7 replies to this topic

[curtin61287]

I've been a huge fan of The Shield for a few years now, and I was wondering if anyone here watched the show or saw the series finale?  It was fuckin awesome btw

[mooskies]

speaking of FX finales - did anyone see the Sons of Anarchy finale?  Our FX station here was having techinical difficulties for about 7 hours so I didn't get to see it..

[curtin61287]

I didnt see it, but here's a prettty good review/recap from IGN

November 25, 2008 - Advance Review: [Some Spoilers are discussed, but the biggest plot points are not divulged]

I admit it, I thought I had this show nailed and I was completely wrong. I thought for sure that Opie was going to want revenge in the finale. I thought he was going to hunt down and murder the wrong people and open a Pandora's box and that was going to be the foundation of the next season.

Instead, Opie just takes Donna's death; he internalizes it. He sits there and worries about his kids. He breaks the news to his son and daughter and was there for them as best as he could be, not participating in any SAMCRO events. He's the character that I like him for, not the one I thought he was going to be.

There was very little screen time for Opie, which is a little surprising. Most of the episode deals with the impact the death has on the gang and on the people around it, almost to a fault -- don't know if an Agent Stahl scene is necessary; sure, it gives her a remorseful side, but so many people react to Donna's death, it seems like overkill. I'm also growing tired of Ally Walker's penchant for quick, shallow breaths inward before delivering a meaningless line in a vain effort to give it more gravitas.

And most interesting is how Clay and Tig are handling it. Obviously they are upset that it was Donna who was murdered, but Tig's remorse (and Clay's comforting him) stems from Tig realizing his mistake and wishing he could change it. We also get to see a little bit into the mind of Tig.

There are a few awkward scenes. Jax smooching with Tara in that scene (you'll know when you see it) is a little inappropriate. I'm also not a fan of Jax walking up to the funeral in jeans and a t-shirt; it makes Jax come off as disrespectful, if not self-absorbed. I mean, I get why it happened, that he slept in the graveyard -- a little heavy-handed of a metaphor -- and couldn't have gone home to change (for certain reasons in the episode), but I still wasn't a fan of it.

But on the bright side, the dialogue is brilliant. If I haven't said it before, let me say it now. I think Sons has the potential to be a great show—that's why I found last week's episode disappointing. There is one moment in Jax's heart-bearing scene to Tara, where he comes out and let's her know how he feels about her and says, basically, that he's slept with 100 women, but there's only "one face [he] sees." A lesser writer would have tacked on "And it's you," to the end, but whoever wrote it knew exactly when he/she got his/her point across.

That's half the battle. Silence. When you know when you've gotten your point across. The best shows, sitcoms or dramas, know when to say just enough to give you insight into the story or the character. Part of that is why Sons has such great pace.

I can't talk much more about this episode without revealing anything important, so I'll just wrap it up. I made a backhanded comparison between Sons and The Wire last week, and that was unfair. The Wire is a completely different show from Sons. I'm not exactly sure what this show has in store for us over the next umpteen seasons, but the growing civil war within the gang has been ignited, the lines are starting to be drawn (between young and old?) and Sons is starting to take off. It's a good jumping point into the rest of the series and I think season two is going to be great.

8.6 OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)

[mooskies]

I didnt see it, but here's a prettty good review/recap from IGN

November 25, 2008 - Advance Review: [Some Spoilers are discussed, but the biggest plot points are not divulged]

I admit it, I thought I had this show nailed and I was completely wrong. I thought for sure that Opie was going to want revenge in the finale. I thought he was going to hunt down and murder the wrong people and open a Pandora's box and that was going to be the foundation of the next season.

Instead, Opie just takes Donna's death; he internalizes it. He sits there and worries about his kids. He breaks the news to his son and daughter and was there for them as best as he could be, not participating in any SAMCRO events. He's the character that I like him for, not the one I thought he was going to be.

There was very little screen time for Opie, which is a little surprising. Most of the episode deals with the impact the death has on the gang and on the people around it, almost to a fault -- don't know if an Agent Stahl scene is necessary; sure, it gives her a remorseful side, but so many people react to Donna's death, it seems like overkill. I'm also growing tired of Ally Walker's penchant for quick, shallow breaths inward before delivering a meaningless line in a vain effort to give it more gravitas.

And most interesting is how Clay and Tig are handling it. Obviously they are upset that it was Donna who was murdered, but Tig's remorse (and Clay's comforting him) stems from Tig realizing his mistake and wishing he could change it. We also get to see a little bit into the mind of Tig.

There are a few awkward scenes. Jax smooching with Tara in that scene (you'll know when you see it) is a little inappropriate. I'm also not a fan of Jax walking up to the funeral in jeans and a t-shirt; it makes Jax come off as disrespectful, if not self-absorbed. I mean, I get why it happened, that he slept in the graveyard -- a little heavy-handed of a metaphor -- and couldn't have gone home to change (for certain reasons in the episode), but I still wasn't a fan of it.

But on the bright side, the dialogue is brilliant. If I haven't said it before, let me say it now. I think Sons has the potential to be a great show—that's why I found last week's episode disappointing. There is one moment in Jax's heart-bearing scene to Tara, where he comes out and let's her know how he feels about her and says, basically, that he's slept with 100 women, but there's only "one face [he] sees." A lesser writer would have tacked on "And it's you," to the end, but whoever wrote it knew exactly when he/she got his/her point across.

That's half the battle. Silence. When you know when you've gotten your point across. The best shows, sitcoms or dramas, know when to say just enough to give you insight into the story or the character. Part of that is why Sons has such great pace.

I can't talk much more about this episode without revealing anything important, so I'll just wrap it up. I made a backhanded comparison between Sons and The Wire last week, and that was unfair. The Wire is a completely different show from Sons. I'm not exactly sure what this show has in store for us over the next umpteen seasons, but the growing civil war within the gang has been ignited, the lines are starting to be drawn (between young and old?) and Sons is starting to take off. It's a good jumping point into the rest of the series and I think season two is going to be great.

8.6 OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)

Thankfully I was able to catch one of the reruns on the following Sunday.  
I'm really liking this show.

[Stickman]

Caught them both, both were great. SoA finale is up on hulu.com now, not sure where to see the Shield series finale. Very appropriate ending I thought.

[truth freak]

both shows and series/season finales were great!!!

anyone watch Testees after It's Always Sunny...?

[Tatonka Blanco]

i would be more into this show if they called it The Commish on Roids

[astroman]

Thought it was one of the most perfect series finales ever. Great end to a great show.