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Justified: Collateral

"Stories of outlaw legends, they ain't passed down by the families of the murdered."

It's the characters that make Justified such a good show. Over the course of the series, it's been mentioned often that Raylan could have been one hell of an outlaw. It's also been easy to see Boyd as a possible good guy who went the wrong way because of his crime family. Boyd really could have been the preacher that he tried so hard to become in the early seasons of the show.

But this episode finally settled which way each of them would go. Boyd kidnapped an innocent bystander named Hagan who saw the infamous Boyd Crowder as a local folk hero (how like Justified to introduce a new character in the penultimate episode and make you care about him), and instead of letting him live, something I bet Boyd would have done at the beginning of the series, he blew the poor guy's brains out. Heartless. Boyd's last words to Hagan were, "I don't give a shit about what you said. I'm an outlaw." No more possibility of change for Boyd now. He's bad, and that's that.

While Boyd was killing an innocent bystander who saw him as a hero, Raylan gave up his quest to capture or shoot Boyd and even got himself arrested in order to save the wonderful Constable Bob. I loved Raylan in his eternal hat and black coat coming over that mountain in the mist. That shootout in the moonlight was stunning, both visually and emotionally. Raylan and Boyd shot at each other while talking about self-realization and what was in their hearts, and Boyd said, quite accurately, that if Raylan didn't stop to help Constable Bob, then Boyd had already won. I was a bit frustrated that this scene wasn't it, but it was definitely something special.

I really liked the opener, when Raylan stumbled over Cope, one of his kin (appropriately, from the episode entitled "Kin"), and on the spur of the moment, generously gave him the Givens house in restitution for Arlo's sins. That made me gasp out loud. It was like after dithering all season, Raylan finally decided that he's had enough of Harlan. At last.

They were so signaling that Constable Bob was toast. But he isn't dead yet. Fingers crossed. We did lose Zachariah, though. Jeff Fahey did such a spectacular job with Uncle Zachariah this season, didn't he? It was perfect for his character that he blew himself up. Too bad he couldn't take Boyd with him, but I am assuming Boyd will die in the finale.

After getting captured by Constable Bob and trying to bribe him (with money, not her body), Ava fell into the hands of Markham's dirty deputies. What did she drop on the ground? I rewound it twice and looked at it but I just couldn't tell. And what happened to the rest of the money? Did she and Zachariah bury it with Grubes?

Even after losing the love of his life, Avery Markham still wants that money. I absolutely do not like Markham a single tiny bit, but in that scene where Markham talked to Katherine's body, Sam Elliott got to me. He was in control as well as brutally honest with himself, but I swear I could see the pain and despair leaking out of the corners of his stoic expression. Interesting how he has just refocused on Loretta McCready with an almost romantic intensity. "I could use a Harlan girl in my fold." Of course, like everyone else, Markham is underestimating Loretta. There is no way she is going to give up her Mags-like power to partner with an old man who killed one of her friends. Just saying.

The only bits I haven't discussed are Wynn Duffy making arrangements to leave Kentucky forever in a mobile dog-grooming van (ride safely, Wynn Duffy!), and the fact that the entire Lexington office was doing its best to provide cover for Raylan. Except for Vasquez, who has turned into an ass. I guess that's a full circle for Vasquez, since he was so anti-Raylan in season one.

The series finale is next week, and here are my predictions. I'm betting that Markham goes down, Raylan kills Boon in a gunfight, and Boyd comes to a tragic end before Raylan departs for Florida. Since they're not dead yet, I bet Ava and Constable Bob will live. And Loretta McCready will wind up with the money, because that's what she does.

Bits and pieces:

-- Constable Bob's souped up Gremlin rides again. Yay!

-- Zachariah said that Boyd was no different from his evil father Bo and brother Bowman. Sad and true.

-- Boon and Markham's victim Derrick was the one who "couldn't pee over his own shoes" in season five's "The Kids Aren't All Right".

-- Boon told Derrick that he kept his gun Jenny's firing chamber empty so that it wouldn't accidentally go off. He also said that he always goes for the brain. I'm sure these are details that will come up in the finale.

-- Loved the bit about Wynn's Billie Jean King memorabilia. I remember his love for women's tennis. (Who was the eagle scout? Was it Mikey?)

-- Vasquez asked Wynn Duffy who killed Simon Poole, and Wynn said he didn't know. I'm sure we'll finally find out next week.

-- Gold acting stars for pretty much everyone, but I have to single out Kaitlyn Dever and Sam Elliott again. And Shea Whigham as Hagan, Boyd's most recent victim.

Quotes:

Markham: "I may be talking to a ghost, but I'm still a practical man."

Wynn: "Raylan Givens, Boyd Crowder and Avery Markham are soon to converge, Mister Vasquez, like the aligning of the planets, if those planets carried guns and hated my guts. I don't ever plan on returning to Kentucky."

Hagan: "Which time you talking about?"
Boyd: "Well, I do have a rather long resume."
Hagan: "Yessir. They put out your greatest hits, it'd be a double album."
Boyd: "Shit. Double live, man, from Japan."
Hagan: "Yeah. All killer, no filler."
Sad.

Tim: "Just heard him tell the FBI ballsack to issue a BOLO."
Art: "Well, shit."
Tim: "Wait one. I just heard him say he wants Raylan indicted."
Art: "Double shit."

Constable Bob: (to Ava) "Now get down on your knees. On your knees! Sorry if that sounds untoward."

Constable Bob: "I got an air freshener smells like a mocha latte."

and...

Constable Bob: "Don't try to seduce me. It's been tried."
I'm picturing that. It's so picturable. And I'm laughing.

Boyd: "Goddam, Raylan! How you know I wasn't some boy scout looking for his tent?"
Raylan: "Your teeth glow in the dark."
That could be the funniest line in the series.

Raylan: "You are the world-conquering emperor of lies, the biggest reserved for yourself."

This has been a spectacular final season, and all of the plot pieces are in place for an equally spectacular finale, fingers crossed. Four out of four penultimate episodes,

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

4 comments:

  1. What did she drop on the ground? I rewound it twice and looked at it but I just couldn't tell.

    It was Dewey's gator necklace.

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  2. Yep, another great episode. I definitely love the way it seemed so intent on stripping away Boyd's and Raylan's illusions about exactly what they are and why they do the things they do. Boyd has spent so much of the series really wrapping himself in that "outlaw hero" schtick that Hagan tried to use to get Boyd to spare his life. (I read their final scene as Hagan admitting that he did not consider Boyd a hero and was just shining him on with that double album stuff.) But neither man could hold to the illusion when it came down to it. Like you said, Boyd's bad. He knows it, and at this point, so do we.

    But they flipped that script with Raylan with his decision to try to save Bob. We and Raylan have always wrestled with how much of what he does is really just outlaw behavior, but vaguely "justified" because he carries a badge. Is he really a good guy, or an asshole with a convenient excuse to kill people? At the start of this episode, he sets aside his lawman gear, gives up the house, and was fully resolved to murder his enemy, no matter the cost. He basically seemed to be shedding any illusions about the things he does being justified. But then when Boyd gave him the slip, he opted to do the more moral thing, and try to save a good man instead of killing the bad one. Boyd resolved to be bad, while Raylan ultimately resolved to stay on the side of good. Great stuff. I totally get what you mean about being somewhat frustrated that this wasn't it, because that's some seriously climactic stuff. And yet it feels like we still haven't gotten to the climax!

    I'm not sure Wynn is entirely blowing this pop stand just yet. He asked for a topographic map of Harlan County (or some kind of map), which he probably wouldn't need if he was planning to just haul ass out of Kentucky. I expect him to figure into next week's end game. Which, of course, makes me wonder if his number will finally be up, or if he and Loretta will end the series standing and contemplating a "beautiful friendship." (You can't trust him, Loretta!)

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  3. Josie, if that was Dewey's necklace, I assume Ava dropped it hoping Raylan would see it.

    Jess, I thought Hagan the innocent carjacked bystander might have been blowing smoke to save his own life, but he knew so much about Boyd that I decided in the end that he probably was Boyd's fan. Either way, memorable performance.

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  4. For sure. I found myself wondering if I would have cared about his fate as much if I didn't recognize Shea Whigham from Agent Carter. If they had brought in someone I didn't recognize would Boyd's actions have chilled me as much as they did? The flip side of the issue I had with the hipster hat wearer played by Andrew J. West. Ah, the interesting things that happen when you watch too much television.

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