For the first thirty-five minutes or so of “The Toll,” I was thinking I’d give it a three and a half star review. But then holy shit Boyd Crowder happened, and I had to reassess my thinking. Let’s back up.
“The Toll” is a slow-moving episode, in whatever way that term can be applied to Justified. In the cold open, Art goes to move Allison to safe house to protect her from the Crowes, only to be engaged in a gunfight in the hallway that leaves him with a bullet in his gut. Scenes like this – and the entirety of this season’s “Shot All to Hell” – are a great way of illustrating the kick-ass Marshal instincts that Art Mullen still possesses. After this opening scene, Art spends the rest of “The Toll” unconscious, but Nick Searcy makes the most of his screentime. If this were any other show, I wouldn’t worry about his fate. But since Graham Yost confirmed that Justified‘s next season will be its last, Art’s survival seems anything but certain.
We’ll get back to Art and the Marshals in a second. First I want to talk about Ava becoming queen bee of the prison. In the wake of dispatching Judith, Ava is worried for her life, and rightfully so. Penny does nothing to assuage her fears. But after saying my favorite line of the night (“If this is gonna be my last meal, I’m glad it’s ice cream day”), Ava gets paid a kind of tribute – in the form of more ice cream. Several of Judith’s former acolytes stop by Ava’s table to wordlessly pass her their desserts, and since Ava just broke up with Boyd I’m sure there’s a joke to be made about her eating a lot of ice cream. Women be shoppin, amirite?
Boyd, however…Boyd has bigger problems on his plate. Namely the loss of the heroin, which has not pleased Wynn Duffy or Detroit’s Mr. Picker (or, for that matter, Mary Steenburgen’s Catherine Hale, who is a nice addition to the ensemble). Boyd Crowder is one of the best characters on any show right now, and he’s never better than when backed into a corner. He is nothing less than verbal gunslinger, so verbose and mellifluous that it’s easy to see why his angry business partners would give him a chance to explain himself. Which he does – in his own way.
Boyd offers Wynn half of the drugs that Boyd has, an offer Wynn is none too impressed by (“Half of half doesn’t make me whole”). But here’s how Boyd cinches the deal: he tosses a pack of cigarettes to Picker, which promptly explodes. He tells a shell-shocked Wynn and Catherine that there were two ounces of emulex packed inside the box, and explains himself in a way that nicely harkens back to the Boyd Crowder of season one: “Now I don’t know a lot about a lot of things, but I do know how to blow shit up.” It’s been a rough season for Boyd, but he clearly hasn’t lost a step.
That’s an awesome scene, one that legitimately made my jaw drop, but the big revelation comes at the Marshals’ office. Kendal and Daryl Crowe show up so Daryl can turn himself in for shooting Art – but Kendal takes responsibility. Jacob Lofland, playing Kendal, is fantastic in these scenes. I honestly think he’s season five’s secret weapon. Between his abusive, psychotic, manipulative uncles Danny and Daryl, he’s been brainwashed with the idea of family loyalty and what it means to be a Crowe. I guess that blood pact he made with his Daryl in last week’s episode really had its intended effect. Raylan and Kendal have a verbal standoff by the elevators, and Michael Rapaport continues to make up for lost time as a villain, because in the last two week’s Daryl Crowe has surfaced as a viable threat, as opposed to the Florida redneck he appeared to be for most of this season.
A Few Thoughts
– “The Toll” was a great hour for Rick Gomez, playing AUSA David Vasquez. Vasquez so often exists on the periphery of Justified, so it was nice to see the underutilized Gomez get his due
– Speaking of underutilized, Tim Gutterson was heavily involved tonight. It’s doubtful that there will ever be a better episode for him than season four’s “Decoy” (and that’s because Ron Eldard’s Colton Rhodes, as a fellow veteran, was such a good foil for Tim), but it’s always nice to see him on screen
– Rachel is the interim chief Marshal! Honestly, she’s the most deserving candidate. “The Toll” paid great attention to Justified‘s neglected supporting cast
– Wynn Duffy yelling at Picker to shut up is the best Wynn Duffy we’ve seen in a long time
About Author
