tanya tucker images
loretta lynn pictures
beatles pictures
white stripes pictures
andy griffith pictures
kill bill pictures
parliament funkadelic p-funk pictures
beverly hillbillies pictures
al
barger
frank zappa pictures
jerry lee lewis pictures
richard pryor photos
june carter johnny cash pictures
vic mackey shield pictures
macy gray pictures
james cagney images
elvis presley pictures
gwen stefani images
dolly parton pictures
devil whores pictures
tom petty photos
tori amos pictures
joaquin phoenix images
Quills movie images
peter lorre images
reese witherspoon pictures
flaming lips images rolling
stones photos
fiona apple images dr
strangelove pictures elvis
costello images
ray charles photos marx
brothers pictures
prince rogers nelson pictures blazing
saddles images
sinead o'connor images
eddie murphy photos all
in the family pictures
south park pictures homer
simpson images
bob dylan pictures elizabeth
taylor photos drawn
together images
saturday night live pictures hee
haw pictures james
brown images pete
townshend photos
tina turner pictures
dixie chicks photos
robert anton wilson images
guns n roses pictures
paula abdul pictures
jodie foster photos
borat
eminem
frank sinatra photos
van halen images
