Justified rewatch: 2x12 and 2x13

[gwyn]

2.12 Reckoning
Original Air Date: April 27, 2011
Written by: Dave Andron
Directed by: Adam Arkin



When a brutal murder hits close to home, Raylan will stop at nothing to hunt down the killer.


2.13 Bloody Harlan
Original Air Date: May 4, 2011
Written by: Fred Golan
Directed by: Michael Dinner



The quest for a missing person forces Raylan to wade into a war that has erupted in Harlan between Boyd and the Bennetts.

Please share your thoughts and reactions in comments.

Comments

[mackiemesser]

2.12 - You can just see the shit coming down the pike in this episode and it doesn't look like there's any way to stop it. Deals, double-crosses, friends and enemies sometimes being the same person, old grudges and new offenses...Every scene just leaves me thinking "Well, that can't be good."

And Raylan is just so thrown by Helen's death that he isn't thinking at all clearly about what's happening around him.
Also, his coat is excellent.

2.13 - And yet another situation where I just don't get Winona. What kind of person tells someone not to go help a girl in trouble? Or says they might not be there after? Yeah, I get that she wants Raylan alive coz of the baby and that Harlan is a very bad place for Raylan to be on a good day, but how does she so fundamentally misunderstand who he is? Art clearly knows when he hedges about sending Raylan to Georgia. Tho that may be as much for his doubts about Raylan's teaching abilities as much as anything else.

I do love how Raylan and Boyd keep saving each other and griping about it.

And Art saves the day by knowing way more about what's going on then he lets on!

That ending with Mags is one of the best scenes in TV. Tremendous performances all around. Just deserts and tragic at the same time.

[gwyn]

Yeah, I just...I hated that they made me hate Winona so much, but goddamn, issuing an ultimatum for him to not go help a 12-year-old girl in danger just...what the fuck. Yes, Harlan is dangerous for Raylan, and she doesn't want to lose him again, but as you say, she's completely ignoring who he fundamentally is as a person, and asking him to be less human, because his humanity is so deeply tied in to doing what's right and helping people.

It was amazing the way they kept ratcheting up the suspense till you hit these just really suspenseful episodes and you're wondering if Raylan really could get killed--he's not seeing clearly with the loss of Helen. I loved the way it was filmed when he's coming up to the house, the sound being out...it was really amazing.

[mackiemesser]

Exactly! If they hadn't messed her up so much, then there could have been some real tension with the idea that an idyllic life in GA with her and the kid was a likely thing. Instead, it felt like that would be just as bad a choice as staying in Harlan (albeit with less ancestral feuding).

You couldn't tell how it was going to all end up right until that last scene. And with that, there was a huge amount of suspense with what was in the glasses. A fantastic job of mirroring the beginning of the season, too.

Reckoning

[hafital]

I feel so bad for Raylan in this episode. He may have had issues about her marrying Arlo (who wouldn't) but regardless she was a mother to him. Also, not sure if she did much to ease relations between father and son but without her there really is nothing at all between them.

As achy as it is, i really love scene at Arlo's house when Boyd shows up. Rylan's totally thrown by Boyd and Ava being there.

I love Mags, but I do not believe her "i had every intention of living a simple life" lol.

Doyle's face when Raylan shows up at Jed's home lol. And then straight up calls Doyle on the plan.

Timothy is so good in that scene with Dickie. It's fitting somehow that it's his love and appreciation for Helen, and speaking of her, that reminds him of who he is, who he was able to become because of her, so he doesn't kill Dickie.

Nice twist at the end. Mags had that ace up her sleeve.

Re: Reckoning

[gwyn]

That scene with Dickie was really incredible. Everything about it was the kind of thing that made me almost angry the show was passed over most of the time for recognition--because that was deserving of all the awards.

Also that rage simmering under Raylan's skin, just finally boiling over uncontrollably when he beats Arlo. Like, we've been seeing it for two seasons, wondering what's going to happen, and then it explodes because the one thing tempering his ability to cope is gone...just amazing work.

Re: Reckoning

[hafital]

and then it explodes because the one thing tempering his ability to cope is gone...just amazing work.

Yes! I mean, he really punches Arlo, he's not holding back.

Bloody Harlan

[hafital]

Having just recently watched Dark Waters, I keep thinking the whole Black Pike situation is gonna poison Harlan in the same way. So sad.

One of my favorite parts of the culmination of this season is that it's Loretta that ends it. These criminal masterminds and long standing family taken down by a 14 year old girl.

I'm a little confused by Winona here. I think she handled the situation poorly, saying she won't be there when Raylan gets back. But at the same time, she probably saved his life by going to Art. 'Cause if Art and the Marshal's hadn't shown up when they did, Raylan would likely have died. So? I don't know. I know she doesn't get much love from us, but I'm not sure that's her fault.

Is there a reason Dickie can't have a knee replacement? Just wondering.

BOYD TO THE RESCUE. lol i love it. When I watched Justified the first time, I wasn't really into Raylan/Boyd though I saw why it was popular, but this time around I am digging the ying/yang push me pull me of their dynamic.

TIM TO THE RESCUE. Or I guess all the marshals, and Art. But that was definitely Tim's sniper shot, taking down Doyle. (you know I kinda liked Doyle. Or it could just be that I find the actor kinda cuddly-looking lol. He slots into my Mark Ruffallo type. Don't think I've seen him in anything else).

Considering Mags probably was planning to kill herself the moment she confessed to killing Loretta's dad in front of the marshals, not wanting Loretta to shoot her was probably one of the few decent things Mags ever did.

Also, i'm glad she didn't mix up those glasses! So ends the Bennetts. Well, I guess there's still Dickie.

Re: Bloody Harlan

[gwyn]

I mean, I wish I didn't hate Winona--I started out liking her a lot. But between the "quit your job" - "what do you mean, go live with you in Georgia" - "I'm avoiding your calls" - "blah blah ultimatum" I just couldn't handle her anymore and I was glad when she became less of a presence. I'm glad she went to Art, but it almost seemed like she had to, because she'd issued that ultimatum and then realized what that was going to mean.

I do love that Tim, even though he doesn't get much to do, comes swooping in with his amazing sniper skills. He's so great.

You can say a lot about Mags, but deep in her black heart, she really did care about Loretta. She just went about everything wrong.

Re: Bloody Harlan

[hafital]

But between the "quit your job" - "what do you mean, go live with you in Georgia" - "I'm avoiding your calls" - "blah blah ultimatum" I just couldn't handle her anymore and I was glad when she became less of a presence.

It was definitely a relief when she's off the screen. It's poor characterization, imo. They didn't want Raylan having a functioning relationship because that's not who he is right now, but it meant she and him had to clash. they just didn't do it in any interesting way. but at least they didn't kill her, which is what so many other shows do.