Justified rewatch: 3x06 and 3x07

[gwyn]

3.06 When the Guns Come Out
Original Air Date: February 21, 2012
Written by: Nichelle D. Tramble
Directed by: Don Kurt



Boyd fights for control of the Harlan Oxy trade as Raylan works to keep the battle from becoming an all-out war.


3.07 The Man Behind the Curtin
Original Air Date: February 28, 2012
Written by: Ryan Farley
Directed by: Peter Werner



As his feud with Quarles and the Detroit mob heats up, Raylan's tactics puts him at odds with the FBI.

Please share your thoughts and reactions in comments.

Comments

[mackiemesser]

Both these episodes are excellent a racheting up the tension and the messiness and the feeling of impending doom.

Ellen May is a real standout in this season full of impressive characters.

But, really, the only thing that truly matters in this pair of episodes is the arrival of Stephen Tobolowsky.

[gwyn]

Yeah, it feels like they're much for moving the pieces around rather than full stories of their own. It was interesting in that there were no pictures in IMDB for the second episode, and I had to dig around for one but couldn't find any decent ones with Raylan in them. Like these episodes are sort of not important in and of themselves.

[mackiemesser]

Yep, they're perfectly adequate episodes, but they are wholly in service to the story arc in a way that didn't happen much in the first two seasons.

I mean, still better TV than most of what's out there and if this hadn't been following the powerhouse of Season 2, or the self-contained establishing eps of Season 1 I might view them differently.

When the Guns Come Out

[hafital]

Poor Raylan. I really wish he listened to the judge here.

I live for every two-second dialogue exchange between Tim and Raylan. Sigh.

I always feel terrible for Ellen May, though at least she doesn't die like so many of the other workers at Audrey's. She's rather pathetic at this time, but still endearing .

That's a great scene between Boyd and Limehouse, and I particularly like the point Limehouse makes about how the people of Noble's Holler know about the Crowders, but he'll have to figure out why he doesn't know any of them.

"You know the position you put me in here?"
"Missionary."

I laughed. As much as I dislike Arlo, I think the actor does a great job with the portrayal of mild cognitive impairment.

Wynn and Quarles -- what an odd couple. Also, Quarles is probably the most twisted and downright evil character on Justified. Just saying.

Timothy is excellent in that scene with Boyd. Stars in my eyes.

As much as I dislike how she handled the whole thing, I like Winona's observation about Raylan, that he would have changed his life already if he had wanted to. Clearly he doesn't. She's passive aggressive about it, but she's also not wrong. Of course, I'm not sure he should change -- but I don't think he's a great in a relationship.

Ooooh twist -- it was Limehouse's people who shot up the boxy clinic! D'oh! I think I remember being mildly surprised by that.

Re: When the Guns Come Out

[gwyn]

Wynn is so freaked out about Quarles--all his usual sarcastic bravado just disappears around him, it's fascinating to watch. I was watching pieces of other episodes with him and it's such stark contrast when we see him in S2 compared to what he's like with Quarles around. And then later seasons after he's gone, Wynn is different again. Kudos so much to Jere Burns for that acting job.

Yeah, I really hate everything that happened with Winona, but she's not wrong that he would change things if that's what he really wanted--but I also think that the fact that she's demanding he change after the fact is...shitty. Also, I think Raylan doesn't even understand fully what to do with his own life, and instead of helping him figure that out, she's always punishing him for it. This reminds me way too much of my own life and family, and it's something I really despised her for because that sort of thing is incredibly damaging. I...have a lot of feelings about the Raylan sucks at his personal life thing, and they don't always mesh with the way everyone else sees it, I guess.

The Man Behind the Curtain

[hafital]

Oh thank god he's finally out of that motel room. I was not a fan.

Ugh those girls. Jagerbombs? *tries not to vomit*

I love Tim's I'm-going-to-act-grumpy-about-it-but-do-it-anyway technique of flirting with Raylan. Because that's totally flirting.

The amount of under-eye concealer Quarles wears is alarming. Wynn is just waiting, biding his time until Quarles spirals out of control, you can see it in his eyes. He's like, this guy is wacko, I gotta hold on until he goes nuclear and then I can make my move.

"Last I checked, you were a marshal too. I gotta do everything?"
"Point taken."

:D :D :D There's at least more Tim/Raylan scenes in this episode. Always a treat. "Working with eight graders." I feel you, Tim. You know, my read on these scenes is that Raylan could find Sammy Tolan if he had to but he prefers asking Tim to do it to flirt with him.

Ugh there is always a "gangster into horse racing" character in these types of shows. It's the worst kind of gambling.

Honestly I was distracted by how cute Tim was in this episode I didn't pay attention to the plot. Very much enjoyed the two of them interrogated by the FBI :D Tim backing up Raylan's play with the fugitive in Peru. :D Tim being grumpy. :D :D :D

Re: The Man Behind the Curtain

[gwyn]

Yeah, I confess, that's one of the weird things to me about Raylan going off the deep end--why he'd want to piss everyone off when he can do a lot of this stuff himself. But I guess they want to show how he's kind of crumbling a little, and give the other co-stars something to do. I shipped Tim and Raylan so hard that I didn't mind, though.

I adored how Raylan's first move when he gets close to Sammy is to slap him upside the head. He knows exactly what Sammy is and exactly how to treat him. ::hearteyes::