This could be the best episode in the entire show, definitely the most tense and with the highest stakes. Plot lines and character arcs collided, there was plenty of catharsis, it was fantastic. It is truly bizarre that it has such a low score, especially on a site whose users generally overrate everything, although that's more of a new thing, not back when The Shield was on. The dawn of the fan boys had not yet come. At least it has a 9.4 on TV.com and the user reviews there share my positivity. Season 4 has been good so far, but with Back in the Hole, it stepped up a notch or three and elevated the entire season. Seeing the Captain push Antwon's buttons, Shane too, it was glorious. I've never enjoyed an interrogation of a suspect on this show more than in this particular episode. I never review episodes but I had to here, what the hell guys!?!?
3 Reviews
When the episode began with 3 minutes of recap I knew I was in for something special. One of the best episodes ever!
EddyTheMartian00719 July 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The last 3 episodes have all been outstanding and they culminate here beautifully. There's so many great pay offs from the beginning of the season and even from previous seasons. I love how complex and sprawling the plot has grown. I thought the start for this season was a bit slow and it took me a bit to fully get into it but now I definitely appreciate the beginning far more. Excellent plotting, and set up. This reminds me a bit of The Wire, with the episode title and a kinda similar structure. Though obviously The Wire is the best show of all time for sure, The Shield isn't far off either. In fact I'd say it's has been getting closer each season. This is definitely the season I'm looking forward to rewatch the most so far because it feels so much more dense with the events, set up, character development, and dialogue. I didn't even plan to make to review 5 episodes of this season in a row, but it just happened, that's how good this show is. There's so much going on in this episode I'm finding it hard to even talk about it all, it's just pure greatness condensed in an hour.
First of all that interrogation scene was so intense and brilliant. All 3 characters with different agendas trying to steer the narrative in their own direction. I love how they slowly reveal more about Antwon's and Rawling's characters. This is definitely one of the best scenes in the show, there's so many layers at play here. Antwon's confidence is genuinely chilling, and it seems like he has so much control. Some seriously amazing dialogue here. Rawling comes in with the ace up her sleeve she teased last episode. It's crazy how Rawling really kept this on Antwon all this time and is essentially humiliating his son to get to him. There's extra tension because Antwon can ruin everything for the Strike Team if he speaks. I just can't get over how brilliant this entire sequence is. Rawling is absolutely vicious continuously poking at Antwon's son's orientation and his parenthood. She's never been this cold, and it shows they've got history. "This ain't about history j*rk off." "It's all about history."
Antwon brings up Rawling's old partner and the pieces start coming together even more. It definitely leaves a nasty scar on Rawling, as Antwon completely butchers her, revealing her hypocrisy for threatening his son after its revealed she had an affair with her now dead partner (who had a family), and how she used to work Domestic Abuse helping families. Antwon also mentions how they planted evidence on him to put him away the first time, which may show a whole other side to Rawling that Vic can reflect on. These scenes are so masterful, more and more keeps getting revealed. Rawling essentially reveals Antwon's past which greatly explains the way he is. These scenes work wonderfully not only developing the plot but also the characters. Turns out that Antwon 6 year old sister was being s*xually violated by their father, and Antwon couldn't stop him, so his mother shot him. Now her sister is in a psych ward, and mother in prison. Absolutely tragic, and despite everything Antwon is done I almost feel bad for him as he tears up. Glenn Close and Anthony Anderson completely kill it. Masterful dialogue and performances all around. WOW, I'm just getting excited thinking about it. But it seems Rawling pushed too hard as he tells her to check her own house, revealing everything that Shane and Vic have been trying to hide, talking about the dead girl's body and dirty cops. There's so much that could happen, and they end it off with a seed to surely eat at Rawling and lead to trouble for Vic and Shane, as he asks for a lawyer. I do have to say though, I find it kind of convenient that they wouldn't turn off the camera with the lawyer and Antwon revealing they're getting the girl's body. I mean I think it's safe for Vic to assume it's happening, felt like a needlessly contrived scene that could've been inferred.
Aceveda has gone through peculiar development this season. It's uncomfortable but sadly a possible real consequence to the traumatic event he suffered. It's kind of ironic how his own wife won't accept he went through this but this girl he's doing gets it. Seriously though, his wife is really that cold towards him?! It's hard to see him go through this, and it really hits when Danni calls him lucky for having a family to go back with. It's nice to see him finally return and trying to get better. I also really like how this reflects back on Danni which has sadly not gotten much highlight this season. I hope she gets a bit more development because she seems to be slipping behind the spotlight of the show. Julien actually has something to do going against the seizures, but she seems directionless sadly. The dead cop's wife is still brought up and it seems like Julien might've pushed her to become a problem for Rawling later on. I like how there are still hints at Julien's orientation, like when Danni says "it sucks to be stuck with the wrong person" in reference to the funny couple arguing and Julien is notably reacting to it.
It's nice to see Dutch and Claudette working back together after Dutch sold her out. Honestly I feel like they're underrated, too many people focus on the strike team, but they're amazing characters too, especially Dutch. Loved how they're still going after Kleavon's case as they're put in an interesting predicament knowing he's guilty but not having the proof. It's pretty rough to see Kleavon's sister brought into this, and being in denial about him. It's crazy how this episode still has another great interrogation scene in it even with the main one, especially how Dutch dredges back the crazy developments from season 3 describing how it feels to take a life. Absolutely chilling Dutch! Yet somehow despite Kleavon being nervous and saying inconsistencies he still manages to squeeze his way out! It's so annoying how hard it is to prove he's guilty. It ends pretty depressingly too with her Sister now suspecting his brother of really being a killer.
Having Lem and Shane back together of course brings for some good drama, they definitely have the most bad blood between each other and you can just feel it in every scene they share now. Between the interrogation scenes it keeps cutting back to them looking for the girl which adds to the tension even further. I like how difficult it has been to free Shane of this dead girl. Now with Antwon wanting to retrieve it, and the cops looking for it, even more tension is added. Honestly he has had it coming, but I just love that their abusive tactics don't work for once. It's pretty sad to see Lem getting back into this life because of Shane, he really can't help not being part of his family, it's a tragic lifestyle. Shane's plan to take all the heat shows how much he truly cares for the strike team. I love how much Shane has matured, he really thought it all out to take the blame but take down Antwon too, but of course that would've been too easy. "We ain't deep enough?!"
There's so many things at play here it feels like a clock moving it's parts leading to the inevitable move of the big hand. Shane's confrontation with Antwon is another highlight. Despite everything, Shane still reverts back to his old ways talking to Antwon, going all out. He sure loves to use obscenities, and I can't believe they went this far. This would not be able to air today using *those* words about at the same time, but it surprisingly works and totally makes sense for the character. The dialogue is so entertaining, saying such messed up things but darkly funny in a way. I love how Antwon still manages to gain control in the moment by literally sitting down and cuffing himself. What a mad man, Shane got real nervous. Luckily Vic gets him out and he doesn't have to go forward with his plan. Vic says "We don't get out of this by getting dirtier. We come clean to the captain, both of you." showing how far they've come. I love how they try to go clean to Rawling and it actually goes worse, the dirt is too deeply ingrained to get cleaned off that easily. I didn't realize either like Vic that they kinda had some responsibility for the deaths of the cops. It was just a great revelation. This episode is just firing all cylinders. This also marks a major turning point for Rawlings who was vouching for Vic but now has the power to put the strike team away and continues the investigation on them. At least finally they got Antwon. It's insane that even after Antwon gets caught he's still playing games revealing that he did know who killed the cops. A brilliant finisher for one of the best episodes in the entire show. Absolutely masterful.
Edit: I've tried to post this review so many times, but it's always been rejected so I've tried my hardest to remove any sort of thing that might get this rejected.
First of all that interrogation scene was so intense and brilliant. All 3 characters with different agendas trying to steer the narrative in their own direction. I love how they slowly reveal more about Antwon's and Rawling's characters. This is definitely one of the best scenes in the show, there's so many layers at play here. Antwon's confidence is genuinely chilling, and it seems like he has so much control. Some seriously amazing dialogue here. Rawling comes in with the ace up her sleeve she teased last episode. It's crazy how Rawling really kept this on Antwon all this time and is essentially humiliating his son to get to him. There's extra tension because Antwon can ruin everything for the Strike Team if he speaks. I just can't get over how brilliant this entire sequence is. Rawling is absolutely vicious continuously poking at Antwon's son's orientation and his parenthood. She's never been this cold, and it shows they've got history. "This ain't about history j*rk off." "It's all about history."
Antwon brings up Rawling's old partner and the pieces start coming together even more. It definitely leaves a nasty scar on Rawling, as Antwon completely butchers her, revealing her hypocrisy for threatening his son after its revealed she had an affair with her now dead partner (who had a family), and how she used to work Domestic Abuse helping families. Antwon also mentions how they planted evidence on him to put him away the first time, which may show a whole other side to Rawling that Vic can reflect on. These scenes are so masterful, more and more keeps getting revealed. Rawling essentially reveals Antwon's past which greatly explains the way he is. These scenes work wonderfully not only developing the plot but also the characters. Turns out that Antwon 6 year old sister was being s*xually violated by their father, and Antwon couldn't stop him, so his mother shot him. Now her sister is in a psych ward, and mother in prison. Absolutely tragic, and despite everything Antwon is done I almost feel bad for him as he tears up. Glenn Close and Anthony Anderson completely kill it. Masterful dialogue and performances all around. WOW, I'm just getting excited thinking about it. But it seems Rawling pushed too hard as he tells her to check her own house, revealing everything that Shane and Vic have been trying to hide, talking about the dead girl's body and dirty cops. There's so much that could happen, and they end it off with a seed to surely eat at Rawling and lead to trouble for Vic and Shane, as he asks for a lawyer. I do have to say though, I find it kind of convenient that they wouldn't turn off the camera with the lawyer and Antwon revealing they're getting the girl's body. I mean I think it's safe for Vic to assume it's happening, felt like a needlessly contrived scene that could've been inferred.
Aceveda has gone through peculiar development this season. It's uncomfortable but sadly a possible real consequence to the traumatic event he suffered. It's kind of ironic how his own wife won't accept he went through this but this girl he's doing gets it. Seriously though, his wife is really that cold towards him?! It's hard to see him go through this, and it really hits when Danni calls him lucky for having a family to go back with. It's nice to see him finally return and trying to get better. I also really like how this reflects back on Danni which has sadly not gotten much highlight this season. I hope she gets a bit more development because she seems to be slipping behind the spotlight of the show. Julien actually has something to do going against the seizures, but she seems directionless sadly. The dead cop's wife is still brought up and it seems like Julien might've pushed her to become a problem for Rawling later on. I like how there are still hints at Julien's orientation, like when Danni says "it sucks to be stuck with the wrong person" in reference to the funny couple arguing and Julien is notably reacting to it.
It's nice to see Dutch and Claudette working back together after Dutch sold her out. Honestly I feel like they're underrated, too many people focus on the strike team, but they're amazing characters too, especially Dutch. Loved how they're still going after Kleavon's case as they're put in an interesting predicament knowing he's guilty but not having the proof. It's pretty rough to see Kleavon's sister brought into this, and being in denial about him. It's crazy how this episode still has another great interrogation scene in it even with the main one, especially how Dutch dredges back the crazy developments from season 3 describing how it feels to take a life. Absolutely chilling Dutch! Yet somehow despite Kleavon being nervous and saying inconsistencies he still manages to squeeze his way out! It's so annoying how hard it is to prove he's guilty. It ends pretty depressingly too with her Sister now suspecting his brother of really being a killer.
Having Lem and Shane back together of course brings for some good drama, they definitely have the most bad blood between each other and you can just feel it in every scene they share now. Between the interrogation scenes it keeps cutting back to them looking for the girl which adds to the tension even further. I like how difficult it has been to free Shane of this dead girl. Now with Antwon wanting to retrieve it, and the cops looking for it, even more tension is added. Honestly he has had it coming, but I just love that their abusive tactics don't work for once. It's pretty sad to see Lem getting back into this life because of Shane, he really can't help not being part of his family, it's a tragic lifestyle. Shane's plan to take all the heat shows how much he truly cares for the strike team. I love how much Shane has matured, he really thought it all out to take the blame but take down Antwon too, but of course that would've been too easy. "We ain't deep enough?!"
There's so many things at play here it feels like a clock moving it's parts leading to the inevitable move of the big hand. Shane's confrontation with Antwon is another highlight. Despite everything, Shane still reverts back to his old ways talking to Antwon, going all out. He sure loves to use obscenities, and I can't believe they went this far. This would not be able to air today using *those* words about at the same time, but it surprisingly works and totally makes sense for the character. The dialogue is so entertaining, saying such messed up things but darkly funny in a way. I love how Antwon still manages to gain control in the moment by literally sitting down and cuffing himself. What a mad man, Shane got real nervous. Luckily Vic gets him out and he doesn't have to go forward with his plan. Vic says "We don't get out of this by getting dirtier. We come clean to the captain, both of you." showing how far they've come. I love how they try to go clean to Rawling and it actually goes worse, the dirt is too deeply ingrained to get cleaned off that easily. I didn't realize either like Vic that they kinda had some responsibility for the deaths of the cops. It was just a great revelation. This episode is just firing all cylinders. This also marks a major turning point for Rawlings who was vouching for Vic but now has the power to put the strike team away and continues the investigation on them. At least finally they got Antwon. It's insane that even after Antwon gets caught he's still playing games revealing that he did know who killed the cops. A brilliant finisher for one of the best episodes in the entire show. Absolutely masterful.
Edit: I've tried to post this review so many times, but it's always been rejected so I've tried my hardest to remove any sort of thing that might get this rejected.
1 Hour and 5 Minutes of Pure Greatness!
coasteraddict-1679622 February 2023
Season 4 is strangely low rated by IMDB standards. This entire season has been thick with plot and character developments like we've never seen before from the show. It only gets crazier with this episode.
This is more or less the climax of the season thus far. Every character gets a great chance to shine. Loyalties are tested time and time again, important discoveries are made, and electrifying performances are given left and right. There's a particular interrogation scene in this one that had me reeling. This episode was over an hour long and yet it went by very fast. I spent the whole latter half of it hoping and praying that it wouldn't end. When it did, I was both incredibly impressed with what I had witnessed and simultaneously desperate to find out what would happen next.
Easily the best episode of The Shield so far. I'm not sure if a 10 is too generous, but right now it feels deserving considering the current 8.2 rating. Can't wait to find out what happens next. Great episode.
This is more or less the climax of the season thus far. Every character gets a great chance to shine. Loyalties are tested time and time again, important discoveries are made, and electrifying performances are given left and right. There's a particular interrogation scene in this one that had me reeling. This episode was over an hour long and yet it went by very fast. I spent the whole latter half of it hoping and praying that it wouldn't end. When it did, I was both incredibly impressed with what I had witnessed and simultaneously desperate to find out what would happen next.
Easily the best episode of The Shield so far. I'm not sure if a 10 is too generous, but right now it feels deserving considering the current 8.2 rating. Can't wait to find out what happens next. Great episode.
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