JUSTIFIED, FX
Raylan Givens is a badass. Even if his name sounds like a girl you would have a crush on in first grade.
The sixth season of JUSTIFIED is also the final season of JUSTIFIED and I just love it when TV shows get a proper ending. Especially shows that I absolutely adore. Now that the creators know the series is coming to an end, they are able to focus on how they want everything to wrap up. While this almost always gives fans the closure they need before they pop in the Blu-Ray and watch the series all over again, it can also spell disaster if not properly prepared much like what we saw happen to TRUE BLOOD last year. Bleh. That said, if this first episode is any indication, we are in for a wild and memorable final season where we can all finally see what the fate of our dear Mr. Givens and company will be.
This season starts off quick and smooth pushing audiences into the action without skipping much of a beat. We are kind of reintroduced to the major players this season getting little scenes with each pretty much reminding us who they are in a nutshell. Ya know, incase we forgot. Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) isn’t taking shit from anyone in classic fashion as he intimidates a seemingly unintimidatable (yeah I made that word up) Mexican law enforcer and drags his defiant ass over the border to prove how us Americans handle justice. That rascally Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) is done being buddy buddy with Raylan and his true colors shine once again as a ruthless crime boss with little redeeming quality. Ava Crowder (Joelle Carter) is still dealing with the fallout of season 5 and scared poopless around the love of her life whilst dealing with the forcible Raylan whom she is now working for undercover. Raylan’s law enforcing pals Tim (Jacob Pitts) and Rachael (Erica Tazel) hold down the fort and remain the moral compass for Raylan with his recuperating boss Art (Nick Searcy) chiming in as Raylan’s main father figure/drinking buddy. The reintroductions of all these characters is nice and easy and we even get a curveball in the form of Olyphant’s previous DEADWOOD co-star Garret Dillahunt as the mysterious and intimidating Walker. And a little bird told me the legendary Sam Elliot (TOMBSTONE) will be joining the cast in the near future. I’m so in.
Once the reintroductions are in place, the stew gets hot right away with the demise of a series mainstay just to prove this season is not only the final one, but that it means damn business too! I think it was smart laying out the tone this way right from the beginning so audiences will be on their toes knowing nobody is safe. Even people who have read the ‘Raylan’ novels by Elmore Leonard know that nothing really ended in that series so this last season could go any way the creators want. This episode runs at a smooth pace and never lets up making me oh so excited to see what’s around the corner. It’s good to have this baby popping back up in my DVR and I will eagerly await the next episode. Oh boy, this is going to be fun. And to prove it, I’ll leave you with a poetic quote from this episode by none other that Boyd Crowder himself:
Beautiful.
Final Score: 9 out of 10
