I started this back in around Halloween and it's finally coming to a close. 86 episodes down, 3 to go. I do not want it to end. It's phenomenal TV. A rare show that gets better as it goes on instead of ending up like a diluted version of itself like everything else. Since it finished 12 years ago (12!! how the fuck) nothing has bettered it in terms of tension and ferocity. Some have come close like Breaking Bad, Game Of Thrones (some of it), Banshee but it will never be matched for the sheer amount of nailbiting you'd go through watching it. Betrayal, scandal, death, death, death. It's not for the faint of heart.
The story of the Barn police station and the people within who police the area of Farmington, a region of downtown Los Angeles ruined by drugs, vice and murder. It's bad on the streets but the members of the Strike Team, a 4 strong gang of cops designed to tackle gang crime are just as nasty.
A lot of things seem different about it since I last saw it. I'm a lot different since I last saw it and that's one of the best things about it, in fact that's one of the best things about the best tv shows. You notice new things about it, looking at it from a different angle lets you appreciate it more. I'd go so far as to say it's the deepest, most complex cop show ever made. Before you say it, The Wire isn't a cop show.
A few things I've noticed.
Dutch and Claudette. The Barn's go to detectives. I hated the pair of them when I watched it last. They always seemed to get in Vic Mackey's way. They seemed like buzzkills. The story always seemed to cut them them just as the main story got interesting. This time around I love the bones of them. The interplay between them, how theirs feels like a genuine friendship. The slow, considered ways their plotlines play out, especially when juxtaposed against the manic main plot. Dutch, Mr Ego, thinking he's a god detective, Claudette playing it cool, hanging back, being the real god detective. Together they just sing.
David Acevada. The Captain. Another character I despised. A conniving bastard, only out for himself. Everytime he appeared I hoped he's get shot. This time around I feel sorry for him. Always out of his depth, having to work 10 times as hard as white cops because as a minority in a majority white force you'll always be under a microscope. Then later, after his rape he becomes one of the most layered victims ever portrayed on TV. Nothing about his portrayal is black and white, its all shades of gray and it's hard to watch, as it should be.
Shane Vendrell. Strike Team vice president. 15 years ago he was brilliant. A real wild card. The hillbilly shitkicker who's not afraid of anything. This time he's vile. Racist, two steps away from a rapist. He's always been a bad cop but this time around he's not enjoyable. His gradual turn into the villain of the piece is still amazing to watch. Writer's Shawn Ryan and Kurt Sutter have done, immense, labyrinthine work here with Shane's arc. He's an all time big bad.
Vic Mackey. Strike team head honcho. When I was 25 Vic was cool as fuck. Ya, he shot a cop in the face in episode one but so what, that guy was a rat. At 40 it's easier to see Vic as he really is. A broken, venal, utterly corrupt, selfish piece of shit. Michael Chiklis is superb in the role, chucking out the one liners but dead behind the eyes. Every move made with precision, one eye on the road ahead and one what he can do for himself and the other always looking over his shoulder. Vic is a lead character for the ages. He seems himself as the hero but now we see nothing but scumbag.
3 episodes to go. I'm tempted to just stop now so it doesnt come to an end again. But at the same time I want to stay up until 2am and see it through.
I'm going to be tired tomorrow.
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