“Sounding” was a pretty damn whiz-bang episode of Justified, throwing in pretty much everything you want out of FX’s Southern-fried noir. We got Raylan acting like a dick and lecturing (as is his wont), Boyd planning a robbery, villains colluding in basements, several interrogations scenes, and the return of Patton Oswalt as Constable Bob Sweeney. All in all, pretty damn good.
Let’s start with Ava, who whips up a huge breakfast for Boyd in the midst of a nervous breakdown. She’s planning on jumping ship, and goes to Elston Limehouse (a returning Mykelti Williamson) to get a car, on the promise that she’ll show him where Boyd buried his money. Only problem is, Limehouse’s henchman Errol – who wears his hat like a fucking moron – isn’t into that, so Ava’s kind of stuck with him.
This is the strongest material that Joelle Carter has had in ages (I’m on record as not being a huge fan of last season’s Ava is the New Black subplot). Her nervous, terrified energy plays well off of both Raylan and Boyd, and the time she spent last week with Katherine Hale was a season highlight. Carter has long been underutilized, especially when Justified was trying to decide if it wanted Raylan to be with Ava or Winona, so it’s nice to see her get such great writing devoted to her. (I could probably devote some writing to how goddamn good Ava looked in that dress. My eyes bugged out like a Tex Avery cartoon character).
Elsewhere, Boyd goes to Ava’s uncle Zachariah for help getting into the vault that blew up Jake Busey (idea for a horror movie: The Vault That Blew Up Jake Busey). Zachariah has an abiding, shotgun-wielding hatred for Boyd and all other Crowders, and we’re treated to another scene that shows just how crafty Boyd is when backed into a corner (the last time it happened, he blew up a guy with a pack of cigarettes). Zachariah agrees to help – $10,000 and a bottle of bourbon is hard to say no to. It’s a thrill watching Boyd plan robberies, because A, he’s really good at it, and B, sometimes people get blown off the top of mine entrances.
My favorite scene of “Sounding” might have been Wynn and Mikey’s interrogation of Albert Fekus, the prison guard who stabbed himself last season so Ava would stay in jail. Katherine is worried that Fekus, and therefore Ava, might have a deal with the Marshals, so Wynn and his cattle prod are there to get some answers. The zapping was classic Justified – classic Elmore Leonard, really – equal parts brutal and funny. Look, Fekus is a small man getting poked with a cattle prod, I’m only human. Surprisingly he doesn’t crack and Wynn leaves him alone, which earns Fekus a fist-bump from Tim (“You took that shit like a man”), which is on my bucket list. BE MY FRIEND JACOB PITTS AND TELL ME STORIES FROM EUROTRIP.
A Few Thoughts
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“There are children in your room” – Wynn Duffy
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Great scene with Sea Bass, Choo Choo, and Schreier (RIP). One of them is gonna die, most likely at the other one’s hands
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“Sounding” was ably directed by Jon Avnet, who also directed noted shitpiles Righteous Kill and 88 Minutes. But he’s a 9-episode vet of Justified, so I think he’s found his niche
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“I got a badge…and balls like Death Stars.” I’m 90% sure Patton Oswalt ad-libs most of his lines
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