“Cut Ties” somewhat surprisingly heads into an entirely new direction following the events of “TheGunfighter”. No mention of Wyn Duffy or Quarles for that matter, though the fact that the location of the murder scene they were involved in recently got new carpeting and the cement underneath bleached was brought up in passing. Instead a couple of new characters are introduced into the fold, the first being that of former colleague Karen Goodall (played by Carla Gugino, recently promoted to assistant director for the U.S. Marshals Service). There’s been a lot of chatter regarding Goodall as a semi-resurrection of Gugino’s old Karen Sisco character (which aired on ABC, where she also played a U.S. Deputy Marshal). So if you remember that show (I never watched it) it serves as an amusing echo into television character history, with the actors seemingly brief musing about it during their introduction.
This episode was more Art-centric than usual, and he’s a character I enjoy spending longer stretches with. His ‘slow chase’ scene from season two was classic. Here Art takes on an assignment of a personal nature when his an old friend of his still involved in Marshal service ends up getting killed by a Boston mobster placed in witness protection, looking to get back to his old ways. I liked how Art handled the situation once he pieced everything together, discussing the Old Testament methods of extracting information by introducing suspects’ faces with phone books, but lamenting how such a practice can no longer be applied because phone books are obsolete. Great stuff, the way Nick Searcy plays Art with the sincerest gusto just reeks of the most authentic genuineness an actor can ever hope to exude.
Boyd eventually gets to Dickie in prison, at first it seems to avenge Ava, but he’s more interested in the money that the late Mags left behind. Dickie reveals its existence but that he’s no way to access it from prison, since he’d have to go through Ellstin Limehouse to get it. Now we only get to see a snippet of Limehouse at the tail end (played by Mykelti Williamson, who once played Forrest Gump’s equally dim friend Bubba), but what an impression he makes. Introduced during a confrontation with a subordinate who’s failed him, he launches into a monologue about what it takes to properly train a dog, settling on the importance of balancing punishment with fear of punishment. It’s a chilling speech in which he offers to square the situation if the subordinate in question agrees to undergo a painful burn involving lye and vinegar (if it sounds familiar, a similar technique was applied in Fight Club). The associate declines such an offer, electing the cowardly route of verbally agreeing that if another incident occurs in the future, no such choice will be offered. It will be interesting to see the racial tensions flare up during the inevitable confrontation between Boyd and Limehouse over the Bennett money.
Am I the only one hoping that ‘Icepick’ Nix returns at some point? He’d be great continuing foil for Raylan, even if he just creepily scowled as he is oh so prone to do.
Final Grade: A-
TRR TV Revue by Jacob Aquino
