Author’s note: Fans new to “Justified,” especially those who need a refresher course on the main character, Raylan Givens, as well as the villainous Crowe family, are encouraged to seek out “Raylan,” the final novel written by the character’s creator, Elmore Leonard. One of Leonard’s best, it’s the next best thing to watching the entirety of the show’s previous four seasons. Though that is also strongly recommended.
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. Episode 5.4: “Over the Mountain” (original airdate, Jan. 28, 2014). Directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton; written by Taylor Elmore (8 out of 10)
The story so far: After one high-profile shooting of a criminal too many, trigger-happy Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens has been re-assigned — from his home in drug-infested Miami to his now, more-overrun-by-drugs childhood home in eastern Kentucky (specifically, Harlan County). Back in semi-familiar territory, loose cannon Raylan butts heads with his new co-workers and his new, no-nonsense boss, Art Mullen, and 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 fellow Deputy U.S. Marshal Tim Gutterson try to track down Wade Messer, who’s gone missing after a confrontation with Dewey Crowe and the newly arrived Florida Crowes. Meanwhile, Boyd is close to solving the mystery of his missing drug shipment but is striking out with efforts to free his jailed lover, Ava.
Unbeknownst to most, including Raylan, Wade has been working as an undercover informant and has been gathering information on Boyd for the authorities. That makes Raylan’s one-time pal a prime suspect in Wade’s disappearance, though it turns out Dewey is the responsible party. A would-be double-cross has led to struggle up in the mountains, and has left both Wade and Dewey badly injured.
Following up on a few leads, Raylan and Tim encounter Danny Crowe, Dewey’s cousin, who’s none too pleased to see the marshals (he even sics his watchdog on the duo), then have a face-to-face with Boyd, who’s just as surprised to find out that Wade is missing.
Boyd also goes to prison, to reassure Ava that’s doing everything he can to get her free, and as a safe middle ground to confront his cousin, Johnny, the man he believes is responsible for hijacking his drugs and killing his men.
As for Raylan’s boss, Art, he’s gone to Detroit to meet up with his fellow U.S. Marshal Ed Kirkland, who’s got intriguing information about the death of a local crime lord, Nicky Augustine. (Last season, Raylan helped stood by as Nicky’s former associates filled him full of lead. A lot of lead.)
Written by Taylor Elmore, “Over the Mountain” is an old-fashioned pot-boiler that may remind some of the Coen brothers debut, “Blood Simple,” especially with its dark blend of thrills and laughs, and incompetent murder and cover-up scheme. The Dewey-Wade betrayal and fight sequence dominates the early part of the episode, and it’s every bit as amusing as it is enthralling.
Elmore’s script definitely shows the influence of the unrelated Leonard (who would have loved Boyd and Tim’s game of Scrabble), and is every bit as quippy as we’ve come to expect from this show. Among the episode’s best one-liners:
“Are you a midget? Because that’s a midget shovel.” (Dewey)
“He’s a drug dealer and a bona-fide imbecile.” “Shouldn’t be too hard to find him then.” (Raylan, then Art)
“I think something just came between me and my Calvins.” (Tim)
“That’s a sitcom I’d pay to see.” (Raylan)
“Aren’t you a little short for a Stormtrooper?” (Ava)
“Your use of the past tense fills me with a sense of forebode.” (Boyd)
“We got too many Canadians. Justin Bieber. Celine Dion …” “Steve Nash.” (Ed, then Art)
Kudos also to director Gwyneth Horder-Payton, who also collaborated with “Justified” show runner Graham Yost on the well-regarded FX Networks series “The Shield,” and deftly handles both the dramatic and comedic material.
And, of course, it’s nice to see Raylan’s fellow U.S. Marshal, Tim, get some needed screen time. Speaking of Raylan, he finally has a face-to-face with Boyd in this episode, and it’s easy to see a new character arc developing: Our irresponsible hero/anti-hero is reluctantly being thrown into a parental role. (First, he ducked his responsibilities with his newborn daughter and ex-wife. But now he’s entangled with a seductive social worker, who’s led him to aid the wayward teen Loretta McCready and accidentally persuaded him to wrest the youngest of the Crowes, Kendal, from his older brothers.)
Overall rating: 8 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), Shashawnee Hall (Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Ed Kirkland), Damon Herriman (Dewey Crowe), James LeGros (Wade Messer), David Meunier (Johnny Crowder) and Michael Rapaport (Daryl Crowe, Jr.)
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).