I almost wish I hadn’t given last week’s Justified, “Fugitive Number One,” a five-star rating, because now I look like I’m just repeating myself. Well, there are worst things to be than a Justified fanboy. For everything that “Fugitive” got right, “Collateral” is the better episode by a hair, but they’re both good episodes to point at when someone asks why it’s going to be so damn hard to say goodbye to this show.
What I loved about “Collateral” is that it was way more Western than noir. This is a show that expertly straddles the line between the two, and only occasionally lets itself lean this way or that. “Collateral” was the show’s way of saying Screw it, let’s have most of this take place in the mountains of Kentucky. For Christ’s sake, Raylan signed his house over to some honest-to-God hill people. I love this show.
Boyd begins the episode by forcing a man, at gunpoint, to give him a ride. (Poor Shea Whigham can’t catch a break.) The guy goes on for a while about how Boyd is the closest thing that Harlan County has to Billy the Kid, and tosses him his keys. “It’s an honor to give the outlaw Boyd Crowder my truck.” But Boyd sees through all of this, and calls the guy out when they get to the mountain. “I don’t give a shit about ‘The Ballad of Boyd Crowder,'” he says. “I’m an outlaw.” Then he shoots the guy in the head. It’s a great, tense scene, and Walton Goggins is predictably fantastic in it. Justified, and “Collateral” in particular, has gone out of its way to deconstruct the myth of the outlaw hero. It’s easy to see why Boyd could be idolized; as his hostage points out, Boyd is strong, well-dressed, and articulate. But he’s still someone who never forgets that his henchmen are expendable, and will kill the woman he loves over money. It’s nice to be reminded that for all his charm, he’s still definitely the bad guy, regardless of whatever Big Bad – Mags Bennett, Robert Quarles, Avery Markham – comes out of the woodwork.
Raylan finds Zachariah at the cabin, waiting for Boyd. Ava’s gone on the run, and she would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for Constable Bob (the always welcome Patton Oswalt). Bob makes the mistake of getting into a shootout with Boyd, which he is in no way prepared for. Later, while Boyd and Raylan stalk each other through the moonlit forest, Raylan hears Bob’s moans of pain. Boyd gives Raylan a choice: kill me or save Bob. “Bob can take care of himself,” Raylan says. “Then I have already won,” Boyd replies, and the damnable choice he’s presented with makes him seem like Kentucky’s version of the Joker (he does have the smile for it; as Raylan tells him, “Your teeth glow in the dark”).
Ultimately, Raylan goes to help Bob, letting Boyd get away. He takes Bob into town, to a hospital – back to civilization. The mountain is miles behind them.
A Few Thoughts
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Watching Zachariah blow himself up was pretty cool, no? He really wanted to kill Boyd
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Also cool: watching Tim be a flippant asshole to DA Vasquez (who, may I remind you, is totally right in his assessment of Raylan), then narrating Vasquez’s phone call to Art
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Ava gets picked up by Markham’s dirty cops. Frankly I’m surprised she’s managed to survive as long as she has
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We finally got to see Boon actually shoot someone, and yep, he’s fast as shit, just like he promised
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