Review: 'Justified' - 'Money Trap': Know when to fold 'em
Raylan deals with a vengeful escappe, and Ava and Boyd go to a party
Timothy Olyphant and Raymond J. Barry in "Justified."
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I'm on vacation this week, but I got to see tonight's "Justified" early, and have a few quick thoughts on it coming up just as soon as I don't use the diphthong...
"Money Trap" wasn't as busy as last week's episode, yet parts of it — particularly on the Raylan vs. Jody end of things — still felt more rushed than they needed to be. I liked Chris Chalk's simmering performance as Jody, was glad to see Michael Gladis away from "Mad Men" yet still wearing a '60s hat, and quite liked Shelley Hennig as the very Elmore Leonard-y Jackie Nevada (whom I imagine we haven't seen the last of), but a lot of the story's movement didn't quite make sense. Notably, a week after Raylan says it's been a while since he shot someone, he pumps a whole lot of bullets into Jody, the first person he's killed in a long time (depending on what you think happened to Icepick Nix and/or Dickie Bennett).
Boyd and Ava at the swingers' party hung together better, but I'm not sure how I feel about the idea that a cabal of rich guys from two towns over have been allowing the Crowders and Bennetts to run crime in Harlan all these years. The way Harlan has been drawn until now, it's a place non-locals don't understand, can't navigate and aren't welcome in (which is why Raylan has proven so useful to the Lexington field office, even with his many deficits as an employee). These people at Napier's party aren't exactly outsiders, but they're also not people who spend much time in hollers. We'll see how this plays out, but I'm intrigued by the idea of Sam Anderson (Bernard from "Lost") being Drew Thompson.
Also, I love just how much absolute venom can be contained in such a brief Raylan/Arlo scene as what we got at episode's end. Olyphant + Goggins is the show's most powerful combination, but Olyphant + Barry is awfully good, too.
What did everybody else think?
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February 20, 2013 at 12:14AM EST Reply to CommentSam Anderson from "Angel," dammit.
LStock5034 Sam Anderson from Angel, Lost, and many other shows. I like this season but please bring back DICKIE BENNETT!
February 24, 2013 at 11:22AM ESTJustin
February 20, 2013 at 12:15AM EST Reply to CommentWait did I miss the Bernard being drew Thompson reveal?
joe I think alan slipped up there and i'm guessing may have spoiled something.
February 20, 2013 at 1:01AM ESTThey definitely didn't reveal who drew was in this episode
coolsid I dont think Alan was spoiling anything. I think, he was just speculating on the idea that Holland Manners may be Drew Thompson
February 20, 2013 at 1:14AM ESTmnfan They didn't reveal anything, but just implied the possibility when he mentioned Boyd's father. Then Boyd shot him a look like how do you know my father? Thats how I took it.
February 20, 2013 at 1:16AM ESTjoe He could just be speculating. That does seem a little daring though because I don't feel the episode hinted anything towards drew being in that room or gave any hint at all at who drew was. Boyd thought that drew might be at that party but the show never gave any indication that he was getting close and seemed to indicate that he was getting sidetracked by what they discussed. I think the only hint in the episode is that we're close because raylan is going to talk to the imprisoned sheriff next week and the show has all but said that the sheriff knows who drew is.
February 20, 2013 at 1:36AM ESTMaybe I am intreprating Alan's word's incorrectly and he is speculating. Obviously during the episode you're looking at people and wondering "is that drew?" but I never felt like the show intimated at who drew might be, or showed drew on screen, until I read mr. Sepinwall's sentence.
that's an interesting theory mnfan. certainly plausible.
I intrepeted that scene as those big wigs through their connections allow the crowder's to exist because they could ruin them if they wanted to. I would think that a local kentucky big wig who runs the show would know who bo crowder was because of that and boyd's reaction was that of a snake reacting to being threatened. But you're right that the way they shot the scene could indicate what you're suggesting
DB Cooper The dynamic wouldn't fit, would it? If Arlo and Old Man Crowder traded Drew's life for Drew's coke, how would Drew possibly have the juice to tell the Crowders when to jump?
February 20, 2013 at 1:47AM ESTOne phone call to Detroit and that's the end of Drew. No, if Drew turns out to be sitting by the fire - particularly if h's Principal DeWitt - that's another major continuity/logic hole.
Elevation Alan's tone implies that he intrigued by the possibility of Bernard being Drew Thompson, not that he actually is Drew Thompson.
February 20, 2013 at 2:49AM EST
February 20, 2013 at 10:53AM ESTWhen he is finally revealed, will it be that big of a deal?
ChampSkins Well just FYI - when Boyd told Ava he was going to stick around for a meeting with the old guys he did speculate that Bernard could be Thompson.
February 20, 2013 at 11:06AM ESTAs for the question regarding why the Drew Thompson thing is so interesting, its that basically the entire season is built around this mystery. Yes, there are other storylines that go with it, but like previous seasons where there was a "Big Bad" this seasons overarching storyline is this mystery of who is Drew Thompson and why are people like Arlo so deadset on keeping his identity hidden.
DB Cooper People other than Alan are suggesting/stating that Bernard is Thompson.
February 20, 2013 at 7:09PM ESTI find the Thompson story interesting only because Raylan, Boyd, and Art do. Anything that gets those guys going is entertaining. And I think they find it interesting simply because it's a cool, crazy, DB Cooper style story.
psmith Given that Alan has probably (?) seen screeners for at least the next ep or two, it seems unlikely that he would mention Bernard as Thompson if it was anyone else. Ya feel me? Not that it seems all that intriguing me -- one thing the season hasn't done well is to make me interested in Thompson as anything but a plot device.
February 20, 2013 at 10:02PM ESTsepinwall Alan here. I was just speculating like Boyd was. I haven't seen any episodes past this one.
February 21, 2013 at 4:48PM ESTJohn
February 20, 2013 at 12:38AM EST Reply to CommentAh, Shelley Hennig was her name. Good to know. Creep factor fulfilled...
John
February 20, 2013 at 12:38AM EST Reply to CommentAh, Shelley Hennig was her name. Good to know. Creep factor fulfilled...
Brian
February 20, 2013 at 12:42AM EST Reply to CommentThis season just seems odd....I look back now and think about the preachers with snakes and the fighting ring and just feel like this season is jumping all over the place. I still enjoy the show but I wish it didn't seem to randomly jump all over the place with short storylines that seem to have little to no relevance later.
Brett Couldn't agree more. I think seasons 1-3 of this show match up against almost any other great shows peak. This season seems to have jumped the shark a bit. I thought the preachers were going to be a major story line, and I liked them, but now we have finding Thompson, who I don't really care about, these rich dudes controlling Harlan and Walker from Homeland coming back out of the blue. It just seems they are trying to go in too many directions and can't make up their mind.
February 20, 2013 at 1:05AM ESTI still enjoy the dialogue and some of the shorter stories, and am more than willing to give this a chance to see how it plays out, but it's going to be tough for the writers to make this mess interesting.
prettok Not every story has to have "relevance" later on. Every season had meandering stories in the early episodes before the main plot went into full gear. Think about the coal mine robbery that dragged out over a couple of episodes early in season two,or the big Dewey/Dickey prison breakout last year, or even the AUSA investigation of the Tommy bucks shooting in the first season.
February 20, 2013 at 1:44AM ESTThis show isn't about just one story. There is always other stuff going on. It's what makes this world interesting.
February 20, 2013 at 10:47AM ESTI agree with Brian and Brett...this season just isn't as good as the previous seasons. Every show has goes through spells like this. It's ok to not like the direction of the show.
I don't need someone telling me what is important and what isn't important about a show that I am watching.
February 20, 2013 at 10:49AM ESTJonas.Left I think this has been a very strong season, but this episode was a letdown. I think instead of introducing the Secret Cabal storyline, they should have used Boyd to push the Thompson mystery forward, especially since Raylan's story was a self contained "baddie of the week" affair.
February 20, 2013 at 3:10PM ESTI don't think there's any reason to take an opposing opinion as an attempt to invaldate your own. Neither is there any reason to interpret a preface to an opinion as a lecture.
Katelin I'm afraid I have to disagree Kro Lin - I'm more bored by people on this website calling 'jump the shark' at the vaguest opportunity than anyone 'lecturing those on the principles of storytelling'.
February 20, 2013 at 4:49PM ESTJonas.Left Oh and for the record, there was an episode of Happy Days where a guy literally jumped over a shark, and it was the best one!
February 20, 2013 at 4:59PM ESTBrian Did Happy Days jump the shark as a show when the guy in the show jumped the shark?
February 20, 2013 at 5:18PM EST
February 20, 2013 at 10:20PM ESTYeah, Happy Days. Don't really give a shit.
Jonas.Left In case there aren't many Justified fans who watch Communty, I was quoting lovable man-child Troy Barnes. As a joke. You know, because this is supposed to be fun, not a grudge match.
February 20, 2013 at 10:29PM ESTDave @Brian: The saying "Jump the Shark" came from that Happy Days episode, where Fonzee literally jumped over a shark while waterskiing with his leather jacket on
February 21, 2013 at 11:50AM ESTTrooper Tom's Ghost Jumping the shark used to mean something more specific to TV writing than just "I don't like the last episode of the show." If Raylan had to avert a terrorist attack on Harlan County by disarming a nuclear bomb or was forced to take on a precocious 10 year old girl as a ward, that would be jumping the shark.
February 21, 2013 at 1:57PM ESTIt's become so watered down and abused that it's just a meaningless application of subjective taste and opinion these days.
jizzmo2003@yahoo.com yeah, "shark jumping" isn't contained to an episode, it's that specific moment when the show you love goes off the deep end and is lost and gone forever.
February 21, 2013 at 2:54PM ESTBob7 KRO LIN: Whenever I read, watch or view anything, I always try to read it from the inside-out--as in what is the artist who made it thinking, what does he want to express, and how does he express it. I view it analytically, I guess, instead of "I feel like this was rushed" or something. Good artists don't arbitrarily put things on the screen/in the page. Every thing you see/hear/read is a choice, done on purpose, and it may have a larger meaning--it may have ideas that can be talked about in length in a critical journal or Norton Critical Edition--or it just maybe entertainment, designed to make you immediately feel something or be pleasured. Or, I believe in the case of Justified, it be both.
February 21, 2013 at 8:03PM ESTBob7 Just wanted to add: even if whatever is in the art is not the artist's intention, it can still have meaning, ideas, and value. The author doesn't have to have consciously put it in for it to be there. There are many critical schools of Shakespeare studies--psychoanalyst, feminist, colonial, Marxist, etc.--that view the plays in different ways. As long as the study is based on the evidence of the text, then these are insightful and valuable readings, even if the man himself would have no idea what we were talking about. In lit crit terms, I believe, this is called The Death of the Author.
February 21, 2013 at 8:12PM EST
February 22, 2013 at 8:47PM ESTMuh Interestingly, I bet no one will miss you.
February 23, 2013 at 1:29AM ESTBob7 @MUH: Are you talking to me or KRO LIN? If me, let me state that this is just my method of watching things and I'm not telling others how to do it.People can watch any way they want to. Forgive me for adding, an approach like Alan's when he revisits complex and deep shows like the Wire and Deadwood might be useful to get more out of them, if the shows are rich.
February 23, 2013 at 4:24AM ESTBob7 @KRO LIN: Forgive me--I didn't mean to tell you how to watch things. This was just how I saw them. I still go by my English class methods I was taught. You know, study the character and the text to find themes and ideas and beauty of language, a reflection of reality, and an artistic point. I do believe you can apply this method not just to books but to TV shows as well--and movies of course. If the show is ambitious and has them. Some shows are just all surface or bad. But let me stress again that this is the way I do things and I'm not saying everyone should do it. And I get more enjoyment from it.
February 23, 2013 at 4:33AM ESTJonas.Left BOB7 You seem like a nice guy, so let me assure you, you were in not in the wrong. Someone is an incredibly antagonistic ppster who takes this way too seriously. That certain someone can be found in numerous forums going back years picking fights and taking umbrage from percieved insults. He loves to attack others for not respecting his opinion by posting their own. He did it to me in the review for last week's episode of Justified.
February 23, 2013 at 4:56AM ESTNelson
February 20, 2013 at 1:17AM EST Reply to CommentNot as weird as it could have been. I think in the "Rayland" book, Jody showed up at the bar in drag.
Marquan I was waiting to see if they would have him in drag. It's been really interesting seeing different pieces of that book used in different contexts in the last few seasons.
February 20, 2013 at 1:29AM ESTDB Cooper
February 20, 2013 at 1:26AM EST Reply to CommentGladis' accent was all over the place.
ChampSkins
February 20, 2013 at 1:36AM EST Reply to CommentCount me as one who is thuroughly enjoying this season. Yes - it has a completely different feel than the previous three, but that doesn't mean every episode isn't just fun to watch. Seeing Rayland and Nevada interact all episode, Art's convo with Raylan about just talking to Arlo, even Jonny completely calling out Colt.
I am under the assumption that this season will eventually get where its going, so I am just going to enjoy the ride.
Also - completely agree that the Arlo-Raylan stand off at the end was brilliant. Their first interaction of this season wasn't that intense on Raylans part, but this just goes to show how much he hates Arlo for trying to shoot him and how much he will never forgive him.
Timm S This site doesn't have a "like" function, so I'll just tell you I agree.
February 20, 2013 at 1:53PM ESTJustified is a funny one for me. I feel like I bring to watching it the same level of scrutiny I do other shows, but until it shows me I shouldn't give it the benefit of the doubt, I'm gonna let stuff play out.
DB Cooper
February 20, 2013 at 1:44AM EST Reply to CommentI love the show, but the introduction of the Rich Pervs Club was a MAJOR misstep. We've established that People like Boyd and Mags and Limehouse run Harlan. You're telling me that in all the years of drug-running, election-fixing, mine-thwarting, whoring, and tent revivals, Boyd NEVER ONCE even heard an allusion to the Hillbilly Illuminati? (Aka Harlan Stonecutters)
Do they give orders to, or take orders from the Dixie Mafia (who, it's been established as recently as last week, control the statewide drug trade)?
It's an incredibly off-brand move, both in terms of this tv show and Elmore Leonard's fiction.
prettok Look at a map of Kentucky. Harlan county is a big place. And Boyd has only been an organized criminal for a year or so. Before that he left it to his father and brother while he was blowing stuff up with Crowders commandos.
February 20, 2013 at 1:52AM ESTJonas.Left The impression I got was that it was a laissez faire arrangement where they allowed the Harlan power brokers to believe they were in charge. If that's the case, there's no reason Boyd or anybody in the Harlan underworld would know about them. I'm not crazy about this new plot either.
February 20, 2013 at 3:13AM ESTBernardo63 Why would the rich would agree among themselves to allow the Crowders, et al to run the dope operations in the county. What do they gain from that?
February 20, 2013 at 10:10AM ESTjizzmo2003@yahoo.com Yeah, I have to agree. That is totally contrived. And the whole "swingers thing" doesnt seem relevant at all.
February 20, 2013 at 12:05PM ESTDB Cooper I never got the impression that this was supposed to be the real Harlan County. For example, it's a good 3 hour drive from Lexington, to get anywhere back into the county. Yet Raylan can get down there on a few minutes notice, it seems.
February 20, 2013 at 1:30PM ESTSecond, the city of Harlan has a population of around 2,000, about 1,600 adults. The county is only around 29,000, including kids.
I think it's safe to say that the show has taken numerous liberties in creating its version of Eastern Kentucky. That doesn't bother me one bit. The problem is that the swinger's club and rich guy cabal don't fit into that world. At all.
prettok Like Jonas said, its a backscratching arrangement. The rich folks control the Harlan sherrifs dept. So long as the Crowders kept the violence down and the drugs away from the classy neighborhoods, the law let them be. (and Bo had to do the occasional dirty favor for them.) I doubt they have any connection with The Dixie Mafia or Miami or Detroit. Thinkof them more in cahoots with the mining corps. They just want to keep their property values up.
February 20, 2013 at 6:22PM ESTDB Cooper Except that it was made VERY clear that Boyd and/or Limehouse and/or Quarles controlled the Harlan sheriff's race. Quarles wanted to boot Napier out of his own office, as I recall.
February 20, 2013 at 6:57PM ESTThis was a world run by backwoods sharps. Not mysteriously wealthy and powerful funeral home directors.
Jonas.Left I think the idea is not that they ever directly exercised power in Harlan, but that they could have and chose not to bother.
February 20, 2013 at 8:17PM ESTeddie willers I like your idea of the Harlan Stonecutters.
February 21, 2013 at 2:21AM ESTThe big reveal could be that Drew Thompson is played by Steve Guttenberg.
Col Bat Guano Put me in the "don't buy the rich guys run things" club. If sheriffs had so much control of the drug trade then we would have won the war on drugs years ago. Also, the idea that it keeps the poor quiet doesn't really seem like much of a payoff and certainly not one you can count on.
February 21, 2013 at 2:56AM ESTjoel I don't love this new development either, but I don't get the logic that "f sheriffs had so much control of the drug trade then we would have won the war on drugs years ago." If the authorities are in cahoots on the drug trade, they're probably profiting from it, so they have no incentive to shut it down. They'd have every incentive to encourage it, within reason.
February 21, 2013 at 2:02PM ESTMarioD Saying it doesn't make it true. The rich guys are making a play, trying to convince Boyd to do their dirty work for them. Who's to say they aren't just puffing their own chests in furtherance of that play? Boyd is clearly a bit in awe of them, and may just buy into their bluff.
February 21, 2013 at 2:12PM ESTCol Bat Guano @Joel But the implication is that if the rich guys decide they want to shut down the drug trade, all they would have to do is unleash the sheriff. So either every sheriff in this country is profiting off the drug trade and so allows it to continue or the drug trade operates independently of some sort of rich guy/sheriff cabal. I tend to believe that latter.
February 23, 2013 at 6:49PM ESTprettok
February 20, 2013 at 1:58AM EST Reply to CommentDoes if really surprise you that even in Harlan county, a couple of rich white dudes drinking bourbon in a mansion are secretly running everything?
Jonas.Left Most places it isn't even a secret.
February 20, 2013 at 2:22AM ESTRichard Cobeen
February 20, 2013 at 2:20AM EST Reply to CommentThe thing I still can't come to terms with is that the whole of the season thus far has happened in six days. Did I miss something? The transfer of Jody to the Bounty Hunter happened right after the end of the first episode, correct? And now all the other stuff, the hunt for Waldo Truth and Drew Thompson, Preacher Billy, the “killing” of Ellen May, and Lindsey-Raylan-Randall, all happened in six days. Hard to believe.
Fin Alyn Totally thinking teh same thing. Put up "As seen previously" or some such. Not a chance that the season has taken place over a weeks time.
February 20, 2013 at 3:20AM ESTElevation
February 20, 2013 at 2:49AM EST Reply to CommentI don't think Jody thought that plan all the way through.
Jonas.Left
February 20, 2013 at 2:51AM EST Reply to CommentThis was a solid episode, but not a great one. My biggest problem is that Raylan's triumph over Jody felt like too much of a sure thing. A lot of villains on this show get a trick, a secret, some kind of edge that Raylan doesn't know about. Even though we know he won't lose, that secret creates tension. Quarles's Taxi Driver gun is the best example. Jody makes an impressively cold blooded escape in the opening scene, but then he's injured, constantly high, and he blows any element of surprise he might have had by recording that video. Seeing Raylan use his wits to get himself out of a desperate situation is a lot of fun. Seeing him a step ahead all episode long is not very engaging. Sure he has great lines as always and Chris Chalk gave a great performance, but the drama just wasn't there.
On the Boyd side of things...Not all that engaging either. I'll keep an open mind, but I'm not sure this season needed another subplot, especially for Boyd who already has Shelby's crusade, Johnny's mutiny, Wynn Duffy's treachery, Colton's meltdown, and Arlo to deal with. Plus Tonin's men are probably going to show up, eventually. And he's got a wedding to plan. Let the man catch his breath.
Timm S Well done on "...and he's got a wedding to plan...". Thanks for the laugh. Now all I can picture is Boyd, with the help of the ghost of Lemansky, registering for a china pattern at the Lexington Dillard's. Funny.
February 20, 2013 at 12:42PM ESTJonas.Left Ah, good old Lem... Maybe Kenny Johnson will show up on Justified so FX can blow him up a third time.
February 20, 2013 at 8:25PM ESTRandian Thanks for invoking Lem, poor loyal friend. R.I.P. It was a burrito bomb, wasn't it ?
February 21, 2013 at 2:10PM ESTeotw
February 20, 2013 at 3:21AM EST Reply to CommentThis season is a real mess. Outside of very few things (Boyd, Arlo, Shelby), there just isn't much here and the lack of is showing. I'm beginning to think the show will never top or even equal or ever come close to its peak of Season 2.
ed w I think they erred by not picking up Dickie after season 2 and turning him into an increasingly potent force. If the show had written it so he inherited Mags money they could have done something interesting with that over time.
February 20, 2013 at 4:09AM ESTeotw
February 20, 2013 at 3:23AM EST Reply to CommentThis season feels like a mess and its thinness shows. I am starting to feel like it will never top, equal or come close to being as great as it was in S2.
Bernardo63 Please tell me again why we're looking for Drew Thomson. The reason has escaped me completely at this point.
February 20, 2013 at 10:13AM ESTDB Cooper I actually like the Drew Thompson subplot *because* the personal stakes aren't high for the Marshalls. Al and Raylan just think it's a cool case to solve, and secondarily, could help them professionally. It gives them marshall wood.
February 20, 2013 at 1:33PM EST
February 20, 2013 at 10:24PM ESTThis season is a real drop off from 2 and 3.
PotatoSolution The Drew Thompson case has become somewhat personal for Raylan, in that Arlo is trying to use what he knows about Thompson to try and work a deal to get him out of jail.
February 21, 2013 at 10:40PM ESTMatt in VA
February 20, 2013 at 10:04AM EST Reply to CommentI'm supposed to believe that someone was *allowing* Mags Bennett to run her empire? I'm going to forget that absurd assertion and try to enjoy this story arc. They *thought* they were allowing Mags to run it, and Mags generously refrained from feeding them apple pie moonshine on the ground that unnecessary killing is bad for business. I have a feeling Boyd is going to teach these guys the error of their ways.
gothig Mags isn't running much of anything nowadays. And back when she was alive, she was eager to cash in her pot kingdom for dreams of real estate, a percentage of Blackpike coal, and probably an invite to one of these fancy sex parties too.
February 20, 2013 at 11:18PM ESTHollywoodaholic
February 20, 2013 at 11:05AM EST Reply to CommentThe only thing more smokin' than Raylan's first shootout in ages is that UK student girl. I had a 'Musberger Moment.'
eddie willers A little marshall stiffy.
February 21, 2013 at 1:46PM ESTTimm S
February 20, 2013 at 1:49PM EST Reply to CommentAt the end of the episode when the Clover Hill Gang is threatening to shut down the Crowder businesses, I got the sense Boyd looked overwhelmed and intimidated. But the more I think about it, no way. Boyd has made a living off of people underestimating him, thinking he's less than he is, and regardless what these guys say, he KNOWS where the power in the hills lies. Regardless, it seems I'm in the minority with liking this storyline for Boyd. He's always the smartest guy in the room, or AT LEAST the ballsiest, and I love watching Boyd match wits with his betters. And I think he saw it coming when he offered to take Ava home.
And yeah, Bernard is clearly Drew Thompson. The mystery isn't so much who he is, but what happens to him, who gets him, and what the ramifications are going forward. I mean, I think. Hell, I don't know. There's a damn swingers club full of rich people in Harlan County, USA, where it seems like Bear Costume Guy could more than find a lady into fucking a furry rather than having to go to Ellen May's beaten down trailer. I can't think too much about the logic this show's (or any other, for that matter) feeding me, or my fun goes away. But like I said, it's Bernard. Or, Shelby. Definitely not the bald guy who played a J. Peterman writer with PTSD. Hate that guy.
Mighty noble for Raylan to sleep on the couch while protecting the UK grad student/card shark (?). Yeah...and DAMN.
Other than that, this season is all over the place (snake handlin', fightin' rings, chickens), but it's fun. Not nearly as tidy or consistent, but still a fun watch.
Oh, and as a lover of all things bourbon, LOVE seeing Art has a safe for the good stuff, but of course he would when he's pouring Pappy (20 y/o) and Blanton's. God bless this show.
Jonas.Left Its offensive to suggest a group of wholesome swingers would lower themselves to the level of a furry.
February 20, 2013 at 2:50PM ESTRgrier Can anyone tell me why Raylan was still taking Jackie to the hotel when the danger was over? Jody had already been killed, so why wouldn't he just take her home? This has been driving me crazy.
February 20, 2013 at 9:09PM ESTJonas.Left RGRIER Because Raylan knew she had Jody's money. And because DID YOU SEE HER?
February 20, 2013 at 9:49PM ESTprettok Boyd does know where the power in the hills lies. It lies with the people who were happily going to drop him down a mindshaft a few days ago.
February 21, 2013 at 12:28AM ESTBoyd is smart, but let's not overestimate him. He can't trust his henchmen. He can't control his whores. Even his sheriff and his lawyer are double crossing him.
Timm S @RGRIER, I think it was the money, too, giving her a way out and him a clean-ish conscience that he convinced her to give it back. He stayed in the room for more, uh, base reasons. Again...DAMN!
February 21, 2013 at 11:46AM EST@PRETTOK-- I hear what you're saying, and it made me realize something. The power is greatly lessened for anybody when they're their fish is out of their water. The guys in the Hills had power because you play by Hills rules. Same in the Holler, same on Clover Hill. Those rich dudes would be cowering all over the place if they wandered into Boyd's bar, his fishbowl. That said, and while I agree Boyd has some labor issues currently, leaving him less insulated and protected than normal (which i think will lead to the uneasy union of him and Raylan working together), but he doesn't make the mistake of underestimating his opponent. And he's at least as cunning as these guys, especially when it comes to doing dirt.
@JONAS.LEFT--Appreciate your work on this site. You're a volume shooter (ala Antoine Walker), but you score a lot.
Jonas.Left TIMM S Thanks. That's a sports reference, so I don't understand it, but I appreciate it.
February 21, 2013 at 5:28PM ESTJonas.Left TIMM S Thanks. That's a sports reference, so I don't understand it, but I appreciate it.
February 21, 2013 at 5:28PM ESTJonas.Left Oops. Sorry about that.
February 21, 2013 at 5:29PM ESTbitchstolemyremote
February 20, 2013 at 2:33PM EST Reply to CommentMay have squealed when Anderson showed up (Bernard!). Last night's episode was fun and diverting, though it certainly won't help the claims of fans who want more from the Drew Thompson mystery.
Jody was amusing, though and it should be fun to Boyd smack down the rich white men who think they can order him around.
Our take: http://wp.me/p2MfmI-2ff
Hollywoodaholic
February 20, 2013 at 3:24PM EST Reply to CommentThe only thing more smokin' than the first Raylan shootout in ages is that UK student girl. I had a "Musberger Moment."
Hollywoodaholic Repost. Damn. Hate when that happens. "Senior Moment."
February 20, 2013 at 3:26PM ESTChris
February 20, 2013 at 3:33PM EST Reply to CommentSorry if this has been mentioned already, but the Jackie Nevada storyline was taken almost word for word from the Raylan novel Elmore Leonard released last year. The biggest difference being that in the novel, the guy shows up at the bar in ridiculous drag. (Alan, I hope I haven't crossed the line by discussing the book... I know that's a no-no for GoT and Walking Dead, but I'm hoping its ok here)
MagicHipple
February 20, 2013 at 5:50PM EST Reply to CommentMore Winona please...
Patrick I wouldn't object. However, Jackie Nevada's not bad to look at either.
February 20, 2013 at 9:59PM ESTprettok
February 20, 2013 at 6:31PM EST Reply to CommentWasn't Raylan's last kill the evil nurse last season? Also didn't he kill one of the Quarles' oxy dealers in that big truck crash?
Pa Cox
February 20, 2013 at 8:26PM EST Reply to CommentTHE WRONG KID DIED!
Shawn Mahone
February 20, 2013 at 9:38PM EST Reply to CommentI think that Theo Tonin was supposed to be this seasons big bad. But I think the lack of availability of Adam Arkin (very busy man directing the Americans and other shows) they have had to resort to this storyline. Unless they are saving Theo Tonin and the Dixie Mafia storyline for season 6.
As for this season, I am told that Elmore's writing style has always been 200 pages of set up of 10 different stories and then it ends in a thud or gunfight. So we may just be seeing different sets of people in Harlan and then a gun fight. There may not necessarily be this seasonal arc that everything comes together, some stuff may not matter.
As for what that guy said to Boyd, could they be lying and just pulling a fast one? I mean why not? They want Boyd to kill some dude, they could be pulling a fast one and duping him. But then again why not just hire a pro? I heard from Saul Goodman that you can get a soldier of fortune or wack job malia man to do it...or go to craigs list, hehehe.
prettok This isn't Buffy, with the big bads every year. If you want to see a blueprint for a season of Justified, look at how a typical Leonard novel is plotted.
February 20, 2013 at 11:12PM ESTRandian
February 21, 2013 at 2:49PM EST Reply to CommentWas anyone else bothered by Raylan's comment to Jackie Nevada about how the murdered female bounty hunter was someone he "slept with once ,a year or two ago"? Seemed like kind of a dismissive and disrespectful summation of a woman who seemed pretty decent. My husband thought it was bad writing ( he's been complaining about that all season ), but at the very least, it makes Raylan come off as a creep. Raylan may have his flaws, but initially written into his character was sort of a courtly gentleman code thing that, I imagine , would forbid this telling tales out of bed, or at the very least, curtail him from speaking so dismissively of the dead.
Ed
February 23, 2013 at 3:50PM EST Reply to CommentThis was a perfect episode of "Justified." Perfect.
The pacing was great, the acting was wonderful (if you can call a half-nekkid woman 'acting') and the dialogue was smooth and smoky like so much Tennessee whiskey.
John Berard
February 25, 2013 at 12:13AM EST Reply to CommentThe current season suffers by making it seem as if the characters have to rush to catch up to the story, whereas in the past, the story moved ahead on the basis of the characters. The proof is found in the persistent electricity generated by the one-on-one conversations even in this too fast moving (jump cutting without the jump cuts) season. Raylan & Art, Boyd & Napier, Raylan & Ms. Nevada. It is clear, there is still a lot to like.
Ted
February 25, 2013 at 6:27PM EST Reply to CommentSo Jody is in a trunk. He's transferred to a bounty hunter van. When did he have time to conspire with his buddy to puncture the van tire and pick him up?
Ben Kabak fyi....suspend some disbelief
February 26, 2013 at 2:13PM EST