What I’m Watching: Justified

Justified: Season 5, Episode 3 “Good Intentions” (B+)

There’s something about not knowing who the bad guys are that makes the drama on this show all the more appealing. The best character in this episode, a difficult determination, was Amy Smart’s Allison. It seemed obvious that the man who threatened Raylan with a baseball bat wasn’t sent there by Monroe, but I love the fact that it didn’t even occur to Raylan that Allison could have been the one who sent him. That she didn’t bother to deny it and kept him thinking after it happened was completely awesome, and I think she’s the perfect match for Raylan, far more interesting than Winona ever was and much more dangerous too. Monroe is doing plenty of interesting things on the outside, namely nearly strangling his maid, who Raylan got to help him frame Wynn for a big theft in a way that will help to draw him out. Anything that means more of Xander Berkeley on this show is fine by me. Boyd is doing a great job of moving the pieces on his chess board and making sure that things are looking his way, and eliciting the identity of his new number one enemy was quite resourceful. Johnny has always been a great complicated character on this show, and I’m eager for his return. Dewey’s visit to Boyd to demand money back from him did not go as planned, and it’s obvious that having Daryl around is going to spell a whole lot of trouble for him that definitely won’t result in Dewey seeing a big payday.

What I’m Watching: Burn Notice

Burn Notice: Season 3, Episode 15 “Good Intentions” (B+)

Only one episode of this season left already? That’s a shame. Fortunately, USA does have one of the most awesome airing schedules for its shows, so that we only have to wait a couple of months before this show returns. Things certainly do seem to be moving very quickly, with uber-villain Gilroy getting outsmarted and violently taken out by an even more malicious enemy whose face we almost got to see in this episode. Hopefully Michael will finally learn his identity in the finale, and then he’ll have a whole new set of problems to deal with in season four. Gilroy didn’t contribute much to the show aside from forcing a jittery Michael to buckle down and get serious, and his arc certainly didn’t compare to that of Carla or even the tragically short-lived recurring appearance of Detective Paxson. Gilroy not factoring that much into the show was fine though, especially because it allowed Michael in this episode to help his friends out for once at a moment’s notice instead of the other way around. I do love seeing Sam and Fiona work together. Sam had two great lines in this episode, the first to Michael – “if he offers you a ride, treat it like it’s candy, and you say no. Oh Mike, don’t you dare” – and the second to Fiona: “Fiona, don’t go in that house. I really need some new friends.” The appearance of “24” veteran Carlos Bernard was a bit fun, and it was amusing to see him put on an accent to try to differentiate from his often one-note performance on FOX’s real-time thriller. Among all of the entertaining Michael narration bits, the one I enjoyed most was “fighting two against one is never ideal.” Thanks, Michael, I never would have guessed.