Justified rewatch: 1x06 and 1x07

[gwyn]

1.6 The Collection
Original Air Date: April 20, 2010
Written by: Graham Yost
Directed by: Rod Holcomb



After seizing an opulent Kentucky horse farm, Raylan and the Marshals Service deal with the owner's apparent suicide, and his widow, while they search for the dead man's problematic missing art.



1.7 Blind Spot
Original Air Date: April 27, 2010
Written by: Wendy Calhoun
Directed by: Michael Watkins



After foiling an apparent hit on Ava, Raylan will stop at nothing to track down the people responsible, only to find that she may not have been their actual target.

Please share your thoughts and reactions in comments.

Comments

The Collection

[gwyn]

Man, I love this episode, because the bantery dialog is just sublime from nearly every character. Art's "Because I can't stop staring at your nipples!" Raylan's "I think people are entitled to their hobbies, and I'm entitled to think those people are creepy." That may be one of my favorite lines ever in any show. "I'd rather stick my dick in a blender." AUSA Vasquez's whole introductory monologue.

I love the scene with Raylan and the future widow having that bantery conversation and sharing a drink, until she shows her anti-semitic colors and he instantly just stops the drink on the way to his mouth, and decides it's time to leave. And Raylan knowing right away it wasn't suicide and his eagle-eyed observations about what was really going on--the paintings, the boyfriend, etc.

But that whole reveal at the end of what the art dealer was doing with all those Hitler paintings, and Raylan being, for once, self-aware enough to realize how poisonous that is and calling off Boyd asking around about his father, was so brilliant. Geez, I loved that.

Re: The Collection

[mackiemesser]

Yeah, it's a really interesting way to show where some of Raylan's lines are. Drug dealing and murder? He can work with that. Actual Nazis? NO. And very interesting, given how easily he saw through Boyd's opportunistic Neo-Nazism in the pilot. Raylan called bullshit on that right away and made it clear how stupid he thought it was, and also made it really clear he knew Boyd didn't actually believe it. But that "widow?" She meant it and Raylan wasn't having it.

I always thought that ending was a wonderful example of a quiet tragedy. Because Raylan very much understood why the art dealer was doing what he did, and had a certain amount of sympathy, but also saw how it was consuming the art dealer.

A lot of really interesting layers to this episode.

Edited to add: I LOVE Vasquez! He is so very not impressed.

[gwyn]

I am shallow and I freaking love that scene where Raylan leaps over the table to try to choke Boyd--those long, long legs stretching out. I...may have used my instant replay button on that scene A LOT.

There's some really weird camera work in this episode, especially that scene with Boyd--weird super closeups of just Boyd's or Raylan's mouths, strange angles. It's like someone decided to get fancy but without a clear purpose in mind.

I was amused at this kicking off the trend of actors from Deadwood showing up, but they seemed to dispatch the Reverend really fast, especially if he's Gio's button man. Loved Helen intervening with Johnny. Though I found that scene where they make him strip out in the middle of his own bar really disturbing--yeah, we know the Crowders are evil, but that whole show of force really bugged me.

I loved Brent Sexton from Life, so I was sorry that he turned out to be the bad guy here. I'd really hoped he might stick around. But you like down with dogs, you get fleas, as they say.

Art's blowup was a thing of beauty. Nick Searcy is a disarmingly good actor, you just don't really see it under the genial demeanor he projects in a lot of his roles.

The Collector

[hafital]

I do love this episode, and not just because it has horses in it :D.

Things I loved:

Raylan without his shirt.
Love that Ava is in an oversized shirt and boxers
"Cause I can't keep from staring at your nipples!" haha
Love the Band of Brothers alumni that wander through this series. AUSA Vasquez is a fav.
EMH Doctor! Picardo is always a treat to watch.
Loved the reveal of Hitler's shitty paintings at the end. I thought that was a really powerful moment.
PONIES. It doesn't take much to make me happy, okay.

I will just say that no one who is serious about riding would wear such a ridiculous floofy shirt as the one the wife character wears at the beginning of the episode. What the hell is that thing? lol. If I saw someone wearing a shirt like that at my barn on an every day occasion I would think she's loco. A clear sign this character is a bad person haha.

Blindspot

[hafital]

My favorite part of this episode is that it's Boyd who makes Raylan realize the shooter was after him and not Ava. There are a lot of other great parts to this episode to go along with that, but that one sticks out.

I remember watching this episode for the first time and trying to figure out if the sheriff was good or bad, and then being a little bummed he was bad, though not being surprised.

I like the tie back to Long in the Tooth.

LOVE the scene between Art and Raylan, but that's a given. I mean, any time Art is yelling at Raylan is golden imo.

I feel like Bo Crowder is legitimately scary and intimidating. Maybe it's his size. I like the parallels this show sets up between Raylan's home life as a kid with Arlo and Boyd's home life as a kid with Bo.