Justified rewatch: 1x01 Fire in the Hole

[gwyn]

Okay, let's kick this off! Justified rewatch starting with that amazing pilot episode. I'll have a master post up with links as soon as we get more than one episode down, but in the meantime you can find out how to see the series if you want to join in by clicking the justified my love tag.

1.1 Fire in the Hole
Original air date: March 16, 2010
Written by Graham Yost
Directed by Michael Dinner



After the "justified" shooting of a Miami gangster, Deputy US Marshal Raylan Givens is reassigned to his home state of Kentucky, where he takes on a case involving an old acquaintance he once mined coal with, who has become a white supremacist and blown up an African American church.

Please share your thoughts and reactions in comments.

Comments

[j_pole]

Hi!

I watched ‘Justified’ for the first time this winter and wanted to share my love for this show with somebody ever since. I’m so excited you’re doing this!

First of all, to get this out of the way, I’m ESL and often struggle to express my feelings and thoughts in any coherent manner, so please forgive me for all the crimes against language I’m going to commit.

I was surprised to learn that in Leonard’s story it was Raylan’s partner who got killed (if I’m not mistaken). It’s an interesting choice to make him some random guy since him being Raylan’s partner would’ve made this first shooting a little more understandable. I like that the writers apparently weren’t too concerned about making their characters likable and palatable: this is who these people are and you can either take it or leave it. It’s very upfront. And of course, there’s Boyd. Boyd in the pilot and Boyd after the pilot; how he changes and how he doesn’t change, how his first appearance casts a shadow over his whole journey, a shadow he cannot escape – all of this is very interesting for me, both in-universe and out of it. I also like (well, like isn’t the right word, but…) how all three members of our main Harlan trio killed somebody in this episode and why they did it and how they did it tells you all you need to know about them.

Obviously, shooting all seasons in actual Kentucky was out of the realm of possibility, but sometimes I wish it wasn’t. The setting/mythology around Harlan fascinates me and is a big draw of the show. Like ‘The Wire’, it’s the US TV show about parts of US rarely shown on TV, even if ‘Justified’ is the opposite of ‘The Wire’ in many respects (despite having some similar themes).

Art is the best and immediately starts teasing Raylan <3 I wonder who told him about that thing from a rocket launcher. Was it Tim? I’m gonna headcanon it was Tim.

Ava’s line ‘Lysol is the best cleaning product you can buy’ is gold in this context. Raylan’s mother telling Ava about him becoming a marshal doesn’t work with the timeline. It should’ve been Helen. Unless I’m missing something obvious.

Marshals playing card games on a stakeout reminded me of that amazing fic, ‘Carry your man and their dead too’.

I can’t tell how many times I rewatched the scene at the table. It fully sold me on the show. One of the few things I osmosed about ‘Justified’ years ago was Raylan and Boyd’s rivalry. I remember reading somewhere that they’re one of the best pair of antagonists on TV at the moment (the moment was 2014, I think?) and they didn’t disappoint. Their complicated frenemyship (loaded with history we can only guess about) and Ava’s place in it is everything I wanted. And the relationships the three of them have with Harlan are just as interesting and complicated as the relationships they have with each other.
Raylan and Boyd are so caught up in their macho games, they forget about Ava. They keep underestimating her, even if they know by this point what she’s capable of. Not the last time they’ll make this mistake. Boyd clearly didn’t expect that Raylan will actually shoot him, I have no idea what he was thinking here. The music in this scene is beautiful. I love love love the flashback. I love that it’s the only one (at least, the only character backstory related one). It’s so simple and yet powerful.

Art indirectly asking why Raylan missed is a perfect example of why the dialogue on this show is good. Subtext, people!

Wow, so many things happened in this episode, it’s wild. You can tell this had a literary source, it feels complete.

I have a feeling I wanted to say ten other things I forgot, but it’s a start.
(I’m grandparadisedream on tumblr)

[gwyn]

I am SO glad that you saw the tumblr post and have joined us! I didn't expect there'd be a lot of people, but so far it was just me and hafital, so it's lovely to have another person to chat with about Justified feels. Your English is superb, don't worry about that--it's better than many native speakers I see!

I really do like that aspect of showing the characters' flaws and all--so often, on American TV, they're obsessed with making everyone so likeable that they become boring and there's no real sense of change or growth. That was one of the true strengths of the show, how complicated everyone was.

Like ‘The Wire’, it’s the US TV show about parts of US rarely shown on TV, even if ‘Justified’ is the opposite of ‘The Wire’ in many respects (despite having some similar themes).

Oh, that's a great point--and yes, there's such a sense of place, even if the place was only simulated in the following episodes.

Art is truly the best. I adore them all, though, and they make such great foils for Raylan sometimes, when he gets too full of himself.

I hadn't even thought of that, but you're right, it should have been Helen who told Ava about him becoming a Marshal!

That dinner table scene is one for the ages, man. I so rarely see this show included in great moments collections, which is a shame, because that table scene is so tense and fascinating, and there's such good acting going on--the way Raylan tracks Boyd when he's challenging Ava, the way Ava's anger boils over, Boyd's previously creepy obsession with her...it's all so delicious.

I'll have the next two episodes up on Tuesday--I figured that since the seasons are 13 episodes, I'd do the season pilot in one post, and then the other episodes in twos, just so it doesn't go too long. But if people think they'd prefer one episode a week, I can change that up, too. I'm really happy you're here!

[j_pole]

I really do like that aspect of showing the characters' flaws and all--so often, on American TV, they're obsessed with making everyone so likeable that they become boring and there's no real sense of change or growth.

Oh, yes. Earlier this month I saw some discussions of 'Succession' where some people were baffled that someone wants to watch a show with unlikeable characters, and those conversations always baffle me in return. I mean, I completely understand people preferring 'likeable characters', but in general, this seems very limiting.

I so rarely see this show included in great moments collections, which is a shame, because that table scene is so tense and fascinating, and there's such good acting going on
Co-signed!

Two episodes a week are good! These particular two weeks were a little crazy and I fell behind, but I'm going to catch up soon. Sorry for being behind the schedule!