The Shield/Characters: Difference between revisions

==== Shane Vendrell ====

Vic's best friend and protégé. Impulsive, reckless, and at times racist, Shane drives much of the conflict in the series as his desire to move out of Vic's shadow causes much chaos and conflict.

* [[Alternate Character Interpretation]]: Subjective; while Shane's crimes towards the end of the series (from the end of season five onward) were largely treated as a [[Moral Event Horizon]] crossing by fans, actor Walt Goggins and several of the writers were quick to point out that Shane's actions were quite logical given the context of {{spoiler|Shane wanting to protect himself for the sake of his family, including a wife who was pregnant and terrified at the notion of becoming like her mother, a single mother with two children}}.

* {{spoiler|[[Big Bad]]:}} [[Big Bad Ensemble|One of several in season 7.]]

==== Curtis "Lem" Lemansky ====

The muscle of the Strike Team, as well as it's conscience. Will often remind Vic and the rest of the Strike Team that they are supposed to be cops and try and reign in Vic's more corrupt notions (with various degrees of success). Unfortunately for him, he ultimately becomes a liability for the team and {{spoiler|killed off by Shane, to keep IAD from sending him to jail, where he would inevitably break}}.

* [[Ascended Extra]]

* [[The Big Guy]]: The biggest guy of the team, often in charge of breaking down doors. Also wields a shotgun.

==== Ronnie Gardocki ====

With his facial hair and tech skills, Ronnie is the [[The Smart Guy|resident nerd]] of the Strike Team. Also [[The Woobie]], given the amount of bodily harm he endures over the course of the show. Originally a background character, the character's role in the show grew over the course of the series, due to the character's fanbase. Also, is rivals Vic in terms of [[Misaimed Fandom]], as far as people liking him in spite of being a corrupt cop.

* [[Alternate Character Interpretation]]: Those fans who see Ronnie as a good guy who fell in with the wrong crowd. Was partially Jossed with his reaction to the revelation that Vic murdered Terry Crowley, though season seven had the revelation that he had never killed anyone in cold blood until the season seven premeire.

* [[Ascended Extra]]: Started out as a background character, before his role grew slowly but surely and became a central character in season seven.

==== Terry Crowley ====

"Driver" for the Strike Team, Terry Crowley was placed on the Strike Team by then-Captain Acaveda as a means to keep an eye out on the antics of Vic and his crew. Unfortunately for him, when Acaveda approached him about gathering evidence about Strike Team corruptions, Terry agreed only to get a bullet in the face for his trouble.

* [[Decoy Protagonist]]: Ads depicted him as the true star of The Shield.

* Expy: For his "Homicide: Life On The Street" character, Max Kellerman.

==== Tavon Garris ====

Young black detective who is placed onto the team by orders from above, as far as wanting to include one minority onto the all-white Strike Team. Unaware of Vic Mackey's corrupt nature, the skilled rookie detective made a big mistake when he went and told Shane that he was hoping that Vic would take him under his wing as a mentor. One massive brawl later and a car wreck, Tavon was written out of the series.

* [[The Ace]]

* [[Dropped a Bridge on Him]]: Written off via a series of injuries, after the actor decided to pursue a career in movies rather than stay with the series.

==== Armando "Army" Renta ====

Army sniper who, after a tour of duty in Iraq, returned home and landed a job with the LAPD, where he was partnered with Shane Vendrell. The two got along well, but Shane's corrupt cop ways ended up getting the two in hot legal water. Rather than risk his luck, he ended up resigning from the LAPD and returning to the military.

* [[Only Sane Man]]

* [[Put on a Bus]]

==== Kevin Hiatt ====

A capable officer introduced as the one who'll succeed Vic in leading the Strike Team. His arrival is initially met with some tension but Vic and co eventually warm up to him.

* [[By-The-Book Cop]]: More than most other Strike Team members at least.

* [[Replacement Scrappy]]: Initially viewed as this in-universe.

==== Claudette Wyms ====

Veteran detective who is partners with Detective "Dutch" Wagenbach. Though positioned as the conscience of the Barn, she's more than willing to turn a blind eye to Vic's corrupt corruption.

* [[Big Good]]: Arguably the final arch-enemy of Vic Mackey.

* [[Da Chief]]: Has shades of this after finally becoming the captain.

==== Holland "Dutch" Wagenbach ====

Detective and partner of Claudette Wyms. A brilliant but socially inept detective who deals with bad guys such as rapists, murderers, and other unsavory characters. [[The Rival]] to Vic Mackey.

* [[Badass Bookworm]]: Probably the smartest character on the Show

* [[Butt Monkey]]

==== Steve Billings ====

Comic relief character, introduced in season four; a veteren cop who is five years away from retiring and dead set on doing as little as possible until then, in order to ensure he sees the day of his retirement.

* [[Berserk Button]]: Could rival even Vic's and Lem's love for kids. Doesn't like them harmed.

* [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass]]: Lazy and waiting for retirement but he will move heaven and Earth to get someone who hurt a kid.

==== David Acevada ====

Politically Ambitious police captain turned city councilman; longtime foil for Vic Mackey, going from [[The Rival]] to [[The Odd Couple|reluctant ally]] when Acaveda's political ambitious lead him into the arms of the Mexican mafia.

* [[Aborted Arc]]: After personally intervening to save Danny's job after she was let go from the LAPD due to budget cutbacks, Acaveda let her know after the fact that she now owed him and that she could pay back his patronage by way of narcing on her fellow officers to him. Despite this being set up, the entire thing is forgotten within a couple of episodes.

* [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]]: After several seasons of dealing with Vic Mackey, and being helpless to fire him or disband the Strike Team, Acaveda gets revenge at long last in his last day on the job. He informs Vic that he has placed within his personal file a letter denouncing him and his tactics/history of insubordination and pretty much telling anyone who reads it that Vic should never be given a position of authority within the LAPD power structure. This not only ruins Vic's dreams of transferring to a new precinct (where he would run that precinct's version of the Strike Team) but also effectively blackballs him from ANY of the LAPD's special teams squads or any hopes of being promoted above the level of Detective. And, for shits and giggles, he blackmails Ronnie with threat of the same thing happening to him, to make Ronnie finish up (behind Vic's back) an undercover video sting operation that Vic was overseeing, in order to ensure that by the end of his last day as Captain, that Vic was now nothing more than a lowly detective with no special team leadership position and no future at the LAPD.

* [[Jerkass]]: Her reaction to finding out that Claudette and Dutch were on the DA's shitlist, needless to say, was to blame Claudette and remind her of all of the guilty criminals that her actions ended up getting freed from jail.

* [[Mama Bear]]: Protective of her fellow officers, especially after two of them are murdered on orders of Antwon Mitchell. Even after finding out, for sure that Vic Mackey is corrupt and so are his fellow officers on the Strike Team, she cryptically tries to warn Vic "to be careful" during their final meeting.

* [[Team Mom]]/[[Team Dad]]: Has shades of this, team mom because she got much needed money for the barn due to the her seizure program and she fixed the men's bathroom. Team dad because she could really get stern with her subordinates.

* [[Tear Jerker]]: Her final fate: she gets removed from her job as Captain for pissing off the Feds when she obtains evidence to invalidate Antwon Mitchell's immunity deal that let him get away with ordering the murders of two patrol officers. She is also told, point blank, that she can file for early retirement or be fired, with any chance of appealing her removal from duty moot as far as the LAPD telling her that the board will be in the pocket of those who want her gone. Oh and she finds out that not only does IAD have nice guy Curtis "Lem" Lemansky dead to rights for stealing drugs from a dealer, but that IAD (who she asked to look into Vic and the Strike Team to make sure they were not dirty) has plans to use Lem to bust the entire Strike Team for corruption charges, Vic Mackey included (a double whammy, as Vic had been her only ally who stuck by her no matter what). In the end, she is alone in her house, drinking a beer, knowing that her career is over and that her she has set in motion the downfall of the only ally she had left.