Television Review: Spanish Practices (The Shield, S6X10, 2007)

Spanish Practices (S06E10)

Airdate: 5 June 2007

Written by: Shawn Ryan & Scott Rosenbaum
Directed by: Paris Barclay

Running Time: 61 minutes

The Shield has established itself as a bastion of uncompromising television, but its sixth season finale, Spanish Practices, is a peculiar anomaly within the series' impressive catalogue. It is widely regarded as the weakest and least memorable season finale in the show's history, a sentiment rooted not in a lack of ambition, but in a fundamental disconnect between the production team and the network regarding the series' trajectory. The primary culprit for this narrative inertia was the timing of the decision to greenlight a seventh and final season; Shawn Ryan and his writers only learned of FX's commitment to another run midway through the production of Season 6. Consequently, the latter half of the season, including this penultimate episode, feels less like a conclusion and more like a deliberate stalling tactic, a series of interconnected scenes designed merely to bridge the gap between the narrative present and the eventual, long-awaited conclusion of Vic Mackey's saga.

Had Spanish Practices been the actual series finale, the audience could have reasonably anticipated a visceral, violent death for Vic Mackey, or perhaps a dramatic arrest that finally brings his criminal empire crumbling down. Alternatively, given the previous episodes of Season 6, the most banal option—the forced retirement of the show's antihero—was a distinct possibility. However, as the date of his retirement approached, Vic engaged in a desperate, almost frantic scramble to convince anyone who would listen that his accumulated flaws as a LAPD detective were negligible compared to the good he could provide for his community, his colleagues, and The Powers That Be, who were always in need of a few favours. By the end of the previous episode, Vic had finally secured a significant break in these efforts: a compromising photograph of Councilman Aceveda from the politically influential construction entrepreneur Cruz Pezuela.

Armed with this potent leverage, Vic approaches Aceveda with the explicit demand that he pull his weight and ensure the police review board votes against his forced retirement. Aceveda initially responds with disdainful rejection, but the arrival of Aceveda's attorney at the Barn to threaten him convinces Vic that the photograph is a vulnerability Aceveda truly cannot afford to expose. Further inquiries into Pezuela's operations lead Vic to a stark realisation: the entire blackmail operation was not designed to make Vic a useful tool for Pezuela, but rather to prevent Vic from digging up the dirt on the shady dealings Pezuela and his people were conducting. Realising that he would benefit more from a temporary alliance with his former nemesis Aceveda, Vic manages to locate the office of Pezuela's partner, Luis Aramboles, which is revealed to be the headquarters for a very complex and very illegal operation. Aramboles and Pezuela are exposed as the fronts for Mexican cartels, who have strategically chosen Farmington to establish a network of legitimate businesses to cover for their illegal activities, as well as to create a political machine to protect this new empire. At the episode's conclusion, Vic hijacks a car belonging to one of the cartel operatives and discovers a treasure trove of tapes, documents, and other blackmail material that is being used against the most influential politicians in Los Angeles and California—a discovery that suggests the "blackmail box" is a far more powerful weapon than even Vic imagined.

While Vic plays the high-stakes political game, Shane Vendrell finds himself in a terrifying predicament of his own making. He realises that his ill-advised plan to create a partnership with the Armenian mob was a catastrophic error, and he significantly underestimated the chances of being caught between two rival factions. After the Strike Team's involvement in the money train heist is revealed, Diro Khesian makes it clear that she will take revenge not only on Vic and Ronnie but on their family members as well. Shane is horrified, suspecting that such bloodshed might point directly towards him. In a desperate bid to save Vic's family, he even forces Corrine and Cassidy into a container to hide them from Diro's assassins. The other avenue he pursues is to approach Ellis Rezian in prison and offer to make evidence against him disappear in exchange for sparing the lives of the policemen and their families. Rezian agrees, taking a pragmatic approach, but warns Shane that he will have to pay the money train debt by doing errands for him. Shane then confronts Diro just as her father is dying and informs her that with Rezian out of prison, her life is in immediate danger. Diro agrees to leave for Germany after euthanasing her father.

The subplot involving Dutch Wagenbach and his partner Billings, had escalated into such a childish and petty rivalry that it bordered on farce. The situation culminated in Dutch being publicly humiliated by the sight of Officer Hanlon having sex with Detective Hiatt, a scene that hung over the Barn like a cloud. The eventual resolution to this arc is incredibly anti-climactic; Billings announces his retirement and sues the LAPD over work-related injuries, much to Dutch's disgust. Meanwhile, Hiatt's tryst with Hanlon becomes an open secret in the Barn, and Hiatt reacts by shunning Hanlon in an ungentlemanly manner. Captain Wyms, after learning of this, decides to transfer Hiatt out of Strike Team. Dutch attempts to make amends with Hanlon, who seems understanding, yet Dutch still feels hurt and humiliated. In a poignant locker room scene, he breaks down, being comforted by Danny Soffer, who kisses him.

Written by Shawn Ryan and Scott Rosenbaum, Spanish Practices is at least fifteen minutes longer than the average episode. Despite that, the episode fails to resolve the main plot strands established in the previous episode's reveal of secrets. Vic's fate as a LAPD detective remains in limbo, and the episode ends only by implying that the Epstein-size archive of blackmail material could serve as Vic's tool in the near future. Even Shane's admission about the money train heist to Diro fails to launch the expected bloodbath; the ultimate outcome is merely a suspended sentence over Vic, Ronnie, and Shane. This lack of closure transforms what should have been a crescendo into a whimper.

Probably the most disappointing aspect of the episode is the anti-climactic way Diro Khesian, arguably one of the most intriguing and potentially useful characters in the series, leaves the plot. Despite being portrayed as tough and ruthless, she simply takes the path of least resistance and flees. This was largely due to Franka Potente, originally hired for guest appearances, being engaged with other projects and not being able to take part in Season 7 with the stories Ryan and his team envisioned for her character. It is a shame, as her departure feels like a missed opportunity to deliver a truly spectacular finale.

RATING: 5/10 (++)

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