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Justified: Outlaw

"I think if you pretend to be something long enough, you stop pretending."

Wow. And wow again.

Boyd is playing a long, dangerous game. He just outwitted the Clover Hills cartel and took them for a ton of cash and a Dairy Queen franchise, he fooled Wynn Duffy and got Theo Tonin to eliminate two of his enemies, and he's planning to eventually turn Tonin in to the law. This course of action is so freaking dangerous that anything could happen. I'm mostly worried that Ava will get caught in the crosshairs. And we still don't know what the heck Cousin Johnny has in mind, other than blackmailing Colt for twenty thousand bucks.

Shelby just jumped to the top of the Drew Thompson suspect list. Let's see... we had the discussion with Ellen May about pretending to be sheriff, the not so subtle questions about Eve, and the fact that Eve's line-up of possible Drew photos included Shelby. And there was also the weirdness of Tonin's button man wearing a Harlan deputy uniform. Is Shelby yet another red herring? Maybe not this time. It would be way cool if he were Drew Thompson.

Okay, time to talk about Arlo.

When my father passed away a few years ago, I felt nothing. No exaggeration. I spent a couple of days thinking, hey, this isn't bothering me at all. And then I nearly passed out at his funeral. When a toxic parent passes on, you think you won't feel it, but you do. Because that parent will never make up for the horrible things they did. You'll never have the chance at a real relationship with him. Gold acting stars for Timothy Olyphant, because Raylan's reaction to his father's last words ("Kiss my ass") and the scene at the elevator when it was obvious that Raylan was hiding how upset he was? Pretty much perfect.

This episode was so dense that I had to watch it twice. And the body count was sort of amazing, mostly because it didn't happen all at once, or even twice; it was five freaking times. The best one, of course, was when the button man, in a sheriff's deputy uniform, told Raylan, "You move, I'm gonna shoot you" and practically before the words were out of his mouth, Raylan put eight bullets in the guy's chest. And then followed it with, "Jesus, I hope I got that right."

Which, of course, he did.

Bits and pieces:

-- Scissors fight! Shudder. Hunter is going to do more jail time. I thought he was suicidal about doing jail time. Why would he risk more?

-- Colt is out of control. Killing his dealer and Tim's friend Mark (who really should have gotten clean, huh?) might be the last straw. Colt left a cigarette butt at the scene, didn't he?

-- Ellen May wants to be the sort of woman who belongs in respectable clothes. You know what I'd like? For Ellen May to live through this thing and find her way into a better life for herself, hopefully somewhere other than Harlan.

-- Mike O'Malley, my favorite dad from Glee, was back as Nick Augustine, Tonin's mouthpiece. Tonin has been the man behind the curtain this season. I bet we'll see him in the finale.

-- How interesting that we didn't get an entire episode centered around Arlo's death. Although I bet we're going to get more about it next week.

Quotes:

Hunter: "You're only a lawman when it suits you, Raylan. Gives you cover to do things you would have done anyways."

Guard: "Just doubled up on what he's already on. Thorazine, chlorazine, some kinda zine..."

Boyd: "This is now a two man job. I feel like the seat cushion for two fat people at a football game."

Wynn: "Theo's got a guy on his way down who has apparently killed more people than malaria."

Colton's dealer: "Could give you singles if the plan is to make it rain at the Lobster Box."

Wynn: "Where have you been? You missed all the excitement."
Johnny: "I had some personal business. Plus my cousin decided to start World War Three."

Art: "Raylan, I just wanted you to know I was almost certain you weren't a cop killer."

Boyd: "I am the outlaw, and this is my world. And my world has a high cost of living."

Ava: "I would love a peanut buster parfait."

Arlo's last words to Raylan were "Kiss my ass." It sure would have been nice if Arlo had left Raylan something. Anything.

Terrific episode. Four out of four toe tags,

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

3 comments:

  1. That is the Justified I love. What a great episode.

    Didn´t espect Arlo to die but it gave Timothy Olyphant a great possibilty to shine once again. I am glad that the writers did not give us the big redemption scene with Arlo in the end. His last words were perfect for the character. I`m excited to see if this will have a greater impact on Raylan.

    I am totally with you Billie. Shelby is now on top of my "Who the hell is Drew Thompson" list.

    I fear for Boyd and Ava. I am not sure if Boyd is aware of who he is challenging here.

    Colton and Cousin Johnny *eye rolling*

    And I want more Tim and Art.

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  2. BRILLIANT!!!
    Each season I start watching Justified sloooooowly pick up its momentum, then all of the sudden bang! Things get really intense and the rest of the season is amazing! So considering this episode to be the point of ignition, where on earth will they go from here?!?!?!

    I never would have thought of Shelby as a Drew Thompson candidate... until he started asking those fishy questions!

    Boyd and a Dairy Queen franchise?! Big laughs! I hope he gets it...

    And yes, Colton definitely left a cigarette butt at the crime scene, and the camera lingered on it just a tad bit too long...

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  3. One of the great episodes of this great show. Olyphant was magnificent, especially around Arlo's death. He captured the extremes of emotion perfectly, but the scene at the elevator was amazing. Perfectly acted.

    You are a step ahead of me. I hadn't thought about Shelby as Thompson, but as soon as I saw that, I watched the episode again. It makes perfect sense to me. What a great twist that would be.

    I had the same thought when Colt left the cigarette butt -- too many episodes of CSI perhaps. He also left a shell casing.

    ReplyDelete

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