Justified rewatch: 3x04 and 3x05

[gwyn]

3.04 The Devil You Know
Original Air Date: February 7, 2012
Written by: Taylor Elmore
Directed by: Dean Parisot



A prison guard springs Dickie and Dewey from prison in an attempt to get his hands on Mags's secret fortune, while Robert Quarles offers Devil a shot at becoming a boss if he betrays Boyd.


3.05 Thick As Mud
Original Air Date: February 14, 2012
Written by: Jon Worley and Benjamin Cavell
Directed by: Adam Arkin



Raylan races to save Dewey Crowe from a gang of vicious organ harvesters. Boyd faces off with a new adversary.

Please share your thoughts and reactions in comments.

Comments

[gwyn]

I truly forgot how insanely violent this season was--the show has always been that way, but damn, it's just blood-soaked. I feel like there's not a lot to distinguish The Devil You Know in terms of story, but it was really great to see Raylan and Rachel working together so much in both of these episodes. I watched these over a week or so ago, so I'm actually having trouble remembering specific lines or scenes that stick with me beyond the fascinating spar that Rachel and Limehouse engage in, which Raylan gleefully joins in and pulls his hapless white man schtick.

I laughed a lot the first time I saw Thick As Mud, back then, but now it just grates on me in so many ways. Dewey is a moron, which is always kind of funny, but there's a cruelty to this is harder to take now for me. I also groaned the first time over the whole organ harvesting crap and the tired old trope of sticking someone with a needle in the arm and they go down like a sack of potatoes, but for some reason, now it just makes me freaking annoyed. This was not one of their better episodes, and I feel like it doesn't hold up well at all. I am probably the cheese that stands alone in this, though.

Though I will say Raylan running over Todd Stashwick with his car--twice!--was still hilarious.

[mackiemesser]

3.04 - Has there ever been a show where adding Todd Stashwick hasn't been the highlight of any episode he's in? I remember laughing so hard at him getting hit with the car: first in disbelief, then because it was the sort of thing you always thing the good guy should do when the villain gets back up, and then even more because it was such a "Well, shit.." practical thing for Raylan to do.

I really enjoy when Rachel tours Harlan with Raylan. Because it gives the outsider POV inside the show and she is just so incredibly unimpressed with all their bullshit.

3.05 - While the overall story is just meh, I do really enjoy the details of this ep, like Dewey trying to rob the store and the clerk patiently explaining that everyone uses credit cards instead of cash. Dewey's absolute conviction that he's lost his kidneys is so very absurd that it dances around parody but I still got a kick out of it. Raylan's willingness to step back when Rachel takes on Limehouse is one of my favorite things about him: if he's not the best person to handle the situation at the time, he's happy to let someone else take the lead.
The Boyd and Quarels standoff is also a wonderful moment.

The Devil You Know

[hafital]

So begins the hunt for Mags's money. I almost feel bad for Dickie Bennett. Almost.

Always a pleasure to see Clayne Crawford play a bad guy! His villain is more interesting than the guard who I find generally tedious.

There is a lot of complexity here -- with Limehouse and Nobles Holler acting as a nexus between the Bennett clan and the Givens clan, past and present. It's interesting how the introduction of Limehouse widens the Harlen County that we've known so far, but at the same times adds to the suffocating claustrophobia of the place, somehow making it smaller.

Once again the chemistry between Raylan and Boyd (and the actors) in that scene at Boyd's bar just makes this show a pleasure to watch. This relationship is so complex. i love the smile Raylan gives Boyd when he tips him on to the bent guard.

So glad Raylan runs that guard over.

Rachel taking out her rubber gloves is such a power move.

Boyd really plays that final scene up. Poor Devil. Never had a chance.

Thick as Mud

[hafital]

This is a popular plot for tv and films alike -- the racing agains the clock episode, though typically the subject is the hero/protagonist. Not here! I don't feel bad for Dewey, but it's rather difficult to watch him flail around. Though his final line did still make me laugh. "You mean I got four kidneys?"

Honestly I'm happy we get two episodes in a row with Raylan and Rachel working together.

That's a tender scene between Boyd and Eva.

I love Raylan but the bad guys get the drop on him a lot. Yet he always manages to survive somehow! That female fake nurse was annoying.

I remember the first time watching this, figuring out that Winona was going to be gone during that scene with Raylan and Art in the car.