'Shield' your eyes, the end is nigh

Watching FX's "The Shield," which returns tonight at 10 for its final season, I realized that what I'll miss most after the last episode airs on Nov. 25 isn't what I thought it would be. Although I was once more invested in the story of anti-hero Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis), I now find myself more interested in the police procedural stories.

How come?

Because Vic's plotting, schemes, crosses, double crosses and triple crosses have simply become too labyrinthine for me to keep track. That became especially obvious in the show's last season, its weakest entry yet. As season seven begins, the show remains as twisty as ever now that Vic views Shane (Walton Goggins) as an enemy for killing Lem at the end of season five.

Tonight's season premiere does a fairly good job of wrapping up the sixth season finale and setting the stage to move forward but there's still a fair amount of cleanup to be done. Happily, "The Shield" also finds time for some humorous tangents involving lazy cop Steve Billings (David Marciano).

Next week's episode is a stronger hour because of the procedural components, which are so consistently well written and just as surprising as the show's Strike Team soap opera. There's a wonderful guest turn by a woman playing an elderly witness who ignores the cries of "stop snitchin'" from her neighbors after a woman is crushed by a cinder block.

"My sons are in jail, my lesbian daughter won't give me no grandchildren," she says. "They want to kill me, I can't wait to see my Jesus!"

When the juvenile perp is captured, he has a tense, powerful scene with Capt. Claudette Wyms (CCH Pounder), the show's most consistent character played by the series' most valuable supporting player. The boy gets under Wyms' skin with his repeated use of a racial epithet, leading her to use it, too, which gets her in trouble.

"Some crack baby tween does a triple homicide and I'm the one being held over a barrel?" Wyms says.

On "The Shield," being held over a barrel is a regular position for just about all the characters.

In case you missed it in July, here's a link to our summer story about the show.

Will you be tuning in for the final act of "The Shield"? Have you gotten lost in the twisted plot? Post your comments below. (To post, you must log in or register.)