Justified - Season 5, Episode 1
WARNING: This review contains spoilers.
Justified is back for its fifth season, and we're going to Florida!
The Elmore Leonard-inspired serial drama kicks off in fine fashion, as a time jump has occurred and Raylan is now a father. Trouble is, his ex-wife and baby girl are now living in Florida. The show throws us into Judge Reardon's (Stephen Root) courtroom where Dewey Crowe (Damon Herrimon) is suing the Marshal's Service for his mistreatment at the hands of Deputy Marshal Raylan Givens. A humorous exchange between Dewey's attorney and Raylan, as the protagonist is held to account for his past sins. Judge Reardon grants Dewey a $300,000 settlement, and we have a new owner of Audrey's, bought from one Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins), who is in need of quick cash to try to spring his betrothed from incarceration for the murder of Delroy (a former owner of Audrey's). Harlan County must have a "six degrees of separation" thing happening at the local cathouse/bar.
Boyd meanwhile is trying to work a drug deal that goes badly when he gets shot in the ear. So he calls up a women's tennis-watching Wynn Duffy (Jere Burns) and they head to the Motor City for some facetime with the head of the Tonin gang. Except Sammy Tonin, the heir of the organization after Theo skipped the country, has lost his mind and is holed up in a blighted building with sex dolls and a chainsaw-wielding torturer. You want an explanation? All we get is "that was last week." There are some shades of Season Three's Quarles in that scene. Some real freaks in the Tonin organization. Picker (from Season Four) offs Sammy and the Chainsaw Massacre because of a debt owed to some Canadians that are organized more than the government allows, and we have a great scene where Boyd and Duffy lose their northern suppliers of illicit substances.
Boyd is desperate to get Ava out of jail, so he visits Paxton (from last season's Harlan Swingers Club) and even begs for help. Until Paxton makes the fatal mistake of insulting Ava, then Boyd pistol-whips the man to death (or something close to it). And Boyd lets the witness to this savage beating, the mail-order bride of Paxton, walk away. Don't know where Boyd's story is going this season, but I expect it will be darker than what we've seen previously. Maybe I need to go back and watch previous seasons, but Boyd's storyline had some holes in it. I'll just chalk those up to "that was last week."
Meanwhile, Raylan has been assigned temporarily to Florida to track down some of Dewey's family members in regard to a missing Coast Guard guy. Raylan works with his old boss (Matt Craven) and a local deputy marshal (David Koechner) to track down Darryl Crowe (Michael Rapaport), who hangs out with his dimwitted brother and his tramp-stamped sister Wendy (Alicia Witt). The episode devolves into a case-of-the-week, as Raylan and his marshal friend track a Cuban sugar smuggler named Elvis, who gets shot by Raylan. Imagine that? Raylan shooting someone.
These estranged Crowes will be coming to Harlan to pay Dewey a visit this season. Which means they will get sideways with Deputy Marshal Givens.
There was some hinkiness in this episode, but I'm confident most of the wrinkles will be ironed out as the season progresses. Justified consistently delivers some of the best writing and dialogue found on television today. I look forward to where this great show will go from here.
Random Thoughts:
- No Rachael, Art, or Tim this week.
- What's up with Cousin Johnny? Looking forward to seeing what he's doing now.
- Raylan is quite the technophile, as he watches Netflix and Skypes!
What did you think?
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