Sunday, March 30, 2014

What I’m Watching: Justified


Justified: Season 5, Episode 11 “The Toll” (B+)

This episode changed the direction of many things on this show in big ways, and it’s going to be hard to recover from an installment that doesn’t feel like it should be followed by two more hours this season. Art and Allison bonding over their shared frustrations with Raylan was fun, and it was a deceptively calm beginning to an unexpectedly violent plotline which found Art faithfully defending Allison only to realize that she had blood all over her, which turned out to be his. That final haunting shot of Raylan visiting Art at the hospital says it all, and this hour certainly gave him a lot to think about. Calling the interim chief out on making him a right-hand man was entertaining, and while it’s not too surprising to learn that Art’s choice to be his replacement was Rachel, it’s definitely going to change things. Daryl surrendering to ensure that Raylan wouldn’t outright kill him was probably smart, though having Kendal implicate himself in Art’s shooting demonstrates his pitiful nature. While Ava was busy amassing a loyal following in prison, Boyd managed to gain the upper hand in a tricky situation by returning to his roots and putting a bomb in a cigarette. I’ve always said that these criminals are fantastic creatures, and that’s never been truer. With the Crowe family almost out of the picture, Mary Steenburgen’s Katherine Hale seems like a perfect nemesis for the law, even if she hasn’t yet gotten under Raylan’s skin, just Vasquez’s.

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