I felt like the ending tied up many loose ends or at least to the degree that is satisfactory. Spoilers below:
Vic's ending was perfect. He lost absolutely everything. He always prided himself as the man that can get things done, even if it meant bending the rules a little, he'd get his guy. Ultimately, he did it all for his family. Whether it was working with drug dealers or the money train, he wanted what was best for his family. The harder Vic tried, it seemed, the more he pushed them away. Same goes for him getting clean. He tries to get out but for every step forward, he gets pushed two steps back. He lost his team, he lost all his friends (who clearly despised him once he confessed), he lost his freedom, and worst of all to him, he lost his family. Now he's a desk jockey who is now bogged down in paperwork. Vic is now going to have to start anew. I think he will make it, spirit unbroken. His gun is a symbol of his past, both the good (numerous drug dealings) and the bad (money train, torturing, arresting friends like Ben Gilroy).
Ronnie's end was decent. I hated how GAF built him up as a new person. He was always this way. Ronnie was the guy that always went along with what Vic did. Sometimes he was reluctant but ultimately, he always did what Vic asked him to. He was never hard or corrupting but could handle himself if he got into trouble, except for his arrest. Ronnie was Vic's bitch from the very beginning to the very end. I can't see him lasting a day or two in prison. Even if he were to get charges dropped or reduced based on he said/she said, he'd have to sit in county jail, which can't be too inviting to police officers, especially those who stopped millions of dollars of drug deals.
Shane's end was fitting. Shane always tried to be like Vic and thought that he was as smart and cunning. He never was, which led him to get into trouble. I knew something crazy would happen from all the coke and meth he kept snorting. I never expected suicide. I figured he would fight to the bitter end, causing his death. Shane was cowardly and taking down his wife and son was pretty low, even if it was understandable. It was either face prison and get torn apart, or die together as a family. He knew that he wouldn't last in prison either so I figured he would always end up getting killed. Although personally, I would have liked a final confrontation between him and Vic, given their wide history.
Everything else wrapped up nicely. It was essentially given to us that Dutch and Claudette would nail one last serial killer. If he was able to get Sean Taylor and Kleavon Gardner, I think that he will get this kid easily. Perfect ending to Claudette's career and her emotions towards Vic were reasonable. I still recall how badly Vic fucked her over in the second and third seasons, preventing the arrest of Armadillo and throwing a wrench into her leadership of the Strike Team as often as possible. You can only get fucked over so many times before wishing for them to crash and burn. Steve Billings was definitely the comic relief from his first appearance to his last. I've known guys like him who are lazy but try to cheat the system at every turn, even though he clearly does a bad job of it.
The show itself was fucking brilliant though. I got hooked onto the first episode of the show, where Dutch saw a murder victim with big tits and complimented them to Claudette. That was the moment when I was won over. The show always remained almost devoid of filler, except for a couple of Season 3 episodes, which unsurprisingly, featured 15 episodes instead of the typical 13. Even so, those filler episodes were amazing compared to even the best of what is considered TV and crime dramas currently being offered.
There was a personal aspect to this show. It was a favorite of an Omaha talk show where they frequently had phone interviews with the cast of The Shield. The best one was after the episode where Aceveda was orally raped at gunpoint, they had Benito Martinez on that show the very next day! Granted, filming ended months prior but still, the fact that they were able to bring on those guests and talk about The Shield behind the scenes was brilliant. My friends and I all loved and watched the show. I don't know of a single person who watched the show and never watched it again. They all loved it. They even made a good job of making Coldplay sound tolerable for once (Season 1 conclusion). The show started in my last years of high school and concluded a month before I graduated from college.
To be honest, this is probably the best TV show I'll ever watch. In fact, for years, it has been the only TV show I ever cared about watching and looking at what is playing now, that still holds true. Hell, I'd be just fine with not even watching another TV show again once I get all seasons of the show.
It truly is an end of an era.
