Television Review: Game Face (The Shield, S7X05, 2008)

Game Face (S07E05)

Airdate: 30 September 2008

Written by: Charles H. Eegle
Directed by: Michael Chiklis

Running Time: 49 minutes

Perhaps Shawn Ryan and the rest of his creative team have been hoarding their best narrative tricks for the actual series finale, as the general run-of-the-mill quality of the first five episodes of the final season of The Shield suggests such a strategy. These instalments did little to distinguish themselves, neither achieving great heights nor committing fatal flaws, existing instead as a holding pattern for the show's conclusion. The fifth instalment, titled Game Face, serves as a quintessential example of this mid-season lull—competent but utterly unremarkable, marking time before the curtain falls.

The central narrative continues to follow the three surviving members of the original Strike Team as they find themselves standing between the Armenian mob and Mexican cartels, each bringing a radically different philosophy to the table regarding how to go through this dangerous terrain. Vic, ever the manipulator, believes he can engineer the warring factions to continue their conflict indefinitely to his own benefit. Shane, conversely, has adopted a far more pragmatic and fatalistic approach, suggesting that they simply surrender the "blackmail box" to the Mexicans and wash their hands of the affair. Ronnie, caught in the crossfire, remains torn between these two extreme options. Vic, during a conversation with Shane, articulates his ultimate aim in bringing down Pezuela, the cartel representative, not simply as a tactical victory but as a "downpayment for being able to live with myself." He frames it as a noble gesture, a good deed intended to make Farmington a better place and serve as some form of penance for the countless crimes he has committed over the years. Shane, who also appears to be grappling with his own troubled conscience, offers a far more cynical and pragmatic perspective, arguing that taking down a powerful evil crime lord like Pezuela is a futile exercise because it will only create a vacuum that someone else will inevitably fill.

In the meantime, a more immediate crisis looms for Vic and his temporary ally, Aceveda, who is currently campaigning for the position of LA mayor. The primary concern is determining exactly what the ICE agent, Olivia Massey, knows about Vic's ongoing operation against the cartels, especially now that she has been compromised. Vic decides to confront her directly. In a tearful admission, Massey reveals that she has indeed been blackmailed by the cartels, the leverage being her brother's involvement in illegal bookmaking operations. This revelation highlights the precariousness of Vic's position; one wrong move could spell the end of his operation and his freedom.

Separately, Captain Wyms finds herself haunted by the spectre of the past in the form of the imprisoned serial killer Kleavon Gardner. Gardner, acting as his own attorney in a civil suit, has deposed former detectives in the Barn to gather evidence. Through these manoeuvres, Gardner has uncovered sensitive information about Wyms' lupus and her previous drug usage. This information is precisely calibrated to sow enough reasonable doubt in a potential jury's mind to undermine his conviction. Wyms is forced to watch helplessly as she is outmanoeuvred by a man she put behind bars. ADA Beth Encardi capitulates to the pressure, accepting a plea deal that spares Gardner the well-deserved death penalty he so richly deserves, leaving Wyms to contend with the injustice of it all.

While Wyms deals with a serial killer from the past, Dutch Wagenbach becomes fixated on a potential serial killer of the future: 16-year-old Lloyd Denton. Dutch is desperate to determine if the boy killed his schoolmate in cold blood or in self-defence. To ensure accuracy, he consults with an actual crime profiler, who, alongside Kleavon Gardner, points to Lloyd as the most likely candidate for being a murderous psychopath. In a desperate bid to force a confession, Dutch visits the Denton family home, only for his intervention to be abruptly interrupted by the boy's mother.

In a rare moment of competence within the Strike Team, Julien Lowe proves himself to be a valuable asset. He plays crucial part well-organised sting operation that leads a group of specially "deputised" gangbangers on a raid against a particularly nasty gang of carjacking rapists. The real target, however, is not the gang itself, but the daughter of a Cuban crime lord who was accidentally taken by the carjackers; the raid must be conducted in a way that makes the release look like an accident. Julien executes this plan with flying colours. Conversely, while collecting intelligence for the raid, Vic and Ronnie stumble upon the car thief Deena.

Back at the station and in his personal life, Vic's world begins to crumble beneath the weight of his own making. His daughter, Cassidy, acts out with increasing destructive behaviour. Vic discovers that she attended a "Pimps'n'hoes" party and, later, receives devastating news that she was personally supplying drugs. As Vic confronts the harsh reality of his own daughter being entangled in the drug trade, he simultaneously burns bridges with Danny. He demands custody of her son—a concession he had previously made—adding another layer of toxic drama to his already complicated existence.

The episode was written by Michael Chiklis, who, interestingly, declined to have his daughter Autumn on screen this time. This was a wise decision, as Autumn Chiklis' acting abilities left much to be desired; consequently, most of the drama revolving around Cassidy occurs through expository dialogue rather than organic performance. Ultimately, the script, credited to Charles H. Eegle, feels a little overcooked. It attempts to balance too many serial killer storylines, diluting the impact of the main narrative. The cliffhanger involving Olivia Massey feels a little too neat, lacking the gritty unpredictability that the series is known for.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

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