Raylan has one last shot at taking down Art's would-be assassin, while cartel killers have Boyd's back against the wall.
Season 5 of Justified has been an off season - both intentionally and unfortunately. At the center of the season is Raylan Givens who is simply not where he should be. With his hand in the death of Nicky Augustine, he's too much a criminal to be a lawman but he's also too much of a loyal lawman to be a criminal. He's well behaved throughout the season. He doesn't even have to be the one to put down Darryl Crowe, Jr. He's also staying focused at work when he should be down in Florida with Winona and his new baby daughter. He stays in Harlan and the Lexington offices even though he has no real reason to stay. He goes down to Florida in the premiere but doesn't want to see his family. Once he tells Art the truth, he goes on vacation but is still roaming around the area doing various job-related things.And the more you think about this season, the more it seems like a placeholder before the final season. "Restitution" leaves me super excited for the sixth and final season but not satisfied with the necessity of this season's main plot. Raylan and Boyd facing off against each other is a go to point of awesomeness - the final two episodes of this season prove that. But it's a card the show can't frequently go to a lot. That dynamic is going to be a major component of the final season. So, the show has to keep producing new criminal figures for Raylan and the marshals to go after while Boyd's heroin business goes through its ups-and-downs.
Enter the Crowe family for Season 5. They are all outsiders to Harlan. They don't know this area. Their only connection to this place is through their cousin Dewey. They tie into the theme of not belonging of the season. They enter this universe for no real reason. They have complicated issues and cause several headaches for multiple characters this year. But they weren't presented with any sense of complex problems. They existed to give the characters some target to go up against or do business with. In that respect, they weren't that intriguing figures. They were low-level criminals who brought nothing but trouble. And that trouble didn't really highlight anything new about the morality of either Raylan Givens or Boyd Crowder. So ultimately, they weren't worth the amount of time spent on them. The show loves sending its big bads of the season off in some very grand thematic way - Mags Bennett killing herself through her own Apple Pie, Quarles' arm (and thusly his fancy gun trick) getting chopped off. Darryl Crowe, Jr. was all about keeping his family together. So of course, he ends the season without any kind of family and more importantly it's one of his own (Wendy) who kills him.
And then, there's the whole Ava subplot that has run throughout the season. She started the season in prison and the show was determined to keep her there until the finale. They broke her down in order for that final minute with Raylan to feel so important and vital to her survival. She's reluctant to work with him. And yet, it's her only option to get out of prison alive. The show has sent several characters to prison before but they never spent a lot of time there. Ava is in contradiction to that. She had a much tougher time in there. She has changed. We once believed in the tragic love story of Boyd and Ava and hoped that they would get to live in that dream house of theirs. Now, the two are on two different wavelengths. Her deal with Raylan isn't going to make things that much easier. Instead, they present a complex complication - a dynamic largely missing this season.
So the season of Raylan Givens being in the wrong place has to end with him getting clarity and the resolution to head to the right place. He gets the okay to transfer to the Florida office to be with Winona and she is so overjoyed (She can finally get some sleep!). Art doesn't die on him either. He wakes up and is just glad that Darryl is dead. But then, Rachel and Vasquez dangle the Boyd line in front of Raylan and he gets reenergized to head out by taking down the one criminal he has yet to put away during his time in Harlan. He's got a few weeks to do it. Boyd has a new arrangement with Wynn Duffy and Catherine Hall which also promises to shake things up. Justified is heading to an exciting and explosive conclusion. Too bad so much of this season felt unimportant in the grand scheme of things.
Season Grade - B
Some more thoughts:
- "Restitution" was written by Fred Golan & Dave Andron and directed by Adam Arkin.
- This season has been really light on both Tim and Rachel but both had some great moments in the finale. Here's to bigger and better things in Season 6.
- Boyd made a partnership with Wynn Duffy in the Season 4 finale and it didn't lead to that many interesting things. So, I'm really hoping Catherine's presence really changes and challenges the way Boyd does business.
- Raylan sure does have a cute TV baby, doesn't he?
- It's looking like Justified is gonna be another show where it's even numbered seasons are fantastic and it's odd numbered ones are just okay.
- But I loved that music that played as Raylan and Ava walked away to close the finale. UPDATE - I just found out the song was "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive" by Ruby Friedman Orchestra.
- Current season rankings - 2, 4, 3, 1, 5
