Television Review: Slipknot (The Shield, S3X09, 2004)

Slipknot (S03E09)

Airdate: May 4th 2004

Written by: Kurt Sutter
Directed by: Michael Chiklis

Running Time: 45 minutes

For much of the 1990s and the early 2000s, America—and by extension, the broader Western world—projected itself as a paragon of an enlightened, multi-ethnic, and multi-racial utopia. This self‑congratulatory narrative often framed the West as a society that had transcended the ethnic and sectarian horrors seen elsewhere in the world, particularly in the Balkans, Africa, or the Middle East. That facade, however, was never as seamless as it appeared. Even before the Obama era would later force a more uncomfortable national self‑reckoning, cracks in the glossy surface were visible—and occasionally, American television dared to show them. Slipknot, an episode from the third season of The Shield, is a potent example. It presents a scenario in which demographic change in Los Angeles is accelerated by methods that, while not as extreme as those seen in the siege of Sarajevo a decade earlier, operate on essentially the same ruthless logic: the manipulation of ethnic tension for power, territory, and profit.

The main plot begins with the discovery of a body—Klee Jones, a young Black mural artist beloved by his community. He has been hanged in a manner deliberately evocative of racist lynchings in the pre‑1960s American South. The immediate assumption is that this is a hate crime, a spark that could ignite a neighbourhood already simmering with racial and gang animosity. His Mexican girlfriend, Gitana (Veronica Del Palacio), points suspicion toward her ex‑boyfriend, Neron (Gary Cruz), a member of the Latino gang Los Profetas. The situation turns even more macabre when Father Oreos Zavala, a Catholic priest widely respected even among the Profetas, is found stabbed to death in his church. This act is inevitably interpreted as the next step in an escalating cycle of tit‑for‑tat racial violence, pushing the fictional district of Farmington to the brink of a full‑scale urban conflict.

Faced with this crisis, Captain Aceveda—now joined at the Barn by Assistant Chief Roy Phillips (Nigel Gibbs)—announces to his officers that they have very little time to prevent Farmington from descending into open warfare; if they fail, the FBI and the National Guard will be called in. Claudette Wyms reluctantly agrees to let Vic Mackey and his Strike Team handle the investigation, recognising that Vic’s underground rapport with the gangs might be the only way to quickly defuse the situation. Vic focuses on the One‑Niners, the Black gang most likely to have killed the priest. Their leader, Kern Little—with whom Vic maintains a corrupt understanding—is away in Europe, leaving the gang in the hands of his lieutenant, Tobar (Rashaan Nall). Vic leans on Tobar’s subordinate, Twizzy (M. Neko Parham), who informs him that the murder weapon is held by Tobar’s friend, Elias “Link” Linkletter (Dwayne L. Barnes). Both Tobar and Link are arrested, but Vic soon discovers that they possess airtight alibis. The real culprit, it emerges, is Twizzy himself. In a calculated play for power, Twizzy murdered both Klee Jones and Father Zavala, hoping to ignite a major gang war that would allow him to seize control of the One‑Niners, convinced that under his leadership they would emerge victorious. With Twizzy arrested and Tobar and Link released, Vic confers with Savuto (Noel Guglielmi), leader of the Profetas. He implies that Twizzy could be killed in prison as retribution, but insists that the streets must remain peaceful—a stark illustration of Vic’s own brand of extralegal order. Meanwhile, back at the Barn, the Decoy Squad—disillusioned by Claudette’s use of them in this and previous cases—demand and receive a transfer, and Claudette herself is returned to regular detective duties.

Parallel to this central investigation, the episode delves into Aceveda’s personal turmoil. His wife, Aurora, confronts him over his reluctance to come home, fearing that his behaviour could jeopardise the upcoming election she had considered already won. When Aceveda finally confesses that he was sexually assaulted, Aurora’s reaction is not one of compassion but of anger—she attacks him for failing to be the strong, protective figure she requires. She leaves in disgust, and the episode closes with Aceveda alone in his car, staring at a mugshot of his rapist, Juan Lozano, with a gun at his side—a chilling image of a man pushed to the edge of his own moral and emotional limits.

Further subplots weave through the episode, illustrating the pervasive instability in the characters’ lives. Vic is called to Mission Cross hospital after his ex‑wife, Corrine, is assaulted by a violent drug addict named Tung Yung (Xuyen Valvidia). At his old home, Vic again finds Owen Thigpen there, a presence that displeases him and his daughter, Cassidy—who expresses her frustration by scratching a message into Owen’s car. Separately, Vic continues search for $7,000 is missing from their secret stash of Armenian money‑train heist proceeds. The thief is eventually revealed to be Mara, Shane’s pregnant girlfriend, who stole the money to assist her financially struggling mother. Shane is furious but, unwilling to lose his pregnant partner, simply tells her to keep quiet while he decides what to do—another example of personal loyalties threatening to unravel the Strike Team’s precarious criminal enterprise.

Slipknot marks the directorial debut of Michael Chiklis, who had already taken on production duties earlier in the season. Chiklis handles the assignment with commendable restraint, avoiding any undue focus on his own performance and even at his daughter, Autumn, in the role of Cassidy. The episode’s structure—packing multiple, tense storylines into a single hour—is demanding, but Chiklis manages the pacing effectively. The finale, a music‑laden montage, carries the weight of a season‑ending climax, leaving Vic once again running his fiefdom unimpeded by Claudette’s oversight.

From a certain ideological perspective, feminists would likely find much to criticise here. The episode presents two central female characters in decidedly unflattering lights: Mara, whose reckless theft threatens not only her boyfriend but the entire Strike Team; and Aurora Aceveda, who, instead of offering support when her husband confesses a traumatic violation, abandons him and pushes him toward a violent brink that even Vic Mackey might hesitate to cross. These portrayals are uncomfortable and deliberately refuse to cast women as mere victims or moral compasses—a choice that may provoke heated debate but also reflects the series’ broader commitment to moral ambiguity.

Ultimately, *Slipknot? is most compelling in its treatment of simmering ethnic and racial tensions on the streets of Los Angeles—tensions exacerbated by rapid demographic change. In a conversation between Vic and two elderly Black citizens, the memory of the Watts riots four decades earlier is invoked, grounding the current unrest in a long history of racial and economic dislocation. The episode suggests that, just as in Sarajevo, these divisions can be exploited by ruthless, opportunistic elements—figures like Twizzy—who are willing to orchestrate carnage for their own petty ambitions. Unlike Sarajevo, the broader conflict here is narrowly averted, thanks to Vic’s brutal pragmatism. Yet the resolution is precarious and deeply cynical. The underlying tensions—both in fictional Farmington and in real‑life, present‑day America—remain, a powder keg waiting for the next spark.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)

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