There was some great stuff I’m glad I saw in this week’s Justified, and some stuff I hope that I never have to see again, the combination of which made for one heck of an episode.
Let’s get the creepy, borderline disgusting stuff out of the way first: as much as I love his acting, and still to this day miss his Boomtown character David McNorris, I do not need to see Neal McDonough‘s naked backside. Nor do I need to see Quarles with another kid chained up in his bathroom. I know that these scenes are supposed to establish his evil, but I’d argue that’s already been done well enough without the implications of torture and sex crimes.
Moving on, I’m not a huge fan of romantic subplots by my own admission, but I was not surprised that Raylan hooked up with the bartender (Jenn Lyon). Frankly, I’d start working at a bar if that’s what comes of it! And I loved Timothy Olyphant’s idea to have Lindsey see the sonogram in Raylan’s bathroom and remind him that he’s an expectant father. I’m not sure how this is going to play out, since Raylan has a baby on the way and Natalie Zea (Winona) has a role in a new pilot, but it’s not as if Raylan and Lindsey are going to elope, so I’m willing to wait and see.
I was glad for the return of Rick Gomez, who’s always a treat as AUSA David Vasquez. And every time I see Richard Speight Jr. in something I get happy, because I had a crush on him when he was CIA super-geek Lex on The Agency. Plus I have to give a gold star to Jere Burns, who said so much with just Wynn Duffy’s utterly bewildered facial expressions.
But really, the greatness of this episode came from where it’s been all season: McDonough and Olyphant. Both these gentlemen impress and intimidate me simultaneously, and when they’re together, I can’t take my eyes off the screen. McDonough proved once again he’s a top-shelf actor in explaining Quarles’ tortured past as the son of a heroin addict who was pimped out to feed his father’s drug habit. I never forgot that the man was a pill-popping psychopath, but as he was crying and hugging the kid he was later going to abduct, I still couldn’t help but feel just a little bit sympathetic toward him. That’s because McDonough did such a great job of selling Quarles’ vulnerability and yet, his ability to be so damn manipulative.
Olyphant, who remains one of the best actors on television, had his own fantastic monologue as Raylan appeared in court to testify against Dickie Bennett’s early release. If you’ve watched Justified long enough, you could guess that our hero was going to go off book and get smartmouthed. But he was charismatic, blunt and really, really funny. I believe part of why we let Raylan get away with so much (because let’s face it, he is no saint, nor does he pretend to be) is because we like him, and scenes like this show how Olyphant has really endeared Raylan to the audience.
Putting the two actors in the same bar together was one perfect scene, with Quarles point-blank threatening Raylan, Raylan offering to get the confrontation over with right there, and Duffy just hoping he didn’t get killed in the middle of it. Neither character gave an inch or so much as got ruffled. As I’ve been saying all season, these two are equals. They’re unafraid of each other and even though no punches were thrown and no shots fired, the tension in that moment was such a thrill because we knew what both of them are capable of. I can’t wait until they really get to take each other on. I love a good knock-down, drag-out fight, and I’m pretty sure Justified is going to give us one.
Clacked by Brittany Frederick 
on Mar 21, 2012 @ 02:40 EST5EDT
What do make of it that Raylan was Stetson-less the entire ep?