JUSTIFIED: Tuesday 10PM on FX
Final seasons, as we all know, can be tricky, but JUSTIFIED seems to be in strong shape as it enters its last lap.
Justified lost a bit of its mojo last year, the victim of some inadequate villains and scattered plotting (the whole Mexican druglord subplot seemed to come from a more conventional crime drama). Season 6 returns the show to its roots, back in Harlan County and ready at long last to spring the storyline that’s been in its hip pocket from the very start: the showdown between Federal Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant)–his last assignment before transferring to Florida where his semi-ex Winona (Natalie Zea) and their baby are living–and Raylan’s deadly frenemy Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins).
The Season 6 premiere, written by Executive Producers Michael Dinner and Fred Golan and Co-Executive Producer Chris Provenzano, and directed by Dinner, underscored the intimacy of the risks at this late stage of the proceedings by having Boyd mercilessly kill one of Justified‘s best-liked recurring characters, the hapless Dewey Crowe (Damon Herriman). Dewey had been lucky to last this long, being seemingly marked for death (usually as a result of his own stupidity) for multiple seasons, but his execution at Boyd’s own hand was a message to viewers that no one is going to be safe this season, particularly Boyd’s wife (and Raylan’s spy) Ava (Joelle Carter), who’s desperately trying to avoid being sent back to jail or to the grave.
Justified is notable for the sure hand of its pacing (along with its wittily hardboiled dialogue, this is one of the most characteristic signs of its Elmore Leonard provenance), and although there were outbursts of violence in the premiere, much of the time was spent laying groundwork for plotting that will take shape through the coming weeks. Boyd was commissioned to rob a bank security deposit box (presumably by the crime boss played by Mary Steenburgen last season, although she wasn’t present tonight), but instead of finding cash inside, there were as-yet mysterious ledgers and records. Meanwhile, an equally mysterious figure played by Garret Dillahunt showed up at the place Raylan had inherited from his father with a suitcase full of money and an offer to immediately buy.
Even last year’s sub-par Justified season was slickly enjoyable, with typically sharp repartee and letter-perfect performances by the cast, led by Olyphant and Goggins in what have become signature roles. This year, the stakes are higher, as deadlines and fate hang heavy over all the central characters (not to mention the show’s legacy), voiced by Raylan’s chief Art Mullen (Nick Searcy) who, sidelined by last season’s injuries, sadly had only one pungent scene in the episode. It’s clear that not everyone will survive to the final end credits. Graham Yost, who created the series, and his writing/producing team are showing the kind of pragmatic intelligence Leonard prized, with their decision to end Justified before it can reach that limbo area of decline where a show is still entertaining enough to watch, but existing on the fumes of its former glory. With one hopefully great story still to tell, Justified has a chance that most of its characters will miss out on: it can go out on top.
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