What I love most about this scene is Ronnie is the most loyal member of the strike team never questioning vic methods and always willing to back him no matter the situation so it makes vic betrayal all the more heartbreaking
Hell, when he found out about Terry Crowley his reaction is not horror at Vic's actions--He's appalled only by the fact that Vic didn't trust him (Ronnie) enough to tell him.
Ronnie and lem were mad loyal they were both willing to die and go to prison for vic and Shane it’s a shame vic didn’t see through connies trap in the park Ronnie would’ve worked along side with vic in the office but it didn’t happen sadly
@@kailashpatel1706 Originally ICE was unwilling to extend the deal to both him and Ronnie, and so he was playing the waiting game to *eventually* get the deal he wanted. Long story short, Claudette and Vic's wife Corrine do a sting operation where they make it appear as though she got pinched for her husband's crimes, which puts Vic into panic mode to go through with the deal with ICE, getting immunity for Corrine in place of Ronnie.
WHAT ABOUT MY GOD DAMN CHOICE VIC?! What about my god damn choice? I WAS GOING TO RUN! WE WERE GONNA RUN TOGETHER! What about the team? WHAT ABOUT PROTECTING THE GOD DAMN TEAM!
What I love about this scene is how brilliant Claudette is. Although Vic dodged all the legal consequences, she found a WHOLE different way to hurt him; showing him pics of Shane’s corpse, illustrating the causes of his leadership, having Corraine and her kids go into hiding, and finally arresting Ronnie in front of Vic so Ronnie has to look him in the eye when he finds out he was given up. Is this one Incredible finale or what?
And with almost the entire Barn staff front and center. To see absolutely none of them come forward to support him indicated that Claudette had achieved her goal. Olivia's opinion of this little sting operation changed completely when Claudette told her it was a diamond opportunity to make Mackey pay for the shit he put her through. And it was pathetically easy, too. He never bothered to think about how his fellows saw him. Nor did he ever take the time to think about the consequences and aftereffects of his decisions. Lacking in introspection and concept of anyone outside himself was his downfall. And in the morning, his first day at ICE, he is officially nothing.
I disagree with your entire bottom paragraph. He didn't lack anything in terms of his character. There where many moments but very far in-between where someone would call him on his bullshit. All he would do is give a smug bulldog facial expression like "fuck you that you found out about the true me". He was 100% what you see is what you get and obviously he had to be narcissist killer from the jump (hence him killing Terry without a thought due to being a threat). He would have killed Mara and her unborn baby.
@@philippebien5429 No one's saying the writing of his character "lacked" anything. What they're saying is, within the show, in-universe, HE lacked any concept of empathy, introspection, or genuine conscience in how he handled his business, and that was the keyhole that led to his undoing.
@@g-coalitionbrother1729 Yeah and I disagree. So? Throughout various moments of the show whenever Vic would do something that seemed to only help him or his hillbilly friend in the group, the camera would pan out to Ronnie's "wtf" kind of blank expression. He would he even be somewhat vocal about it of how it's a group thing and should be talked about as that, not just one person making all the shots. Besides those moments throughout the entire series, Ronnie would also have moments where the camera pans out to his facial expressions when he wasn't down with something. He would speak up about attacking plans in a different way etc. Which all lead to the final season where he was the "acting boss" and failed miserably but also clearly had potential of doing things the right way. He was almost out, his plan to run once Lem was dead and his other hillbilly partner was on the run from the cops. Vic somehow talked him into it which showed that 50/50 Ronnie knew what the right thing to do HENCE why he was truly the last guy standing and still got burned by Vic himself.
God just imagine being Ronnie in that final scene. In that room, in that chair, where everything the team had ever done was planned, thinking he was finally safe, only for it to all come crumbling down right in front of him. He woke up that morning, put on that suit and tie that day, thinking today was the day all his troubles were going to end, only for him to go to bed that night in county jail, knowing he's going to prison for the rest of his life and that his friend and partner who'd done it all with him had sold him out and is getting off scot-free. Crushing. Absolutely soul crushing.
I agree, this was soul-crushing. But honestly, I don't think Ronnie spent much time in prison. There was no actual proof that he actually committed any of those crimes, there was only Vic's statement. A verbal statement from one man is not proof of guilt. Ronnie's lawyer would have ripped the DA's case to shreds if he was even the least bit good.
I thought the cop car chase at the end where Vic grabs his gun as if to say “Fuck pushing pencils, I’m a strike team member.” As he pursues the cops, one by one the lights go out. Vic tracks down whoever they’re chasing into an alley or abandoned building. Turns out it was a ruse to get Vic alone. It would be someone getting revenge on Vic for all his chaos he’s caused. Someone associated with Terry Crowley, Ronnie, Antwone Mitchell, etc. that part doesn’t matter because Vic has crossed so many people over the years. then they’d kill him in. I think it was the last call Shane made to Vic where he says “u always thought less of me on the team.” Vic replies something like “you always thought you were as smart as me.” It would finally catch up with Vic that someone was finally smarter than him.
@Marshall Carwood man what fed contacts? He admitted all his heinous crimes to them, they were definitely not about to do him any favors ever ESPECIALLY not helping him get one of his partners off for all the crimes he just admitted they did
@Marshall Carwood doubt it, even “fully credentialed agents” can be assigned to desk duty. Everyone there knows how dirty he was, as soon as he tried to manipulate something they would’ve shut him down. Or they would’ve let him do it and then arrest him because as Olivia Murray put it, “that’s a violation of the terms of his agreement”
@@omegamanGXE it was evidence that could've put vic away for life but thanks to Vic's deal with ice that evidence was useless because now Claudette couldn't touch him
@@codysparks1454 This is the crowning achievement of his career. Unfortunately all of his non Shield roles he doesn't really get an opportunity to show what he can do.
Agreed. This is on par with Mike Ehrmantraut tearing Walter White a new one in the Breaking Bad episode “Gliding over All.” The character’s been fairly low-key so far in the series, so you know it’s terrible if he blows his top.
@@kdizzle901 Trust me you don't have to tell me any SOA info, haha. But still Ronnie is the only time he's really been allowed to step up to the majors. As in having a great character on a great show/movie where the scene is focused on you.
@@Derekivery There was another time where Vic said "You better figure out how much you hate me. Because I'm not going anywhere" and she just hits him with "neither am I." Simple but effective.
@@FidoeFTW Too bad for him he wasn't. The poison letter in his file effectively kept him stuck where he was: at his present location and his present rank. No promotions, no transfer, no honors.
Vic showed his true colors here and betrayed the one person who still believed in him. One of the most unforgettable moments on the show, once you see it you don't forgot this scene.
I always found it interesting that at the end of the day, Shane would have gone down to protect Maura. For all his faults, he was willing to send himself to hell out of loyalty for someone. Vic, for all his bravado, was never looking out for anyone but himself.
@@crazyjim9380 yeah, knowing the type of person Vic was, it's pretty obvious he was out for only himself. and Shane was willing to cheat on Mara so I dont understand the loyalty on her part like it was.
After he got his face burned on the stove I was so convinced they replaced the actor I had to look it up. The difference between the character before and after is literally night & day lol
@Chris Vic effectively is in prison, if not literally. That was the point. He may have made a deal that gave him immunity from prosecution for his crimes but his career as a cop was destroyed. He can't get out of his permanent desk job arrangement with the FBI or they would terminate his immunity and definitely jail him for everything he did in the Strike Team. Even putting all of that aside, Corinne and the kids are hidden away in witness protection under new identities. He'll never see his family ever again. So yeah, his punishment was ultimately tantamount to being jailed.
I thought when Vic picked up the gun at the end, he woulda muttered “I’m coming Ron.” I find it hard to believe Vic would be happy with the demotion that he would want to piss off the brass even more & somehow help Ronnie escape. Ronnie definitely had to have gotten hard time.
@@bfettrulez6734 well that was the whole point of his situation, he got his freedom but at what cost. His closest friends were all dead/in prison, he’d never see his family again, he’d never work again (at least as a law enforcement officer) and everyone who has ever known him now knows what a bad person he truly was. And yeah it’s safe to assume Ronnie got multiple life sentences without parole
@@drakeandjosh007 If I remember correctly Dutch killing that cat might have been what saved him from becoming a serial killer. The guy was getting too deep into the heads of the criminals he chased. He was trying to think like them and that led him down some dark roads. Him killing that cat was the wake up call he needed to make him realize he was taking things too far.
@@driffter1976 Shane killing Lem solidified everyone's demise. Vic wanting revenge for Lem's death by putting a hit on Shane that backfired on Vic. Shane failing to kill and then blackmailing Vic because of this forcing Vic to confess all of his sins (killing Terry, money train heist, etc.) for immunity so that Shane couldn't have leverage over Vic and also because of Corrine's betrayal that he wasn't even aware of. But yeah, no, you're right. I didn't actually watch the show. And if I didn't then neither did you. Also, Shane killed Lem because Kavanaugh got Aceveda to lie to Vic about Lem ratting on the team which only happened because Lem stole a brick of heroin out of some banger's house in season 4 and he got caught with it. And he did this so that he could find that little black girl's body that Antwone Mitchell killed when Shane thought that he could be Vic in the aforementioned season but failed to live up to him. Which I suppose wouldnt have happened if The Strike Team hadn't been disbanded at the end of season 3 due to Lem burning the Armenian money train cash. I forget why he burnt the money but they were in the clear after that. Everything that happened after that was Shane's fault. And Corrine for not being loyal
@@BreakingBadFan2008 Of course there was a ton of other dynamics involved with their demise, as you extensively listed. But I was really zeroing in on the money train because Vic was greedy doing that. He had just killed Terry Crowley and barely gotten away stealing the drugs, which Julian saw. He didn't know how to keep a low profile and know when to quit.
The disgust in Dutch's voice toward Ronnie is really great, too. "For what?" And Dutch looks at him like, 'Are you fucking kidding me!?' Then Ronnie's rage when he realizes that he took the bullet for someone that wouldn't do the same for him. This is probably my favorite scene in the whole series.
Ronnie was yelling “What about my choice, Where’s my choice?” He made his choice when he chose to remain loyal to Vic after learning about how he murdered Terry Crowley. He chose to setup Shane’s murder with Vic, and he also chose to hunt down and try to kill Shane and his pregnant wife Mara. So Ronnie questioning what about his choice, he made it and is suffering the consequences for it.
@@Tribal_Soldier shane said it only after his relationship soured with vic.. In my opinion Ronnie didn't deserve what he got at the end.. Basically he got what vic would have gotten had he been caught.. And compared to vic he's an angel.. He didn't kill any police officer.. And he wanted shane dead bcuz vic drilled the idea into him.. Vic wanted to back out at the end but it was too late and shane figured it out.. Had vic just let things go after finding out shane killed lem things would have gone smoothly for them.. Basically vic is to blame for everything..
For those that do not know this TV series (best on television ever) was based on the CRASH unit of LAPD. I was a police officer myself but we NEVER had the latitude that that department had. Before cellphone cameras and body cameras.
@@akshaynatu1084 Nah, because a lot of the seasons picked up right where the previous episode ended. And things like Acevedo getting elected to city council but taking over a season before he actually took office.
@@akshaynatu1084 I mean after 2020 you still think that it is unlikely that all this shit oculd happen in 3 years? Not to mention that World War 1 took 4 years.
@@rjofusetsudzin8011 y'all need to chill on 2020. It was mostly stressful because of soft ass dudes being scared of the coronavirus. It barely infected 2% of the population and 85% of those who died of covid were obese. Trump was right when he said it was like the flu.
Imagine the setting for Ronnie after Vic left, locked in a cage, Dutch walking around probably whispering into everyone’s ear what Ronnie is being charged with, a thousand eyeballs on you, and no lem, Shane, or Vic to support you…all by yourself with your life effectively over…you glance at the clubhouse knowing you’ll never step foot in there again…and you don’t have any cards to play because Vic is untouchable and everyone else is dead…
Chiklis really hit it out of the park in these final two episodes. The subtle things he did with his face in this scene and the confession scene in the previous episode should be shown in every acting class. I love how he roles his read down to grudgingly look at the photos of Shane and his family, like he didn't really mean to look at them. It's not in this video, but when Claudette lays the photos out, his lips twitch just slightly and it's all you need to know how furious he is. Brilliant.
I just finished the series earlier this year and I absolutely agree. I like that it didn’t just glorify being a dirty cop, it served as a cautionary tale in the same vein as a gangster movie. You felt bad that it came to such a terrible end but they also all got what the fuck they deserved
@@brandonkeys4349 It was based on the Rampart scandal in LA, which didn't end too well either. If you've read Chaucer or the story of the three thieves, you can see where this was always going to go. Terry Crowley was the original sin, but things really fell apart after the money train heist. It was the greed that set the roots of mistrust in the team along with the addition of Mara "Yoko Ono" Vendrell. Before her, Shane was devoted to Vic, but after, he had someone he would always put forst, just like Vic put Corrine before Ronnie. It was amazing that as the viewer, you're pulled into rooting for Vic and his boys. But Shawn Ryan (and Kurt aka Margos Dezarian) slowly pulls the wool from over your eyes over the series until the end where he rubs your face in how bad Vic really was. Great ride.
This scene give you a sense of how much Claudette hated Vic. And my second observation is I love the cutaway were it just shows everyone of the cops watching and just looking at Vic with a sense of utter disdain, which is a noce contrast to the finale osf season 1 when Gilroy was in those shoes. THIS SHOW WAS FUCKING GENIUS!
mathew idicula: It's also a great contrast to the first episode of the series where Vic walks into the barn and everyone applauds. He went from super popular to super unpopular.
Yeah, there is something about how Chiklis plays it too where Vic feels completely void of power in a world where he was so used to having the upper hand. It is not the way I ever expected to see Mackey appear.
The fact that you can still hear Ronnie yelling as Vic is leaving is amazing. Having two cops trying to hold him back from Vic and seeing them struggle to do so was cool as well.
The look on Dutch's face when he stares at Vic as Vic watches Ronnie gets hauled off. It was like a combo of amazement and disgust. Such a great show!!
It was like, yeah, Dutch-Boy's got something to say: "In the morning, I'm going to have a brand new life in a brand new world. Oh, and yeah, guess who came out on top?"
@@dilldough3588lol no he didn’t he was a glorified background character for most of the show and when he finally gets actual development it isn’t until about season 6/7
@@alphanerd7221 He is subtle and gets good when they decide to give him screentime but he is very much underdeveloped compared to the rest of the crew because they refused to give him screentime for some reason
I hope Ronnie was smart enough to say "Not Guilty" and take it to trial. The court of public opinion doesn't look kindly on the feds letting monsters go. Taking it to trial would have exposed the deal and lit the city on fire.
Yeah if I were Ronnie, I would've kept my mouth shut and spoke to a Lawyer first. All they had was Vic's word on all that, not sure if they had hard evidence.
@@Kazanko28Ronnie only knew about terry’s murder after Shane told him, I’m not sure how that would play in court. Also kavanaugh acknowledged he was smart enough with the money train to not get caught. The only thing linking him to Sardofians murder was Vic’s word. Giving the money to Corrine was the worst thing they have evidence for, but there really wasn’t a way to link how he got that money. He probably did some time for general police brutality and for the department to save face, but I can’t imagine much else.
The real lesson here is that once you decide to wear a cheesy mustache, you’ll always be the guy with the cheesy mustache. It doesn’t matter if you try to reinvent yourself by growing a full beard. People will never take you seriously. Nor will they hesitate to sell you out.
Ronnie had no idea that when he decided to showcase his cheesy mustache to the world so many people would die and countless lives would be ruined. Prison is to good for a guy like Ronnie who wish torment the world with their choices in facial hair grooming.
I love how at least half of the comments, on a ten year old clip, are less than a month old. Shows that we've been re-visiting the classics as we sit at home.
The first time I watched this show I was a senior in college and one of my biggest regrets was not watching it when it was on. Loved it and I was hooked from the moment I first saw it in about 2010 :)
@Luke Just curious, did a friend recommend it to you, or did you hear about it some other way? Did you go in planning to binge or with no idea how good the show was?
"not you though" this line has gone through my mind so many times since this episode...........its basically become the slogan of disloyalty in my mind, whenever someone does something disloyal, i think, "not you though"
Probably the most gut wrenching scene of any TV series I've ever seen. Worse than what happened with Lem. It's that sound of desperation from Ronnie and Mackey stood, unable to anything but aware he's watching a man lose everything right then and there before his eyes - and because he sold him out.
Notice how when something goes wrong, Vic usually always says "it's gonna be fine, it's gonna be alright." But in this moment, Vic can't even lie to Ronnie and say it's gonna be alright.... that's what hurts so badly.
@@bighands69 Well didn't they have Ronnie on tape aiding and abetting by giving Corinne money? Also, couldn't all the cops in the barn be witnesses to Ronnie screaming they were going to run? Besides that idk what else they have on him.
@@FidoeFTW There is issue was that no crime was committed in handing the bag to Corinne. Ronnie screaming at Vic is still not evidence of anything. If they take Ronnie for questioning into a room all he has to do is say no comment on everything. They have no evidence and the thing that worried both Ronnie and Vic was Shane making a witness statement. If Shane had of hung around he probably could have weathered the storm as well but he decided to do a runner. The police need evidence.
The only thing i can say that its like if Chris somehow survived Tony's choking him after the car accident in the sopranos and then they somehow got another scene together. But in Ronnie;s case this is worse than death. He lost everything because of Vic and in my opinion, i dont think Ronnie would have taken a deal to save himself without Vic. So it was just such a betrayal.... and it was so public.
I feel like binge watching this show for the 3rd time. Every time I watch an episode is like the first time watching this show all over again as if it were still around.
@@liamrogers8421 come on, you need my imagination? They both agreed to run away if needed. And they were family. That's not what a person like that would do.. just set their friend up and wait for the time to come where he would be arrested. It doesn't gel with the reality we were shown regarding vic and Ronnie. That's why it's lazy. I could explain it better but why type so much. I'm sure you can reach a similar conclusion.
@@father3dollarbill Did you completely forget the part where his (actual) family seemed to be in danger? Plus, running away doesn't guarantee getting away with it. The deal with ICE did. It was a shit situation but it made sense why he did it.
It was super fucked up how Claudette and ICE had Ronnie still working for them that same evening. They had him shoot and arrest criminals knowing well they're just gonna cuff him in three hours.
best finale ever, it was so tense i was shaking the last 15 minutes or something, shane and his family, ronnie arrested and claudette reading shanes letter was so brutaly sad, and when vic leaves and passes by ronnie on his way out, for me it was one of those few times you forget that its a tv show because it feels so real
Man, ronnie got screwed over. Lets admit it though in real life we would want all these guys to go down. On the show, I rooted for them. Best show ever.
Not me, man. I wanted them all to go down from the jump. The show is amazing, and it was extremely captivating to watch them, but I wanted all of these bastards to end up in jail. At least they got one, though! That being said, Vic essentially being put into purgatory to was brilliant.
@@HandsUp12100 Nah, not Lem. He was the only one that wasn't a heartless bastard. There were plenty of times things were just too much for him, he was just stubbornly loyal.
There simply is no case against Ronnie. There is evidence and everything is hearsay and personal grudges. He could easily come out with a payday from the department if he pushed.
"You can go now." The line that signals the end of The Barn's three-year ordeal and the Crowley bullet's three-year Fugitive-type run. 3:12 In the morning, The Barn awakens to a brand new world, with no more Strike Team to face; while a three-year ordeal begins in earnest for Mackey.
@@alexander1902 lol, you mean 'rat them out'? Vic told Shane about his immunity deal. Shane had no more cards to play and he'd dragged down his entire family with him. In his suicide note, he called Vic a monster
@@alexander1902 He sends it, he implicates himself and Vic, losing any leverage it might have given them. Shane held it over Vic's head to get him to jump through hoops. Whatever love for Shame might have had for his teammates, he had more for his family.
This ending haunted me for all the right reasons. I finished a rewatch months ago and I'm still thinking about this scene, and finally figured out why. Claudette orchestrated a way to out Vic as a cop killer not just through his confession of what he did to Terry, but by having the Barn witness Vic sending Ronnie to prison, which could be a death sentence for any cop that winds up in jail, Antwon Mitchel be damned. This whole series was brilliant.
Cops don't get murdered in prison. They go to a special part of the prison where they don't have to be around anyone that ever hurt an adult. Also, no way Ronnie goes to prison.
@@CNRhKXtreme The only evidence they have on him is the word of an admitted liar and murderer. He might not even lose his job. Any decent criminal lawyer would get this thrown out before it got to trial.
Crazy how Vic did the worse of all the the 4 members of the strike team yet he's the one ended up alive and free, gosh the writing on this show is amazing
For a moment, imagine if Vic and Ronnie actually decided to run together. Mackey and Gardocki dancing around a sombrero in the heart of Mexico. Now that would've been an ending for the ages!
Naw, the Strike Team had to go down. Keep in mind, they were responsible for most of the shit that went down and they didn't do it with honorable intentions. Most of the time they were just covering their own asses.
Ronnie does not need to run. There is no evidence against Ronnie only shame but the issue the department has is it looks like claudette wyms was on a personal vendetta.
Worse? He probably found some way to engineer himself out of it. I cannot see the wife living that life in protection either and may decide to contact Mackey at some point.
@@AllRequired Vic is a free man and probably went back into law enforcement. He always finds a way to get out of things. He is back at square one again in his new role but will probably find some way of getting angle.
@@bighands69 No way he's going back on the beat like he used to now everyone knows he's a cop killer. This is the end of the line for him ,free man or not.
And after Vic sold Ronnie out to protect his family, he loses them, too. Though let's also remember that Vic kept telling the members of the Strike Team that they WERE family.
Ronnie was not going to jail for anything. There was nothing on him at all. There was no evidence or witnesses. And what happened there was a personal vendetta by Claudette Wyms. And I cannot see Mackey just sitting behind a desk he will try and engineer something.
@@bighands69: of course he was. Vic confessed to everything in his intake interview with the feds. He did it knowing that he had immunity. But Ronnie didn't have immunity, which means that everything he did, that Ronnie assisted in or even knew knew about, is a criminal charge they can hang on Ronnie. So Vic's confession implicates Ronnie. You're right with the last part, though. Hell we saw him get up from his desk and take a gun with him. But his deal goes out the window if he gets caught, and you could see they were going to watch him like a hawk, because once the feds realized what they'd brought into their organization, they wanted him to fuck up so they could bust him.
I finished The Shield for the very first time less than 2 weeks ago. At first when I saw the finale, I liked it. I thought it was a great finale but a couple of hours later as I was reprocessing what happened... I actually got a bit choked up. This entire episode is just a tragedy and the dominoes that were set up from the very beginning of the show didn't just fall down... they exploded. Poor Ronnie is taking the fall for everything the ST did and now he'll most likely be fed to Antwon Mitchell.
nope.. it's just a badly written ending. For Vic to do that is out of character. He had plenty of time to warn Ronnie. Why didnt he? It's just lazy writing.
@@father3dollarbill because he was under the impression that corrine was arrested, not knowing she was working with the police. He struck the deal because after everything, he is a family man. Before shane’s final call, before Shane emphasising how vic be alone without his wife or kids because she betrayed him. Unable to tell Ronnie to escape otherwise his deal wouldn’t stand with the Feds, and having the guilt of throwing Ronnie under the bus despite everything. the fall being created by the very man who not only did the most damage, but seemed like he’d be the least likely to tell on the team to save his own skin as a result. Leaving everyone to hate him as he’s saved his own skin, but lost everything. It wasn’t poorly written at all. Just a crushing, fucked up and depressing finale/end for a lot of characters in the show
@father3dollarbill Vic was explicitly told that if he tried to warn Gardocki, his deal would be null and void, and he would stand trial for every crime he confessed to.
It was the perfect beginning, and end with the wildest middle of 7 seasons. Everything Vic wanted to protect at the beginning was gone by the end yet he won the consolation prize of being the last man standing. He got a promotion with a safe office job but his new job description was the complete opposite of what he represented on the street. Being on the street is what made him a monster and his new job was the best way to take what was left of his soul and have him essentially neutered for any fans he had left at end. True isolation when it was all said and done.
I just went through this series in about 2 weeks. Cannot believe I didn't watch when it was airing. Watched this episode last night and was absolutely blown away. Man, I felt so terrible for Ronnie but he was right. Being at the barn really put him at risk because they could just walk over and cuff him and he wouldn't have a chance to do anything.
Vic was a sorry PoS from the first scene of the series. It was good that they made it clear for all in the end. Just another dirty cop, the last creature on this earth that needs to be glorified.
Well, the Feds sure as sugar didn't glorify him. Probably the instant they said he was their bastard now, they worked on setting up the agreement. But they needed to define the terms precisely so as to leave no room for interpretation or error on his part. Seal off all access to anything that can fuel him while leaving only whatever can drain him. Instead of riding off into the sunset in a blaze of glory, he has to trudge off on foot. Most of life's doors are now closed to him. And the key doors are never reopening.
Love the death glare that Dutch gives Vic. For all the BS that Vic did to Dutch, Dutch finally gets to tell Vic through the eyes that in the end he come out a better man and human being than Vic ever was.
I love how Vic tries to apologize and explain himself like it matters at all, he put away his most unquestionably loyal partner to save his own ass. Not to mention Antwon will almost definitely gave Ronnie killed and even if he doesn't it's life in prison.
Still one of the best shows to this day. I gotta 're watch this soon. It's been over a decade I finished it. I think I forgot enough of the episodes in between the bigger events to enjoy it again.
Stupid character limits. Also have to hand it to the writers for how they paid off Ronnie's character. He was such a nothing character for so long and making him the only one left to blame was a stroke of genius. Snell hit this scene out of the park. Made me wish Ronnie had been more developed over the course of the series.
Ronnie was “the nice guy” of the strike team. He ended up becoming the face of it as he had the least dirt on him. Well we all know the saying about nice guys.
@@bfettrulez6734 no Lem was the nice guy Ronnie was the careful guy, Lem was truly about the team never really cared about the money, Ronnie was just careful enough not to get caught, Lem was pissed when he found out Vic killed Terry whereas Ronnie wished he'd been informed sooner so he could've help cover better.
The funny thing about the strike team is that for all their violence and corruption they didn’t regally seem to get much out of it. Yeah they made alot of arrests and brought in some cash on the side. But aside from the Armenian money deal which went to hell, they never seemed to live particularly lavishly. Vic was literally making 60,000 a year at the end of the show. Nurses make more than that. they could of easily just done their jobs as conventional by the book detectives, lived pretty much the same way, and all stayed alive and out of jail . This shows a real cautionary tale of how pointless a life of crime is
That's a fantastic point. From what I remember, they stressed or worried more times about something in lieu of actually enjoying the fruits of the their labour.
Claudette watching Vic (almost) unravel was a great example of acting w/just the eyes. But there was a lot of that in this show. This show IS criminally underrated. No pun intended....😝
Such a gut-wrenching scene and the bit that has stayed with me the most. The strike team members each has their own attributes that made them successful as a whole. Vic was the mastermind, Ronnie careful and technical, Lem fiercely loyal and physically strong, Shane ruthless when he needed to be but definitely the weakest link due to his recklessness. Kavanagh may not have put them away but once he toppled the first domino (Lem) the team were just treading water and their downfall was inevitable. What a series! Vic's fate could not have been any worse.
I was thinking the 4 Strike Team members are sort of like the 4 Ninja Turtles.Vic is Leonardo the Leader,Shane is Raphael the Hotheaded one,Ronnie is Donatello the Technical one,and Lem is Michaelangelo the warmest,funniest one.
It’s sad because Ronnie was the least corrupt of all of them next to Lem. Ronnie deserves to maybe do time but I dunno about doing the full bid for everything & everyone. That’s why it’s sad. Ronnie’s fall from grace was a huge cornerstone of this show. He was a good cop with little to no corruption in the first episode. His character arc is 180 whereas Vic just continues his downward spiral.
Edriss Scofield Ronny displayed misfeasance. He was always the cop to turn the other way or maybe keep lookout while others engaged in malfeasance. See the difference. Not saying he’s an angel. He’s corrupt but the others were in a little deeper. Just think about it for a second. It’s implied that Ronny took the full bid for everything they ever did & probably was sentenced to max penalties. He’s in for life in a max security penitentiary most likely.
this is shakespeare, great writing, acting, the expressions everything, it all ended in tragedy, would've been interesting if ronnie cut the deal before vic!
Intense......As the series drew to an end, the total enormity of the strike team crimes and Especially Shane Vandrells situation felt utterly overwhelming.....You really got a sense of just how much shit was about to hit the fan..... I'm about to rewatch this series for the third time.... Awesome show...
This whole scene in it's entirety (beginning when Vic first walks into the Barn with all the cops staring at him to the end of this video) is one of my favorite scenes in the whole series. It marks the first time the cops ever laid eyes on Vic and had negative thoughts about him (being that they always looked up to Vic) and also marks the last time Vic (and especially Ronnie lol) will ever be inside the Barn. I just love the whole tragedy of how what's left of the ST gets laid out... (Cont.)
Can you imagine what would of happened had there of been a season 8? You know Claudette/Feds would of made Vic testify against Ronnie. Imagine Vic on the stand "At that point Ronnie Gardocki".. so on and so forth. Damn great show. Best cop drama EVER!
I cant Believe that Vic just threw Ronnie into the lions den, i just finished this show like a week ago and i shit bricks. Its an amazing show and i hold it on my top shelf along breaking bad.
Never been quite able to pinpoint why, but for all the fucked up dark and demented shit that happens in this show, this scene messed me up the most, don’t know why, but it did.
What I love most about this scene is Ronnie is the most loyal member of the strike team never questioning vic methods and always willing to back him no matter the situation so it makes vic betrayal all the more heartbreaking
I hope that this teaches you a lesson about "loyalty"
Hell, when he found out about Terry Crowley his reaction is not horror at Vic's actions--He's appalled only by the fact that Vic didn't trust him (Ronnie) enough to tell him.
Ronnie and lem were mad loyal they were both willing to die and go to prison for vic and Shane it’s a shame vic didn’t see through connies trap in the park Ronnie would’ve worked along side with vic in the office but it didn’t happen sadly
I have never watched the series properly, but i have watched the prior episode and this and think, why did Vic sell out Ronnie for?
@@kailashpatel1706 Originally ICE was unwilling to extend the deal to both him and Ronnie, and so he was playing the waiting game to *eventually* get the deal he wanted. Long story short, Claudette and Vic's wife Corrine do a sting operation where they make it appear as though she got pinched for her husband's crimes, which puts Vic into panic mode to go through with the deal with ICE, getting immunity for Corrine in place of Ronnie.
"You're god-DAMN SORRY!?!?"
One of those line deliveries I'm never gonna forget.
And they made sure nearly the entire staff of the Barn witnessed it.
WHAT ABOUT MY GOD DAMN CHOICE VIC?! What about my god damn choice? I WAS GOING TO RUN! WE WERE GONNA RUN TOGETHER! What about the team? WHAT ABOUT PROTECTING THE GOD DAMN TEAM!
@@kdizzle901 brutal
The Shield really knew how to make a crescendo of a finale.
What I love about this scene is how brilliant Claudette is. Although Vic dodged all the legal consequences, she found a WHOLE different way to hurt him; showing him pics of Shane’s corpse, illustrating the causes of his leadership, having Corraine and her kids go into hiding, and finally arresting Ronnie in front of Vic so Ronnie has to look him in the eye when he finds out he was given up.
Is this one Incredible finale or what?
And with almost the entire Barn staff front and center. To see absolutely none of them come forward to support him indicated that Claudette had achieved her goal.
Olivia's opinion of this little sting operation changed completely when Claudette told her it was a diamond opportunity to make Mackey pay for the shit he put her through.
And it was pathetically easy, too. He never bothered to think about how his fellows saw him. Nor did he ever take the time to think about the consequences and aftereffects of his decisions. Lacking in introspection and concept of anyone outside himself was his downfall. And in the morning, his first day at ICE, he is officially nothing.
I disagree with your entire bottom paragraph. He didn't lack anything in terms of his character. There where many moments but very far in-between where someone would call him on his bullshit. All he would do is give a smug bulldog facial expression like "fuck you that you found out about the true me". He was 100% what you see is what you get and obviously he had to be narcissist killer from the jump (hence him killing Terry without a thought due to being a threat). He would have killed Mara and her unborn baby.
@@philippebien5429 He lacked introspection. He lacked concept of anyone outside himself.
@@philippebien5429 No one's saying the writing of his character "lacked" anything. What they're saying is, within the show, in-universe, HE lacked any concept of empathy, introspection, or genuine conscience in how he handled his business, and that was the keyhole that led to his undoing.
@@g-coalitionbrother1729 Yeah and I disagree. So? Throughout various moments of the show whenever Vic would do something that seemed to only help him or his hillbilly friend in the group, the camera would pan out to Ronnie's "wtf" kind of blank expression. He would he even be somewhat vocal about it of how it's a group thing and should be talked about as that, not just one person making all the shots. Besides those moments throughout the entire series, Ronnie would also have moments where the camera pans out to his facial expressions when he wasn't down with something. He would speak up about attacking plans in a different way etc. Which all lead to the final season where he was the "acting boss" and failed miserably but also clearly had potential of doing things the right way. He was almost out, his plan to run once Lem was dead and his other hillbilly partner was on the run from the cops. Vic somehow talked him into it which showed that 50/50 Ronnie knew what the right thing to do HENCE why he was truly the last guy standing and still got burned by Vic himself.
God just imagine being Ronnie in that final scene. In that room, in that chair, where everything the team had ever done was planned, thinking he was finally safe, only for it to all come crumbling down right in front of him. He woke up that morning, put on that suit and tie that day, thinking today was the day all his troubles were going to end, only for him to go to bed that night in county jail, knowing he's going to prison for the rest of his life and that his friend and partner who'd done it all with him had sold him out and is getting off scot-free.
Crushing. Absolutely soul crushing.
Yep.. And like lem.. Ronnie wasn't in on the original cop killing that started it all.
I think I'm quite literally still in denial about this scene actually existing.
I agree, this was soul-crushing. But honestly, I don't think Ronnie spent much time in prison. There was no actual proof that he actually committed any of those crimes, there was only Vic's statement. A verbal statement from one man is not proof of guilt. Ronnie's lawyer would have ripped the DA's case to shreds if he was even the least bit good.
The actor played his reaction perfectly
Dayummmm! A Heart breaking analysis! 👌
Ironic how Ronnie goes down for everything considering he was arguably the least involved in all the crew's scheming.
TV 📺 Shakespearean magic
He was really enthusiastic about robbing the Armenians tho. True this was right after getting face burnt by armadillo but still,
He was the most bro in any case was lem that was against it
@@mikegleed5842 indeed. That is the point of morality play and nobody did morality plays better than Shakespeare with Shylock until the Shield
He was the brains behind the operation.
The only time Ronnie raises his voice.
And it was too late.
He got loud when he was screaming and yelling after getting bit by the pitbull in Demetrius Harms' house ("Money Shot", season 7 episode 3).
He had to have after getting his face burned on the stove by Armadillo
Also when he was yelling for Lem to stop the van trying to stop him from burning the money train cash.
He yelled when that guy smashed him over the head with a crucifix in season 5.
“We were going to run together!” Gets me every time..
You're not alone on that one, pal. The angry I felt when Vic snitched on Ronnie, left me speechless...
I thought the cop car chase at the end where Vic grabs his gun as if to say “Fuck pushing pencils, I’m a strike team member.” As he pursues the cops, one by one the lights go out. Vic tracks down whoever they’re chasing into an alley or abandoned building. Turns out it was a ruse to get Vic alone. It would be someone getting revenge on Vic for all his chaos he’s caused. Someone associated with Terry Crowley, Ronnie, Antwone Mitchell, etc. that part doesn’t matter because Vic has crossed so many people over the years. then they’d kill him in. I think it was the last call Shane made to Vic where he says “u always thought less of me on the team.” Vic replies something like “you always thought you were as smart as me.” It would finally catch up with Vic that someone was finally smarter than him.
Should've took the train.... The Armenian money train!
@Marshall Carwood man what fed contacts? He admitted all his heinous crimes to them, they were definitely not about to do him any favors ever ESPECIALLY not helping him get one of his partners off for all the crimes he just admitted they did
@Marshall Carwood doubt it, even “fully credentialed agents” can be assigned to desk duty. Everyone there knows how dirty he was, as soon as he tried to manipulate something they would’ve shut him down. Or they would’ve let him do it and then arrest him because as Olivia Murray put it, “that’s a violation of the terms of his agreement”
"You told them... ALL OF IT!?" Chilling lines from one of the best dramas nobody ever watched...
As soon as he asked if Vic told them everything he realized all the evidence he just gave Claudette was now useless
I watched.
@@redhawk44109What evidence did Ronnie give Claudette
@@thelegendinhisownmind7038No you didn’t liar
@@omegamanGXE it was evidence that could've put vic away for life but thanks to Vic's deal with ice that evidence was useless because now Claudette couldn't touch him
I love that David Rees Snell had this in him. So quiet and reserved the whole show never raising his voice once then blowing up like this
He’s such an underrated actor. It’s a shame we never got to see more scenes like this from him
@@codysparks1454 This is the crowning achievement of his career. Unfortunately all of his non Shield roles he doesn't really get an opportunity to show what he can do.
Agreed. This is on par with Mike Ehrmantraut tearing Walter White a new one in the Breaking Bad episode “Gliding over All.”
The character’s been fairly low-key so far in the series, so you know it’s terrible if he blows his top.
@@joemckim1183he was in Sons of Anarchy season 4 but had hardly any lines we was Lincoln Potters underling
@@kdizzle901 Trust me you don't have to tell me any SOA info, haha. But still Ronnie is the only time he's really been allowed to step up to the majors. As in having a great character on a great show/movie where the scene is focused on you.
Vic: "Bill me for it."
Claudette: "Fine, first payment due now."
LOVE THAT EXCHANGE.
One of the only time Claudette gets the badass line in her and Vic's battle of will
Claudette was roasting people constantly
She couldn't nail Vic, but she made him suffer.
@@Derekivery There was another time where Vic said "You better figure out how much you hate me. Because I'm not going anywhere" and she just hits him with "neither am I." Simple but effective.
@@FidoeFTW Too bad for him he wasn't. The poison letter in his file effectively kept him stuck where he was: at his present location and his present rank. No promotions, no transfer, no honors.
Vic showed his true colors here and betrayed the one person who still believed in him. One of the most unforgettable moments on the show, once you see it you don't forgot this scene.
I’m sure everybody who watched it for the first time thought vick was gonna get him out somehow but no. Honestly vick lost everything too
@@aliibrar9213 Yep, 100%
I always found it interesting that at the end of the day, Shane would have gone down to protect Maura. For all his faults, he was willing to send himself to hell out of loyalty for someone. Vic, for all his bravado, was never looking out for anyone but himself.
@@crazyjim9380 yeah, knowing the type of person Vic was, it's pretty obvious he was out for only himself. and Shane was willing to cheat on Mara so I dont understand the loyalty on her part like it was.
@@crazyjim9380Vic was loyal to Corrine and his kid. He might be a pos but he was always willing to lay it on the line for his kids and Corrine
Ronnie's acting in this scene is off the charts.
"WHAT ABOUT THE TEAM? WHAT ABOUT PROTECTING THE GOD DAMN TEAM?"
Crazy how good Ronnie's character became when you consider he was only meant to be a glorified extra type when the show first started.
And if Vic had 3 Ronnies instead of Shane and Lem they would be rich on a beach somewhere in a non-extradition country.
After he got his face burned on the stove I was so convinced they replaced the actor I had to look it up. The difference between the character before and after is literally night & day lol
@@ProdByGILLZ Testament to just how brilliantly David Rees Snell played the role.
LMAO youre tripping. Ronnie was a bad character because the actor was bad. thats why he was an extra
@Chris Vic effectively is in prison, if not literally. That was the point.
He may have made a deal that gave him immunity from prosecution for his crimes but his career as a cop was destroyed. He can't get out of his permanent desk job arrangement with the FBI or they would terminate his immunity and definitely jail him for everything he did in the Strike Team. Even putting all of that aside, Corinne and the kids are hidden away in witness protection under new identities. He'll never see his family ever again.
So yeah, his punishment was ultimately tantamount to being jailed.
Vic did Ronnie so wrong. That last episode was so depressing but such an awesome ending to an awesome show
Yeah I loved how close these were but it got depressing at the end seeing them splinter like this...great show
wish ronnie had a chance to flee
Things like that became Vic's demise because he got too worried about saving his own skin.
I thought when Vic picked up the gun at the end, he woulda muttered “I’m coming Ron.” I find it hard to believe Vic would be happy with the demotion that he would want to piss off the brass even more & somehow help Ronnie escape. Ronnie definitely had to have gotten hard time.
@@bfettrulez6734 well that was the whole point of his situation, he got his freedom but at what cost. His closest friends were all dead/in prison, he’d never see his family again, he’d never work again (at least as a law enforcement officer) and everyone who has ever known him now knows what a bad person he truly was. And yeah it’s safe to assume Ronnie got multiple life sentences without parole
The disgust in Dutch’s face when he looks at Vic is perfect
I enjoyed the sequence when Claudette said first payments due now
The same look of disgust Dutch gave him in the pilot episode. Only this time Vic had nothing smart to say
I always thought Dutch at the end would become a serial killer and they would need to catch him, because of the cat killing and shit
@Fat Cat the greater good....
@@drakeandjosh007 If I remember correctly Dutch killing that cat might have been what saved him from becoming a serial killer. The guy was getting too deep into the heads of the criminals he chased. He was trying to think like them and that led him down some dark roads. Him killing that cat was the wake up call he needed to make him realize he was taking things too far.
Remember when Gilroy said to Vic that he got too greedy and there was a lesson to be learned from that. Vic didn't listen closely enough.
Vic didn't get too greedy.
@@BreakingBadFan2008 Did you actually watch the show? Of course he did. He went too far with the Armenian heist, which is what ruined it all.
@@driffter1976 Shane killing Lem solidified everyone's demise. Vic wanting revenge for Lem's death by putting a hit on Shane that backfired on Vic. Shane failing to kill and then blackmailing Vic because of this forcing Vic to confess all of his sins (killing Terry, money train heist, etc.) for immunity so that Shane couldn't have leverage over Vic and also because of Corrine's betrayal that he wasn't even aware of. But yeah, no, you're right. I didn't actually watch the show. And if I didn't then neither did you.
Also, Shane killed Lem because Kavanaugh got Aceveda to lie to Vic about Lem ratting on the team which only happened because Lem stole a brick of heroin out of some banger's house in season 4 and he got caught with it. And he did this so that he could find that little black girl's body that Antwone Mitchell killed when Shane thought that he could be Vic in the aforementioned season but failed to live up to him. Which I suppose wouldnt have happened if The Strike Team hadn't been disbanded at the end of season 3 due to Lem burning the Armenian money train cash. I forget why he burnt the money but they were in the clear after that. Everything that happened after that was Shane's fault. And Corrine for not being loyal
But then I guess you're right. The Armenian money robbery was the beginning of the end for all of the parties involved
@@BreakingBadFan2008 Of course there was a ton of other dynamics involved with their demise, as you extensively listed. But I was really zeroing in on the money train because Vic was greedy doing that. He had just killed Terry Crowley and barely gotten away stealing the drugs, which Julian saw. He didn't know how to keep a low profile and know when to quit.
"The last three years!" I love that line and how Dutch delivered it!
That's Hollland to you, playa.
I fuckin hated Dutch. And I hated he got to be the guy to arrest Ronnie.
@@cardsfighter2 Dutch boy is great! Why the hate?
I like Dutch, but only if I pretend that he was just having some weird dream when he killed that poor orange cat.
But the shield is 6 years from 2002 to 2008
The disgust in Dutch's voice toward Ronnie is really great, too. "For what?" And Dutch looks at him like, 'Are you fucking kidding me!?' Then Ronnie's rage when he realizes that he took the bullet for someone that wouldn't do the same for him. This is probably my favorite scene in the whole series.
Yes. Vic was never the man he pretended to be. Shane had known that for years, and Ronnie just found it out.
Vic tried to warn Ronnie. But not hard enough.
Ronnie was already thinking about switching sides, he even told some stuff to Claudette.
@@BruteStrength99 He couldnt. If he warned Ronnie and he ran, Vic's immunity deal would have been pulled
@@natedoggcata true. But Ronnie wanted to run before and Vic stopped him. That's why that moment upset me so. Ronnie said I was gonna run
Ronnie was yelling “What about my choice, Where’s my choice?” He made his choice when he chose to remain loyal to Vic after learning about how he murdered Terry Crowley. He chose to setup Shane’s murder with Vic, and he also chose to hunt down and try to kill Shane and his pregnant wife Mara. So Ronnie questioning what about his choice, he made it and is suffering the consequences for it.
If you ask me I actually think Ronnie got what he deserved for remaining on a leash for Vic just like Shane said.
@@Tribal_Soldier shane said it only after his relationship soured with vic.. In my opinion Ronnie didn't deserve what he got at the end.. Basically he got what vic would have gotten had he been caught.. And compared to vic he's an angel.. He didn't kill any police officer.. And he wanted shane dead bcuz vic drilled the idea into him.. Vic wanted to back out at the end but it was too late and shane figured it out.. Had vic just let things go after finding out shane killed lem things would have gone smoothly for them.. Basically vic is to blame for everything..
I was told early on when I was a rookie that the cover up is always worse that the crime. That's how it starts....
NAILED IT
For those that do not know this TV series (best on television ever) was based on the CRASH unit of LAPD. I was a police officer myself but we NEVER had the latitude that that department had. Before cellphone cameras and body cameras.
Took me weeks to process the ending of this show.
I'm traumatized
It's crazy that The Shield timeline is only three years. All that shit in three years.
It feels longer than that though.
@@akshaynatu1084 Nah, because a lot of the seasons picked up right where the previous episode ended. And things like Acevedo getting elected to city council but taking over a season before he actually took office.
@@akshaynatu1084 I mean after 2020 you still think that it is unlikely that all this shit oculd happen in 3 years? Not to mention that World War 1 took 4 years.
And this was the last scene to be connected to the Crowley bullet.
@@rjofusetsudzin8011 y'all need to chill on 2020. It was mostly stressful because of soft ass dudes being scared of the coronavirus. It barely infected 2% of the population and 85% of those who died of covid were obese. Trump was right when he said it was like the flu.
Imagine the setting for Ronnie after Vic left, locked in a cage, Dutch walking around probably whispering into everyone’s ear what Ronnie is being charged with, a thousand eyeballs on you, and no lem, Shane, or Vic to support you…all by yourself with your life effectively over…you glance at the clubhouse knowing you’ll never step foot in there again…and you don’t have any cards to play because Vic is untouchable and everyone else is dead…
And the only thing you have to look forward to is Antoine Mitchell. How ugly.
I think The Shield had the best series finale ive ever seen. No show has had a better ending my opinion
Nah, the last season wasn't that sensational, it was just as good as the others.
Breaking bad ending is the best ending for me
You right. This scene is just so fucked up when you realize what's all happened.
@@jonlothbrok2230 breaking bad was pretty awful, it was way predictable that he kills the nazi scum and and dies by a gunshot.
It's great because on one level Vic gets everything he wanted, but on another it cost him everything he cared about.
But he really care about anything that's the question
David Rees Snell plays this scene like a champ
"Bill me for it!"
"FINE First payments due now!"
"Second payment's due now."
"RONNIE!"
CCH always delivered lines like a boss
I really hated Claudette
She was so savage with that comment, she couldn’t wait to offer the “sacrifice” in front of Vic.
Before breaking bad there was the shield
Chiklis really hit it out of the park in these final two episodes. The subtle things he did with his face in this scene and the confession scene in the previous episode should be shown in every acting class. I love how he roles his read down to grudgingly look at the photos of Shane and his family, like he didn't really mean to look at them. It's not in this video, but when Claudette lays the photos out, his lips twitch just slightly and it's all you need to know how furious he is. Brilliant.
There was one part with that scene with Claudette where he looks like he is about to cry but his eyes somehow suck the tears back up.
I just finished the series earlier this year and I absolutely agree. I like that it didn’t just glorify being a dirty cop, it served as a cautionary tale in the same vein as a gangster movie. You felt bad that it came to such a terrible end but they also all got what the fuck they deserved
@@brandonkeys4349 It was based on the Rampart scandal in LA, which didn't end too well either. If you've read Chaucer or the story of the three thieves, you can see where this was always going to go. Terry Crowley was the original sin, but things really fell apart after the money train heist. It was the greed that set the roots of mistrust in the team along with the addition of Mara "Yoko Ono" Vendrell. Before her, Shane was devoted to Vic, but after, he had someone he would always put forst, just like Vic put Corrine before Ronnie.
It was amazing that as the viewer, you're pulled into rooting for Vic and his boys. But Shawn Ryan (and Kurt aka Margos Dezarian) slowly pulls the wool from over your eyes over the series until the end where he rubs your face in how bad Vic really was. Great ride.
@@Marvellous132 Guess I'm not the only one who compared the Strike Team to The Beatles! Ronnie was George.
man, the way he says "we were gonna run together" breaks my heart. Such amazing acting
This scene give you a sense of how much Claudette hated Vic. And my second observation is I love the cutaway were it just shows everyone of the cops watching and just looking at Vic with a sense of utter disdain, which is a noce contrast to the finale osf season 1 when Gilroy was in those shoes. THIS SHOW WAS FUCKING GENIUS!
What other show makes you root for both opponents in the series finale.
mathew idicula: It's also a great contrast to the first episode of the series where Vic walks into the barn and everyone applauds. He went from super popular to super unpopular.
@@dadestarmysteries255 Oooo never noticed that!
Gilroy must have been laughing his head off at that.
You got something to say, Mackey-boy?
Yeah, there is something about how Chiklis plays it too where Vic feels completely void of power in a world where he was so used to having the upper hand. It is not the way I ever expected to see Mackey appear.
I love the way Dutch says "not you though" as if to really emphasize that Vic just threw Ronnie to the wolves
Ronnie was my favorite character, he always kept his cool, stayed calm and kept his head in the game, Damn! he didn't deserve this.
He was the most loyal of them all.
@@cardsfighter2 more than Lem?
@@sergioogm__ Lem waffled a bit, he burnt the money train money.
@@cardsfighter2 yeah but because he love them all, and wanted them to stay out of any problems cause they were the only family he had
@@sergioogm__ that's true too.
Vic Mackey level of betrayal I'd say is on par with sith lord Palpatine
Dude wasn’t shit personally
great acting by Ronnie.. he really looked pissed..
Wouldn't you be.not only does he get punished for his crimes he's also being punished for Shane,Vic and lem
The fact that you can still hear Ronnie yelling as Vic is leaving is amazing. Having two cops trying to hold him back from Vic and seeing them struggle to do so was cool as well.
The look on Dutch's face when he stares at Vic as Vic watches Ronnie gets hauled off. It was like a combo of amazement and disgust. Such a great show!!
It was like, yeah, Dutch-Boy's got something to say: "In the morning, I'm going to have a brand new life in a brand new world. Oh, and yeah, guess who came out on top?"
@@AllRequired Vic did not come out on top at all. Everything that he did is going to haunt him the rest of his life
I can’t believe he had these acting chops and they didn’t give him any scenes like this until the final episode
@@dilldough3588lol no he didn’t he was a glorified background character for most of the show and when he finally gets actual development it isn’t until about season 6/7
His best scene is when Vic admits to murdering Terry and Ronnie already had it figured out.
@@plugshirt1762 Ronnie is subtle but he isn't underdeveloped.
@@alphanerd7221 He is subtle and gets good when they decide to give him screentime but he is very much underdeveloped compared to the rest of the crew because they refused to give him screentime for some reason
@@plugshirt1762 You just don't get the character. Ronnie is better developed than Lem.
I hope Ronnie was smart enough to say "Not Guilty" and take it to trial. The court of public opinion doesn't look kindly on the feds letting monsters go. Taking it to trial would have exposed the deal and lit the city on fire.
Yeah if I were Ronnie, I would've kept my mouth shut and spoke to a Lawyer first. All they had was Vic's word on all that, not sure if they had hard evidence.
@@Kazanko28Ronnie only knew about terry’s murder after Shane told him, I’m not sure how that would play in court. Also kavanaugh acknowledged he was smart enough with the money train to not get caught. The only thing linking him to Sardofians murder was Vic’s word. Giving the money to Corrine was the worst thing they have evidence for, but there really wasn’t a way to link how he got that money. He probably did some time for general police brutality and for the department to save face, but I can’t imagine much else.
He killed Terry for this kind of betrayal. He tried to kill Shane for killing Lem. It was obvious who Vick was at that point.
Good ol' Ronnie, decked out in a suit and tie thinking all his troubles were coming to an end, only to find that all his troubles were only beginning.
The real lesson here is that once you decide to wear a cheesy mustache, you’ll always be the guy with the cheesy mustache. It doesn’t matter if you try to reinvent yourself by growing a full beard. People will never take you seriously. Nor will they hesitate to sell you out.
Ronnie had no idea that when he decided to showcase his cheesy mustache to the world so many people would die and countless lives would be ruined.
Prison is to good for a guy like Ronnie who wish torment the world with their choices in facial hair grooming.
This scene really makes me sad. That camera didn’t deserve to go out like that after 7 seasons of capturing true confessions.
I love how at least half of the comments, on a ten year old clip, are less than a month old. Shows that we've been re-visiting the classics as we sit at home.
The first time I watched this show I was a senior in college and one of my biggest regrets was not watching it when it was on. Loved it and I was hooked from the moment I first saw it in about 2010 :)
@Luke Just curious, did a friend recommend it to you, or did you hear about it some other way?
Did you go in planning to binge or with no idea how good the show was?
Lol 😆 😂 🤣
I just got done watching the show two days ago
Ronnie: 😌
Wagenbach: Ronald Everett Gardocki, you're under arrest.
Ronnie: 😳
"not you though" this line has gone through my mind so many times since this episode...........its basically become the slogan of disloyalty in my mind, whenever someone does something disloyal, i think, "not you though"
Masterpiece of a show! The acting was absolutely sensational in this!
Probably the most gut wrenching scene of any TV series I've ever seen. Worse than what happened with Lem. It's that sound of desperation from Ronnie and Mackey stood, unable to anything but aware he's watching a man lose everything right then and there before his eyes - and because he sold him out.
They had nothing on Ronnie. He would walk and probably get a pay day for harassment.
Notice how when something goes wrong, Vic usually always says "it's gonna be fine, it's gonna be alright."
But in this moment, Vic can't even lie to Ronnie and say it's gonna be alright.... that's what hurts so badly.
@@bighands69 Well didn't they have Ronnie on tape aiding and abetting by giving Corinne money?
Also, couldn't all the cops in the barn be witnesses to Ronnie screaming they were going to run?
Besides that idk what else they have on him.
@@FidoeFTW
There is issue was that no crime was committed in handing the bag to Corinne.
Ronnie screaming at Vic is still not evidence of anything. If they take Ronnie for questioning into a room all he has to do is say no comment on everything.
They have no evidence and the thing that worried both Ronnie and Vic was Shane making a witness statement.
If Shane had of hung around he probably could have weathered the storm as well but he decided to do a runner. The police need evidence.
The only thing i can say that its like if Chris somehow survived Tony's choking him after the car accident in the sopranos and then they somehow got another scene together. But in Ronnie;s case this is worse than death. He lost everything because of Vic and in my opinion, i dont think Ronnie would have taken a deal to save himself without Vic. So it was just such a betrayal.... and it was so public.
This is the only show I have watched that got better every season.
I feel like binge watching this show for the 3rd time. Every time I watch an episode is like the first time watching this show all over again as if it were still around.
The Americans did too, especially season 5
@@thelordofsalem3044 it's a amazing show.
Breaking Bad?
One of the greatest scenes depicting betrayal on television ever.
it was just lazy writing..
@@father3dollarbill How?
@@liamrogers8421 come on, you need my imagination? They both agreed to run away if needed. And they were family. That's not what a person like that would do.. just set their friend up and wait for the time to come where he would be arrested. It doesn't gel with the reality we were shown regarding vic and Ronnie. That's why it's lazy. I could explain it better but why type so much. I'm sure you can reach a similar conclusion.
@@father3dollarbill Did you completely forget the part where his (actual) family seemed to be in danger? Plus, running away doesn't guarantee getting away with it. The deal with ICE did. It was a shit situation but it made sense why he did it.
It was super fucked up how Claudette and ICE had Ronnie still working for them that same evening. They had him shoot and arrest criminals knowing well they're just gonna cuff him in three hours.
best finale ever, it was so tense i was shaking the last 15 minutes or something, shane and his family, ronnie arrested and claudette reading shanes letter was so brutaly sad, and when vic leaves and passes by ronnie on his way out, for me it was one of those few times you forget that its a tv show because it feels so real
No shit, gets you everytime
Kavanaugh must have laughed a lot at the final fate of the Strike Team
I think he still would've been sad over Lem, but definitely laughing about the other three.
Ronnie’s best and only memorable performance came in his very last scene. We all felt that emotion he displayed. It gave me chills.
lol he had his face burned by Armadillo and was nearly assassinated by a guy that Shane was squeezing
@Dave Lane weirdest insult I ever heard. What are you related to the actor or something?
Man, ronnie got screwed over. Lets admit it though in real life we would want all these guys to go down. On the show, I rooted for them. Best show ever.
Not me, man. I wanted them all to go down from the jump. The show is amazing, and it was extremely captivating to watch them, but I wanted all of these bastards to end up in jail. At least they got one, though! That being said, Vic essentially being put into purgatory to was brilliant.
@@HandsUp12100 Nah, not Lem. He was the only one that wasn't a heartless bastard. There were plenty of times things were just too much for him, he was just stubbornly loyal.
@@TheLukieBoi1 yh for sure Lem definetely had a conscience unlike Vic and Shane
@@nathan2497 But he's still a crook with a badge. They all needed to be brought in or brought down, including Lem.
There simply is no case against Ronnie. There is evidence and everything is hearsay and personal grudges.
He could easily come out with a payday from the department if he pushed.
Still hurts in 2020. Ronnie and Lem were guilty but far away Vic and Shane were.
And the most guilty one of all is MICHAEL FUCKING JACE!
@@ThereIsNoLord Ha ha. Breaking the fourth wall.
@@ThereIsNoLord I wonder if Randall called the police on his dad then too!
"You can go now."
The line that signals the end of The Barn's three-year ordeal and the Crowley bullet's three-year Fugitive-type run. 3:12
In the morning, The Barn awakens to a brand new world, with no more Strike Team to face; while a three-year ordeal begins in earnest for Mackey.
Sounds good until you realize drug prohibition continues to corrupt our institutions.
very amazingly put
yep. 3, then 3 and 33 likes
Vic had to feel like the lowest piece of shit on Earth at that moment. Everything hit home. What a series this was.
And all pointless too, Shane had too much love for them after everything to eat them out. All for nothing.
@@alexander1902 lol, you mean 'rat them out'?
Vic told Shane about his immunity deal. Shane had no more cards to play and he'd dragged down his entire family with him. In his suicide note, he called Vic a monster
@@dmi6101 yeah it was a swipe error I didn't catch. But he could've sent in the dossier as soon as he went on the run. He chose not to though.
@@alexander1902 He sends it, he implicates himself and Vic, losing any leverage it might have given them. Shane held it over Vic's head to get him to jump through hoops.
Whatever love for Shame might have had for his teammates, he had more for his family.
This ending haunted me for all the right reasons. I finished a rewatch months ago and I'm still thinking about this scene, and finally figured out why. Claudette orchestrated a way to out Vic as a cop killer not just through his confession of what he did to Terry, but by having the Barn witness Vic sending Ronnie to prison, which could be a death sentence for any cop that winds up in jail, Antwon Mitchel be damned. This whole series was brilliant.
Cops don't get murdered in prison. They go to a special part of the prison where they don't have to be around anyone that ever hurt an adult. Also, no way Ronnie goes to prison.
@@alphanerd7221 How does Ronnie not go to prison?
@@CNRhKXtreme The only evidence they have on him is the word of an admitted liar and murderer. He might not even lose his job. Any decent criminal lawyer would get this thrown out before it got to trial.
Crazy how Vic did the worse of all the the 4 members of the strike team yet he's the one ended up alive and free, gosh the writing on this show is amazing
Not free but yeah
Shane was worse than Vic, but it was neck and neck.
For a moment, imagine if Vic and Ronnie actually decided to run together. Mackey and Gardocki dancing around a sombrero in the heart of Mexico. Now that would've been an ending for the ages!
Samsasrenjet And at the time before the actual Series Finale aired I hoping that would be the finale.
@@rwall3450 It actually ran through my mind a few times.
Naw, the Strike Team had to go down. Keep in mind, they were responsible for most of the shit that went down and they didn't do it with honorable intentions. Most of the time they were just covering their own asses.
in a ranch with goats
Ronnie does not need to run. There is no evidence against Ronnie only shame but the issue the department has is it looks like claudette wyms was on a personal vendetta.
The last season of this show was some of the most devastating, exciting and evocative television I have ever seen. PURE. FUCKING. GOLD.
Most underrated conclusion in the entire show
I loved this finale because it finally showed that Vic was the worst one of the group. Vic was manipulative on a level none of the other guys were.
Worse?
He probably found some way to engineer himself out of it. I cannot see the wife living that life in protection either and may decide to contact Mackey at some point.
@@bighands69 No way to engineer himself out of this one. Not with all the bridges he's burned.
@@AllRequired
Vic is a free man and probably went back into law enforcement. He always finds a way to get out of things.
He is back at square one again in his new role but will probably find some way of getting angle.
Vic is a male Margaery Tyrell
@@bighands69 No way he's going back on the beat like he used to now everyone knows he's a cop killer. This is the end of the line for him ,free man or not.
And after Vic sold Ronnie out to protect his family, he loses them, too. Though let's also remember that Vic kept telling the members of the Strike Team that they WERE family.
Ronnie was not going to jail for anything. There was nothing on him at all. There was no evidence or witnesses. And what happened there was a personal vendetta by Claudette Wyms.
And I cannot see Mackey just sitting behind a desk he will try and engineer something.
@@bighands69: of course he was. Vic confessed to everything in his intake interview with the feds. He did it knowing that he had immunity. But Ronnie didn't have immunity, which means that everything he did, that Ronnie assisted in or even knew knew about, is a criminal charge they can hang on Ronnie. So Vic's confession implicates Ronnie.
You're right with the last part, though. Hell we saw him get up from his desk and take a gun with him. But his deal goes out the window if he gets caught, and you could see they were going to watch him like a hawk, because once the feds realized what they'd brought into their organization, they wanted him to fuck up so they could bust him.
@@EvilxSausage him taking the gun out of the drawer in the end was a way showing who vick was always going to be. Nothing else.
Vic is one of the biggest hypocrite of the entire show.
We want a sequel series or even a movie. Call it Shieldless or Unshielded, and when Ronnie gets out of prison he goes after Vic Mackey.
best ending and best tv serie of all time . greatings from colombia.
I finished The Shield for the very first time less than 2 weeks ago. At first when I saw the finale, I liked it. I thought it was a great finale but a couple of hours later as I was reprocessing what happened... I actually got a bit choked up.
This entire episode is just a tragedy and the dominoes that were set up from the very beginning of the show didn't just fall down... they exploded.
Poor Ronnie is taking the fall for everything the ST did and now he'll most likely be fed to Antwon Mitchell.
nope.. it's just a badly written ending. For Vic to do that is out of character. He had plenty of time to warn Ronnie. Why didnt he? It's just lazy writing.
@@father3dollarbill because he was under the impression that corrine was arrested, not knowing she was working with the police. He struck the deal because after everything, he is a family man. Before shane’s final call, before Shane emphasising how vic be alone without his wife or kids because she betrayed him. Unable to tell Ronnie to escape otherwise his deal wouldn’t stand with the Feds, and having the guilt of throwing Ronnie under the bus despite everything. the fall being created by the very man who not only did the most damage, but seemed like he’d be the least likely to tell on the team to save his own skin as a result. Leaving everyone to hate him as he’s saved his own skin, but lost everything. It wasn’t poorly written at all. Just a crushing, fucked up and depressing finale/end for a lot of characters in the show
@father3dollarbill Vic was explicitly told that if he tried to warn Gardocki, his deal would be null and void, and he would stand trial for every crime he confessed to.
It was the perfect beginning, and end with the wildest middle of 7 seasons. Everything Vic wanted to protect at the beginning was gone by the end yet he won the consolation prize of being the last man standing. He got a promotion with a safe office job but his new job description was the complete opposite of what he represented on the street. Being on the street is what made him a monster and his new job was the best way to take what was left of his soul and have him essentially neutered for any fans he had left at end. True isolation when it was all said and done.
I just went through this series in about 2 weeks. Cannot believe I didn't watch when it was airing. Watched this episode last night and was absolutely blown away. Man, I felt so terrible for Ronnie but he was right. Being at the barn really put him at risk because they could just walk over and cuff him and he wouldn't have a chance to do anything.
Part of me thought Dutch was gonna break the fourth wall and say "the last six seasons!"
" You can go, now". Savage line to a brilliant series!
Finely she hurt him in good way, once and all.
@@soramugen848 She wanted to make sure his fellows to understand exactly whom and what he really was.
@@AllRequired And i will for that mission accomplish.
Unlike Nathan Jessup, poor Ronnie never recovered his composure. His conduct during his arrest is the best evidence against him!
True but Ronnie didn't threatened Mackey to rip out his eyes and piss in his dead skull
Vic was a sorry PoS from the first scene of the series. It was good that they made it clear for all in the end. Just another dirty cop, the last creature on this earth that needs to be glorified.
Well, the Feds sure as sugar didn't glorify him.
Probably the instant they said he was their bastard now, they worked on setting up the agreement. But they needed to define the terms precisely so as to leave no room for interpretation or error on his part. Seal off all access to anything that can fuel him while leaving only whatever can drain him. Instead of riding off into the sunset in a blaze of glory, he has to trudge off on foot.
Most of life's doors are now closed to him. And the key doors are never reopening.
Love the death glare that Dutch gives Vic. For all the BS that Vic did to Dutch, Dutch finally gets to tell Vic through the eyes that in the end he come out a better man and human being than Vic ever was.
I love how Vic tries to apologize and explain himself like it matters at all, he put away his most unquestionably loyal partner to save his own ass. Not to mention Antwon will almost definitely gave Ronnie killed and even if he doesn't it's life in prison.
Vic is a shady ass dude at the end
@@dreamcage1801 He's a shady dude at the beginning 💀💀💀
you may want t add death penalty to that list
Still one of the best shows to this day. I gotta 're watch this soon. It's been over a decade I finished it. I think I forgot enough of the episodes in between the bigger events to enjoy it again.
Stupid character limits. Also have to hand it to the writers for how they paid off Ronnie's character. He was such a nothing character for so long and making him the only one left to blame was a stroke of genius. Snell hit this scene out of the park. Made me wish Ronnie had been more developed over the course of the series.
Ronnie was “the nice guy” of the strike team. He ended up becoming the face of it as he had the least dirt on him. Well we all know the saying about nice guys.
@Trav Pretty much nailed it. That other guy's wrong, Lem was the nice guy
I think they developed him more and more with each passing season
@@bfettrulez6734 no Lem was the nice guy Ronnie was the careful guy, Lem was truly about the team never really cared about the money, Ronnie was just careful enough not to get caught, Lem was pissed when he found out Vic killed Terry whereas Ronnie wished he'd been informed sooner so he could've help cover better.
D Jones true
The funny thing about the strike team is that for all their violence and corruption they didn’t regally seem to get much out of it. Yeah they made alot of arrests and brought in some cash on the side. But aside from the Armenian money deal which went to hell, they never seemed to live particularly lavishly. Vic was literally making 60,000 a year at the end of the show. Nurses make more than that. they could of easily just done their jobs as conventional by the book detectives, lived pretty much the same way, and all stayed alive and out of jail . This shows a real cautionary tale of how pointless a life of crime is
Unless you happen to be Aceveda.
That's a fantastic point. From what I remember, they stressed or worried more times about something in lieu of actually enjoying the fruits of the their labour.
Claudette watching Vic (almost) unravel was a great example of acting w/just the eyes. But there was a lot of that in this show.
This show IS criminally underrated. No pun intended....😝
Ronnie deserved better
Incredible...just sensational television...season 7 is simply the best conclusion to a tv series ever.
you know even though this guys only acting. he seems so real and mad. great acting job...
Such a gut-wrenching scene and the bit that has stayed with me the most. The strike team members each has their own attributes that made them successful as a whole. Vic was the mastermind, Ronnie careful and technical, Lem fiercely loyal and physically strong, Shane ruthless when he needed to be but definitely the weakest link due to his recklessness.
Kavanagh may not have put them away but once he toppled the first domino (Lem) the team were just treading water and their downfall was inevitable.
What a series! Vic's fate could not have been any worse.
I was thinking the 4 Strike Team members are sort of like the 4 Ninja Turtles.Vic is Leonardo the Leader,Shane is Raphael the Hotheaded one,Ronnie is Donatello the Technical one,and Lem is Michaelangelo the warmest,funniest one.
This never gets old
Vic essentially left Ronnie for dead. No mystery what happens to cops in prison.
Dont know why, but that scene always gets me. Really sad moment :(
It’s sad because Ronnie was the least corrupt of all of them next to Lem. Ronnie deserves to maybe do time but I dunno about doing the full bid for everything & everyone. That’s why it’s sad. Ronnie’s fall from grace was a huge cornerstone of this show. He was a good cop with little to no corruption in the first episode. His character arc is 180 whereas Vic just continues his downward spiral.
@@bfettrulez6734 I dunno about least corrupt, Ronnie admitted that he knew all along about the cop Vic killed at the start of the series
Edriss Scofield Ronny displayed misfeasance. He was always the cop to turn the other way or maybe keep lookout while others engaged in malfeasance. See the difference. Not saying he’s an angel. He’s corrupt but the others were in a little deeper. Just think about it for a second. It’s implied that Ronny took the full bid for everything they ever did & probably was sentenced to max penalties. He’s in for life in a max security penitentiary most likely.
@@bfettrulez6734 there's no such thing as least corrupt. There's just corrupt.
Tug Speedman really? So if I steal stamps from my job would you say I’m as corrupt as a politician taking thousand dollar kickbacks?
Started rewatching this show again. On season 3, but I keep thinking of this scene so here I am. Powerful stuff
this is shakespeare, great writing, acting, the expressions everything, it all ended in tragedy, would've been interesting if ronnie cut the deal before vic!
Shakespeare would write most telly and films if he were alive today.
While The Wire was said to be Dickens.
Intense......As the series drew to an end, the total enormity of the strike team crimes and Especially Shane Vandrells situation felt utterly overwhelming.....You really got a sense of just how much shit was about to hit the fan.....
I'm about to rewatch this series for the third time....
Awesome show...
This whole scene in it's entirety (beginning when Vic first walks into the Barn with all the cops staring at him to the end of this video) is one of my favorite scenes in the whole series. It marks the first time the cops ever laid eyes on Vic and had negative thoughts about him (being that they always looked up to Vic) and also marks the last time Vic (and especially Ronnie lol) will ever be inside the Barn.
I just love the whole tragedy of how what's left of the ST gets laid out... (Cont.)
Vic face when he looked into the interrogation room camera is chilling. It displays top devil like rage
Can you imagine what would of happened had there of been a season 8? You know Claudette/Feds would of made Vic testify against Ronnie. Imagine Vic on the stand "At that point Ronnie Gardocki".. so on and so forth. Damn great show. Best cop drama EVER!
Holy shit I don't think I would've watched that scene if it even existed. That's just way too much for me to handle 😫
This show. So good it hurts. Every time.
Claudette: You can go now. Wicked.
I cant Believe that Vic just threw Ronnie into the lions den, i just finished this show like a week ago and i shit bricks. Its an amazing show and i hold it on my top shelf along breaking bad.
Shane: You think you're looking at me through glass, but you're looking at a mirror.
This was heartbreaking :( Poor Ronnie
Yeah I feel nothing but sympathy for him.
The way Vic looks into the interrogation room camera changes the whole perspective.
The last three years……….
Never been quite able to pinpoint why, but for all the fucked up dark and demented shit that happens in this show, this scene messed me up the most, don’t know why, but it did.
Thats actually kinda hard to watch.
Dutch finally beat vic
""First payments due now."
Damn.