Justified: Season 3, Episode 1 “The Gunfighter” (A-)
This show can do no wrong. Coming off of a fantastic second season, this premiere segues from the violent events of the finale into a monumental opener that lays out the framework for this season and manages to incorporate a whole lot of shooting for just the first episode of a thirteen-episode order. This show is interesting because it lays out exactly who the villains are and shows you how bad they can be, leaving it up to Raylan to prove just what they’ve done and find a creative way to stop them. Boyd demanding an apology from Raylan for not handing over Dickie since he shot Ava and then physically attacking him when he refused was an intense opening, and the revelation that Boyd got himself put in the same prison as Dickie drove home Boyd’s vengeful spirit even more. Ava is doing a bang-up job of keeping things running with Boyd in jail, smacking Devil in the face when he talks back to her. I’m absolutely thrilled about the new characters that have been added, starting with Neal McDonough’s Robert Quarles. McDonough was so good on “Boomtown” and hasn’t had a great role since then, so what better than another series from Graham Yost, who also created that show. The body count in this premiere is astonishing, with only one other person left standing, and that’s Jere Burns’ Wynn Duffy, in a considerably less powerful position than the one he currently holds on “Burn Notice.” The actor that really surprised me in this hour was Desmond Harrington, who has played one of the less compelling characters on “Dexter” for the past few seasons, Joey Quinn, with a dark, terrifying, and extremely effective turn as Fletcher, nicknamed Ice Pick. His visit to Raylan’s motel room, and the ensuing action, made up the best part of the episode. This show is awesome.
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