What I’m Watching: Justified (Season Finale)

Justified: Season 1, Episode 13 “Bulletsville” (A-)

As expected, this finale was completely awesome and delivered a great resolution to many of the arcs in season one while still leaving a few threads open to be dealt with next season. And, interestingly enough, the two dangerous fathers didn’t even end up being the problems that their sons had to deal with by episode’s end, with both patriarchs neutralized and Raylan and Boyd still in trouble, and instead having it all go back to that catalytic Miami murder by Raylan. I love that Boyd and Raylan were able to team up here after both discovered the extent of their fathers’ duplicity. Bo murdering and stringing up all of Boyd’s men was a horrifying occurrence that really served to wake Boyd up to the reality of the situation, and seeing him question God and then ask Raylan what he believed in was very moving. Arlo trying to turn Raylan in didn’t go too well, but Raylan’s nonplussed reaction to the whole situation was great, and I liked how he told his father that he’s sort of always known that Arlo wasn’t telling him the truth. My favorite part of the entire episode was Raylan asking Boyd if he brought his rocket launcher with him once they had been cornered by the angry Miami people. Raylan is right in saying that Ava has a knack for getting abducted, but I’m hopeful that, with the Crowder clan no longer posing a threat, she’ll still around and stay well within the confines of Harlan in the future. Raylan will certainly have his hands full of women, however, as Winona also wants to set things straight. The final scene of the episode was perfect, with Raylan letting Boyd go free and pursue the woman, instead choosing to mime shooting him with his finger, just like Clint Eastwood liked to do in “Gran Torino.” Leaving Boyd out there and Raylan needing to choose between two women is a great way to close out season one and leave the right amount of threads open for next year. It’s been a stellar season one, and I’m eagerly awaiting season two next year.

Season grade: A-
Season MVP: Timothy Olyphant/Joelle Carter