The Hype, Much Like the Shooting, Was Justified

Every now and then, I decide ahead of time that I won't be giving a show a shot. Not even just the pilot. This generally happens when I hear a basic premise that turns me off or see a clip that leaves me unimpressed. With the new FX series Justified (which is based on some works by Elmore Leonard), it was a little of both. In most cases, my preemptive write-off of a show proves correct, but Justified, as with Nurse Jackie before it, totally proved me wrong. Not that Justified was as stellar as Nurse Jackie, but it made for a surprisingly solid, engaging, accomplished hour of television.

I initially pooh-poohed Justified based on a brief description and an even briefer clip of the pilot. This may seem shocking based on my general televisions tastes and sensibilities, but a US marshal returning to his hometown (a prodigal son of sorts) so that he can shoot up bad guys in the modern-day Wild West of Harlan, Kentucky didn't exactly send shivers of excitement down my spine. Not that it sounded like the worst concept ever or anything, just not one that would generally strike a chord with yours truly. Oooooh, you say it's got guns, the middle of nowhere Kentucky, AND backwoodsy accents?! What more could a girl ask for!? Yeah, not so much...

I ultimately decided to give Justified a chance based on several good reviews I'd heard and word that Matt Roush had deemed it the best midseason pilot of the year. Now, don't get me wrong, it's been a pretty pathetic midseason so that could have meant anything, but I was confident that the positive buzz would actually materialize on the screen. My devotion to Matt Roush was shaken of late given his praise of Life Unexpected (a show which I tried really, really hard to like, but ultimately failed--it was finally deleted from my DVR queue after several unwatched episodes sat there for weeks while I rewatched episodes of The Good Wife), so I was going to really have to reevaluate our relationship if Justified turned out to be a dud as well. Saints be praised, he was right. It really is the best midseason pilot of the year. Easily.

Justified stars Timothy Olyphant as Deputy US marshal Raylan Givens, an old school gunslinger (the fastest draw in the West, er... East...) seeking justice in a more restrained, litigious world. After exacting some 19th century justice on a baddie in Miami, he's sent packing back to the 19th century... which is apparently tantamount to modern day Kentucky (and which also happens to be former stomping grounds). What initially turned me off to the show was a brief clip of Givens, but as it turns out, it was simply, and unfortunately, out of context. Givens is quiet and austere, but unexpectedly powerful and likable at the same time. At the very end of the pilot, he's described by his ex-wife as able to hide it well, but essentially being the angriest man she's ever known, and by the end of the pilot, you can absolutely believe that ( even if such a statement catches you off-guard). He really does hide it well and seems cool and unassuming, but you know there's more to him. He's a complex character with a lot of depth, a lot of heart, and yes, a lot of anger, but even when he's in the worst of possible situations, his calmness and confidence make for a very serious, casual character. With that much going on and that amount calm, cool vengeance simmering under the surface, you'd expect him to be standoffish, aloof, and unlikeable, but somehow there's a certain Southern charm that tempers the still waters. I thought the writers did a particularly nice job of setting up numerous layers for the character right off the bat, and not in a way that was obvious or overly expositional. Mere minutes after seeing Raylan calmly and prosaically kill a man (the other guy pulled first, so apparently it was "justified"--I kept hoping for a Han Solo reference when it came to who pulled first, but alas, to no avail), the viewer sees him show up at the house of a woman he knew several years ago and greet her in a very comfortable, casual, warm manner. Not the kind of gal to let a former crush of hers get away with kissing her on the cheek, she kisses him on the mouth and he very matter-of-factly kisses her back. It seemed very natural and organic to the characters, even in spite of seeing Raylan's gun-toting ways not ten minutes prior. It was a nice way to tell the audience that there's more going on with this character than meets the eye.

Timothy Olyphant does a lovely job as Givens and absolutely anchors the show in an engaging and effective way. I'm not too familiar with Olyphant's previous work, but I had heard that everyone was pretty excited to see him at the helm of a new show and now I know why. I can't even quite pinpoint what makes him an appealing actor, but he really is. Not bad too look at and a great dramatic talent to boot. Yes, please. Although Olyphant is certainly the core of the show, the supporting cast is equally strong and their characters have a hell of a lot of potential, even if the pilot didn't allow for a ton of development right away.

Nicest casting surprise? Natalie Zea. I greatly adored her as Karen Darling on Dirty Sexy Money and was thrilled to see her playing Givens ex-wife (and I suspect, soon to be "will they or won't they" love interest on the show) Winona. I actually didn't remember that her name on the show was Winona till I looked it up and it was like, "Of course her name was Winona..." Awwwh, Kentucky. Anyway, as Zea proved previously, she can take what easily could have turned into a one-note, stereotype of a character and turn it into gold. Karen Darling could easily have been your typical rich girl, but Zea made her quirky, likable, and conniving, all at once. She didn't get a whole lot of screen time in the pilot, but what little she had, she owned, and I suspect she'll bring nothing but her A-game in the future. And let's face it, playing a former flame and "will they or won't they" love interest is something she already excels at, so this should be fun to watch. She and Olyphant had an instant and complex chemistry together that I'm excited to see fleshed out.

Rounding out the cast of good guys are the other US Marshals who, in spite of even less time than Zea, already felt like very real, very intriguing characters who will bring a hell of a lot to the show. Justified did a wonderful job taking my expectations and turning them upside down, even with the most minor of players. I honestly didn't expect the skinny, bookish, slightly milquetoasty marshal to respond to a shoot-out with, "Boss, do you want me to wing 'em or kill 'em?" and then, at being advised, "Let's start with wingin' 'em," to do just that. On the first shot, no less. Like Givens, they're all cool and collected, but still passionate and aggressive. They have certain things in common and complement each other well, but each still has his/her own edge, which I'm totally digging thus far. Hell, even the bad guys who got killed off after a few minutes were well-rounded and interesting, so after even just the pilot, I get the feeling the sky's the limit. The pilot's primary baddie, a racist church bomber (a real catch, in other words), is a former acquaintance of Givens and has a lot more going on than the seemingly simply schemes he pulls would have others believe. Givens sees through his ruse, and the layers beneath start to unfold. Even the nastiest of the nasties bring a whole lot to the table. Nice. Well done, show. Well done.

As is evident by the way I received the characters on the show, the writing is solid throughout. Given the rural setting and Wild West-y tone and vibe of the show, I wasn't expecting a whole lot of complexity and was prepared for your standard macho, hackneyed, old West cheesefest. Mercifully, Justified embraces old west themes and motifs, but avoids the genre's pitfalls and predictabilities. The storyline was slick and well-paced throughout, knowing where to give more character and where to give more action. It could have easily fallen into your typical western cliches, but didn't. Even when making references to how fast a draw Givens is, it didn't seem forced or trite, it just felt like a very natural part of who this character is. Instead of feeling overdone or overwrought, it felt vintage and kind of classic.

I guess it's the tone or the writing or something, but somehow the Kentucky backdrop works really well. I expected to be bored to tears in minutes, what with the prevalence of a whole lotta nothin' in the more rural areas of the country, but there was something undeniably appealing about a country setting and an old world pace. As much as I love seeing big cities play host to 97% of shows on TV, it was like a breath of fresh air to see some new scenery (GREEN scenery) and I'm eager to see what kinds of trappings come with it. It's not a setting you see all that often and it made for a new dynamic for me to enjoy. Not an easy task, given my level of TV watching, but this show really pulled it off. Knowing your way around the hectic maze of a big city is impressive, but so is knowing where some rural road is that can't even be mapquested. I'm not sure how this setting will play out in the long-run, but so far, I'm much more intrigued that I ever would have thought. It was a good move on the writers' part to open the pilot with him in Miami (seriously, the opening scene could easily be Michael Westen in a cowboy hat). It made the contrast between big city and rural outpost all the more striking. And appreciated. The pacing is necessarily and charmingly slower given the rural setting and archetypal character profiles, but that doesn't make it any less exciting. The folksy drawl and deliberate pace could have been fodder for boredom, but even during the most seemingly unimportant of conversations, I was intrigued. The dialogue felt natural and kind of old-fashioned, but was still sophisticated and riveting to listen to. The actors' accents could use a little work (some more than others--you know who you are), but all in all, they really pulled off the tone they were aiming for.

Having only seen the pilot, I can't be certain what kind of show this will turn into, but so far, and at the very least, it doesn't look like a standard procedural and that wins it about a million points. I enjoy the occasional procedural show (whether it be legal, medical, or most perniciously, crime), but almost invariably, I couldn't care less about the story-of-the-week A-plots. In a more traditional drama, you have different story elements week-to-week (obviously), but they aren't the be-all-and-end-all of the story, which I greatly appreciate. There really aren't a whole lot of straight-up dramas out there these days, so I'm hoping shows like Justified do well and let the networks know that people can handle an ongoing storyline. Also, it would make sense for a show with more old-fashioned sensibilities to have a more old-fashioned narrative set-up. After seeing the preview of things to come this season, it doesn't look like I'll have to worry about this becoming your standard procedural (what with the main baddie surviving his gunshot wound and Ava sticking around for more than just the pilot) and that, my friends, is a welcomed change of pace. Here's hoping that assumption is correct.

Given the old world justice that was frequently doled out in the pilot, it should come as no surprise that Justified is grittier and less restrained than your typical prime-time show. They didn't pull any punches and didn't sanitize the subject matter for mass appeal (the fact that the show airs on FX certainly helps). The writers also left morality is a grayer area than most shows would which made Givens more complex and made for an interesting dynamic between characters. I was a little put-off by the old school style justice and the surprisingly high body count, but that really just speaks to my sensibilities about cops and robbers and guns in general. The "shoot first, ask questions later" approach doesn't exactly jibe with my own perspectives, but it was certainly interesting to watch. The show didn't try to espouse the numerous virtues of this brand of justice or anything, but acknowledges that for Raylan Givens, it's just how it is. It fit very well with the show's story and style and forms the backbone of the Wild West feel to the show. Again, having the lines blurred in such a way was unexpected and therefore, appreciated. It's not the kind of thing I see everyday, so even if certain aspects were off-putting, that's more than okay. That's probably exactly what was intended.

This show has some definite long-term potential. Again, a more standard drama is a narrative style that's dying out, so I welcome any newcomer who's willing to embrace a storyline that doesn't get wrapped up in a neat little bow at the end of the hour. There were certainly aspects that I would have changed, but overall, I quite enjoyed the pilot and I'm sucked in enough to be excited for next week. I'm not sure if the rural trappings or the backwoodsiness will eventually wear out their welcome, but so far so good. I'm not sure I'd recommend this show to everyone, but before having seen it, I wouldn't have recommended it to myself either. It's definitely worth giving a shot, because really, I never would have dreamt I'd have enjoyed it myself.

Pilot Grade: B+