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Justified: The I of the Storm

"What does a man have to do to get a quiet drink in these parts?"

I've been wondering what was up with Boyd. And now we know. Boyd is going straight, but wow, he's sure not happy about it.

Boyd is acting like a junkie in withdrawal, drinking both before and after his night shifts in the mine to dull his misery, and he's either quiet and withdrawn, or exploding with violence. He wants to drink alone, but since Ava won't allow it in the house, he is spending a lot of time in bars where his old outlaw friends and prospective new outlaw friends can constantly put temptation in front of him. And to make it worse, no one wants to believe he's really trying to go straight. It's a lose-lose situation.

And Boyd indeed lost it. Although he did wait for a minute or two to see if the annoying Kyle was still alive and ambulatory, didn't he? Kyle and Pruitt were double teaming Boyd, so they have an agenda. Could be that Boyd just dampened their enthusiasm, though.

When the oxy bus was hijacked, the first person Raylan thought of was Boyd. The first person Dewey Crowe thought of was Boyd, too. As long as Boyd lives in Harlan county, he's going to be suspected as well as tempted. He'd probably be a lot better off if he left Kentucky, but leaving the only home you know is tough. Ava couldn't do it.

And speaking of which, I doubt that Boyd has stopped wanting Ava, and now he's living with her. Yes, it's platonic, and their conversations were uncomfortable and confrontational, but that might not be forever. I'm sure Ava is a powerful incentive for Boyd to stick around.

So Dickie and Coover Bennett want to diversify into harder drugs and possibly take over Bo's territory, but Mags is apparently against it. I thought Dickie was smart, but risking the ire of his mother as well as the Dixie Mafia doesn't seem that smart to me. Doyle was smarter, as well as absolutely ruthless; he killed two men point blank and without blinking an eye to protect Dickie and Coover, and Raylan was actually within earshot. What will Mags do if she finds out what Dickie and Coover did? Is she capable of hurting her own sons?

In other news, Raylan is romantically confused. He wants Winona to date him openly, and she won't. It seems obvious that Winona wants a more serious commitment from Raylan before she burns her bridges with Gary. (I really enjoyed the scene where Art figured out that Raylan was seeing Winona. Laugh out loud funny.) And maybe Winona is right to be cautious, because the minute Raylan heard that Boyd was living with Ava, he was there like a shot giving her a hard time about it. She gave him a hard time right back, and good for her. I'm rooting for Boyd and Ava, as if that isn't obvious.

In closing, I should probably say a word or two about the comedy stylings of Dewey Crowe. He was smart enough to masquerade as Raylan while pulling off the oxy robbery, but the robbery itself was incredibly stupid, and Boyd even made a couple of serious attempts to talk Dewey out of it. Dewey's tatts are unusual and noticeable, not a smart move for a criminal, and he walked into a general store and asked for a ski mask. That was tantamount to saying, hey, I'm going to pull a robbery. Take a good look at me for future reference in case one takes place nearby. If all criminals were as stupid as Dewey Crowe, the crime rate would plummet.

Bits and pieces:

-- Terrific episode title.

-- When Doyle thought Raylan had stolen the oxy, he tried to sound him out, hoping Raylan was corrupt. Raylan knew what Doyle was saying, too. If Raylan didn't know before, he must suspect Doyle is dirty.

-- Tim and Art both know about Raylan and Winona. The cat's pretty much out of the bag.

-- Boyd dropped a dime on Dewey and called Raylan. I think he was doing it so that Dewey wouldn't get killed, though.

Quotes:

Art: "Are you sleeping with Rachel? I don't guess Ava is looking to spend time with you. And I think I would remember if it was me."
Raylan: "You done?"
Art: "... unless, of course, you roofied me. Did you roofie me, Raylan?"

Art: "I got it. Winona. You were out with Winona. (laughs out loud) Oh, shit. I thought sleeping with a witness was stupid."

Boyd: "You take them from Cutter, you're gonna have two sets of angry killers looking high and low for you and that oxy."
Dewey: "I know you think I'm stupid, Boyd. But... (very long pause) I ain't."
It's the long pause that's funny.

Raylan: "Are you speaking Martian, Doyle? 'Cause I could swear I don't..."
Doyle: "You took them pills, Raylan."
Raylan: "I did what, now?"

Three out of four incognito church buses,

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

4 comments:

  1. "Boyd is acting like a junkie in withdrawal." Perfect description, Billie. I find myself feeling for Boyd -- he does seem to be trying.

    I also find myself wanting to slap Raylan upside his head. He's got two great women, both of whom want to be with him. Yet, he struggles to be either of them. Issues, issues, issues...

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    Replies
    1. I'm watching Justified for the first time and just finished the series, enjoyed reading these reviews after the fact. I will say that it seemed plenty obvious to me that Raylan was in love with Winona from the very beginning. And him wanting to be with her, openly, was him showing that he was ready to be together for real. He didn't want it to be a tryst. With Ava, it was fun and it was sexual but there wasn't anything deep. Ava, of course, was infatuated with him and possibly in love with him or at least the idea of Raylan. But it was never reciprocated. Hence, why the minute Winona shows up at his hotel room in Season 1, there's no chance Ava has of ever getting Raylan. I love that show does a great job of transitioning Ava from a fun, fling for Raylan to something serious for Boyd. And always maintaining that Winona is the love of Raylan's life.

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  2. What a reference with the song "Devil behind the wheel" in the end and Boyd driving away.

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  3. That ending was incredibly satisfying. Leave Boyd alone, what does those two guys want with him?

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