Justified has set up a heavyweight title fight

Justified has a history of exceptional antagonists. The fact that Walton Goggins is still on the show tells you how good he was in season one. And Margo Martindale won a well-deserved Emmy last year for what she did in season two. But, as much as I love both of them, the arrival of Neal McDonough has me slapping myself on the forehead and saying, “Why didn’t I think of that?!”

Ladies and gentlemen, the battle of McDonough versus one Timothy Olyphant is going to be awesome to watch.

I’m of the belief that a truly great hero requires a worthy adversary to be at their best. If the good guy easily knocks down the bad guy, there’s no suspense, no concern for his welfare, no sense of accomplishment when he wins. If the bad guy overpowers the good guy, then there becomes no point in watching because you know it will never end well. There’s a very fine balancing act between good and evil that must take place, but when you achieve it, the stuff of memories is born. I’m so sure that this is going to be one of those situations that I’m literally twitchy with anticipation.

I’ve been a McDonough fan since his ill-fated appearance in Star Trek: First Contact, but TV buffs will know him best for his starring role as Deputy District Attorney David McNorris on Boomtown, a series that was created by Justified executive producer Graham Yost. McNorris was the definition of the term “beautiful disaster.” He was a real piece of work — cheating on his wife with a reporter, bending the rules when it suited him or someone else, and drinking way too much — but he was also a truly brilliant lawyer. And for every reprehensible thing he did, there was another that made you hesitate. And McDonough juggled all these aspects with acuity. I’ll always believe that he was robbed of an Emmy Award for that role (he didn’t even garner a nomination!).

He has the intensity and the acting chops to be a more than worthy opponent for Olyphant. There aren’t many people who can match Olyphant’s intensity and steely-eyed stare, but McDonough and his piercing blue eyes certainly can. I met McDonough briefly after a Desperate Housewives panel years ago, and though he was nice and obviously out of character, there was still an unnerving factor there because of his exceptional work. And Olyphant making eye contact with me during this year’s Winter TCA session was still intimidating. We didn’t even exchange words and I had to pause. Both of them have real presence.  Both of them can command an audience’s complete attention, and both of them can dig deep into their characters and take writing — even Justified‘s near perfect scripts — to a whole other level.

In fact, they’re already doing it. Look at the last scene of tonight’s episode, where Raylan storms into Wynn Duffy’s (Jere Burns) trailer with Quarles (McDonough) already there. Duffy gets slugged and ends up on the floor in fear. Quarles doesn’t bat an eyelash. Even as Raylan stares him down, he’s got that slightly creepy, definitely malicious grin on his face. Even with very little dialogue, the tension in that moment is palpable, because it really could go either way.

That’s the unpredictability that this pairing brings to Justified. As great as the previous seasons were, no matter what the price he had to pay, I always had the sense that Raylan would make it through, not just because he’s the star of the show but because he was played by Timothy Olyphant and Olyphant just seemed more powerful than anyone else. For the first time, watching Olyphant and McDonough, I honestly feel like I don’t know what might happen next.

Sure, it’s still true that Raylan is the star (and Olyphant is now a producer), so I’m still confident that he’ll eventually win out. But there’s just that little bit of doubt in my head, just enough to pull me out of my comfort zone, coupled with the excitement of wanting to know how this showdown is going to play out. I have a gut feeling that it’s going to be messy and in your face and brilliant, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Clacked by Brittany Frederick
on Feb 01, 2012 @ 09:00 EST5EDT