Oh, Vic Mackey. So bald, so surly, so leather-clad. Is there any police procedure you can’t break?

The final season of FX’s envelope-pushing cop drama, The Shield returns to the air with all manner of noise: gun fights, murders, feet being chopped off by axes, police corruption, lies, double-dealing and betrayal, oh my! As season openers go, Episode 1 comes out running, picking up exactly where Season Six ended, with Vic’s badge on the line, Shane completely making a mess of everything he touches, and Farmington going to hell in a handbasket.

The amazing thing about The Shield is how effortless it keeps up the intensity, even between massive breaks between seasons. Here we are, right out of the gate, and already the intensity is right in your face — the episode opens with Vic beating the crud out of Shane for his “attack” on his family (classic Shane):

Ouch. Things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. As Shane gets deeper and deeper into Armenian gang activity, Vic and Ronnie find themselves inexorably drawn back to their old teammate, each trying desperately to protect themselves and their families. The end result, of course, will be a full-on orchestrated gang war between the Armenians and the Mexicans as Farmington tears itself apart.

Methinks Season Seven is going to be a bloody affair. And if Vic is lucky, he might get to keep his badge another episode.

The Shield airs Tuesday at 10 p.m. on FX.