'The Shield's' Vic Mackey finally comes clean

But whatever thrill might have come from seeing the cruel and hopelessly corrupt detective commit everything to tape was undercut by the context. In an earlier episode, Vic had quit the police force before his firing was official, and in order to ensure his financial well-being (and, presumably, his continued access to underworld graft), he brokered a deal with a federal agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an opportunity that inexplicably came with an offer of full immunity for anything he confessed. So when he sat down at that table, signed his new contract, and began recapping his three-year crime spree for the digital recorder, although it seemed like he was getting away with something, actually it was an act of last resort -- an anticlimax.

The well-hidden secret of "The Shield" is that Vic's always been helpless. Without his lackeys -- the erratic, terrifying Shane Vendrell (Walton Goggins); the quiet, unreasonably loyal Ronnie Gardocki (David Rees Snell); the dearly departed Curtis "Lem" Lemansky (Kenneth Johnson) -- to prop him up, he's often been an empty vessel of aggression. And without his badge, as seen during the later parts of this season, his currency is significantly devalued. All along it seemed he was a master of his domain, but he was always betting with someone else's money. The moment one person calls his bluff, the house of cards collapses.

Vic's untouchability almost became a given on "The Shield" -- all his sins were paid for by others -- and ultimately, it was one of this groundbreaking show's few weaknesses. This season, though, the unraveling began to pierce his force field, largely due to the slow collapse of his ex-wife, Corrine (Cathy Cahlin Ryan), who dabbled in drugs and undercover police stings as a means of coping with the full understanding of Vic's sins. Family, it turns out, is the only bond with any strength on "The Shield." Corrine is the only person Vic doesn't question, even as she's clearly withering away. Additionally, he spent much of the season arguing with fellow cop Danny Sofer (Catherine Dent) about his rights to the baby produced by their one-night stand -- it is Vic's chance to begin anew.