We need a Justified thread. Now we have one.
Justified is awesome. I love how this season’s big bad is a backwoods, middle-aged storekeeper woman. She’s absolutely formidable and totally unlike most villain characters, not to mention unlike most actresses that get starring roles.
I prefer Olyphant in quiet-angry mode, but Justified shows that he can be human and lighter, too.
Love Justified. Oh yes, Mama is an awesome villain–with an authentic believable point of view too.
When you said quiet-angry mode, are your referring to Olyphant in Deadwood? So great in that.
I was trying to point my finger on what’s so appealing about the Raylin Givens character in Justified but I couldn’t explain it until — I think you Ferris—pointed me to an article about this and other recent FX channel shows.
Raylin Givens on Justified is different than you’re average character because he’s portrayed as a very smart dude in a job that’s not often associated with that kinda smart. Same is true of Jax Teller character on FX’s Sons of Anarchy (a motorcycle gang VP) and Patrick Lights Leary in FX’s Lights Out (a heavyweight boxing champ).
If you heard a one sentence description of Justified you’d assume Givens is a gun-crazy vigilante that’s reckless. But he doesn’t fit the stereotype. He does have old school notions of “fast draw” gun ethics, but he calls for back up when needed, he makes smart choices (usually) and he literally doesn’t shoot when he’s not “justified.”
Anyway, love the show. And it does the “showdown” with the bad guy Schick in interesting ways.
there is a more speific reason the show is awesome–see below…
Very cool. Although we still haven’t seen that scene come up in the show yet.
Wait til the season finale?
Yeah. Even though they don’t need tricks and gimicks to keep people watching til the end. The show is great enough on its own.
Very Nice to have this thread. I should have started it a while ago, silly me.
What makes Raylin such a great character. I think its becasue while he is a mostly good guy he does have some flaws. But they are entirely human flaws that are realistic to the character. But when push comes to shove he always does the right thing even when he knows it could cost him something dear to him (his life, his job etc…). I think the moment that best shows this was during the episode two weeks ago “The Spoil” when Raylin is in the store fighting with Coover. Initially he was getting his sorryBarb handed to him but then he got the upper-hand just then Loretta came in and Raylin stopped fighting and let Coover beat him. Its my guess that he did this because he knew he had to stay a good figure for Loretta. If she watched him beat Coover he would become the bully and she would not seek him out for protection.
In fact his whole relationship with Loretta (or any of the women/girls in his life) show him to be an outstanding guy with his willingness to goto any lengths for them. From protecting Ava (though really she may not have needed it that much) from the Crowders in season 1 to helping Winona multiple times (and her husband for that matter) but mostly Loretta where he was willing to drop everything to save her.
He literally is the Hero in the White hat. The White Knight if you will. A classic character from literature but this time he has a little dirt on his nose.
Now the real interesting character for me has become Boyd. Just when you think you have him figured out he does something to throw you off. It seems that he legitimately wants to be a good guy but so many times he seems to be on the verge of double crossing everyone. I really cant wait to see what he has planned. Its gotta be something big but at the same time i would be just as satisfied if he has legitimately become a mostly good guy. For me he is up there with Ben Linus as one of the most interesting characters on TV.
I heart this show also. Boyd is my favorite character but every character is written really well. I tell ya. I think all the best writers have left network and are working for FX.
One of my favorite moments, in ‘The Life Inside’, Raylan and Tim storm into a house to find some creep holding a pregnant woman at gunpoint behind a table. He’s threatening to shoot the unborn child. Raylan tells him there’s a perfect shot where his brainstem meets his spine, he won’t be shooting anyone. At that moment, Tim shoots the creep. Parties over. Mom and baby are safe.
The show really accentuates how badass U.S. Marshalls are. You do not want to mess with these folks. When they ask you to do something, do it. They are not going to ask again.
So i guess we know what Boyd is up to after last nights episode.
Just when you think you’ve got Boyd figured out… he goes and pulls this crap again. First he was a neo-Nazi, then he was a reformed Christian vigilante survivalist, then he was a pseudo-hero coal miner, and now he’s back at square one it seems.
Well now he seems to be a Crimelord. I think he is leaving the Neo-Naziism behind. As he said once, “I don’t think i have ever met a jew”
Okay, so now he’s an aspiring crimelord. The end of the episode begs the question whether Ava will decide to jump on that train or not.
Also, Gary is a damn moron. That is all.
Goggins (Boyd) did a really good interview with NPR’s Fresh Air and discussed the white supremacist angle. This link has some text from the interview, plus a link to the audio:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126889536
On the power-whitey aspect of Boyd’s earlier crime career:
On playing a white supremacist
“I never believed that Boyd Crowder was a white supremacist, to be quite honest with you. … It was very important for me as an actor not to play this guy as a white supremacist but to play him as a bit of a Svengali: a person who doesn’t necessarily believe all that he espouses. … [In one episode] Tim says ‘Boyd, I don’t think you believe everything that you’re saying. I think you just like to blow stuff up.’ And that was very important to me.”
Going into the series, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to see Goggins as anybody but Shane from The Shield. And this season, ditto the Daniel Faraday from Lost guy. But damned if they haven’t transitioned to the different characters.
Justified is a show that without GWC I would not bother to watch. Descriptions like this, though, are just too good not to pull me in. Once the Dr. Who consumption is complete, Justified is next.
A friend hounded me to watch this show. At that time (halfway through season one.) they were all on hulu. I caught up in like three days.
the opening scene of this series I think sets the tone for a show better then most shows.
enjoy.
Wow… after this week, I’m kinda speechless. I get the sense Raylin is gonna be bringing hell with him when he finds out what’s happened, and he won’t care who tries to stop him.
I liked the show, but didn’t really get into it til mid S1 or so. But S2 has been amazing so far. Definitely feels like a much stronger season than the first, which had to work out some kinks before becoming awesome.
I have a feeling that Raylan lying to Winona about Gary will come bite him in the ass, even more than the whole money thing. (That episode with them all at the courthouse was great. Well, many episodes this season are great.) Defnitely seems like a lot of people are (or will be) mad at Raylan, and I have no idea how he’s going to handle all these things coming from him at all sides, especially with what just happened at the end of the ep.
Oh, and Mags? Just a fantastic character and actress portraying her.
Wow… so apparently after this week, Harlan County is going to explode in war.
This should be interesting to watch.