Justified “Restitution” Review (5×13)

“You’ll never leave Harlan alive.”

With that, so ends the penultimate season of Justified. It’s been a shaky one, but at the end of it all, it served its purpose as a set-up to what should be an explosive final season. “Restitution”, like the rest of the current season, is not without its bumps, but it’s a satisfying way to close off various storylines and introduce intriguing new ones.

The interesting thing about these “intriguing new storylines” is that the central ideas behind it all are very similar to those of season one. You have Raylan on one side, Boyd on the other, and Ava in the middle. Yet, season five has shown us the necessity of this situation, the logical progression and constant chipping away at the world they’ve built for themselves. No longer is Ava a pawn or an object to be fought over; yes, her prison storyline has dragged, but she’s come out changed. No longer is Boyd Crowder on top of the food chain; this is illustrated nicely in a scene in which he tries to weasel his way out of a situation that costs Jimmy his life and nearly costs Boyd his. He seems to truly believe his own BS, a desperate man who’s moving further and further away from the very essence of Boyd Crowder. This man’s lost his woman, his drug business, and part of his magic, and everyone’s out gunning for him; so, understandably, he jumps at the idea of returning to his roots: bank-robbing.

Raylan, too, is returning to that conflict with Boyd that drove him in the first place. He seems ready to settle down and see his wife–we see something similar with Boyd and Ava, albeit the circumstances are anything but–but not before having one last crack at Mr. Crowder. He’s a guy who recognizes just how dangerous Boyd is, but he also seems to underestimate the effectiveness of the manners by which he conducts his business. So far, he’s been able to get by through wielding the badge, but what happens when Ava Crowder becomes your badge? What happens when Ava Crowder’s now an even more fiercely independent, more hardened woman? Can you place a badge on human life, manipulation, and punishment? That’s the question we’ve been dealing with in regards to Raylan’s Augustine involvement all season.

Of course, in order to get to this point, Raylan has to rid himself of the Crowes, and he has to prepare himself for a possible backlash from his actions with Kendal. The problem is, as stated above, that he hasn’t prepared, and I would’ve definitely liked to see a different angle on this idea, rather than having Raylan’s plan work out perfectly. Yet, the Crowes seem to merely be flies annoyingly popping in every few minutes, and I do like the idea that their family’s implosion is the result of them and them only. Daryl’s death is befitting the character, and Rapaport and Witt put a nice bow on their arcs in their final scene together.

If you think about it, Raylan’s never actually faced off against a Crowe. He has a tendency to dance around certain situations and stand at a distance, whether it be saving Boyd in this episode or swallowing what he wants to say to Art or his final line to Daryl. Once again, that badge has allowed him to form genuine relationships that benefit him, but at a certain point, things will come to a head.

How else could it end, really? Boyd vs. Raylan, The Final Season. Someone definitely isn’t leaving Harlan alive.

GRADE: B+

SEASON GRADE: B+

OTHER THOUGHTS:

-The sequence in which Rachel and Tim face off against Alberto and his goons (one of them the cousins from Breaking Bad!) is sublime: crackling dialogue, a gunfight, and the subsequent scene in which Rachel lays into Boyd and Tim’s dry humor still has a serious undertone to it. Boyd’s situation isn’t as ripe for optimism as he may think afterward.

-I’ll miss Jimmy. He was a great henchman.

-“I appreciate your concern; this may as well be a slow night in the champagne room for how comfortably erect I’m going to be watching your bitch ass squirm about.”

Tim, mentioning his erection two weeks in a row. I approve. Also, Daryl wants to cuddle and Boyd wants to teach him how to shoot a gun with his hands behind his back (that’s a euphemism right there). I don’t blame them.

-More Tim, Rachel, and Wynn Duffy next year, please. Also, Mary Steenburgen’s Katherine Hale should prove to be an intriguing character, and will we see more Dewey Crowe?

-Ian McShane. Make it happen.

-It’s been a pleasure covering this season for you guys. It’s been up and down, but it’s still one of the best shows on TV. See you next year for the *sob* final season.

Photo credit: FX, Justified

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