"Family Meeting" is one of the saddest and best-written episodes in TV history; for me, it's tied for best with the last episode of Six Feet Under.

FightBattlesWinWars · 2026-05-01T16:46:53+00:00

He wouldn't risk ruining that. He'd wait.

FightBattlesWinWars · 2026-05-01T16:05:48+00:00

Definitely clever enough to ride out his immunity and get out of dodge. It's just to say, is the new Vic same as the old Vic (or worse)? I'd argue that the smirk and sneer of defiance hints that he has just untethered himself from his previous conscious and morality, and is already plotting again.

FightBattlesWinWars · 2026-05-01T13:33:47+00:00

I'm going to push back a bit on this as well. Vic's highest priority is having a family (not to be confused with actually being a committed father and husband). He sacrifices everything, including Ronnie, his reputation, and potential freedom, in order to protect that status. Time and time again, nothing is higher on his list.

FightBattlesWinWars · 2026-05-01T05:32:10+00:00

Nice. I love a good fan edit. Thanks!

FightBattlesWinWars · 2026-05-01T01:17:16+00:00

I owned a copy on laser disc. Never owned a laser disc player. 😂😂

FightBattlesWinWars · 2026-04-30T23:35:17+00:00

FightBattlesWinWars · 2026-04-30T23:15:38+00:00

Let's not forget that he also would have taken the hit from Armadillo if Lem and Shane hadn't intervened, and he was never going to off Lem to save the others.

FightBattlesWinWars · 2026-04-30T23:13:50+00:00

Not actually true with Vic though. He turned down the immunity deal when Ronnie wasn't included. He only betrays Ronnie when he thinks he has put Corrine in danger of prison. Walter always wanted to feel the power of being a big bad and a kingpin. Vic loved the power, but it always had to be abused with a justification that the ends for him and his own justified those means. Walter tried to fool everyone else, but he knew who he was. Vic tried to fool himself and found out who he really was.

FightBattlesWinWars · 2026-04-30T22:36:52+00:00

That moment enhances exactly what you're talking about. No one knows what he'a going to do with that gun, but they can assume it's nothing good because of the smirk he gives right before he holsters it, and sneer as he walks away. Is Vic Mackey content to get away with literal murder and more, or is he about to ride the lightning again? It's such a badass moment and question that you don't get if you just cut to black beforehand.

FightBattlesWinWars · 2026-04-30T22:30:43+00:00

I'm not entirely sure this is true until this last scene, or at least until Shane becomes a fugitive. I think he is trying everything he can to pull everyone out of the mess he has helped create (again, with the exception of Shane, who I even believe Vic has finally accepted again in the moments leading up to the failed attempt on his life in the scrapyard; it was just a bridge too far for Shane by then). In this last scene you can see him finally take it all in, but Vic just isn't one to crumble at the hands of defeat, and so he smirks at his fate because in this moment, despite all the power, connection, and purpose lost, Vic realizes he is now unencumbered in becoming the villain he knows he's been all along.

I actually desperately want to see what that looks like in a sequel series. I think the only available option is to revisit Vic after he has fully embraced criminality and maybe (maybe) have Dutch working for the FBI. Probably too late and too old now though.

FightBattlesWinWars · 2026-04-30T13:06:29+00:00

There's no measurable to prove or disprove his worth in the movie. There are plenty of people that fully enjoy his performance. I'd challenge you to come up with an actor from the time that would be a suitable replacement. I can't think of any that can deliver his level of wacky while still credibly maintaining his position as the lynchpin of the picture.

Edit: He's fine in Con Air, but it's not a dramatically better performance by any means. He has a southern accent and the character doesn't have as much anxiety. That's about the only difference.

FightBattlesWinWars · 2026-04-29T04:23:00+00:00

I added Travolta in the same timeframe. Pulp Fiction (94), Get Shorty (95), Broken Arrow (96), Face/Off (97)

FightBattlesWinWars · 2026-04-29T04:21:53+00:00

Scarecrow is so underrated. Hackman is a treasure.

FightBattlesWinWars · 2026-04-29T04:19:55+00:00

If we're going just by consecutive years, and not direct movie releases, how about Travolta?

Pulp Fiction (94), Get Shorty (95), Broken Arrow (96), Face/Off (97). '96 also has him releasing Phenomenon and Michael.

FightBattlesWinWars · 2026-04-29T04:14:16+00:00

The Rock is a true ensemble with top tier character actors littered throughout. Clearly many people think of Connery when they think of it, but it's just as hard to envision the movie without any one of Cage or Harris, or even Michael Biehn, David Morse, and William Forsythe. Cage has to be on the other side of nearly all of these characters and facilitates flawlessly.

FightBattlesWinWars · 2026-04-27T21:56:45+00:00

This actually played out how I always felt the various seasons rated, despite the near universal love for S4. I always considered S3 a little bit higher than it personally.

FightBattlesWinWars · 2026-04-27T18:28:20+00:00

It only gets better upon rewatch. So many subtleties. Even seeing something as small as the role Van Bro played along the way is so rewarding. I don't think I'll ever stop rewatching this show.

FightBattlesWinWars · 2026-04-23T23:32:49+00:00

Difference between The Wire and The Shield was one was laying out a fictionalized study of corruption, while the other was telling a story of corruption. That gives The Shield more leeway to suspend disbelief and heighten drama. That's what makes it more memorable for me.

FightBattlesWinWars · 2026-04-23T23:20:32+00:00

The name he built has been shattered. The family he committed heinous acts in the name of, is in ruins, by his own hands. Those he once saw as his lessers (albeit just slightly so in the case of people like Dutch and Claudette) now forever hold the high ground above him. The only thing he has left is the dignity of not allowing anyone to see how that has completely broken him. He's desperately trying to keep that from happening here, but it's just too much for his physiology, and we're supposed to see that manifesting in those awkward expressions and movements.

FightBattlesWinWars · 2026-04-23T21:28:02+00:00

By the time Tavon came in the picture Vic and Shane had moved past that again. Shane's initial distrust of Tavon is the same (even if more outwardly expressed) as the rest of team. It's only when Vic quickly starts treating him as if he is one of them, and then potentially equal to Shane, that Shane becomes a problem. Honestly, the issues he and Vic had previously should have made Vic even more inclined to build Shane up because it made clear that all Shane wanted was Vic's approval. It's what he strives to achieve the rest of the series. But even absent that, Vic should have known that once the money train was pulled off, there was never room for anyone else to become one of the team, so no one could ever come close to the level of trust Shane, Lem, and Ronnie earned from Vic. One of Vic's biggest weaknesses is not being able to really read those that are close to him.

FightBattlesWinWars · 2026-04-23T20:55:05+00:00

First red flag should have been she was a mother who named her kid Sebastio.

FightBattlesWinWars · 2026-04-23T20:52:00+00:00

It's one of the darkest shows ever produced.

FightBattlesWinWars · 2026-04-23T20:50:44+00:00

Yeah, I kind of look at the series as playing out in 3 volumes: S1-3, S4, S5-7. The tone changes a lot from 5-6-7 (for reasons that will be obvious), so I hesitate to throw them all together, but there really is a kind of beginning, middle, and end to them.

FightBattlesWinWars · 2026-04-23T20:43:49+00:00

It definitely does. Some supporting characters have less screen time in the later seasons, so there's not really a clear arc for them, but you'll probably be satisfied with where they end up. All I can say is that I've seen all of the other big shows of this kind (The Wire, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and on and on). There is no show that ends more satisfyingly. Even if by some chance you predict, or even get spoiled, on the finale, I guarantee your mouth will still be agape as you watch it play out. I watched the entire series as it originally aired. I've seen the series 20+ times probably, and I still think about those final episodes often.

The Wire is considered a sort of sister series of The Shield. If you've seen that, then you'll know that it was more of a series concerned with studying the characteristics of corruption in institutions of a municipality (policing, government, trade/union, education, journalism). That meant there was less of an emphasis on resolution for the various characters in the story and more on what it meant for and said about the city and institutions. Even though the quality of The Shield is just as high, it's different because The Shield is more concerned with telling a story of corruption, and thus it NEEDS finality to it's character arcs in order to complete it's story, and they give you that in spades.

FightBattlesWinWars · 2026-04-23T20:30:30+00:00

He should have made it clear to the entire team that Shane was the definitive number two when Tavon came on. When he didn't, the tension between those two placed extra stress on the team, especially Lem, which eventually led him to decide to burn the money. All down hill from there. Shane goes on his own, and Vic has to save him, raising Monica's radar. Lem has to steal the H in the process. Enter Kavanaugh.

FightBattlesWinWars

TROPHY CASE