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"The Shield" (2002) Plus avec IMDbPro »

The Shield can be extremely violent at times. It goes beyond the limits that most TV shows respect. Most of the violence depicted is filmed to look realistic. The Shield pretty much shows everything: Murder, rape, torture, police brutallity, in-depth gang and drug related violence and more. The Shield is far worse than shows like CSI for violence, mostly because it shows people (including cops) brutally beating and at times killing people. It also shows the aftermath of extremely graphic rapes, murders and beatings sometimes involving children and the elderly, however most of the time the initial attacks are not shown.

As for language, The Shield contains language that is pretty adult, including many S-words, A-words and others like Damn, Hell and Bitch. The show has the occasional C-word, not offen, maybe 5 total. It also contains many foul sexual terms like cum, fag, jerkoff and several racist slangs like the N-word, spick, wetback, darkie, ect... However the F-word is never said.

The Shield can contain graphic sex scenes, but only the rear is shown. It comes VERY close to showing frontal nudity but genitalia is always blocked by an object or obstructed to the viewers eye.

Overall, The Shield isn`t worse than you`d see on The Sopranos or Dexter but is still farily graphic.

The show ran from 2002-2008, but the show takes place over a span of three years or so, (as said by Dutch in the final episode.) This is likely because seasons 4, 5, 6 and 7 take place all within a fairly close time slot. (About a year.) Season 5 starts off 6 months after season 4 ends. Season 6 picks up a week or so after Season 5 ended and Season 7 picks up immediately after Season 6 ends.

There is no actual district anywhere in Los Angeles called Farmington, however many people believe that it is based on South Central which is the gang capital of the world. The Strike-Team is based on Rampart Division's CRASH unit, a corrupt anti-gang unit which, when it existed, had 18 different teams, one for each district.

There are a few different theories as to what district Farmington is based on. It could be South Central, Rampart or it could just be made up as an additional district to avoid further controversy, as the writters knew the show would get if it actually used Rampart, plus they were affraid some people who weren`t familiar with the Rampart CRASH scandal wouldn`t get it.

ICE is a government agency in the United States in charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (ICE)

There has been talk of a spin-off for Dutch and possibly a movie, however given the series ending it would be hard to make a spin-off about Vic without drifting too far from The Shield`s main idea considering Vic technically isn`t a cop anymore. Though it would be interesting to see where he went after the final scene.

That would depend on your point of view. The most frequent antagonists are the criminals and gang members that appear on the show. However the show is very clever on how it perceives each of it's characters on which of them are actually bad. The strike team members, do an excessive amount of heinous acts, although most people are rooting for them. Other police officers, including Aceveda, Claudette, Dutch and Kavenaugh all try and catch the Strike Team members in criminal acts, portraying them as the antagonists. Although for the most part, when not interacting with the Strike Team, these characters are shown to be protagonists.

Even the Strike Team members are shown to be antagonists from time to time. Vic and Shane are both shown to be very dark characters at different points in the show. Especially in season 7.

There are said to be over 50 street gangs in the Farmington district. The main gangs include: The One-Niners, Spookstreet, The Toros, Byz-Lats, Torrucos, Los Profetas, K-Town Killers, Los Mags and other street gangs mentioned but not shown. Also there is the Armenian Mafia which plays a big role in the show at times. Especially in seasons 1, 2, 3, and 6.

Throughout the entire series, Vic carried a Smith and Wesson Model 4506-1 .45 ACP caliber pistol. But this was his police issue sidearm. When he resigns as a police officer he turns in this weapon, he then uses his personal sidearm; a Desert Eagle chambered with a .357 magnum round.

In season 7 it was said that he was being forced out at the end of his 15th year on the force. Nobody really knows whether or not he stuck around to serve his time at ICE so if he did you can say his law enforcement days lasted 18 years, if not, however long he stayed at ICE plus his police days.

Throughout the series Dutch is shown to have a dark side, some things he has done may suggest a mental issue. Here is a list of weird or suspicious things Dutch has done and possible reasons for these actions.

ACTION: He was caught with a computer full of child porn that he claimed was research for a personal investigation on his free time to see if people were luring kids. REASON: Dutch may have been a pedophile but that is unlikely considering he showed a sheer disgust for the rapists and pedophiles that he interrogated. However Dutch always seemed fascinated by the serial killers and rapists that he interrogated, suggesting he may have wanted to experience that thrill himself. But it was actually that Dutch wanted to become famous for bringing down serial killers, therefore he had to learn everything about them including how they choose their victims.

ACTION: After petting a stray cat for a few minutes in his backyard, Dutch began to strangle it after it scratched him. He ended up killing it and throwing it on the ground. (it is obvious that he regretted doing it, the look on his face was filled with remorse. Not to mention he winds up taking a stray kitten home as a way to make up for killing a helpless animal) REASON: He could have just been angry that the cat hurt him so he strangled it out of rage. However earlier that day he interrogated a serial killer that described in eerie detail how he felt while killing his victims and then told a story about choking a puppy when he was a child. Also the killer kept mentioning a "thing" that he felt as he saw their eyes go lifeless. Dutch couldn`t pinpoint what this "thing" was so he killed the cat to find out first hand what it felt like to take a life.

ACTION: After catching a serial killer he`d been chasing for months, Dutch goes into the Barn`s parking lot and sits in his car and cries while listening to a song called "I`m a liar." REASON: During the interrogation, the killer began to psychoanalyze Dutch. In the process he called Dutch a "lonely civil servant" among other hurtful things that could have set him off. Dutch may have been inflicted by the killer`s words because he knew that he was right about Dutch and that he let the killer get the better of him. Also, it was the relief of catching the person he had been after. This case had been Dutch's obsession, it became very personal to him. So when the case was finally solved, he was crying because he was relieved.

It's implied that after Shane helped Vic kill Terry Crowley he felt so guilty after it that he started on a spiral of self-destruction. Shane gets careless with many dangerous things (such as going to visit his girlfriend while their SUV had drugs in it in season 1). Then when Shane meets Mara, that's when things really get out of hand. Shane falls in love with her, and she accepts him for who he is and doesn't care about the criminal acts he commits. However, she causes a few problems for the team, which ultimately leads to Shane choosing her over the team, so the team disbands and then Shane goes over to Vice. Then Shane tries to be like Vic, but he isn't smart enough to pull it off. Therefore things spiral out of control and he needs Vic's help to get him out.

It is almost impossible to tell the exact number of illegal activities Vic and the Strike Team committed because of the crimes not show on the show that are only referenced.

Of all the crimes shown on screen, Vic and his team have committed:

Murder and accessory: - Vic killed Terry Crowley with Shane present.

- Vic beat Guardo Lima severely with a large anchor chain, then shot him in the head.

- Shane and Lem slipped a knife to a man in the Barn`s holding cell to kill another criminal.

- Vic covered up two murders committed by Asst. Chief Gilroy.

- Shane killed Lem with a grenade.

- Vic shot and killed Armenian hitman Margos Dezerian. Staging it to look like self-defense even though Margos had surrendered.

- The team dropped a criminal off in a rival gang neighborhood. (It is implied that he is beaten and killed.)

- Vic and the team tied a mobster to a chair wired with explosives to scare him, however the bomb actually went off when he tipped the chair.

- Ronnie shot and killed an Armenian hitman that tried to kill Vic's family in cold blood. As the man was wounded and bedridden.

Torture and assault: - Vic beat a suspect with a phonebook.

- Vic tortured a gang leader by burning his face on a stove.

- Vic allowed a police dog to continue attacking a rapist even after the man was subdued.

- Vic almost drowned a man in oil.

- Vic stabbed a suspect with the pin from a police badge.

- Vic has grabbed and threatened suspects several times that haven`t lead to serious repercussions.

Theft and Robbery: - Vic and the team robbed the Armenian mafia of $3 million.

- They disguised themselves as gang members and robbed an evidence van to retrieve a hot gun.

- Vic and the team robbed an evidence warehouse.

- Vic and the team have stolen countless items of evidence for their own personal gain.

- Vic and the team confiscated drug money from gangs and kept it for themselves.

- They broke into Aceveda's safe to retrieve the list of serial numbers for the marked money train cash.

Cover ups/Framing: - Vic and the team have covered up the worst of crimes which has ultimately led to more corruption and cover ups to protect the original cover up.

- Vic has done favours for gang members, killers, politicians and even police officials in order to get the job done.

- When they learned some of their money train cash had marked bills in it, they took all the marked money and left it for a bottom feeding hustler to come across and take in order for him to get arrested while trying to spend the cash. Unfortunately the Armenian mob also targeted this man and killed him and one other person. The strike team then proceeded to cover the incident up by cremating the hustler's body. So he would remain missing.

Bribery: - Vic has bribed many gang members and other cops to get ahead in his career or to catch more dangerous criminals.

Extortion: - Vic made a deal with Rondell Robinson for Robinson to pay Vic and his team a flat rate in order to stay away from his business and to help Rondell keep a monopoly.

- Countless times Vic and the team (Mainly Shane) have gained leverage over people in order to get them to bend to their will.

In season seven Claudette reveals that her Lupis had reached terminal status but she continued her work. Dutch`s fate is left open, though it is strongly implied that he did catch the young serial killer, during their last shown conversation Dutch asks the kid why he thinks such a large percentage of serial killers had spent some time in L.A., to which the kid smirks and replies "Well, everybody comes here to get famous.". Which was an obvious sign he was letting his guard down, making it easier for Dutch to get him to confess.

Vic Mackey resigned from the LAPD, made a major bust for I.C.E., he made a deal with them for a three year contract and immunity for confessing to any crimes he committed. But he is stuck behind a desk until his contract is up due to the severity of the crimes he committed and confessed to. (see 'What happens to Vic in the last scene of the series?' for further details.)

Shane Vendrell went on the run with his pregnant wife Mara and their young son Jackson after it was discovered he tried to have Ronnie killed. In the end, he was out of options, and knowing that Mara would be convicted of helping Shane evade the authorities and first degree murder (Mara had shot a bystander by accident when Shane was being attacked), also knowing their children would be put in foster care, Shane poisoned Mara and Jackson and put his revolver in his mouth and shot himself to avoid going to prison and have his family torn apart.

Curtis 'Lem/Lemonhead' Lemanski was caught with heroin that he stole from a drug dealer and was going to be charged with possession and intent to distribute (Although he only took the heroin as leverage over the dealer in case he was lying about the information he gave.). Kavanaugh and Aceveda tricked the team into thinking that Lem was cutting a deal and selling them out. Shane sneaked away from the team, met with Lem and dropped a grenade in Lem's car while he was sitting in it, killing him.

Ronnie Gardocki stuck with Vic until the bitter end, but because Vic made a deal with I.C.E. and confessed to all their crimes, it directly implicated the only remaining member, Ronnie, and he was arrested.

Tavon Garris got into a brutal fist-fight with Shane at Shane's house. Mara hit Tavon over the head with an iron, causing Tavon to become very disoriented. Tavon leaves the scene and gets in his van and drives away, eventually losing consciousness and going through the windshield of his car, putting him in intensive care with broken bones and severe head trauma. Eventually, he heals up and goes back on the job but was transferred to a different department.

Terry Crowley was originally added onto the Strike Team as the replacement team leader by Aceveda in case Vic didn't work out, but was instead relegated to driving duty by Vic. Terry realized the Strike Team was dirty and agreed to be the informant in a federal case against them. Assistant Chief Gilroy learned that Terry had cut a deal with the feds and told Vic. During a routine raid on a local dealer named two Time, Vic shot Terry once in the face. He had planned it out with Shane to take Terry out during the raid, and shoot him with the dealer's gun to divert suspicion.

Kevin Hiatt was a former INS agent appointed to the team by Claudette as Vic's replacement for when Vic is forced to retire. Eventually Claudette fires Hiatt, while he did things by the book, he was also inefficient compared to Vic.

Julien Lowe was suggested and appointed to the Strike Team after Lem's death when Hiatt arrives. While he got the promotion to Strike Team, he still hadn't made detective. Thus, when the Strike Team finally dissolved as Shane went on the run and Vic resigned, Julien returned to uniformed duty for the Vendrell manhunt, but was promised by Claudette to be bumped back to detective once he passed the exam.

Vic Mackey is now free and clear of everything. But he has been stuck behind a desk and has lost all his friends and his family. He is sitting at his desk, on the verge of tears until he hears police sirens outside. He then takes his handgun out of the lock box, looks at it for a few seconds then smirks. He stands up, placing the gun in the back of his pants, puts his jacket on and leaves the office. Then the show ends.

Theory One given Vic's nature, knowing he has a penchant for disobeying orders, he probably decided he wasn't going to be bound to the desk and he would go out and catch criminals on his own time. As he was still an ICE officer, he would have the authority to do so. Making himself invaluable to ICE, they would have no choice but to renew his contract after three years.

Theory Two he felt such immense guilt for what he did to Ronnie, in the end after he sacrificed Ronnie to the police to save himself, he was ultimately left with nothing. Therefore he decided to break Ronnie out of jail and help Ronnie flee into Mexico and perhaps join him, as this would void his contract with ICE and his immunity would have been revoked.

Theory Three while looking at his gun, he was contemplating suicide. Then decided to leave the building and kill himself. This is unlikely, as Vic is a very strong-willed person and never gives up fighting. He isn't the sort to kill himself under any circumstances. Also he probably wouldn't bother to leave the building to do this, he would have just sat back in his chair and blown his head off. Not to mention he didn't leave a note.

Theory Four Vic could have decided to go vigilante and execute criminals in a "Punisher Style". This is unlikely because Vic is a very intelligent man and would know that eventually he would be caught or killed if he took that road. Considering his whole motivation was to stay out of jail, making this even less likely. Not to mention, Vic only killed as a last resort, never simply because they deserved it.

Theory Five After looking at the picture of him and Lem, Vic may have realized that he was all alone so he decided to go find his family at any cost. Bringing his gun just in case he needed it.

This was Vic's first chance to come 100% clean about every horrible act he had committed as a Police Officer. Also, he was completely safe from doing so because he was getting immunity for confessing. The baggage one must carry while trying to be both righteous and ruthless would weigh heavy on anyone who deep down, is trying to do good. Vic had to tell the truth for his conscience and his freedom. Had he lied about certain things to exclude Ronnie, so Ronnie could get the same deal a week later; When Ronnie testified and his statements were different from Vic's, ICE would know one or both of them were lying and therefore revoke their immunity. Vic couldn't leave anything to chance and felt he once again had to sacrifice a friend and team mate in order to save himself. Vic always tried to justify it by saying everything he did, he did for his family, even though it became abundantly clear he was doing it for himself. The only thing he probably could have lied about was Terry Crowley's murder, as there was never sufficient evidence to prove that Vic had anything to do with it. The main reason Vic told the 100% truth however, is at that point, Shane was still at large and if captured would give testimony incriminating Vic and Ronnie, therefore even if both Vic and Ronnie got their immunities by lying, Shane's testimony would reveal they were lying. So Vic isulated himself by telling the truth.

Vic was always about protecting the team and stated that either they all go down or none of them go down. But with Shane on the run, and the increasing pressure that Shane would get caught and implicate Vic and Ronnie in all their crimes Vic tried to put the screws to Olivia to get her to secure immunity for both Ronnie and himself. However, ICE would only give Vic his deal and promised Ronnie would get his in a week. Vic refused this until he witnessed Corrine being arrested by police for aiding and abetting known fugitives (Shane and Mara). Unknown to Vic, Corrine was working with the police to help bring Shane and Mara into custody and help the police arrest Vic on aiding and abetting. So, Vic panicked and went immediately to Olivia to get his immunity deal and strike a deal to get immunity for Corrine as well. But the catch was he had to confess to everything he and the strike team had ever done. But after confessing to everything, it so enraged Olivia and her boss, they revoked Ronnie's deal and told Vic that if he warned Ronnie or helped him flee, they would revoke Vic's deal as well.

In a sad twist of irony, after Vic sacrificed Ronnie in order to save Corrine and himself; Shane and Mara had died, therefore they wouldn't be implicating Ronnie or Vic in anything, and Corrine took the children into witness protection so Vic lost his family. So he did it for nothing.

Vic was responsible for the majority of their crimes, as he was the team leader and the rest followed his plans. For the most part, Vic tried to be righteous in his actions, but also acted selfish too. He felt that his arrest record deserved more than a pat on the back and a measly Government paycheck, therefore he took what he felt was owed to him and his team however much of what he did for himself spiraled out of control leading to many people getting hurt.

Shane was probably the most corrupt from a moral standpoint. He tried to be like Vic but he wasn't smart enough, which usually led to Vic and the rest of the team having to clean up the mess. Also, after the Strike Team broke apart in season 3, Shane was usually for sale to gangsters and criminals. For example, in season 4 Shane started extorting a ruthless gang leader named Antwone Mitchell. But Shane offended Antwone so much that Antwone decided to subdue Shane and his partner Army, and kill a 14 year old girl with their police issue sidearms. Therefore making it look like they had killed the girl, thus gaining leverage over Shane and forcing Shane and Army to be his errand boys including Shane being told to murder Vic to slow down the investigation into the gang. In season 6, Shane had gone to the Armenian mob for help after killing Lem. Shane eventually gave up the Strike Team`s involvment in the Money Train robbery and the Armenian`s forced him to repay the debt owed by the team by taking down the mob faction`s rivals.

Ronnie and Lem are pretty much tied as being lower on the list of crimes committed by the team, Ronnie didn't have a problem with the majority of the stuff they did, whereas Lem would be the voice of reason or disagreement. Also Lem was the only one of the four who never committed cold-blooded murder. Until season three Ronnie hardly even spoke in the show, but when Lem and Shane transfered, Ronnie began to play a bigger part in the show. At first he was more of a background character, a bit quirky too. But as the show progressed he became more hardened and more significant to the story In season seven Ronnie reveals that he wished he could have helped Vic more when it came to the team`s illegal activities and Ronnie appears to have been the most loyal one of the team all along.

Terry Crowley and Kevin Hiatt were by-the-book.

Tavon it was implied that he was of the same frame-of-mind as the rest of the team, as in not always strictly by the book, however the team couldn't trust him with certain deeds they had done, so they kept him out of the loop and he wasn't on the team long enough to be shown to do anything too immoral.

Julian a truly honest cop who strayed once or twice but never went down the path that the other team members had. He was appointed to the strike team by Claudette for the simple reason of making it more difficult for Vic, Shane and Ronnie to do their dirty deeds. Because Claudette knew that Julian wouldn't go along with them and would report anything they did.