“…your last farewell ride.”
Spoilers ahead.
The Shield is dead, long live the Shield. I still don't know how I feel about how it all ended. There was a lot that was perfect, that happened exactly how it had to happen. Some things were...well, less than satisfying, even if they were somehow appropriate.
The bad...Ronnie. Christ, what the Hell. The groundwork for Ronnie's fate was very much laid out last week, and still I somehow hoped it wasn't going to end that way. After everything, seeing Vic throw him under the bus to suffer under the full weight of the Strike Team's collected sins was fucked up, possibly the worst thing he's ever done it its own way. Ronnie stuck by him, and after it all he still trusted him, and paid for it with his life, at least life as he knew it.
I think I was most bothered not by what happened to him, but how it was treated. Ronnie was hardly used and developed as a character for five seasons, but I always liked him. Then suddenly for the last two seasons, with Lem dead and Shane...Shane, he became far more prominent. And then suddenly, he was wrapped up and tossed away in one 90 second sequence. It was a heavy moment treated far too lightly in my opinion.
Shane's final exit was much darker than I expected. His suicide wasn't the shocking thing, that actually seemed right. But when they showed the bodies of his family, posed and peaceful as if asleep, that shocked and actually shocked me. I thought family meeting would be send the wife and kid/s on their way, stay behind and take the blame...anything but what it actually was.
And lastly, Vic Mackey. I really thought after all that happened he would have gone out in some sort of blaze of glory. Gunned down fighting, making a last stand of some sort. Although I guess losing the only two things he cared about besides himself, and winding up sentenced to his own mundane cubicle and paperwork Hell is also very fitting in its own right.
There are still unanswered questions but I suppose their have to be. Anything short of a forced "kill everyone" ending is going to leave some loose ends. In the end it was an amazing, shocking, perfect yet disappointing finale. I felt fulfilled and totally empty by the end, and that right there is The Shield.
Wonderful food and wistful window shopping
Kelly and I went to Philly this afternoon to wander South Street and have dinner. I haven't been to South Street in years, and it was kinda weird. A lot has changed, but a lot hasn't, and I felt old and normal and found myself missing my teenage spooky counterculture self. Kelly said the place has lost its appeal to her. I disagreed at the moment, but I guess she's right. The appeal to me is the nostalgia, the desire to still have it appeal. But I am not going to be wearing jewelry and accouterments from Armed and Dangerous or decorating my house with gargoyles and medieval art from Mineralistic. I don't eat the meat from Jim's Steaks, and I won't be getting jewelry or new piercings at Infinite. I love the area for what it was, but I guess there isn't much left there for me now. Growing up and older sucks, and I still don't know how or when it happened.
But, on a happier note, dinner was pretty much completely awesome. We ate at New Harmony on 9th St. in Chinatown. All vegan/kosher Chinese food. If you like Chinese food, regardless of if you give a shit about whether or not its animal free, go there. It was some of the best Chinese food I've ever had. The actual atmosphere/restaurant was nothing special. If you've ever been in any random restaurant in any city anywhere's Chinatown, you have seen the inside. But the food is so damn good you probably won't care.
I had the dinner special, which included won-ton soup and an egg roll, both of which we shared. The soup was perfect, the dumplings in it were delicious, and the egg roll was crisp on the outside, perfectly cooked inside and just plain yummy. We also shared an order of pork dumplings which sadly were the one downside of the meal. Not fully cooked, to the point that one or two were still a bit frozen inside. Yeah, that's bad. But everything else was so good I feel bad even mentioning it.
Main course was General Tsao's chicken for me, garlic pork and vegetables for Kelly. Again, both were fantastic. The fake meats had great taste and the texture was almost perfect. The vegetables were well cooked and still crisp, not mushy in the least, and the sauce on both was just a little spicy and
As an added bonus, prices are extremely reasonable. For two people, with appetizers, plus two take-out entreees for the next day, it was under $50. Damn. Check out their MySpace page, linked above, for the menu. If you go there, let me know. I'll want some more take-out.
Fuck Alaska
Seriously. If this was a relationship, Alaska is the hottie with a terrible personality. Sure, s/he looks good (by that I mean 'has oil'), but everything else about her/him is just ugly and intolerable. And I urge us as a country to look past the exterior and realize we are sticking with a total asshole/bitch for no good reason.
I was ready to look past the fact that they put Sarah Palin in charge of their state, I really was. She lost, she's been banished back from whence she came for the time being at least. But then you had to go into recounts and drag out your election over two weeks to decide who gets the Senate seat, the crotchety 287 year old convicted felon, or...the guy who isn't a crotchety 287 year old convicted felon. Really, Alaska? I am pretty sure most 4th graders would have been able to make the right choice on that one in a matter of seconds, tops. Yet it took your state 15 days and you still almost got it wrong?
Well, that's it then. You can have Ted Stevens and Sarah Palin. Sure, you have oil. We know. But one day, your good fossil fuels will run out, and you won't be able to coast on them anymore. You'll be the empty, withered wretch we already know you are. So we'll sell you off to Russia or Canada while you still have some worth, and use that money to research alternate renewable energy sources. After all, we finally have a president who is in favor of that sort of thing.
So thanks for the memories Alaska. It wasn't all bad times, but the good times are just too few and far between. We'll always remember you. Good luck. Give Russia our regards.
“Some may say this might be…”
The second to last episode of the Shield just aired...wow. If you've never watched the show, you wouldn't understand and probably wouldn't care. But I love the Shield more than any TV show in my adult life. Second most of my entire life, because you just cannot compete with a 5 year old's love of the Transformers. But from the premier of the pilot episode, this show has hooked me like no other show has.
After seven years, to hear Vic finally lay out everything he's done...all the dirty deeds, every crime and misstep and trespass...it was cathartic and incredibly intense and a great reminder that no matter how much you are rooting for him, regardless of what good things he has done, he is not and never will be "the good guy".
So now, one week until the final hour and half series finale. Will Ronnie really get hung out to dry? Will Shane suffer for his sins? Will anyone, for that matter? I don't think there will be happy endings here, for anyone. This has been such an amazing season (and series), and I hate to see it end...but I think it's going to end well. I don't want to predict, because there isn't much point. I'm just going to countdown til next Tuesday.
Puppies
Sometimes you just need a little pure, innocent happiness. That's all. And sometimes the best thing for that is puppies. Why? Because they're fucking PUPPIES!
So...I give you twenty four hours a day, seven days a week...live streaming adorable puppies. Because if that doesn't put at least a little smile on your face, you really may be a lost cause.
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