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 (approx.). Episode 5.10: “Weight” (original airdate, March 18, 2014). Directed by John Dahl; written by Taylor Elmore and Keith Schreier (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 narrowly avoids crossing paths with Boyd, as both men try to track down Dewey Crowe, who’s gone missing with part of Boyd’s seemingly ill-fated heroin shipment. Meanwhile, Boyd’s imprisoned girlfriend, Ava, who’s now resorting to extreme measures to ensure her safety and standing behind bars.
Including “Weight,” there are just four episodes remaining in the show’s fifth season, which perhaps explains why it’s so densely plotted. The episode quickly hits the ground running, with the delinquent Dewey Crowe, who is trying to blackmail both his Florida Crowe relatives and Boyd by holding onto his “whole half” of the Mexican heroin shipment.
That leaves Boyd’s Dixie Mafia associates less than pleased. In fact, his supposed business partner, Winn Duffy, is at the end of his rope with the drug-smuggling fiasco, and calls in an old associate, Katherine Hale, to help him decide how to proceed in the future. (Duffy’s other partner, Picker, appears ready to eliminate Boyd from the equation altogether.)
Meanwhile, Raylan keeps close watch on the Florida Crowes, and eventually finds himself discussing Dewey’s whereabouts with another familiar face, Dickie Bennett, who claims to know where the fugitive Crowe is, and who tries to use that information to better his circumstances (he’s still serving time for his crimes in the series’ first couple of seasons).
Speaking of incarceration, the similarly imprisoned Ava tries to cut ties with a distraught Boyd, and agrees to murder a fellow inmate. (This prison subplot has now gone way beyond ludicrous. It’s just tiresome, and it’s beginning to take time away from other, better story lines.)
Actress Mary Steenburgen gets limited screen time as Winn’s mentor, though Davies makes the most of his scenes with Olyphant. (More Dickie, less Ava. Please?)
And the imbalanced-but-still-enjoyable “Weight” does resolve a couple of dangling plot lines: We find out that Miller, the DEA veteran played by Eric Roberts, is still alive, and Danny Crowe’s past actions come back to haunt him.
Film veteran John Dahl (“Rounders,” “Joy Ride”) directed the episode, which again runs longer than a “television hour” (by at least 10 minutes). The script comes courtesy series veteran Taylor Elmore and newcomer Keith Schreier. As we’ve come to expect, “Weight” has quite a few memorable quips and quote exchanges. Among the better ones:
“Just trying to imagine what my Einstein’s going to do with a carload of Mexican brown.” (Raylan)
“I got the WHOLE half!” (Dewey)
“A lot of confidence in a man that wears shorts and combat boots.” (Raylan)
“How did you find where I live?” “They got this thing called Google.” (Allison, then Kendal)
“You got yourself trapped between a Detroit rock and a shit-kicker hard place.” (Katherine)
“When do I get what’s coming to me?” “Seems like what you got coming is jack. And shit.” (Dickie, then Raylan)
“So you didn’t shoot him? Well, that’s something.” (Art)
“I’ve spent a lot of time in the company of bad men and criminals. Between you and me, I’m every bit as dependable as they are.” (Boyd)
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 (Winn Duffy) and Joelle Carter (Ava Crowder)
Guest stars: A.J. Buckley (Danny Crowe), Jeremy Davies (Dickie Bennett), Damon Herriman (Dewey Crowe), Jacob Lofland (Kendal Crowe), Michael Rapaport (Daryl Crowe, Jr.), Mary Steenburgen (Katherine Hale) 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), as well as be seen reviewing films as part of Xfinity’s Big Movie Mouth-Off (www.facebook.com/BigMovieMouthOff).