Television Review: Partners (The Shield, S2X03, 2003)

Partners (S02E03)

Airdate: January 21st 2003

Written by: Kurt Sutter
Directed by: Guy Ferland

Running Time: 45 minutes

If The Shield had maintained an exclusive focus on the saga of Vic Mackey and his Strike Team, it would undoubtedly have been a far shorter-running series. The show's longevity and depth stemmed from its ability to periodically shift focus away from its central antihero, allowing secondary characters and conventional police procedural elements to take centre stage. These narrative detours served a crucial purpose: they prevented the show from becoming claustrophobic while simultaneously enriching its complex moral universe. Season 2's Partners, written by Kurt Sutter, stands as an exemplary demonstration of this balancing act, weaving together two distinct storylines that explore different facets of corruption, justice, and the psychological toll of police work.

The episode opens with a stark reminder of continuity – Vic's brutal assault on Armadillo from the previous episode's conclusion – before launching into its dual narratives. The first storyline resurrects a ghost from Vic's past in the formidable form of Joe Clarke, portrayed with gravitas by Carl Weathers. Clarke, Vic's former mentor and a retired LAPD detective who taught him everything he knows, returns to the Barn bearing the scars of his own downfall. His career and family were destroyed after he beat small-time criminal Fleetwood Walker (Garland Whitt) during an arrest, after which Walker became wealthy through a civil suit against the city. Clarke's visit to Vic isn't merely nostalgic; it's a plea against what he perceives as a profound injustice. Their investigation reveals that despite his financial settlement, Walker has returned to criminal activities, specifically automatic weapons smuggling. With the help of reluctant informant Taylor Orrs (Ronreaco Lee), Vic and Clarke orchestrate a raid that ends with Vic being shot and hospitalised, while Walker is ultimately apprehended by the Strike Team. This storyline serves a deeper purpose than mere action – it provides invaluable insight into Vic's moral formation and hints at his potential future as a bitter, isolated man who consoles himself with the belief that he "did more good than bad."

Meanwhile, the second narrative thread tackles a case that begins with the chilling delivery of a severed arm to the Barn. Dutch Wagenbach, the intellectually rigorous but emotionally vulnerable detective, discovers that the fingerprints belong to Kayla LeSeur and, to his horror, learns the victim was alive during the amputation and might still be living. The investigation leads to neighbours Bob and Marcy Lindhoff, played respectively by Marc Vann and Melanie Lynskey. Director Guy Ferland takes an overtly exploitative approach here, lingering unnecessarily on glimpses of the nude victim in the bathroom – a choice that veers uncomfortably close to sensationalism. The narrative tension is further undermined by the premature revelation of the Lindhoffs as perpetrators; Lynskey's casting, given her iconic role as a murderous teenager in Heavenly Creatures, essentially telegraphs the twist to perceptive viewers. Dutch's initial failure to suspect the couple allows them to hide evidence and keep the still-living Kayla imprisoned in their car boot. Despite discovering Bob's prior charge for attempted abduction of a minor, Dutch is manipulated by Marcy's calculated denials and forced to release them. The tragic resolution comes too late – Kayla is found dead in their vehicle, with Marcy revealing she forced her husband to kill their victim out of jealousy. Dutch is left defeated, his intellectual confidence shattered by his inability to see through a female sociopath's manipulations.

Partners excels primarily through its exploration of Vic's relationship with Joe Clarke, which serves as a powerful framing device for understanding Mackey's character trajectory. Carl Weathers brings a regal dignity to Clarke, making his fall from grace all the more poignant. This storyline also effectively strains the already fragile bond between Vic and Shane Vendrell. When Shane dismisses Clarke as "old, stupid and sloppy," Vic reacts with uncharacteristic violence, interpreting the insult as a direct challenge to his own authority and legacy. The contrast between the two men becomes increasingly stark – while Vic maintains certain boundaries, Shane demonstrates a willingness to cross lines his mentor never would, exemplified by his threat to rape Walker's girlfriend Veronica (Susan Santiago) to extract information. This dynamic foreshadows the inevitable fracture that will define their relationship in later seasons.

The episode also efficiently advances ongoing subplots: Claudette begins her quiet investigation into Vic's activities, while Corinne and the children temporarily return home, providing Vic with a fleeting moment of domestic stability amidst the chaos. These continuity elements ground the episode within the series' broader narrative architecture.

However, the Dutch storyline ultimately proves the episode's weakest element. Beyond its sensationalist presentation, the mystery lacks genuine suspense due to the transparent villainy of the Lindhoffs. Marc Vann, familiar to crime drama fans as the adversarial Ecklie in CSI: Las Vegas, functions primarily as a red herring while Lynskey's performance as the manipulative Marcy dominates the narrative. The storyline's conclusion – a defeated Dutch realising his intellectual superiority was no match for calculated female manipulation – feels somewhat reductive, playing into tired tropes about male detectives being undone by cunning women.

Despite these flaws, Partners succeeds in demonstrating The Shield's capacity to balance character study with procedural elements. In its best moments, 'Partners' reminds us that The Shield was never merely about Vic Mackey's corruption, but about the entire ecosystem of compromise, loyalty, and moral decay that surrounded him. The episode's true strength lies not in its action sequences or shocking reveals, but in its unflinching examination of how the past inevitably shapes – and sometimes destroys – the present.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

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