"The Shield:" This is gonna get messy (and fun)

(Vic Mackey in a light moment by his standards.)

If you're the typical Hollywood showrunner, and you're on season seven, chances are good you're running on fumes; you're phoning it in. But then, Shaun Ryan's not your typical showrunner, and "The Shield" is not your typical drama.

"The Shield's" not unlike "Prison Break," which returned yesterday, and which is long on adrenaline and rabbits along like a crazed, rabid animal addicted to sordid pulp storylines but is short on common sense. But unlike "Prison Break," "The Shield" still seems to have all the balls that are still darting about in the air make sense in one way or another.

Sure, Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) and his corrupt crew of L.A. cops are looking at a hard fall somewhere down the line - hell, they've been doing that since episode one - and the stories can seem awfully convoluted, but this hasn't driven me crazy yet and I'm still compelled to find out what'll happen next.

(In case you haven't noticed, this guy's a bad-ass.)

And tonight begins the show's final season, about which Chiklis says of its finale, "What thrills me ... is you will not see this coming. You will not know what we do. Then, when you look back at it, you'll go, 'Holy cow. Yeah, that's exactly right.'"

After watching the first three episodes of the swansong season, I have no reason to doubt him. To catch everyone up: Vic has everyone p!ssed off at him - the Armenian crime gang, the Mexican cartel, L.A.P.D.'s Internal Affairs, a Mayoral candidate (Benito Martinez), even members of his own Strike Force and his estranged family. None of them would weep were he to receive a brutal comeuppance. Few would come to his side were he in need.

And yet, he soldiers on. He's a bizarre blend of sordid self-interest and a demented brand of idealism, ridding the streets of its worst elements while always straddling a line that prevents him from becoming the very thing he hates. And, as his world comes crashing in on him and threatens to expose his sundry corruptions, he nonetheless strives to honestly protect and serve. Of course, he's leaving behind him a heady body count in the name of justice.

And yet - and this is perhaps "The Shield's" particular lapse into cynical brilliance - Vic always has something on those who want to take him down. The system is so utterly corrupt, the show suggests, that Vic's own brazen, craven, abject peccadilloes are but a blip on society's radar screen, and his genius lies in exploiting everyone else, who's trying to pass themselves off as reputable.

The only person more honorable in "The Shield's" world is Captain Claudette Wyms (CCH Pounder), whose love/hate relationship with Vic has veered more toward hate recently, but she's hobbled somewhat in her quest for cleaning up her precinct by her lupus.

(And where has being the "good cop" gotten you in this series, Claudette? They gave you some obscure and awful disease! Meanwhile, Vic champions the rights of @ssholes everywhere!)

Tonight, Vic tries to turn attention away from his own many indiscretions by blithely creating a gang war between the Mexicans and Armenians. Next week, in a particularly good episode, his unique talents are required as the gang wars escalate. No main cast members have been offed yet since Shane (Walter Goggins) shockingly killed blew Lem to holy hell, but you get the feeling that it's only a matter of time. "The Shield's" nervous, jittery title sequences have perhaps never been more appropriate than as this season begins.

And now, a tribute to the "Shield" cast members who have persevered though their characters have kind of faded from relevance:

Catharine Dent (Danny Sofer): Vic knocked her up, which took a lot of her edge off; now, she's just sort of showing up at crime scenes and offering exposition.

Michael Jace (Julien Lowe): The particulars of his gay-yet-Christian character have faded into the background; again, he's like one of those "Star Trek" red-shirts, only with immunity from death.

Jay Karnes (Dutch Wagenbach): Clearly, his wry wit has made him a favorite among the show's writers, but he really only seems to be good for solving each episode's B story.

Anyway, if you've strayed from the series, this'd be an excellent time to return to the fold, just before the sh!t comes down and hard. You don't really need all that many refreshers, just to know that Vic has dug himself in even deep and no one really seems to be pulling for him to succeed. The show has three obvious conclusions - Vic dies, Vic gets busted or Vic gets away - but here's guessing that Ryan and his writers have cooked up an even more inspired form of poetic justice.

- "The Shield:" 10 tonight, FX.