I want to expand my TV reviews beyond just Thursday nights going forward (and get back in the groove so I stop skipping Thursdays too) . The reason for this is that Justified is on Tuesdays, and the badassery of that show definitely needs to be discussed. Once The Walking Dead gets back, I'll add that one too (mostly to get into the habit of writing about a Sunday show for when Mad Men returns in March). Since I didn't get around to doing Justified earlier, I am doing a comprehensive review of the first 4 episodes this week, and hope to pick up episode 5 next week.
Episode 1 - Jan. 17I am sooooo glad this show is back. This season has a lot to live up to. Season 2 was a fantastic mix of great stories and compelling characters -Mags Bennett is one of the all time great TV villains. Mags left some big shoes to fill, and it looks like Season 3 has decided to compensate by upping the number of bad guys. Between what happened this week and what I read about the next episode, there will be 2 (and maybe 3, depending on how big a roll Wynn Duffy ends up playing) major baddies that Raylan will have to deal with. Add in that he still has issues with Boyd Crowder (and whatever trouble his gang - which includes Raylan's own father - gets into while Boyd is in jail), its not a good time for Raylan to be at less than tip top shape. Unfortunately, he's still feeling the effects of his gun shot wound from Season 2's finale. Luckily for him, he still has hits wits to rely on, which serve him well in a superbly tense final scene involving a showdown with an assassin sent by the Dixie Mafia to take him out.
This was a really good start to the season. It set a lot of pieces in motion for the season, while still being an action packed, intense episode on its own, with some fantastic dialogue (my favorite verbal exchanges were with Raylan and Boyd in the Marshal's office and between Raylan and Wynn outside his trailer). This episode had everything I expect from Justified and it seems like we are once again in for a hell of a ride this season.
Grade -> A-
Episode 1 - Jan.24A big deal was made this week that Carla Gugino was appearing in this episode as essentially Karen Sisco (without being able to be called that due to rights issues), the character from Elmore Leonard's novel that she played on a previous, little watched TV series. Since I have never read one of Leonard's novels, nor watched an episode of that show, it wasn't a big deal to me. However, she meshed so well in this episode that I hope she shows up again in the future. Its always good to learn about Raylan's time spent away from Kentucky, and it was also nice to find out that he was previously involved with a woman that could hold her own on the job right along side him.
However, this episode really belonged to Raylan's boss, Art. Art has constantly been on Raylan's case about the methods he uses in the course of his job. That's pretty much a given for any action-oriented cop show/movie: the hardcase boss. However, I don't think I have every seen a show actually explain to you why the boss is like that they way this episode does for Art. It turns out that back in is earlier days as a Marshall, Raylan's way of doing things was not so uncommon, and Art was no stranger to that behavior. It's just that now he knows better. His old school interrogation of the Witness Protection turncoat (its always good to see the guy who played Bill Guarnere in Band of Brothers getting work) was fantastic.
Much like the first episode, this one was a really good standalone story, while at the same time nicely putting the pieces into play for the overall season story. This time, we get introduced to Big Bad #2, Limehouse, in a really well done short scene that lets you know exactly what type of formidable foe he might be for Raylan. Plus, we also get a little more info as to what Boyd is up to in jail (turns out he is after Dickie for money, not revenge).
Grade -> A-
Episode 3 - Jan. 31
Three episodes to start the season, three really, really good ones. This week's episode is less standalone and more about the overall story. We learn a little bit more about Quarles (Neal McDonough) and what he is planning. Specifically, we find out his dad used to make him watch Taxi Driver as a young kid (that's fucked up) and that he wants to turn Harlan County into a pill factory. We find out that Limehouse is involved in drugs, in addition to his role as safekeeper of the Bennett family's ill gotten gains. Lastly, we see what Boyd plans now that he is out of jail - he wants his gang to run all the crime in Harlan County.
All the forces on the other side of Raylan are starting to establish themselves, and it remains to be seen whether he will have to deal with all these threats one at a time, or if he will find himself besieged at on all sides by the end of the season. Based on how things have transpired the last 2 seasons, I am betting in the latter. Even if it does turn out the way I expect, I have utter faith that it will be a thrilling ride to get there.
Grade -> A-
Episode 4 - Feb. 7
I thought this episode was just a tiny step down from the first 3. That's not surprising in that the previous episodes have been excellent, but its a little surprising since it prominently featured Jeremy Davies' Dickie Bennett - a character and an actor that I really like. Davies plays "squirelly" better than just about anyone else out there today. I still really enjoyed the episode, but it really didn't move the Season 3 plot forward much. Boyd is still sitting in his brother's bar, hatching his schemes, although the gang is now down 1 member. I am sad to see Devil go - I am currently working my way through Friday Night Lights, and the actor who played Devil was really good as Jason Street's buddy Herc. We also don't have much more going on with Limehouse, other than that we learn he doesn't have as much of Mags' money left as everyone thinks, and that there is a brief bit of history between he and Raylan (specifically with Raylan's dad, Arlo). And there was no sign of Quarles at all.
However, even without much forward momentum, there were a lot of the things I love about Justified. The dialogue was as snappy as ever, with the highlight being the confrontation between Raylan/Rachel and Limehouse. That interrogation soon devolves into a discussion between Limehouse and Rachel about her upbringing, and then quickly transforms into Raylan and Rachel discussing which southern colleges have the best looking women. There was also some very good action. Raylan continues to find ways to use his wits instead of his gun to get himself out of scrapes - this time he simply runs over a guy (TWICE) trying to shoot him instead of pulling his own weapon.
Grade -> B+
