Review: In 'Justified' season 4, Raylan Givens investigates a mystery
An Arlo Givens-related cold case ties together the FX drama's new season
Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens in "Justified."
Credit: FX
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FX treats its hit “American Horror Story” not as an ongoing drama series but a collection of miniseries, all operating under the same title, and often using the same actors, but as different characters, in different settings, exploring different corners of the horror universe.
FX’s “Justified,” which returns tomorrow night at 10, is clearly not an “American Horror Story”-style anthology. The hero is always Timothy Olyphant as 21st century gunslinger Raylan Givens, the setting is always the cities and hollers of Kentucky, and there’s now an enormous cast of characters who continue along with Raylan.
Yet watching the first two episodes of “Justified” season 4, I couldn’t help feeling like “Justified” showrunner Graham Yost is using an approach to each season that’s a distant cousin to what’s happening over at “American Horror Story.” “Justified” will always be a show about the fastest gun east of the Mississippi, but each year the show reinvents itself in the kinds of stories it tells about Raylan and friends.
Season 1 was almost a dark action comedy, the story of an anachronistic U.S. Marshal operating by a very strict, public, violent moral code, and the way he ends up irritating so many cops and crooks along the way. Season 2 was a gothic crime tragedy, the downfall of the great and terrible Mags Bennett and her hillbilly criminal empire. Season 3 replaced Mags with an army of colorful criminals operating at cross purposes(*), and came closest in spirit to the quintessential works of Raylan’s creator, novelist Elmore Leonard.
(*) Raylan’s not quite a superhero, but he comes close at times, and it’s often the third installment of a superhero series (like “Spider-Man 3”) where the villains begin to multiply exponentially.
Yost could have tried to up the ante on season 4, either by adding even more villains, or else going for some kind of biggest bad of all (Billy Bob Thornton? Ian McShane?). Instead, he goes in a different direction altogether — and one of the few crime genres Leonard himself has never really bothered with — and turns the new season into an extended mystery.
We open with a flashback to the early ‘80s, where a quiet suburban cul de sac is disrupted by the fatal crash landing of a parachutist carrying bags of dope with him. Thirty years later, Raylan discovers that his father — senile, bone-mean, incarcerated crook Arlo (Raymond J. Barry) — had something to do with the falling man, and that other criminals are beginning to look into the situation.
Raylan doesn’t suddenly swap his Stetson and service weapon for a deerstalker cap and magnifying glass, but the cold case provides a new kind of unifying element for the series, even as it continues to tell stories about Raylan outsmarting thugs and his sometime-nemesis Boyd Crowder (the absurdly charismatic Walton Goggins) trying to build a criminal empire in their childhood home of Harlan County.
There’s room for plenty of old friends, like the continued delight of Jere Burns as Dixie Mafia executive Wynn Duffy, as well as the introduction of new ones. Some of this year’s early additions include comedian Patton Oswalt doing his thing well in an unlikely setting as Constable Bob, a kind of second-rate Harlan cop who has to supply all his own equipment; Ron Eldard as ex-MP Colton Rhodes, whose ease with violence proves useful to his old pal Boyd; and Joseph Mazzello (the former child actor who dazzled in the Yost-produced HBO miniseries “The Pacific”) as Billy, a revival tent preacher whose arrival in Harlan troubles Boyd both because he’s cutting into the local drug business, and because his schtick reminds the chameleonic Boyd of his own time as a born-again minister of sorts, which ended in tragedy during season 1.
But all of it ultimately goes back to Raylan, and the sleuthing isn’t the only thing that’s new for our hero. This is Raylan in a dark place.(**) He’s split with his wife Winona for the second time, even as she prepares to give birth to their first child, is living above the bar owned by current girlfriend Lindsey (Jenn Lyon, with whom Olyphant enjoys a playful, teasing chemistry) and has started to let himself go a bit. (Albeit not in any way that would damage Olyphant’s sex appeal.) His hair has gotten shaggier, he’s working odd hours at the Marshals office, and making professional decisions that seem reckless even by the standards of previous seasons. When his boss Art Mullen (Nick Searcy, the series’ world-weary soul) begins to contemplate retirement, it’s easy to imagine that his top 5 reasons for doing so involve having to supervise Raylan Givens.(***)
(**) Perhaps to illustrate his current emotional state — or perhaps because a basic cable budget only goes so far sometimes — more scenes this time seem to place in small dark rooms, and/or involving only a couple of people at a time. Even with all these miscreants running around, Raylan’s world feels very small at the moment.
(***) Though “Justified” has some ‘80s action movie in its DNA, the show is always willing to acknowledge what a pain in the rear it would really be to work alongside the cop who plays by his own rules. The show has never done a great job writing for Jacob Pitts and Erica Tazel as Raylan’s fellow Marshals, but both characters inevitably come to life whenever they’re allowed to voice (with our complete sympathy) their frustration at working with this clown.
As much fun as it was last season to watch Mykelti Williamson brandish his cleaver as wily crime lord Mr. Limehouse, or watch Neal McDonough flash that terrifying smile as carpet-bagging mobster Robert Quarles, that season ultimately didn’t come down to either of those two men, but to the haunting moment when Raylan realizes that Arlo had killed a cop he mistook for the son he’s always despised. Yost can keep bringing in superb character actors (and he does so here), but the core will always be this cop who came from a family of criminals and set out to have the most rigid moral code possible. By forcing Raylan to retrace his father’s decades-old steps, Yost is reinventing his show yet again, but he’s also going deeper into the heart and mind of the man with the big hat and gun.
Alan Sepinwall may be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com
Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing television since the mid-'90s, first for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, The Star-Ledger, and now for HitFix. His new book, "The Revolution Was Televised," about the last 15 years of TV drama, is for sale at Amazon. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com
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Login or create a HitFix account Login Signupjamie a s
January 7, 2013 at 11:10AM EST Reply to CommentSounds fantastic! I cannot wait until Wednesday!
Lee If you wait until Wednesday, you'll miss it. It's on Tuesday.
January 7, 2013 at 4:35PM EST
January 7, 2013 at 4:36PM ESTjanelle_fox
January 7, 2013 at 11:13AM EST Reply to CommentNo Walton Goggins in drag? Boo! haha
adama1843 Shhhh! It's a surprise!
January 7, 2013 at 8:46PM ESTmuse965 Hahahaha! Great Goggins! :)
January 8, 2013 at 12:32AM ESTHaynie
January 7, 2013 at 11:14AM EST Reply to CommentI am pumped! Alan, do you have any indication if Limehouse returns this season? They only scratched the surface of that character last year and I'd guess a long, deep-rooted mystery might offer oppotunities for a return to his community.
MrCrowder No limehouse, at least not through the first 3/4 of the season
January 7, 2013 at 4:53PM ESTchuchundra
January 7, 2013 at 11:34AM EST Reply to CommentIs Jim Beaver back?
Nathan Yes, Jim is back in episode two.
January 7, 2013 at 4:51PM ESTAtta
January 7, 2013 at 11:40AM EST Reply to CommentMy friend said that there may also be no Dickey Bennet or Dewey Crowe this season as well. Any insight on that, Alan? I can't imagine they won't show up for some arc eventually now that Raylons dad is in prison as well.
mrbilliam Did Dickey survive Raylan shooting him? I can't remember if that was made clear.
January 7, 2013 at 11:53AM ESTBalaji K Both Dickey and Dewey are in the prison.
January 7, 2013 at 12:19PM ESTdizzylucy I vaguely remember Jeremy Davies having "Dickie hair" when he won his Emmy, and saying something about getting ready to film more. Hope they are both back!
January 7, 2013 at 2:58PM ESTEvan Liddiard
January 7, 2013 at 11:53AM EST Reply to CommentIn general I feel like I need to start at the beginning when watching TV shows (esp. dramas). Does that hold true for Justified?
mrbilliam I started with the beginning of season 2 and enjoyed a much larger portion of the show than I was confused by (though I went back and watched season 1 soon after). I feel season 3 would have been similar, but obviously I haven't seen 4.
January 7, 2013 at 11:54AM ESTDezbot I would start at the beginning so you can watch the evolution of the character and have a better understanding of why what happened at the end of Season 3 was so significant.
January 7, 2013 at 12:59PM ESTdizzylucy It's not so serialized that you would be lost, but I would recommend watching from the beginning, to fully appreciate the characters, why they are where and who they are, and to understand the relationships more. Plus, it's a darn good show, and worth watching every season.
January 7, 2013 at 2:57PM ESTOaktown Girl I definitely agree with Dezbot. Start at the beginning with this one. You will enjoy it so much more.
January 7, 2013 at 3:00PM ESTGood news for me this season - I have a DVR again...finally! So I can actually watch the episodes close to when they debut and not have to wait until they come through On Demand. (I am usually working when the show airs live).
Hatfield Another vote for starting from the beginning. Boyd's character arc in particular is worth the time, and of course some of the other things being alluded to. In any case, you don't want to miss Season 2, which is an all-timer.
January 7, 2013 at 4:33PM ESTEvan Liddiard y'all have confirmed what I was leaning towards. I'll DVR this season and try to catch up by the end of this season. Thanks!
January 7, 2013 at 5:07PM ESTRealGMan
January 7, 2013 at 12:11PM EST Reply to CommentLooking forward to this once again. Know the budget is probably rough for this, but wouldn't mind, depending on those this show goes, throwing Raylan into some other Leonard locals. Say, one season in Florida, or a season arch in Detroit.
JFargus Please, no. Keep Raylan in Harlan. Please.
January 7, 2013 at 12:26PM ESTsedeyus I wouldn't mind a switch of locales either. The show never uses Tim or Rachel, it sounds like they might be close to having Art retire and getting rid of Nick Searcy, and I'm not that big of a Boyd fan that I couldn't imagine the show without him. It could interesting if they sent Raylan into a situation he's completely unfamiliar with.
January 7, 2013 at 11:56PM ESTvelocityknown
January 7, 2013 at 12:37PM EST Reply to CommentYou failed to answer the question on everyone's mind:
How has the background green screen improved during the driving scenes?
PNWskier They also didn't do a very good job at hiding the palm trees last season. The show is so obviously shot in Southern California. I wish they would at least occasionally film in Kentucky or some place similar, just for the sake of authenticity.
January 9, 2013 at 3:11PM ESTChampSkins
January 7, 2013 at 12:51PM EST Reply to CommentGoing to miss Natalie Zea thats for sure... but more Jenn Lyon will help ease the pain.
Lee Second the thought on Natalie. I recently went through the entire seven seasons of THE SHIELD again and noticed her as Lauren, the canine-handling cop who had an affair with Vic.
January 7, 2013 at 4:39PM ESTGreg Natalie Zea is a fine actress, but I certainly won't miss Winona. All she did for three seasons was bitch about Raylan's job and whatnot.
January 7, 2013 at 5:11PM ESTLana I hate that she's gone too, but I hear she'll be back for a few episodes this season. Hope the bartender isn't around for long though, she seems a little too perfect and I just don't trust that.
January 7, 2013 at 5:46PM ESTMeghan Natalie deserves to play something better than the whiny girlfriend.
January 8, 2013 at 11:16AM ESTDezbot
January 7, 2013 at 1:01PM EST Reply to Comment"the absurdly charismatic Walton Goggins"
You got that right! I was really pleased to see him pop up in both LINCOLN and DJANGO UNCHAINED. Couldn't take my eyes off him!
meghan Best description of Walton ever!
January 8, 2013 at 11:17AM ESTGreekdonkey
January 7, 2013 at 2:56PM EST Reply to CommentStill, they need Billy Bob at some point - maybe as Raylan real father, further explaining why his "dad" hates him. Course BB's character would have only been around 13, but this is set in Kentucky.
dizzylucy
January 7, 2013 at 3:01PM EST Reply to CommentGreat review! I love this show so much, can't wait until it returns tomorrow.
"Absurdly charismatic" - perfectly put.
samd11
January 7, 2013 at 8:40PM EST Reply to CommentExcellent analysis of a great show!
mridge1
January 7, 2013 at 10:05PM EST Reply to CommentLooking forward to the new season but as I'm in Canada, probably won't see it for a month or so.
Rob
January 8, 2013 at 2:04PM EST Reply to CommentNow, I'm really excited considering the source material for the mystery is loosely based on the real life death of Andrew Thorton. I'm curious if they use any other details from "The Blugrass Conspiracy" in this storyline.
Wizard64
January 8, 2013 at 3:16PM EST Reply to CommentPlease tell me that Limehouse is still a strong figure in the show. His character was fantastic, for understated intelligence combined with humor and thinly disguised violence. Between him and Crowder, I wasn't sure who I liked to see best on the screen.
Joel T
January 8, 2013 at 7:23PM EST Reply to CommentBut is it good? You give a great write-up of what to expect, Alan, but what do you think so far? A "review" should include some sort of review, dontcha think? Also, I love your recaps and podcasts, and I'm enjoying "Revolution" very much, too. Thanks
Jeff Note the "A-" he gave it at the top. Sounds like he liked it to me.
January 8, 2013 at 9:59PM ESTJoel T Doh! Good call. I've been reading Alan on HitFix for a couple of years, and I never noticed those grades. Thanks
January 8, 2013 at 10:12PM ESTJeff You know, it was like a year before I did as well, haha. Hey Alan, you should really talk to someone about making those a little more noticeable. :-)
January 8, 2013 at 10:24PM ESTJeff Also note that on Metacritic (where Alan is of course included) this season has gotten stellar grades across the board...so I'd say we're in for a good run!
January 8, 2013 at 10:28PM EST