Forest Whitaker has been mesmerizing as the noble psycho and perfect nemesis for Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis), to the extent that it's impossible to imagine getting quite so into this season without him. Whitaker plays Tom Kavanaugh, an investigator from IAD (the Internal Affairs Department) who's leading the charge against Mackey's strike team. From the start, Kavanaugh made the whole investigation intensely personal, seducing and manipulating everyone he came across, from charming Mackey's wife by convincing her that he also had an autistic kid to luring Lem (Kenny Johnson) into wearing a wire. (Of course Lem, the faithful soldier, took his first opportunity to show Mackey the wire and warn him that IAD was watching his every move.)
The chess match between Kavanaugh and Mackey has been riveting so far, with the writers throwing Mackey just enough little victories in battle to make it tolerable that Kavanaugh will probably win the war. Kavanaugh backs Lem into a corner, Mackey stages a seemingly illegal handoff that makes IAD look like a meddlesome, dangerous intruder. Kavanaugh uses Mackey's affair with another cop to get Mackey's ex-wife to admit that she got a big sum of cash from Mackey; Mackey discovers that Kavanaugh's ex-wife is emotionally unstable, so he goes to her house and has sex with her. It's all just over-the-top enough to be entertaining, but well acted and frenetic and unpredictable enough to remain believable.
Last week's episode worked all of the insanity of this season into an excellent pre-finale lather. Not only did Claudette (CCH Pounder) unexpectedly find herself back in the captain's office (it's about time they put her front and center again), but just as Lem looked ready to take the fall and go to prison in order to avoid keeping the team out of jail by squealing on them, Mackey found out that drug kingpin Antwon Mitchell (Anthony Anderson) wasn't going to protect Lem like he originally thought, which meant that a prison sentence would add up to certain death for Lem. So instead, Mackey convinced Lem to take off to Mexico (maybe he can shack up with Duncan from "Veronica Mars," who's also hiding out south of the border), which set the whole team up for hellfire and damnation in the final episode. Hurray!
But you had to know that Kavanaugh wouldn't be defeated quite so easily. When everyone starts saying, "It's over," that's when you know the fun is just beginning. But most of all, you really have to give this hamster props for making its fifth run on the hamster wheel so exciting.
Closing remarks
To every TV show (turn, turn, turn) there is a season (turn, turn, turn) and a time for every purpose under FCC guidelines. A time to be bored, a time to cheer, a time to make snacks, a time to jeer, a time to scoff, a time to complain, a time to mourn that your favorite show just ain't the same!
Because as sure as your sweater will unravel and your honey ham will leave you for an independently wealthy, gorgeous upgrade, so too will you learn to say goodbye to the good old days and welcome in a whole new era of disappointment and regret, ushered in by a great nation in decline. But even when you're snacking on Cheez Whiz and listening to your 2-foot-long river rat ambling along on its massive rat wheel, you can take comfort in your memories, clinging to nostalgic glimpses of the past to get you through a mediocre present and a dim, uncertain future.
About the writer
Heather Havrilesky is Salon's TV critic. She also maintains the rabbit blog. You can find more of her columns in the I Like To Watch directory.
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