Here's another wild possibility that just came to me while I was sitting here... (and this is of course predicated on the premise that Claudette is not yet dead)... what if one of her first visitors in the hospital is... (drum roll)... TAVON?

Because, let's be honest, both of them have gotten screwed over the course of the show. Claudette kind of/sort of put herself in the position to get screwed with the captain's job, but she's been a pawn in deals brokered by Aceveda as well as her own partner. Tavon, from what we can see on the show, got screwed right off the Strike Team after his accident when Lem lied to him about hitting Mara. He's never been hinted at or seen since.

I can see the two of them coming together in righteous anger over their respective situations, although my best guess is that Wyms is dead, and Tavon doesn't know that he didn't ACTUALLY hit Mara, so that's probably not going to happen.

No harm in a lil' speculation, though.

I just realized that I'm making a lot of references that some people may not understand if they haven't watched a lot of the show. I'm was just catching up myself. I caught the last three episodes of Season 4, and had to work backwards. Now it's my favorite show.

Anyway, here are a couple glossary terms:

The Incident - Where Aceveda is sexually assaulted by Juan Lazano and another cholo while he is alone at a suspect's home (Season 3).

'Twon - Antwon Mitchell, an O.G. banger and drug dealer who was the Big Bad Guy in Season 4.

Tavon - Ex-Strike Teamer from Season 3 (part of 2) who got in a fight with Shane, got hit in the head with an iron by his wife, nearly killed himself in a car crash on the way back from the fight, and then mysteriously disappeared from the show (it's a little more complicated, but that's the general gist of it).

... more to come as I accidentally slip in other unreferenced material...

Some other sites I've read said they saw Claudette's fall coming in last week's previews, but I didn't. From the previews, I thought Clevon was going to attack her and (maybe) kill her. Wasn't there a flash where it showed Clevon on the interrogation TV screen lashing out at her? Maybe I missed it.

What I DIDN'T miss was Lem almost biting on Aceveda's offer of one year for the whole team before his little "I don't WANT your help" shit-fit. Is it just me, or can you maybe see Lem rolling on Shane for his Antwon connection and for 14-year-old Angie?

Which brings us to Antwon, and what his role may or may not be in next week's episode. I can't believe that a guy like Kavanaugh -- who while he is clearly a little crazy seems to be a stand-up cop -- would make a deal that he knows will endanger the Strike Team's lives. Here I'm talking about the preview snippet where Kavanaugh makes a prison visit and Antwon tells him, "If I give you these fine young men, you make sure they do their time right here."

Kavanaugh's smart. He knows who 'Twon is, and he also probably knows he'd have the whole Strike Team killed in prison. Right now, Kavanaugh seems so squeaky-clean that I can't see him marring his record by de facto getting his biggest catch killed. I gotta believe his character would rather seem them alive and well, rotting in prison.

Which brings us to to 'Twon's other recent prison visitor from Season 4, Councilman Aceveda, whose selfish deal with 'Twon is coming back to bite him in the ass, just when he thought he'd tied up all the loose ends (except for Lazano's sister, but she looked too cracked out to be a threat): he was lucky enough to shoot one of the two people who saw The Incident in the line of duty, and his backroom deal with 'Twon ended in the only other witness's death.

Now Kavanaugh is trying to connect the dots between the Strike Team and 'Twon through Aceveda. Obviously, he's way off-base; they're not connected at all, but there's NOOOO WAY Aceveda is going to just tell the truth. Even if he hadn't made a deal to kill Lazano, having The Incident made public would be just as bad, at least in his mind.

Near the end of last night's episode, the rest of the Team gave a pretty good indication that they're all going to lawyer up individually. So now Kavanaugh's going to have four different lawyers and probably Aceveda trying to sandbag him.

QUESTION FOR THE WEEK: Is Claudette dead? The "her neck is really twisted" comment makes me think yes, plus the look on the Dutchman's face as the episode ended.

Speaking of the Dutchman, where the HELL is he going to go from here? He's got no one to rein him in anymore.

WILD POSSIBILITY: Someone finds a way to pair up Vic with the Dutchman. I realize their beyond-antagonistic relationship would never work, but just think of the possibilities. Mackey told his lawyer, Becca Doyle, that he wants redemption, another chance to be a cop. What if he and the Dutchman start closing mad cases? Vic's got the street intel, and Dutch can map out the psyches of their perps. Just a thought...

... home of all things, but primarily, I created this blog as a discussion forum for my new favorite cop show (and I LOVE "Law & Order"), "The Shield" on F/X.

If you haven't seen it, you need to. It's certainly not for everyone, but if you like "L&O" and especially if you're a big "Homicide: Life on the Street" fan (as I was), then this is for you.

New episodes, Tuesday nights on F/X. And now, on to this week's episode (BE WARNED: SPOILERS AHEAD, MATEY! ARRR!)