Television Review: Blowback (The Shield, S1X05, 2002)

Blowback (S01E05)

Airdate: April 9th 2002

Written by: Kurt Sutter
Directed by: Clark Johnson

Running Time: 45 minutes

The Shield, renowned for its unflinching portrayal of morally compromised policing within the harsh realities of Los Angeles’s Farmington district, reached a pivotal juncture with its fifth-season episode, Blowback. While still anchored in the show's signature gritty aesthetic and the ethically murky operations of Vic Mackey’s Strike Team, this instalment marked a distinct, and arguably concerning, shift. It began to subtly but unmistakably veer away from its grounded origins towards a more heightened, "soapish" melodrama, incorporating plot elements that felt increasingly contrived and "out there," threatening to undermine the very authenticity that defined the series’ early brilliance.

Central to Blowback is the precarious maintenance of the Strike Team’s Faustian bargain with local drug kingpin Rondell Robinson. Their arrangement, predicated on keeping street-level drug prices artificially low to suppress associated violent crime within Farmington, faces immediate jeopardy. Armenian gangsters seek to flood Robinson’s territory with high-purity Peruvian cocaine, destabilising the fragile equilibrium. In response, the Strike Team resorts to blatantly illegal methods, wiretapping the Armenians’ hangout. After painstakingly listening and translating their conversations, they pinpoint the drug delivery. The ensuing raid is meticulously planned for maximum personal gain: it promises to burnish their image as efficient crime-fighters (potentially easing pressure from Captain Aceveda), while also ensuring a portion of the seized narcotics finds its way back to Robinson (preserving their arrangement) and a significant sum of cash lines the Strike Team’s pockets. This intricate, self-serving calculus remains the show’s strongest, most plausible element, embodying its core theme of institutional corruption.

However, Aceveda appears to see through their scheme. Citing the tragic death of Officer Terry Crowley during a previous similar operation as justification, he insists on uniformed backup for the raid. The operation itself succeeds tactically – arrests are made, a substantial stash is seized – but the aftermath reveals the rot. Julien Lowe, part of the mandated backup, cannot ignore the sight of Strike Team members surreptitiously loading "bricks" of cocaine into their bags, sparking immediate suspicion. Claudette Wyms, ever the voice of cautious reason, warns Julien against approaching superiors without absolute certainty, understanding the catastrophic risks of accusing powerful colleagues. Yet, burdened by conscience and ambition, Julien confides in Aceveda, who recognises this as the long-sought opportunity to finally dismantle Mackey’s crew.

This opportunity explodes dramatically due to Shane Vendrell’s characteristic recklessness. Celebrating the raid’s success, he visits his girlfriend Amy (Amy Moon), only to later discover the incriminating police Lincoln Navigator – laden with the stolen drugs – being stolen. What follows is a frantic, almost farcical race against time: Aceveda seeks the vehicle to secure evidence against the Strike Team, while Vic’s men scramble to erase it. Leveraging Lester Hoffman, a corrupt LAPD officer desperate for inclusion, they trace the vehicle through a convoluted chain – from chop-shop mechanic Mark (E. Roger Mitchell), via middleman Ricardo (Gary Douglas Kohn), to the arrest of Deena (Kimberly McCullough) by Danny and Julien (who promptly alerts Aceveda). Yet, the Strike Team narrowly wins the final lap. Deena had already sold the drugs to fence Antoine (Lee Cherrey), who passed them to a Frenchman, Freddie, whose subsequent fatal overdose conveniently removes the primary evidence just before Aceveda’s arrival. This sequence, while undeniably tense, relies heavily on a series of increasingly improbable coincidences that strain credulity, pushing the narrative firmly into the realm of heightened, almost pulp-fiction drama that feels alien to The Shield’s earlier, more restrained tone.

Parallel personal storylines further amplify the episode’s melodramatic leanings. Julien confronts his internal conflict head-on, confessing his lover Tomas Motyasik that is he is torn betweern his recently acknowledged homosexuality and his deep-seated Christian beliefs. Simultaneously, Vic and Corrine receive the devastating news that their son Matthew is autistic, a profoundly human moment that risks being overshadowed by the surrounding chaos. Blowback attempts to frame itself as a "day in the life" snapshot, but the outrageous antics of the Strike Team and the sheer accumulation of convenient, high-stakes coincidences transform what could have been routine procedural tension into an operation of almost cinematic, and ultimately less believable, danger. There is, admittedly, a semi-comic, almost slapstick quality to the Strike Team’s increasingly desperate scramble to reconstruct the criminal chain and locate the vehicle before Aceveda, offering moments of dark levity.

Kurt Sutter, the episode’s writer and a series regular, makes a formidable impression in a dual role, portraying the terrifying Armenian assassin Margos Dezerian. Dezerian is a force of nature – largely silent except for a bizarre compliment to Danny’s feet – yet radiating palpable menace. His ruthlessness is established immediately by executing a fellow Armenian pre-raid, later killing another prisoner in custody, and ultimately escaping LAPD transport. Sutter’s creation injects a potent, almost operatic villainy that, while effective, further contributes to the episode’s departure from gritty realism. Meanwhile, Danny’s subplot sees her preparing for the sergeant’s exam, tutored by Dutch Wagenbach, whose unspoken romantic feelings become increasingly evident. The tension culminates in a passionate between Danny and Vic, witnessed by Dutch after his departure, a moment of raw personal drama that, while compelling character development, undeniably leans into the very "soapish" territory the series had previously avoided.

In conclusion, Blowback remains a gripping hour of television, driven by strong performances (particularly Sutter’s Dezerian) and the inherent tension of the Strike Team’s precarious existence. However, it also represents a significant turning point where The Shield’s narrative ambition began to outpace its foundational commitment to gritty plausibility. The intricate drug plot, while initially compelling, collapses under the weight of its own convoluted coincidences, and the parallel personal dramas, though emotionally resonant, flirt dangerously with melodrama.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

Blog in Croatian https://draxblog.com
Blog in English https://draxreview.wordpress.com/
InLeo blog https://inleo.io/@drax.leo

InLeo: https://inleo.io/signup?referral=drax.leo
Leodex: https://leodex.io/?ref=drax
Hiveonboard: https://hiveonboard.com?ref=drax
Rising Star game: https://www.risingstargame.com?referrer=drax
1Inch: https://1inch.exchange/#/r/0x83823d8CCB74F828148258BB4457642124b1328e

BTC donations: 1EWxiMiP6iiG9rger3NuUSd6HByaxQWafG
ETH donations: 0xB305F144323b99e6f8b1d66f5D7DE78B498C32A7
BCH donations: qpvxw0jax79lhmvlgcldkzpqanf03r9cjv8y6gtmk9