The Shield was a show that had the misfortune of being around at the same time as The Wire. Whereas critics wanted the Shakespearean drama of The Wire, The Shield worked as a cautionary tale. Based on the corruption that led to the Rampart scandal and with Kurt Sutter’s great knack for dialogue, The Shield can stand proudly on its two (flat)feet as a prime drama.

We follow the life and follies of Detective Vic Mackey and his hard-knocking squad. Their interpersonal dramas and schemes are the bread and butter of a cop show that is neither copaganda nor criminal of the week stuff. You barely have an action sequence, mostly going for short hard cut stuff. Akin to what Joe Carnahan did on Narc.

Music is mostly diegetic on the show. Barring a few montages, any music you hear is actually being heard by the characters, and it’s sweet that bands like Alice in Chains and Grant Lee Buffalo got some exposure from this show.

But it’s the use of Will you smile again? by the brutally good …And you will know us by the trail of dead what simply makes an episode like Hurt a classic. It’s season 4, the show is hitting its stride, everything bad the strike team has done is coming back to haunt them and for just a few minutes, Mackey is actually doing detective work for good. I won’t spoil it, but it’s a perfect ending for a great episode in one of the best seasons of TV.

-Sam J. Valdés López