By Jeff Michael Vice
JUSTIFIED – Live-action drama developed by Graham Yost, based on characters created by Elmore Leonard; rated TV-MA; airs Tuesdays on FX; 60 minutes (approximately). Episode 5.12: “Starvation” (original airdate, April 1, 2014). Directed by Michael Pressman; written by Chris Provenzano (7 out of 10)
The story so far: After one high-profile shooting too many (mostly criminal types), trigger-happy Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens has been re-assigned. He’s gone from his home in drug-infested Miami back to his now, more-overrun-by-drugs childhood home in eastern Kentucky (specifically, Harlan County). Once again in semi-familiar territory, loose cannon Raylan butts heads with his new co-workers and his new, no-nonsense boss, Art Mullen. He also has an uneasy reunion with his estranged family members, as well as his childhood friend, Boyd Crowder, who has become a local drug kingpin.
In this episode: Raylan and the rest of the local Marshals Office try to get the evidence they need to arrest Darryl Crowe Jr., the man they believe was responsible for putting Art in the hospital. Boyd and his Dixie Mafia “partner,” Wynn Duffy, also have their reasons for wanting to find Darryl, who’s partially to blame for the missing half of their Mexican drug shipment. And in the meantime, Boyd’s imprisoned girlfriend, Ava, finds her life in serious peril from her revenge-minded fellow inmates.
The show’s fifth season ends next week with a much-anticipated finale, and while the main story lines continue to ratchet up in this sometimes gripping hour, the penultimate episode still has a few, dead-end story “progressions” and even leaves a few characters spinning their wheels. They include Raylan’s fellow Deputy U.S. Marshals Tim Gutterson and Rachel Brooks, who’s been put in charge of the office while Art is hospitalized.
Along with Raylan, Tim and Rachel put pressure on Boyd and Wynn, both of whom have also been threatened by their Mexican drug connections, to help them snare Darryl, even entrap him to provide the evidence they need for an arrest and conviction. (The clever Darryl has gotten his teenage nephew to take the fall for Art’s shooting.)
That includes impounding Wynn’s RV and using Ava as a pawn, to convince Boyd to draw Darryl out into the open. Speaking of Ava, she’s now taken the place of the semi-crazed Judith, the prison “religious leader” she killed while behind bars. That has made her a hero to some – including her conspirator, Penny – while others are biding their time, waiting for the right opening.
The latter subplot continues to steal time from the better characters and story, especially in this episode. The more interesting elements include some intrigue with paralegal Wendy Crowe (Alicia Witt), who is torn by her family loyalties and horror at what older brother Darryl has been up, as well as the Marshals Office turmoil. Rachel is clearly keeping an eye on Raylan, who becomes more ruthless as the episode progresses.
Some welcome comic relief comes in the form of Dewey Crowe (Damon Herriman, amusing as always), who returns to Harlan and accidentally upsets Raylan’s best-laid plans.
Michael Pressman, a television veteran who also helmed 1991’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze,” directed the episode. And series regular Chris Provenzano scripted “Starvation,” which does have its share of memorable quips and quote exchanges. Some of the better ones include:
“Is it something that won’t involve any skinning or skin-related procedures?” (Wynn)
“Apparently it’s all the rage with the cartels, to break up the tedium of the beheadings.” (Wynn)
“Never did I imagine you would trap the mouse with a file.” “The grand jury doesn’t give two shits how you’ve been trapped.” (Boyd, then Raylan)
“Your savior has arrived.” (Boyd)
“Did I say something funny?” “You are who you are. I find it amusing.” (Boyd, then Raylan)
“Why don’t you leave out the parts we’d like to skip?” (Tim)
“Normally we’d sit and have a beer and exchange pleasantries and shit, but I just ain’t got that time.” (Darryl)
“If it’s gonna be longer than a minute, mind if I come in and take a shit?” (Dewey)
“That is a silver tongue.” “I know I got a boner.” (Rachel, then Tim)
“Messer? I was joking.” “That’s good. I’d stick with that.” (Dewey, then Raylan)
Overall rating: 7 out of 10
CAST:
The regular characters: Timothy Olyphant (Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens), Walton Goggins (Boyd Crowder), Nick Searcy (Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Art Mullen), Jacob Pitts (Deputy U.S. Marshal Tim Gutterson), Erica Tazel (Deputy U.S. Marshal Rachel Brooks), Jere Burns (Wynn Duffy) and Joelle Carter (Ava Crowder)
Guest stars: Rick Gomez (ADA David Vasquez), Damon Herriman (Dewey Crowe), Danielle Panabaker (Penny), Michael Rapaport (Darryl Crowe, Jr.), Stephen Root (Judge Reardon) and Alicia Witt (Wendy Crowe)
Jeff Michael Vice, aka Jerk-bot, can be heard reviewing films, television programs, comics, books, music and other things as part of The Geek Show Podcast (www.thegeekshowpodcast.com), writing movie reviews and related stories for Cinephiled (www.cinephiled.com) and be seen reviewing films as part of Xfinity’s Big Movie Mouth-Off (www.facebook.com/BigMovieMouthOff).