20 Most Important TV Deaths This Decade

5. Shane Vendrell & Family - The Shield (Season 7, Episode 13)

Easily the most unsettling moment in the history of The Shield came in the series finale, as Vic and Shane both tried to rub each other out in order to ensure their futures. After Shane's attempts to have Ronnie killed were relayed to the authorities and his wife Mara accidentally killed a woman, Shane realised they would have to flee with their son, Jackson. Vic helped push Shane over the edge by taunting him over the phone, at which point Shane decided there was no turning back, as Jackson would end up going into foster care. We see Shane call a family meeting, and when the police raid their apartment, Shane is in the middle of writing a suicide note. He doesn't get to finish it, and shoots himself in the head just as the police burst in. However, the more horrifying discovery comes when the police enter the bedroom to find Mara and Jackson dead on the bed, holding flowers and a toy car respectively, having been poisoned by Shane without their knowledge. As if this isn't horrifying enough, Claudette then brings Vic into an interrogation room and reads Shane's suicide note to him along with showing him the crime scene pictures. This further cements the idea that though Vic is free from any criminal wrongdoing, he has left quite the path of destruction in his wake, and he is clearly distraught at this fact.