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Justified: Get Drew

"First thing we're gonna do, we're gonna acknowledge that this guy's awesome."

This was definitely Jim Beaver's episode. As the awesome Drew Thompson reaching the end of his strange and devious journey, Beaver was at his best.

I loved the way Drew saw the stray dog and realized he had to go back for Ellen May (not flattering for her, but apt), the cleverness he showed when he heard that the light on the air strip was on, the courage as he faced down Limehouse for Ellen May's sake, his nearly successful attempts to get Colton to kill him before he was taken by Tonin's henchmen, and his resignation to arrest at the end.

And now Drew is stuck — with Raylan — between a rock and a hard place and possibly another hard place. I don't know how this story will end, but I'd sure like it if Drew got away, and Ellen May made it to Mexico where she can go to church and learn to speak Spanish.

And I'd like Raylan to get that promotion. I don't want much, do I?

A big woo and a hoo for the return of Limehouse and Noble's Holler! I was just thinking last week that Colt wasn't anywhere near as scary or complex a character as Limehouse. In fact, Drew's one stupid move was trusting Limehouse. Maybe Drew thought Limehouse couldn't have known, but hey, we all know Limehouse knows everything. I hope Limehouse was lying about selling Ellen May to Boyd, since the protection of women is the best thing about Noble's Holler. Hey, since Limehouse knows everything, he's probably aware that Boyd doesn't have another $300,000 for Ellen May.

Cousin Johnny has twisted his loyalties so many times that he's turned himself into a pretzel of betrayal. It was a surprise that he was the one who actually saved Drew. I'll be surprised if Cousin Johnny makes it out of the fourth season alive; Boyd has to figure out who's betraying him. And Boyd was doing so well in a devious bad guy way... right up until he gave Shelby to Colt. Maybe I'm ascribing too much cleverness to Boyd lately.

In fact, Boyd and Ava have been coming across as too evil. (A drill? Really, Boyd?) I've been uncomfortable with Boyd getting into bed with Theo Tonin, and I totally got why Ellen May went nuts and spit on Ava. It might do our outlaw lovers a lot of good to lose all their money again and find a way back to their populist roots. Or something like that.

Finally, a surprisingly enjoyable part of this episode was Rachel. She told Raylan she was resigned to the possibility of him being her boss and mentioned that she found him easy on the eyes. Her attitude and that comment about her panties made me think that Rachel is seriously coming on to Raylan, and he's not known for his ability to resist pretty women. I am suddenly finding the possibility of the two of them rather intriguing.

I somehow doubt that, nabbing Drew Thompson aside, the marshal service is unlikely to make Raylan a boss. Who gets promoted and suspended at the same time? And hey, he doesn't have Drew in the barn yet. They still have to make it out of Harlan alive. (Isn't there a song about that?)

Bits and pieces:

-- It was nice to see Raylan and Boyd verbally sparring about Raylan being a better crook than a lawman. They're so great together, and unfortunately, it hasn't happened much this season.

-- Limehouse has a recurring plane crash dream. Lots of planes this season. The second time through the teaser, I could see when Raylan realized where Drew had to be going.

-- Why didn't Boyd and Ava know Arlo was dead? You'd think Boyd would have been designated next of kin... okay, Raylan is next of kin and didn't tell them. I get it.

-- Ellen May had a weird sort of father/daughter thing with that guy Nicky Push, which explains her attraction to Drew.

-- Mister snake-in-the-face was back, and only a few puncture marks worse for wear.

-- Is Wynn Duffy really leaving town? That makes me sad. Wynn's young, stupid buddy is going to wind up in pieces, isn't he?

-- There was actually mention of what a long drive it is from Lexington to Harlan County. Raylan said he listens to books on tape.

-- Raylan promised Cousin Johnny a favor. It'd better be a good one.

-- Yes, he went back for Ellen May, but I sort of wish Drew had rescued the dog.

Quotes:

Boyd: "You're holding me now based on my facial expressions?"

Boyd: "You should have been on the other side with me and your daddy. You'd still be able to shoot people and be an asshole, your two favorite activities. Except you'd be a rich asshole."

Drew: "Balls!"
Last week, Jim Beaver mentioned on Twitter that he'd included a little homage to Supernatural in this episode, if it wasn't cut. That was very Bobby, down to the expression.

Rachel: "If you don't get in the car right now, I swear to God I'm gonna start singing show tunes."
Raylan: "Promise?"
Rachel's best moment all season. Practically her only moment all season.

Rachel: "By the way, I have that same pair of panties."

Drew: "You junkie pussy. You got no balls."

Yes, I'm going to give you Art's complete description of Drew Thompson. You're welcome.

"First thing we're gonna do, we're gonna acknowledge that this guy's awesome. I mean, he shoots Theo Tonin, fakes his own death in a spectacular fashion, pushes a guy out of an airplane while he's flying it, parachutes into Harlan County with enough coke and cash to jumpstart the economy of a small country, and then he has the balls to get a job in law enforcement not once but two times. He spends a couple of days driving around with you (gestures toward Raylan) while you're looking for him, and now he's run off with a hooker that's half his age. That's some bad ass shit."

Have I mentioned how fond I am of Jim Beaver? Four out of four... I don't really want to go with hooker panties, but I might have to,

Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

8 comments:

  1. "I am suddenly finding the possibility of the two of them rather intriguing."

    Welcome aboard the good ship... Raychel? (Wait...) Personally, I've been there since she tried on his hat. (Don't judge me. It's an illness.)

    I had a different take on the dog, actually: Drew/Shelby saw in it not Ellen May, but himself. Old, tired and lonely. And he didn't want to be that dog any more.

    I'm not entirely sure where Boyd went wrong handing Drew over to Colton. I mean, it's not as though he could have done much more had he been there himself. He is coming off a bit evil lately, though.

    Also, thank you very much for quoting Art's summation of Drew Thompson in its entirety. I watched it two or three times, and still broke into an irrepressible grin reading it just now.

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  2. Yeah, JK, point. I just thought that Boyd probably would have found a way to outwit Johnny's betrayal if he'd taken Drew to the pick-up point himself.

    And you're welcome! :) I watched it twice, too, and knew I had to quote it.

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  3. "Cousin Johnny has twisted his loyalties so many times that he's turned himself into a pretzel of betrayal."

    I laughed a lot with this part. This was so Andrew from Buffy. It reminded me the part where he says that Faith has wrapped around in evil like a giant evil Mexican serape.

    Could we hope for an Emmy for Jim Beaver for this one? He should send this episode. He was awesome.

    This season has taken its time catching fire, but now it's burning. I'd not commented until last week because I didn't feel compelled to. Boy, has that changed!

    Spot on review as always, Billie. Always nice to read good insights after a good episode.

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  4. Yes Billie there is a song and it`s called "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive" by Brad Paisley.

    "Cousin Johnny has twisted his loyalties so many times that he's turned himself into a pretzel of betrayal"

    Best line ever. Made me laugh so hard.

    I think Drew will survive the season and I have a feeling that Cousin Johnny will too and maybe become the enemy for Boyd in the next season.

    Favorite scenes: Boyd and Raylan, Art`s speech (don`t let him die or retire) and Drew and Colton (with his great hair).

    The connection Raylan made between Drew and Ellen May was very confusing to me. I should watch that scene again.

    And I want Raylan and Wynona together again. At least they mentioned the baby again this week.

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  5. One thing I'm not so sure of is how Boyd went from "Shleby has Ellen Mae" to "Shelby is Drew". I thought both the police and Boyd were pursuing Shelby for different reasons (which would be smart writing anyway) until |Boyd said something about giving him to Theo.

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  6. He worked it out when he found the marshals lying in wait at Shelby's place.

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  7. Wonderful review, Billie. Jim Beaver is indeed awesome, and I hooted with glee when he blurted, "Balls!" Then I called out to my husband, "Bobby lives! In Harlan County!"

    This was a very enjoyable episode. It was great to see Limehouse again, and the stuff with Shelby and Ellen Mae was sweetly touching. I hope that she gets out of this alive. And I just loved Art's speech. So much that I, too, watched it a couple times. Art's the best.

    I wasn't quite sure how to take Rachel's interactions with Raylan. She seemed mostly exasperated yet resigned, but the panties line threw me. I couldn't decide if she was giving him grief for referring to them as "whore's panties" when she herself has a pair like that, or if she was flirting with him by talking about her sexy underwear. Weird. I don't think I'm on board with the two of them hooking up. Just seems like a recipe for disaster.

    Your "pretzel of betrayal" line really was awesome. Oh, Cousin Johnny. What have you done now?

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  8. I'll still holding out hope Ellen May and Drew actually pull it off and move away together...

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