The Shield: Season 06 (2007) Reviews

Season Six of The Shield opens as Detective Vic Mackey (Michael Chilkis) and the rest of the Farmington District Strike Force mourn the death of their colleague Curtis Lemensky (Kenneth Johnson), who was killed by a hand grenade just before he was to be shipped out of the country to prevent his revealing all of the Force's past peccadilloes to relentless Internal Affairs investigator Lt. Jon Kanvanagh (Forest Whitaker). Upon discovering that he is slated to be forcibly retired from the force, the embittered Mackey embarks upon a personal vendetta, bent upon killing the man responsible for "Lem"'s demise--never suspecting that the person he seeks is his own best friend and colleague, Det. Shane Vendrell (Waylon Goggins). . .who may well beat Vic to the punch by committing suicide. His one best chance of destroying the Strike Force gone, Kavanagh becomes more obsessively unhinged than ever, resorting to strongarming witnesses and tampering with evidence to bring Mackey down. This puts Kavanagh on the outs with his two most fervent supporters (and the only thoroughly honest members of the Force), Dutch Wagenbach (Jay Karnes) and newly promoted Claudette Wyms (CCH Pounder). Wyms in fact is so disillusioned by Kavanagh's tactics that she puts her animosity toward Mackey on the shelf and affords Vic an opportunity to save his job. Other developments this season include the ever-growing (and ever-threatenng) political ambitions of Mackey's old adversary, Councilman Aceveda (Benito Martinez); and Off. Danielle Sofer's (Catherine Dent) revelation of the identity of her child's father (to no one's surprise, the man in question is her erstwhile lover Vic Mackey). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi