Justified commenced their 4th season tonight and it was a satisfying but unspectacular event. [Some Spoilers Ahead] I’m a huge fan of the show’s first two seasons (both of which deserve solid A’s), but wasn’t so big on the uneven, scattershot 3rd season that, at times, resembled a Road Runner cartoon with too many villains chasing and being chased by Raylan, but not much in the way of forward movement.
This 4th season is somewhere in the middle, being solid but falling just shy of the Greek tragedies that were the first two seasons (where Boyd had to face off against his father and the fall of the Bennett family, headed by Margo Martindale in a series-best performance). The hunt for Drew Thompson/Sheriff Shelby was interesting and, for once, actually had something to do with Raylan’s job, but the finale was more about a grudge between Raylan and Nicky Augustine (sitcom dad Mike O’Malley, nicely playing a sociopath), a barely featured villain from the Detroit mob. Raylan’s final scene saw him smugly sitting at the grave of his murdered father Arlo (played by the great Raymond J. Barry from the forgotten gem Interview with the Assassin), a shocking mid-season death that should have carried more weight throughout the rest of it.
But all of the real juice came, per usual, from smooth criminal Boyd Crowder (the always-underrated Walton Goggins), Raylan’s eloquent frenemy that was scrambling to save his fiancee Ava from a murder charge. This subplot was twisty, tense, and packed a devastating punch when Ava was eventually arrested trying to dispose of the body after a double cross by one of Harlan County’s wealthiest crooks. Right as Boyd’s personal life was destroyed, Winn Duffy showed up to offer him the job of heroin distributor in Kentucky, what he’s been after all season. Boyd’s final scene was looking at the backyard of the dream house he can now afford but without the woman he wants to share it with…Great stuff. Grade for Finale: B+…Grade for Season: B+