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Livin' the good life

The Shield is a show I missed while it was on the air, but I'm thankful the entire series is available on DVD. All accolades I've heard on the show have been proven to me and I'm swimming right along through the series.

I know how the series ends, but how the show gets from what transpires in the pilot episode to the final episode intrigued me. As things twist and turn, I stay locked in.

The thing is, I still want an element of surprise when those twists happen. But when merely looking up an actor's name on the Internet leads me towards spoiler territory, it's a little frustrating.

I'm really bad with wondering, "Hey, I've seen this person in something before." It happens almost every time I watch a TV show or movie. I blame my natural curiosity to connect the dots. With The Shield, two actors in the first couple seasons were series regulars on AMC's The Killing. Looking one of them up online, I got a sneaky suspicion one of them wasn't going to be a regular guest star. And when the character's fate was mentioned in a episode commentary that preceded that episode, I wondered something.

Is it possible to truly experience something these days without a hint of spoilers?

It might be easy for my parents, but they're not online as much as I am. And they like to watch stuff that is predictable (and I don't mean that as a slant -- it just comes with what they like). I still stick by the idea you can really judge the quality of show knowing full well of some spoilers. If the show is truly ruined by a plot point or character's death, then was the show really worth it after all?

All I can say is, I'm thankful for Shield fans I know who have kept things vague with me. It's been a great ride so far.

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