As with The Good Wife, pretty much every episode of this show is finale-worthy, so when the actual finale comes along, it kind of just feels like every other stellar episode of the show. The only difference is that at the end of the finale, I'm left with a sad, empty feeling that only a promo for "next time on" can quell... It's always disheartening when that doesn't happen, but way more so with Justified because it's cable and only comes but once a year. NOOOO, come back!!! If precedent serves, we won't get to see our good friends and fabulous enemies in Harlan again until next
March. That's... entirely too long to wait. I was discussing this with Brett this morning though, in our usual Thursday morning episode discussion, and we decided that the long hiatus probably has a lot to do with the quality of the show, so it's well-worth the wait. There are a lot of reasons that cable shows are better than network shows (in general) and the volume is certainly part of that. When a show has to contend with 22 episodes in only 8 or 9 months, there's bound to be some decline in quality. That's just too much content to be produced in too little time. To boot, network shows only get a couple of months off (at the very most) between seasons before they have to go back into production, so it doesn't exactly leave much time for the writers to really craft the direction of the coming year ahead of time. Somehow The Good Wife manages to pull it off, but most network shows seem to be making it up as they go along. With Justified, I have no doubt that the writers had worked out exactly where this season was going from start to
finish before they ever started shooting. The consistency and superiority of the writing are testament to this theory.It's been one hell of a year for Raylan and company and I daresay this season surpassed the first in a number of ways. The Black Pike/Bennett Feud over-arching narrative worked incredibly well on all levels, but none more so than with Margo Martindale. Seriously folks, her every scene seems destined for the Emmy clip reel. I can absolutely see her getting snubbed, but that would be a travesty. I really can't sing her praises enough. Especially nice is that on a show about good ol' boys and good guys chasing bad guys, she provided a female element that wasn't based around being a love interest. Female characters are generally pigeon-holed into a few generic categories: love interest/damsel, mother, frigid/angry/or power-hungry bitch, etc. I think we can all see that Ava and Winona fall into the "love interest" category almost exclusively. Now, Justified has a lot more dimensions than most shows out there, so they aren't simply cardboard cut-out our cliches, but I think it's pretty clear what role they played this season, with Ava in particular. Pretty much her entire story arc was warming up to Boyd and eventually falling in love with him (you know, so that Boyd has a powerful call to arms when she gets shot in the finale). That's one of the roles for female characters that annoys me the most. I call it the "impetus." So often, women aren't there to actually do anything so much as they're there to get hurt or killed or kidnapped as a means of spurring the male characters into action. This trope spans all genres and annoys me almost every time. Even in movies that I love and adore, this trope finds its way in. Sorry for the tangent here, but a quite note on Pixar's Up. Pixar movies are spectacular (with the possible exception of Cars, which, of all the Pixar movies out there, is the the one least deserving of a sequel), but when it comes to female characters, they're almost almost tangential love interests or act as the impetus. When Up began, and we met young, adventurous, clever Ellie, I was so excited to see a female character that I instantly connected with and who wasn't a damsel or a princess. Well, as I would find some 15 minutes later, she turned out to be the impetus instead, which is just as bad. That's right, this female character who takes charge and plays by her own rules dies early on and provides little more than the basic reason for all the male characters to go on an adventure. Don't get me wrong, it's a wonderful movie that I absolutely adored, but that was disappointing on a number of levels. If it didn't so often that female characters are reduced as such, it wouldn't bother me case-to-case, but it's far too prolific to not get under my skin.
It's for this reason, and so many others, that Mags Bennett was such a welcome addition to the show and the television landscape at large. Yes, she's a mother, but she isn't just a mother. The fact that she's a mother is one facet to a well-rounded, developed, and fascinating character. As much as Ava
and Winona factor into the overall narrative of the show, they don't have the depth that Mags does. Same goes for Loretta, I suppose. (Caitlyn Dever, who played Loretta, would make for a hell of a Katniss, come to think of it.) Yet another wonderful female character who has a lot more going on than whatever man is in her life. Indeed, with Loretta, her father fills the role of "impetus," which is a trope on its own, but one that was handled in a unique and captivating way. In the penultimate episode, there was only one scene of Loretta at her foster home and I wasn't sure what that was pointing to for the finale. I had a feeling it was letting the audience know that she was still around and still a factor, but it was presented in such a way that it also could have passed as a bookend to her storyline, letting us know that she was okay and that she had moved on. I was very glad to see that the former was the case. After a season of watching Loretta bear the brunt of lies and brutality, it was quite satisfying to see her take charge and stand up to those who tell her "only so much as they see fit." Unlike most shows, I honestly didn't know how the scene between Loretta and Mags would play out and I was actually pretty surprised that she shot Mags. For her sake, I was glad Raylan talked her down, but with this show, I could absolutely see Loretta pulling the trigger for good. “Ask yourself what your daddy would want you to do.” “I want him to be here to tell me.” Wow.Although Loretta didn't physically kill Mags, I do think she was one of the last nails in the coffin. Mags had adored that little girl and was ultimately held at gunpoint by her. That's gotta hurt. Add to that the fact that Doyle was dead and that Mags had just confessed to murdering Loretta's father and I wasn't surprised that Mags killed herself. My brother instantly assumed that she had poisoned Raylan, but I instantly assumed she's poisoned herself. The writers and actors played it off incredibly well, though. I assumed Mags, but then vacillated back and forth a couple of times before Mags finally went off to meet Doyle and Coover in that big Whoop-de-doo in the sky. It made for a chilling bookend to the season, bringing things full circle with a deadly glass of Apple Pie Moonshine. I love that Mags
has two cupboards of glasses on hand. Hehe, here is where she keeps the "guest" glasses and here is where she keeps the "guests who've overstayed their welcome" glasses. You never know when you're going to need to poison someone, you know? So awesome. I had to think long and hard as to whether suicide was what Mags really would have done. On the one hand, she's a tough old broad who I could see fighting to the bitter end, but ultimately, I think this season established her as a woman who lives by her own rules, so it makes sense that she'd die on her own terms. With her sons dead (well, except Dickie, but that's a whole other story), her empire collapsing, the town turned against her, Loretta ready to kill her, and a prison sentence for murder in her future, I think suicide was the only way for her to retain control. In a season that was stolen by Margo Martindale, it only makes sense that the show end on Mags' last breaths. “Put an end to my troubles. Get to see my boys again. Get to know the mystery.” A powerful end to a powerful performance. Bravo.She was far from the only death, though. Bloody Harlan, indeed. I knew the parlay between Boyd and Mags wasn't going to be smooth (how much did you love it when the kindly pastor collected all the weapons?), but the multi-front bloodbath between the two clans was beyond even what I expected. While the major players this season have long pretended that they're about making deals and promises, at this point in the game, both sides know that all bets are off and have prepared
accordingly. It's a little shocking to me that Dickie, of all people, is the Bennett to have survived all this. Not only does he have a crippled leg, but he's done more to piss certain people off than even Mags had. Shooting Helen damn near got him executed in a forest, but he thought it was a good idea to shoot Ava for good measure? Uh, you mean Boyd Crowder's girlfriend, Ava? I'm sorry, does anyone think that's a good idea? Yeah, I didn't think so. Oh, Dickie. If you're back next season, and I hope to hell you are, you're in for a crazy ride, because you see, not only does law enforcement have it out for you, but Boyd Crowder was denied his revenge, so... yeah... that's gonna end well.Okay, that scene where Dickie had Raylan strung up like a pinata was completely awesome. Again, not only does it tie into the mythology of these characters perfectly, but it fits into the overall narrative in a specific and important way. Under other circumstances, it might come across as incredibly convenient that Boyd just happened to show up to save the day, but the show set this situation up in such a way that it makes perfect sense. When Boyd wants you dead, you're gonna get dead. Unless Raylan steps in, of course. Hehe, I loved when Dickie was begging Raylan not to leave him alone with Boyd. Ha! You know Boyd is insane and scary as hell when Dickie would rather take his chances with Raylan, the man who
nearly executed him in a forest not three days ago, than go toe-to-toe with Boyd. It was also nice to see that Raylan, a bona fide lawman who's foiled Boyd's plans on any number of occasions was like, "You have fun with Boyd, Dickie. I'm out. Hope he kills you real good." Jeremy Davies does an amazing job as Dickie, as always, but the lightning-fast turn in his demeanor for high-and-mighty torturer to pathetic, whimpering coward begging for his life was truly a sight to see. It'll be interesting to see how things play out next season between Boyd and Raylan even if Dickie doesn't come back next year. Raylan kind of ruined Boyd's revenge plot, albeit with a good reason, and I don't think Boyd is the kind of guy to just let that slide. I'm guessing that next season will depend on whether or not Jeremy Davies can come back to the show. If he can't, I'm guessing Dickie will "go to prison" for the foreseeable future, but I'm hopeful that he'll at least be back for the third season premier to tie things up even if he can't be in the whole season.The finale did a very nice job of tying up some major plotlines, but leaving other things up in the air. Knowing that it won't be back for forever and a day makes the loose ends a little more irksome to endure, but I think they struck a nice balance. We leave off with Ava bleeding to death on a couch, although with Boyd calling the shots, I think that doctor from the free clinic will perform a miracle whether he currently possesses such powers or not. "You fix her like your life depends on it, because it surely does." Awesome. I think it's safe to assume that Ava will live, as
will the chip on Boyd's shoulder. Her coming out of the cellar was consistent with her character and all, but it certainly elicited an, "Oh, for hell's sake," which is phrase usually reserved for Winona. I really loved the progression of Boyd's and Ava's relationship over the season. The fact that that's essentially the only thing Ava got to do would have been far more off-putting if it hadn't been done so well. Her growing affection for Boyd also signaled a change in her priorities and her stance on criminal activity. She has always been smack-dab in the middle of shady activity, but it was her love for Boyd that made her really accept it. Boyd has been super-protective of Ava since back to season one and to see that really manifest itself in this finale was really lovely to see. His sheer panic at her injury was a very un-Boydlike reaction and drove home the fact that she's everything to him. Even in the face of his own grisly death, Boyd is usually cool as a Kentucky creek, but when Ava's on the gurney, he freaks out and nearly shoots one of his guys. Very nicely played.The other major loose end is Raylan's fate in Kentucky (both in terms of the marshal service and in terms of Winona). Oh, for hell's sake, Winona, you had to go and get pregnant, didn't you? I'm generally put-off by pregnancy storylines because I am rather firm in my opinion that babies ruin everything, but in terms of this show, I actually think the twist works, if for no other reason than the fact that the physiological affects of pregnancy might help to explain why Winona has been so off-balance and erratic this season. Along with that, it was actually pretty charming to see just how happy Raylan was with the pregnancy, which it's clear really is the "best news [he's] gotten in... ever." Once again, I fully believe that that writers knew about this pregnancy before they even started filming this season. They began setting this up as far back
as the second or third episode of the season with that pregnant prison inmate, and have laid the groundwork for it ever since. That's one of the reasons it doesn't bother me. It didn't come across as a ridiculous ploy to shake things up or like the writers just threw it in for a shock, it felt organic to the story. It also makes Winona's reaction to Raylan running off toward certain death (again) all the more understandable. The reason their marriage didn't work the first time was largely due to Raylan's work. I've never been married nor have I ever had a family member with a deadly job, but I imagine it's incredibly frightening and stressful to never know if your loved one will be coming home alive every day. It makes Winona's uncertainty as to whether or not she can do this again, especially with a baby on the way, all the more reasonable, which isn't a word I've been able to apply to her much this year. It also sets up a scenario for Raylan to have a reason to stay in Kentucky. He can't got to Glynco and teach firearms and have the series continue the way it has, so it only makes sense that he stays in Kentucky. Unless the writers have a fundamental game-change in the works, he'll be staying. A separation from Winona would facilitate that possibility.Another factor which may influence Raylan's choice to stay in Kentucky is the fact that Art and the marshals saved the day. Winona hasn't done much right this season, bu
t going to Art and convincing him to haul the entire cavalry to Harlan to save Raylan wins her back quite a few points in my book. Art and Raylan have been at odds because of Winona, so it's make good narrative sense that she'd be the one to bring them back together. Art had no legal or personal obligation to go to Harlan, but at the end of the day, I think Art's paternalistic feelings toward Raylan won out. Again, it could have been seen as a bit convenient that the entire marshal service just happened to roll up the minute Raylan was about to be killed, but the writers established that this was a possibility, so it plays out nicely. They also established a red herring, however, that I totally fell for. By having Boyd make a deal with that policeman early on, it made it hard to be sure who had shot Doyle and whether or not Raylan was actually going to be safe or if this was just one more body for the heap. It took me a split-second to process, but in looking at the incredible precision of the shot through Doyle's forehead, I quickly switched from, "Was is that dirty cop from earlier?" to "Why, that looks like the work of one Deputy US Marshal Tim Gutterson!" Indeed, my only true laments for this finale (and the season as a whole) is that the marshal service didn't get more screen time. Hell, Rachel and Tim didn't even get speaking parts in the finale. If nothing else good comes 
of Winona's sticky fingers, it gave the show a reason to spend time at the marshals' office, when by all logic, they should otherwise have been in Harlan. Say what you will about the Winona money theft storyline, but it was the writers' way of keeping the marshals at the core of the show. Without that storyline, there really wouldn't have been much reason for them to have been in the show this year. You'll notice, after that storyline wrapped up, we saw a hell of a lot less of them, so in terms of my crush on Tim Gutterson, I have to give Winona's stupidity a few points in the plus column.Overall, I have some mixed feelings about the finale. In general, a finale should up the show's game and go out in superior fashion, but with Justified, every single episode is stellar, so how do you really improve on that for the big finish? You can't really, so the finale feels a whole lot like every other episode. That said, they did tie up a lot of story and open the doors for more. It was an incredible end to a near-perfect season. I laughed, I cried (that's right, Raylan, your little speech about Helen when you were about to kill Dickie had me tearing up), and I couldn't possibly ask for anything more. Except for maybe more episodes... but that's ground we've already covered. Until next year, my darling kickass show.
Well done. Er...
Nice shootin'?
Yeah, that's better.
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