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Justified “Noblesse Oblige” Review (6×03)

3 Feb

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Early in “Nobelesse Oblige”, Ty Walker tells Boyd that he’s “just a weather vane”, that he “doesn’t make the wind blow”. Later on in the episode, Sam Elliott’s Avery Markham delivers a chilling monologue to Ava about being more than a token that “can be threatened or hurt to just to keep a man in line”. The underlying point comes across in both cases: certain people are pulling the strings in certain places, and if you want to survive in this fading county, you must take the initiative and fight for what you want. You can’t let the power struggle dictate where you end up; you must participate.

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Justified “Cash Game” Review (6×02)

27 Jan

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Even in episodes that mainly serve to introduce new characters and to set up the storylines for the remainder of the season, Justified is one of the few shows that can still deliver hours of television that are just as–if not more–entertaining than their other efforts. “Cash Game” flies by on the wings of its dialogue, delivering a classic episode by doing what it has always been doing: giving wonderful actors and actresses impeccable dialogue and watching the magic unfold.

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Justified “Fate’s Right Hand” Review (6×01)

21 Jan

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“You’re a card in fate’s right hand. Don’t you see how it’s going to play out?” 

The notion of past vs. present has always played a role in Justified. Our characters continue to grapple with their roots as we move into the final season, with how those roots do or do not define them in the present. For example, during a scene in which Garrett Dillahunt’s Ty Walker approaches Raylan and offers to buy his land, the show makes it a point to emphasize the fact that Arlo–through death–still lives on. Arlo is a reminder of Raylan’s past, of what he wants to leave behind; yet, it’s difficult to completely distance yourself from the past, no matter how much you may try.

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Justified “Restitution” Review (5×13)

9 Apr

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“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.

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Justified “Starvation” Review (5×12)

2 Apr

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To what extent can Raylan Givens play loose with the law?

This has been the biggest question about this character thus far, and it’s certainly an intriguing one; we’ve seen him make decisions that have led to heartbreak and danger and death, but his badge has always protected him. What’s going to happen next week, though?

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Justified “The Toll” Review (5×11)

25 Mar

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“I may not know a lot about a lot of things, but I DO know how to blow shit up.”

Boyd Crowder, with the ultimate evidence that smoking kills. Aside from that moment–which is just plain awesome–this episode is ripe with crackling dialogue, sustained tension, and interesting character development, and it looks as if Justified is really shifting into gear for the season 5 endgame.

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Justified “Weight” Review (5×10)

19 Mar

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Harlan’s never really contained a hierarchy of criminals so much as a jumbled mess of ’em.

Sure, you have the smart, calculating Boyd Crowders and the not-so-smart, not-so-calculating Dewey Crowes of the world, but in this type of environment, who’s to say who wins? Unpredictability is dangerous, and it’s questionable whether someone like Boyd Crowder is any better off than Dewey Crowe when it comes to handling rapid-fire decisions and outpourings of emotion.

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Justified “Wrong Roads” Review (5×09)

12 Mar

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Well, Justified is back, ladies and gentlemen.

After a bit of a stumble, we’re back in fine form tonight; this is mostly due to the fact that everyone’s back in Harlan now, allowing for sharper interactions and increased tension. One of the major problems of season 5 so far has been a feeling of detachment, a lack of forward momentum that seems to be hurting the show a bit.

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Justified “Whistle Past the Graveyard” Review (5×08)

4 Mar

373068036f8a4146c199176c61603691“You’re both under arrest, because you’re a fugitive…and you’re a dick.”

Justified can still bring the humor, but while this line is, for me, the funniest of the episode, it also encapsulates all of the problems of “Whistle Past the Graveyard”. There’s an ambivalence here that’s creeping throughout the show, and this episode in particular stumbles a bit in that department.

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Justified “Raw Deal” Review (5×07)

25 Feb

Justified-5x07-8Justified is always going to be an endlessly watchable show, delivering crackling wit, tension, and sharp dialogue throughout each episode. That’s the case this week: although the episode isn’t up to par with the rest of the season, it still contains, simply speaking, pure fun.

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