'The Shield': No time for filler

Things move quickly on “The Shield.” With only ten episodes in their sixth season, the writers simply can’t afford the frequently ponderous pacing of network serial dramas. Stories need to unfold, characters must be utilized shrewdly, there needs to be a game plan. It just won’t cut it to vamp your way to a season finale where “everything…will…change!”

What a concept.

This week Shane confessed to Vic, at the end of a pretty bad day. Not only did Shane come clean about murdering one of their strike team brothers, but he thinks it was the right thing to do and believes Vic would have done the same thing. That betrayal followed Vic’s daughter’s refusal to stay with him after her discovery of the dirty deeds he’s been accused of, and also the baby half-brother he never told her about.

The show's stubborn insistence on genuinely advancing its story in each episode continues to make it stand out from the quality drama pack. Every week counts here, and now there’s only four left.

(Photo courtesy FX)

Comments

[Chuckie K.]

Walton Goggins should win an Emmy for his performance as Shane this year. He was already a perfectly smarmy and odious character to begin with. This season he has done a fantastic job of pulling off the emotional rollercoaster resulting from killing Lem. GIVE GOGGINS A STATUE!