I was enjoying this season, but not super into it; too many moving pieces, no real direction. Now, I still have some of those gripes, but man if last night was not a fantastic episode of Justified. Nick Searcy was fantastic, and it’s good to see Boyd back to his own tricks, even if both of his plays backfired. Great stuff.
I would happily watch an entire show with just Art.
I was really quite surprised to see the Haitian meet his end. They’d set him up as quite a figure of menace.
Lots of double crossing in that episode.
The Haitian really took me by surprise, which I’m sure was the intent. Very well done, just like the rest of the season has been so far. I can’t wait to see where things go as they start merging the story threads together.
The Haitian was a good twist, because they’d set him up as an archetypical Leonard anti-hero - the guy who effortlessly keeps his cool when everyone else is losing theirs.
Which is what he did here. Fat lot of good it did him.
There’s an echo there of episode 1 from this season. That coast guard officer relentlessly taunts Dilly Crowe, sure that he can get away with bullying him, and then Dilly murders him. Of course, this eventually results in Darryl Crowe ordering Dilly’s death, but that didn’t help the dead coast guard guy.
Also, looking over the Crowe names: Dewey, Darryl, Danny, Dilly - Lot o’ D’s there.
Need a second Darryl, maybe a Larry, too.
I was not too surprised by that twist. The second the Haitian talked about having a fair fight with him I knew he was going to get sucker punched. I expected Danny to stab him right there at the table.
This might be the season this show jumps the shark for me. All of the stuff with Ava, Amy Smart, Alicia Witt, and Art, etc. really aren’t doing it all. In fact, with Ava, I haven’t seen a story more hammy and forced since Kim Bauer become cougar bait twice in the same season. Boyd’s is the only part of the show that isn’t terrible right now and that is probably only by comparison.
Huh, interesting. That’s not my take on this season at all. Well, to each his own.
I would think Raylen would sooner shoot the shark than jump it.
Whoever thought of casting Eric Roberts as Future Raylan was inspired.
I dunno, I love this show, but the plot seems a little screwed this season. What the hell happened to the dudes at the table of the whorehouse? I mean Raylan and the DEA guy had to shoot a guy and then what? You see Daryl the next scene where he just got out of jail, which was a pretty hefty chunk to just leave out. Same goes for Winn Duffy and his mafia/drug dude. Then there is Boyd. Next thing ya know he’s driving that old guy out in the country to get whacked. Lot of confusing bits in the story there. They were all screaming about money, drugs, and killing when Raylan and DEA guy showed up too, and they don’t get in trouble? I mean come on.
Also, I absolutely hate how they have handled Art and Raylan’s relationship this season. It doesn’t make sense to have their relationship deteriorate like it has. So, Art is angry at Raylan for being a maverick? So what? Why? Art’s no choir boy. Off the top of my head I can recount how Art has beaten a suspect with a phone book, threatened several suspects, and even went off on his own to Detroit (not to mention followed a suspect into a diner and threaten to shoot him). And, really, shouldn’t the show have paid more attention to Art from the beginning? His character is way too interesting not to have.
Presumably they didn’t have a ton of hard evidence to nail any of them with? Lots of suspicion but nothing to keep them posting bail. I agree, though, that I made a sour face and the bounds of my suspension of disbelief were pushed.
Also, I absolutely hate how they have handled Art and Raylan’s relationship this season. It doesn’t make sense to have their relationship deteriorate like it has. So, Art is angry at Raylan for being a maverick? So what? Why? Art’s no choir boy. Off the top of my head I can recount how Art has beaten a suspect with a phone book, threatened several suspects, and even went off on his own to Detroit (not to mention followed a suspect into a diner and threaten to shoot him). And, really, shouldn’t the show have paid more attention to Art from the beginning? His character is way too interesting not to have.
Bear in mind that it’s not just that Raylan is a maverick. Art reluctantly came to terms with that fairly early on in the series. What’s pushed things to the point of crisis was Raylan admitting that he had a hand in the execution of a drug lord and was, in fact, present on the tarmac at the time of the execution. In the real world, Art would almost certainly have reported that but that would make for a really different TV show so now we have this situation where Art is furious at Raylan for putting him in this position and guilty because he feels responsible for letting things get to this point by backing Raylan’s unconventional behavior. If we’re looking for realism, this seems fairly spot on in terms of the conflict that might arise in the real world if the supervisor decided to cover up the crime as Art is doing.
Yeah, I have been trying not to admit it to myself, but things like Art and Raylan’s tiff and Ava’s ridiculously contrived prison adventures are pretty disappointing this season. The best scenes of the past few episodes have all been with Boyd, which is great, but I usually expect Raylan to hold that honor. Even Dewey Crowe has been a disappointment in that he’s just stupidly sulky and incompetent now, instead of hilariously stupid and incompetent.
I still love the show, but I hope there are some excellent episodes left this season, and I’m a bit worried for yet another season to come. I wonder if they should have just ended it last season, when it was at such a high point.
For some reason, I keep thinking that there was a scene in which Art was asked about what happened in the diner and his response was like “Aw hell, I just Raylaned it.” Which makes me laugh, but I need to re-watch that episode in case it was just want I was thinking at the time. I do agree with you about Art and Raylan’s relationship and how they need to use Art more.
-Gil102
I hate to agree with those who are saying the stories seem to be all over the place this season, but I found myself thinking just that last night when watching the latest episode. The whole side story with Eva in prison is just so disconnected from the main characters of the show and their stories that it almost feels like someone just turned the channel to Orange is the New Black every time she appears.
Her’s is the only story line that’s not working for me this season.
Yeah, Eva’s storyline really isn’t doing it for me this season and half the show’s fun is Art and Raylan bouncing off each other. I actually get why Art would be so upset… it’s one thing to be a maverick, it’s another to hand a guy off to be murdered - but at the same time I want more of these characters. It’s almost like it’s Boyd’s show more than Raylan’s at times. At the same time, it’s hard to judge a show as story driven as all of this until you see how the entire arc comes together.
<catches up with the season>
Lord, the women-in-prison subplot is terrible. It’s like they’re trying to cram a pilot for a different, much worse show into our beloved Justified (and making Boyd look foolish in the process.)
I am also not pleased that Art’s story line is concluding in such a well-worn way. “I’m getting too old for this shit. Fortunately I’m just a couple of weeks from retirement. Why, who’s that at the door?”
The rest is pretty good - it’s been entertaining to see the Crowes cause chaos. But unless the last couple of episodes are flat-out amazing, this is gonna be the weakest season so far.