TV REVUE – Justified: Slaughterhouse (Season 3 Finale)

You know what they’re sayin’ at the office? I dis-ARMED him. – Raylan

Well we never did find out exactly what Quarles was doing to those male hustlers. I guess he was just beating the $#*% out of them—kudos to the writers for keeping on our toes though and sometimes it’s best not to know everything. Leave ‘em wanting more is the best motto television programming can live up to.

TV REVUE – Justified: Measures

Out in the field with his dad-- er, Art

Bartender doesn’t make a good witness. – Raylan

All is not well in the Quarles corner. His boss has put a hit out on him, employing the likes of two menacing hitmen including Sarno (Michael Ironside – “Richter” from Total Recall). What I really liked here is the desperation that was only hinted at involving an increasingly at-odds Quarles. Last week he was snorting oxy before going in to do God-knows-what to that young male hustler.

TV REVUE – Justified: Loose Ends

fire and brimstoning the opposition

Tonight’s episode was considerably talkier than last week’s awesome “Watching the Detectives”. But that’s ok too. The more tertiary characters get a front row seat, if only to be taken out to make room for the bigger chess pieces on the board to move around more freely. Yep, a lot of people have their grand moment here, leaving even Raylan to take a smaller role as well.

FX Orders Fourth Season of JUSTIFIED

 

Network Orders 13 Episodes for Fourth Season from FX Productions and Sony Pictures Television

Six All-New Episodes Remain in Season Three, Tuesdays at 10 PM ET/PT With Season Three Finale Airing April 10

TV REVUE – Justified: Thick As Mud

The most successful war seldom pays for its losses. – Thomas Jefferson

“Mud” continues the recent tradition of taking a break from the main action to highlight some of the minor players, even if they steadily meet early demises. We get to spend quite a bit of time with Dewey as he stays just a step ahead of Raylan. I actually felt kind of bad about Dewey’s plight as he woke up in a blood soaked bathtub, seemingly a victim of a ghastly urban legend about black market organ sales. Blood is something I can take with no problem on tv—unless it’s presented in a medical/surgery kind of way, then I start getting queasy. So seeing the camera pan down to Dewey’s torso I got uncomfortable when I saw those giant vertical scars where his kidneys should be. And once Lance (the male nurse) explains what Dewey should expect to happen—that slow dying process plus all the bloody stitched up scars—I had to turn the episode off and walk away. It’s effective stuff.

TV REVUE – Justified: The Devil You Know

“Devil” took a while to properly kick in for me. I see its overall arc in the context of the season, but I’m not sure I liked everything it had to say. The title takes its namesake from the character Devil (Kevin Rankin) and not the actual evil being. Devil tries to become upwardly mobile in his field, rubbing elbows with Quarles, who promises him access ‘to deep pockets’. This of course means Devil would have to bulldoze his way past longtime friend and associate Boyd, whose business has been suffering lately. Though Devil ultimately meets an unfortunate end due to this trespass, it’s good to see Rankin doing such good work with this character who for all intents and purposes is a racist, white trash, drug-dealing redneck—but one who’s been on quite a rollercoaster ride with Boyd up until now. It’s hard not to feel for Boyd either, who mercifully puts him down quickly rather than let him suffer as one can see it’s not an action Boyd relishes by any means. I like when shows are not afraid to take creative risks like this, killing off established characters.

TV REVUE – Justified: Harlan Roulette

How fast do you think those bullets will be when they’re headed back at you? – Quarles

Well no sign of Icepick, but it’s still early in the season, so anything can happen. “Harlan Roulette” moves at a more deliberate pace than past episodes, but that’s alright because there is virtually no filler. Every scene carefully lays the groundwork for something much bigger up ahead. Sure we’re introduced to a few new characters and a few minor league players from way back, but they all nicely complement each other in a way that sets the stage for the bigger picture.

TV REVUE – Justified: Cut Ties

“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.

TV REVUE – Justified: The Gunfighter (Season 3 premiere)

Raylan, if a book could only be judged by its cover, you’d be a best seller.  – Boyd

Season 2 ended with the dismantling of the Bennett clan’s foray into drug sales and corruption, ending with Raylan taking a slug to the gut. A minor, but painful wound, Art assures viewers that it passed just under the ribs, missing the vitals. Things pick up rather quickly from that point with Raylan recuperating in the hospital and condemned to light desk work on account of Art’s feeling that Raylan can’t run or shoot in the condition he’s in. Though Boyd saved Raylan from becoming Dickie’s personal piñata last season, he still demands an apology from Raylan for failing to live up to his word about delivering Dickie back to him for shooting Ava (don’t worry, she’s ok). A lot of catching up, I know.

The Modern Family Emmys (For its 5 Wins)

And the winners of the 63rd Annual Primetime Emmys Awards are