By Jeff Michael Vice
JUSTIFIED – Live-action drama developed by Graham Yost, based on characters created by Elmore Leonard; rated TV-MA; airs Tuesdays on FX; 60 minutes. Episode 5.6: “Kill the Messenger” (original airdate, Feb. 11, 2014). Directed by Don Kurt; written by Ingrid Escajeda (8 out of 10)
The story so far: After one high-profile shooting of a criminal too many, trigger-happy Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens has been re-assigned — from his home in drug-infested Miami to his now, more-overrun-by-drugs childhood home in eastern Kentucky (specifically, Harlan County). Back in semi-familiar territory, loose cannon Raylan butts heads with his new co-workers and his new, no-nonsense boss, Art Mullen, and also has an uneasy reunion with his estranged family members, as well as his childhood friend, Boyd Crowder, who has become a local drug kingpin.
In this episode: Raylan is dealing with the consequences of coming clean about some of his more questionable actions, and he continues to have his problems with the newly arrived Florida Crowes. And so does Boyd, who seems even more desperate now that his lover, Ava, has been sent to prison – the result of a prison guard stabbing for which she was set up.
Sporting a nice shiner – which occurred after he revealed his role in the death of Detroit crime lord Nicky Augustine to his obviously peeved boss, Art – Raylan once again confronts Daryl Crowe Jr. and the others, including the clearly unbalanced Danny, who’s been up to no good. Most recently, he killed Daryl’s mysterious Haitian associate, Baptiste, and now he’s forced social worker Allison Brander off the road, for good measure. (The former is still unbeknownst to Daryl, while the latter was obviously meant to send a message and threat to Raylan, as well as stop Allison from taking away the youngest Crowe, Kendal.)
Danny also gets into trouble with his cousin, Dewey, who comes up with a new way to get his long-overdue payment from Boyd. Together, they beat and kidnap Boyd’s lackey/bartender, Carl, but are then confronted by a revenge-minded Raylan and Rachel, who puts something of a long-overdue beat down on Danny.
Boyd, however, is busy elsewhere. Along with former “Dixie Mafia” associate Wynn Duffy, he’s trying to get into the heroin trade, and is looking for distribution help from Rodney Dunham. What he doesn’t know is that his double-crossing cousin, Johnny, has seized control of Dunham’s operations (after yet another double cross).
And Boyd’s attempts to protect Ava from harm at the Kentucky State Women’s Prison have backfired. The sister of one of his old, White Power associates tries to send a clear message about Boyd’s “race traitor” activities, by physical intimidation – Ava being the unfortunate target.
After last week’s blood-soaked episode, “Shot All to Hell,” which dispatched several recurring characters and guest stars, this one is more plot-heavy and story line advancing, with a few twists and turns – some of them expected, some of them not. For one thing, Boyd finally resolves his problems with the Crowes. At least for now. And next on his list is finally dealing with Johnny.
But as dire as things are for some of the characters, there’s also more humor than last week’s episode. Danny and Dewey’s extortion plot features some hilarious bungling (they’re unable to get a good enough phone signal to be able to place their request for ransom). Veteran TV writer Ingrid Escajeda (“Better Off Ted”) provided the script, which features some great quips and exchanges. Among the better ones:
“You put both those things together, and you’re guaranteed to get a man who’ll break your heart.” (Wendy)
“Are we not gonna talk about it?” “Your bin Laden joke? Not your best.” (Tim, then Rachel)
“Before you say anything, what happened to your face?” (Allison)
“Well, your brother is a world-class dumbass, no offense.” (Raylan)
‘Looking at half-naked ladies all day? Yeah, I was miserable.” (Kendal)
“You got yourself a dark, twisted mind there, don’t ya, Raylan?” (Daryl)
“Danny and I never did settle on a safe word, did we?” (Carl)
“Well, then I guess I’m here for my refund.” (Boyd)
Overall rating: 8 out of 10
CAST:
The regular characters: Timothy Olyphant (Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens), Walton Goggins (Boyd Crowder), Nick Searcy (Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Art Mullen), Jacob Pitts (Deputy U.S. Marshal Tim Gutterson), Erica Tazel (Deputy U.S. Marshal Rachel Brooks), Jere Burns (Winn Duffy) and Joelle Carter (Ava Crowder)
Guest stars: A.J. Buckley (Danny Crowe), Damon Herriman (Dewey Crowe), Jacob Lofland (Kendal Crowe), Michael Rapaport (Daryl Crowe, Jr.), Amy Smart (Allison Brander), Justin Welborn (Carl) and Alicia Witt (Wendy Crowe)
Jeff Michael Vice, aka Jerk-bot, can be heard reviewing films, television programs, comics, books, music and other things as part of The Geek Show Podcast (www.thegeekshowpodcast.com), as well as be seen reviewing films as part of Xfinity’s Big Movie Mouth-Off (www.facebook.com/BigMovieMouthOff).