Well, “Raw Deal” is certainly an apt title for this installment of Justified. Pretty much everyone ends up on the shit end of the stick at one point or another tonight. Graham Yost and his murderer’s row of talented writers and directors (including tonight’s MVP, writer VJ Boyd) have done an amazing job this season of backing seemingly all their characters into a corner. It’s been thrilling to watch, and since Justified is one of the coolest, quickest-paced shows on TV, it’s going to be a treat to watch everyone extricate themselves – or attempt to.
Let’s start with Raylan, who finds out he’s on the “shit detail” of walk-in duty – as someone is walking in. That someone is a condescending prick named Larry Salmeron, demanding backgammon winnings from a site that the Marshal service has supposedly shut down. Turns out, it wasn’t shut down by the Marshals, but rather by a hacker named TC Fleming, who intended to abscond with millions of dollars in zeroes and ones. Salmeron tracks down TC and demands his money, but is almost immediately murdered by his hired muscle Kemp, who takes off with TC’s girlfriend. This leads to a patented Justified coincidence, wherein Raylan shows up right as Kemp and TC’s girlfriend are leaving. Raylan’s brief interrogation of TC leads the latter to flee, removing his prosthetic leg, shimmying down a pole, and flipping Raylan the bird. It’s a great scene – Raylan doesn’t even attempt pursuit, just watches in almost bemused admiration, summing up the whole turn of events with an impressed utterance of “Shit.”
Honestly, this plot is pretty inconsequential in terms of season five’s overarching narrative. The back and forth between Raylan and TC is great, but the manhunt is strictly “case of the week” material, which serves mainly to prove a few things: Raylan can be kind of a dick; and Tim Gutterson, currently Justified‘s most underutilized asset, is an endearingly sarcastic asshole.
Remember earlier when I called Justified one of the quickest-paced shows on TV? “Raw Deal” is a perfect example. There are still two more subplots!
One finds Ava, still incarcerated, trying to ingratiate herself with the religious crowd at the prison (led by Dale Dickey, who has been playing variations of the same role since Winter’s Bone), who for some reason is never on the receiving end of any harassment. Oh wait, there is a reason – they bring in the heroin. Long story short, Ava doesn’t want to pay her dues by banging the janitor, so she slips the heroin into his bag, then when he gets caught, proves her mettle as a Crowder, offering to step up as the new supplier. I haven’t been crazy about Ava being in jail this whole season, as she makes such a great foil for Boyd, but this new development is promising.
Speaking of Boyd, he and his pocket watch are down in Mexico, trying to get his hands on the 25 kilos of heroin we’ve been hearing about all season but have never actually seen (the H-heads in Harlan must be fiending). But, plot twist! His dickhead cousin Johnny is there to outbid Boyd, so he can A, take over the dope trade, and B, kill Boyd in the process. Johnny’s money comes through, Mr. Yoon gives him Boyd, and Johnny and his bag men depart, having promised not to kill Boyd in Mexico.
When they make it across the border, though…well, as Justified has shown time and time again, trying to outwit Boyd Crowder can be hazardous to one’s health. Out pop the Crowes from a U-Haul, down on their knees go Johnny and his men. Boyd gives his men the opportunity to go back to working for Hot Rod Dunham (who I thought was dead), but the biggest asshole on the show, Danny Crowe, decides to open fire instead. There’s a bloodbath, and in a truly great wordless performance by Walton Goggins, Boyd turns and shoots Johnny in the head just to shut him up.
The Crowes are an interesting bunch. Dewey is too dumb to really root against; Kendal might be the only one with a brain in his head; Wendy isn’t nearly as smart or as manipulative as she thinks she is; Daryl, it could be argued, means well but doesn’t think ahead; but Danny…Danny is a truly loathsome creature. He’s an impulsive, insecure bully, whose answer to everything is violence and intimidation. A.J. Buckley deserves credit for playing him so well, but goddamn will it be good to see something bad happen to Danny Crowe.
A Few Thoughts
– Seriously, we need more Tim Gutterson and Rachel Brooks
– Raylan gives Art an ultimatum, but I can’t see him, or Justified, actually leaving Kentucky
– Johnny was wearing camo pants and an animal hide vest; Boyd wore a three piece suit and a pocket watch. Who would you rather do business with?
– Boyd and Raylan have only had one scene together this season. That needs to be fixed, pronto
– “You know what you never could understand is that some men lead and some men follow. And when you can’t lead and you refuse to follow, you die alone in the desert” – Boyd Crowder
Justified| Tuesdays 10pm – FX
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