What I’m Watching: The Catch

The Catch: Season 2, Episode 2 “The Hammer” (B-)

There’s a certain silliness to this show that doesn’t quite feel appropriate for the rather serious and deadly content that does happen on this show, both with the assassination of Margot’s most loyal henchman and Tommy’s precarious predicament. I can’t understand why Margot would think to hire Alice and Val, and I’m just as puzzled by the fact that they didn’t try to ensnare her in a trap so that they could send her back to jail. Somehow, they pulled this off without the FBI catching on or even noticing that anything was up since Justine was too busy mocking Ben and Rhys for thinking that they knew better regarding how to execute a job. They’re both being awfully casual about this informant-undercover work they’re doing, and just as unsubtle with impromptu dinner parties complete with Rhys wearing an apron and preparing a home-cooked meal. I’m not growing too fond of Tommy the more we get to know him, and tracking down Rhys to do something illicit with the money that we’ve just learned is very dangerous is a twist that just serves to complicate matters. Their plan to smoke out the sniper was admittedly pretty cool, and it worked very well even if he did get off a few shots at the decoys. Sophie being mad at Danny for not checking in on her might have been more compelling if the two were more fully-established characters, and instead we just got to see Sophie jump way in to an ill-advised romance with Tommy.

What I’m Watching: Justified

Justified: Season 1, Episode 10 “The Hammer” (B+)

This show does an excellent job of maintaining its greater storyline regarding Raylan’s career, his romance with Ava, and the tumultuous personality that is Boyd Crowder while still exploring a different, less important case each episode. In this case, Stephen Root’s guest appearance as a despicable judge who isn’t corrupt (as ends up being the case in similar storylines on shows like “Law & Order: SVU” and “The Good Wife”) but rather just eccentric and desperate to cause a ruckus. The judge’s conversations with Raylan were very intriguing and enlightening. The judge telling the waitress that “he’ll have what I’m having or he won’t have anything at all” followed by Raylan’s addition of “and water” was fun. The judge’s explanation that he picked Raylan because he thought he would shoot the man trying to kill him on sight was interesting as well. Seeing a lot more of Boyd is a great thing, and I love the relationship he and Raylan have. That was quite a sermon that Raylan gave at the start of the episode telling Boyd’s flock to turn him in with any evidence that would send him back to jail. Boyd really is a tricky fellow to figure out, spouting lines like “the truth always sounds like lies to a sinner” but still blowing up people just like he used to before he went to prison. His accidental murder of a man will likely plague his conscience, but Raylan will definitely be doing his fair share of bothering Boyd in the meantime. After tackling the preacher played by Doug E. Doug, Raylan became rather frightening when he whispered “you think you’re scared of him – you got no idea what you can expect from me.” His closing assertion that “I’m not that guy” solidifies the idea that he is a good man trying to do the right thing, not just shoot as many people as possible.