THIS WEEK ON Justified: Cut Ties
We rejoin Raylan as he wakes up from a slumber that I can only assume encompasses dreams of fighting giants and satisfying women by the dozen.
When last we left Boyd he was cooling in stir. As he walks over to Dickey, Boyd is told he has a visitor. As the spot light is put on him, Boyd pockets the shiv and leaves the lunchroom. Its seems Raylan saw through Boyd’s plan to get locked up to extract revenge on Dickey. I know I’ve said it before but the reason I love the conflict between these two characters is that they will forever be polite to each other right up until someone is punched or shot. Then, after the heat of battle, the will go right back to niceties. I’m not sure if it’s a product of the region they were raised or if its because they grew up together, or both, but for me its one of the main reasons I like the show.
We are briefly introduced to Marshal Bill Nichols. He and Art are talking about old times and waxing poetical about the marshals of old. As we all know, this sort of talk is doom for a newly introduced character. He might as well be wearing a red shirt because he’s not coming back from this mission. In the next scene we learn that Marshal Nichols is a wit sec Marshal (Witness security). I wonder if this particular part of his life plays into what I’m sure will be his untimely murder.
I’m sure Dewey had to psych himself up for a few minutes before approaching Boyd. Dewey lets Boyd know that Dickey was thrown into solitary. Boyd is foiled again. At this rate, he’ll never take over the world (Yes that was a nod to pinky in the Brain). Looks like its on to plan C. Byd certainly is determined to even the score with the man that shot, as he so eloquently put it, “The woman I am sleeping with who is my brother’s widow and murderess.” Next thanksgiving, I challenge you to find your family as fucked up as the Crowders.
Bill is doing his rounds. One of his witnesses is a single mother of two. Could we pick a more vulnerable victim? How about a paraplegic who is also a pyromaniac and agoraphobic. Now that I think about that, its pretty awful; a guy in a wheelchair who never leaves his house and just lights fires. Sorry pal, your days are numbered. Oh, yea, right, Justified, got it … back on track now. Like our friends Zippy, the paraplegic pyromaniac agoraphobe, Bill’s not gonna last too long. He’s followed to a coffee shop by a greasy looking Frank John Hughes. With the absence of Neil McDonough, we have at least filled out Band of Brother’s quota for this episode. Bill seems to know this unsavory character and walks into his trap. Bill is shot in the knees and dragged off to parts unknown.
Looks like the defecation has hit the rotary oscillator.
When Raylan returns to the office he finds all the bees are buzzing. Bill’s body had been found. Speaking of bodies, Carla Gugino is introduced as Deputy Inspector Goodall. Since she’s a pretty lady she of course has had run-ins with Raylan. Its evident these to have history and judging by the reaction to her name, they have not kept in touch. Art immediately assigns protection to Bill’s witnesses while Raylan and Goodall are headed to talk to a person of interest.
Art heads over to protect one Terry Powe (But it sounds like Poe so I’m gonna run with that). Unfortunately we learn that Powe was the black cat that sent Bill to a premature burial (Yea, brace yourself, there’s going to be a lot of these). Art, creeped out by the reptiles in Powe’s haunted palace decides that leaving may be the best idea. He tells Powe to pack a bag and get ready to hop-frog to Eldorado.
Never questions Boyd’s toughness. The next part of his plan to get Dickey is to show off his white supremacist tattoos in front of the large black men and get a one way ticket to solitary. My next sentence is one I never thought I’d utter, and most likely never will again. Good thing he has that swastika tattoo.
When we rejoin the pretty party, Raylan and Goodall are taking out some chumps in a hotel. I’m gonna say it here, if Timothy Olyphant and Carla Gugino ever got together and had a kid, it would be the prettiest being ever to walk the planet. Raylan’s plan worked perfectly and the dispatched the lowly muscle to talk to a Boston thug by the name of Little Joe.
Art gets a call from Raylan and hits the road with Powe. Looks like the gold-bug in Powe’s plan was that he was dealing with badass Art instead of relaxed Art. Art takes out the imp of the perverse and sends him to dream within a dream.
With Boyd in solitary his diabolical plan is 3/4ths complete. Mwahaha.
Art, as a character never particularly scared me. He always seemed like a good boss that everyone liked and respected. Usually when he was mad at someone, their own guilt was the punishment. When Art throws down on Powe, it showed that Art, the big teddy bear, has claws. Art makes sure that the beating of Powe’s tell-tale heart is outshined by the beating of his fists of fury. We find out that Powe was trying to buy back into his old lifestyle by selling out those in witness protection. He never meant to kill Bill, but after he was spotted, it started a descent into the maelstrom (Last one I swear).
Rachel receives a call that informs her she’s about to have company. We find out that Powe sold out the Archer family. Rachel hides with the family in the attic and waits for the calvary to arrive. As she headshots goon one, goon two is dispatched by Art, who I’m sure was just looking to shoot something.
Boyd finally gets to Dickey. It seems that his motivation wasn’t bent on revenge, but money. It looks like original Boyd is back. Dickey’s insurance policy seems to be a fella by the name Ellstin Limehouse. Judging from Boyd’s reaction, this is a bad thing for him. I guess the last of the Bennets gets to live for now.
We he returns to the office, Raylan is it on by everything with a skirt and told that Arnett’s office had been renovated. And by renovated I mean the carpet had been torn up and the concrete floor had been bleached.
We close the episode with a scene featuring the aforementioned Limehouse. Bubba seems to have moved from shrimping to butchering. He does some intimidating dialogue with one of his subordinates that displeased him, and then asks if he wants to join Fight Club. Well, actually he asks the sleepy sentry if he would like to mutilate his hand with lye to make up for his failure. The scared boy said he’s take a pass, ensuring his death upon the next failure. Judging from Limehouse’s reputation, I probably would have gone with the lye. Pain fades, chicks dig scars, and being square with a murderous crime lord is ALWAYS a good idea.