Raylan Givens, Boyd Crowder, and the rest of the ‘Justified’ lunatics returned to FX on Jan. 7, with a dynamic season opener that introduced a fan-favorite family as a force to be reckoned with.
Oh Justified, how do we even live without your madcap Appalachian lunacy for two-thirds of the year? Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) and the Justified crew returned with a new season and a new legion of redneck criminals on Jan. 7, introducing a kooky crime caper that brought the show to its darkest place yet — Florida. Check out the top five moments below!
The Top 5 Moments From ‘Justified’
1. Dewey’s return. Damon Herriman‘s idiotic criminal has always been the most entertaining of the bunch, but until now he’s only popped up once or twice a season. Now his family — who are far more intelligent than Dewey — are taking front and center, and the first scene of the episode with Dewey facing off against Judge Stephen Root was spectacular. (“You mean I only get $300?!”) Better yet was Rayan showing up at Damon’s blood-money, above-ground pool, which he quickly shot and drained just to be a d–k. We love you, Dewey.
2. Raylan’s Florida romp with David Koechner. The Anchorman 2 star guested as a family man marshal from down in the everglades, and in addition to just being generally funny, his love for his wife, daughter, and two sons was a perfect foil for Raylan, who did everything in his power to avoid visiting his ex-wife and baby daughter. Raylan, you make it so hard to love you sometimes — especially when you mention Dewey’s settlement money in front of a man who will probably try to murder him.
3. Boyd’s undying love for Ava. In addition, Boyd’s (Walton Goggins) dedication to freeing Ava from the clink was bloody (literally) brilliant. I’m going to glaze over Jere Burns‘ phenomenal Wynn Duffy being promoted to series regular right now because OH MY GOD, but the two men’s manic, drug-related trip to Detroit was chock-full of action and hot one-liners. (“I have been to Iraq. It’s a lot like Detroit, except you have better music.”)
Then there was that final showdown with Lee Paxton, which we knew would end badly once the corrupt businessman said “we both know you don’t love your white trash fiancee that much.” Um, yes he does, Lee. Boyd muttering “I think he bumped his head” to Lee’s hot young trophy wife after he bashed his head in was a perfect snapshot of what makes Boyd so great — you never know if you’re supposed to cheer for him, be terrified of him, or both.
4. Alicia Witt and Michael Rapaport as Dewey’s surprisingly smart gator-farming family. Admittedly we haven’t seen enough of them yet, but both Alicia and Michael are brilliant character actors, and boy are these guys characters. Alicia’s fiery, tramp-stamp wearing paralegal and Michael’s ruthless, fratricide-committing criminal should be great foils for Raylan.
5. “Hey, Raylan… can I get you a blowjob or somethin?… Not from me.” ‘Nuff said.
What did you think of the episode, HollywoodLifers? Are you happy about this feast of Crowes?
— Shaunna Murphy
Follow @ShaunnaLMurphy
