S06.E10: Trust

[LittleIggy]

Boone looks like Cleetus from The Simpsons.

Edited March 26, 2015 by LittleIggy

[dohe]

One of the things that has made this season so compelling is how smartly it has shown Ava's realization of how she failed herself in trusting someone like Boyd.  That being in love with Boyd and becoming lost in his charisma so blinded her to the implications it could have on her life.  When Carl lashed out at Zachariah as a "traitor", the real traitor is Boyd.  Did Ava see her own ignorance in Carl's ignorance?  As Boyd let it be known that he was selling out Carl and Earl without hesitation was there any other choice for her than her action at the end.  Maybe there was but it is easy to see why she thought what she thought.

 

The show could have easily been the Raylan vs. Boyd show.  Instead the show respects the viewer too, too much and particularly respects that Ava is, when it comes down to it, just as crucial a character as Boyd!

[magdalene]

Oddly getting shot like that this early in the game makes me think Boyd may actually have a chance of living through the finale.  Of course I could be sadly wrong.

Wouldn't it be ironic if that cocky sociopath upstart got to end Raylan Givens. Though not very likely IMO because Raylan being alive in the author canon.

[LittleIggy]

Why didn't Raylan shoot at the tires on the truck when Ava got in it? Anyway, I hope Raylan shoots a hole through Boone's stupid ass bowl-cut bangs.

Edited March 26, 2015 by LittleIggy

[Anela]

Gareth from TWD, briefly took me out of it, for the same reason that someone else mentioned. 

 

Ava surprised me. I don't know why, since she's shot more than one man before. Didn't someone say they thought Ava would end up with all of the money?

[cassandle]

I was shocked by Ava's choice to shoot Boyd and take off. I don't think she'll get very far though. Even if Vasquez couldn't have put her back in prison, she didn't seem to realize that because she apparently never spoke to an attorney of her own about the CI deal. However, now she's gone and done something they can put her in prison for so I have a feeling things won't turn out well for her. 

 

I barely remember but at the end of the last season when Ava was released her lawyer (or rather Boyd's lawyer) was with her, right?  So does he know about the CI deal or would they not tell him because he's technically paid by Boyd? Because if he knows about the deal he's being a terrible lawyer.  And if he doesn't know about it, yeah, Ava's an idiot for not consulting someone.

 

 

I'm wondering what is going to happen with Boon. They're playing up a showdown between him and Raylan which makes me think there will be some big twist and Boon will end up killing someone else like Tim. Which I really hope doesn't happen. I don't know if Avery warned Boon to check the glass or not, I'm hoping not so that Loretta can take him out with some apple pie.

 

If he kills Tim I will be livid.  LIVID.  I was sort of okay with the idea of Walker killing Tim--not because I want him to die because I absolutely do not--but because they had a few interactions and at least had a little history.  But I don't like Boon and he is not worthy enough to kill Tim.  I do like the idea of Loretta giving Boon apple pie though.  I'd like to think that's the reason we were reminded of it when she offered Walker a drink--that it's going to come up again at some point. 

[ruby24]

This is exactly why I have been so dissatisfied with this season - I don't care about Ava, and (to me, at least) she just sucks up way too much screen time that could better be utilized by other characters.  Raylan versus Boyd shouldn't be the distraction - that should be the main story. 

This is a valid point. Most of the series, Ava has been a supporting character, and the show has NOT played up some kind of consistent triangle between the three of them for all of these years. If anything, since Season 2 we'd been meant to think that Ava was firmly placing herself in the criminal camp, wanted to be with Boyd and she certainly didn't seem to be harboring long lost feelings for Raylan all this time.

 

What HAS been the undercurrent all along was Raylan vs. Boyd, but not over Ava. To now suddenly place her as the most important piece of this whole show isn't supported by the history of the series, imo. It's a bit of a cheat, actually. Raylan and Boyd should definitely be the main story.

 

And frankly, I was never wild about her having tons of screentime, because I just don't think that Joelle Carter is a strong enough actress to pull off the heavy lifting that requires. She's okay, but that's it.

Edited March 26, 2015 by ruby24

[dohe]

This is a valid point. Most of the series, Ava has been a supporting character, and the show has NOT played up some kind of consistent triangle between the three of them for all of these years. If anything, since Season 2 we'd been meant to think that Ava was firmly placing herself in the criminal camp, wanted to be with Boyd and she certainly didn't seem to be harboring long lost feelings for Raylan all this time.

 

What HAS been the undercurrent all along was Raylan vs. Boyd, but not over Ava. To now suddenly place her as the most important piece of this whole show isn't supported by the history of the series, imo. It's a bit of a cheat, actually. Raylan and Boyd should definitely be the main story.

 

And frankly, I was never wild about her having tons of screentime, because I just don't think that Joelle Carter is a strong enough actress to pull off the heavy lifting that requires. She's okay, but that's it.

The show has not placed her "as the most important piece of this whole show".  It is doing what it has done through out the history of the series which is treat her as one of the primary characters on the show.  She is supporting only if we consider Raylan the only lead.  However if we consider Boyd of the same importance as Raylan than the same applies for Ava.  The show has been just as much about her journey as it has been about Boyd's and both her and Boyd share a complex, difficult relationship with Raylan.  The history of the series does support her relevance.  Whether one does not care for her for whatever reason or has a problem with her acting is a whole other story.  However the show runners have not just given her relevance and importance out of nowhere.  She has always been a major character on the show and that sequence between her, Boyd and Raylan at the end of season 6 is in keeping with spirit that these three characters are intertwined.  The show in no way has betrayed itself.  There is a difference between who want to be prominent on a show and a show being inconsistent.  And in the importance of Ava to the show runners, the show has been consistent.

 

As for lost feelings for Raylan, it is a lot more complex than that.  I have posted on this before but when people arrive at a seeming dead in their life or find themselves in a living hell, the wish one could go back and make different decisions/go down a different path is going to be there.  Yes Ava once firmly planted herself in the criminal camp out of what she saw as love and a way to get ahead in life.  But after what has gone down over the last few seasons, I think it is reasonable she is regretting she ever went down the path she did. 

 

I barely remember but at the end of the last season when Ava was released her lawyer (or rather Boyd's lawyer) was with her, right?  So does he know about the CI deal or would they not tell him because he's technically paid by Boyd? Because if he knows about the deal he's being a terrible lawyer.  And if he doesn't know about it, yeah, Ava's an idiot for not consulting someone.

 

 

If he kills Tim I will be livid.  LIVID.  I was sort of okay with the idea of Walker killing Tim--not because I want him to die because I absolutely do not--but because they had a few interactions and at least had a little history.  But I don't like Boon and he is not worthy enough to kill Tim.  I do like the idea of Loretta giving Boon apple pie though.  I'd like to think that's the reason we were reminded of it when she offered Walker a drink--that it's going to come up again at some point. 

Worthiness would have nothing to do with it.  The Gunfighter, the excellent film with Gregory Peck which Bob Dylan references in the song Brownsville Girl, has a pathetic punk Hunt Bromley shoot the acclaimed gunfighter Jim Ringo.  The punk killing a legendary gunfighter is not just from movies but real life.  Jack McCall killing Wild Bill.  Bob Ford killing Jesse James.  John Selman killing John Wesley Hardin.    The reality is no one is worthy of killing Tim.  If he is killed by Boon or Boyd or Avery, it will be horrible.  And it won't make me feel one bit better no matter who it is. 

Edited March 26, 2015 by dohe

[Christina]

I never saw Ava as a primary character; until last season, she was always a piece of Boyd's story to me. I didn't mind the character when it was Ava deciding to be a criminal with the man she loved, who was also a criminal. I just don't think her story is compelling on it's own, and it feels like I am being hit with it, out of nowhere, this season.

 

I have always considered both Raylan and Boyd as primary characters, with the others supporting.

 

Edited to add: I took the "most important character" comment to be in response to Yost's post-mortem, discussed here and in the media thread, where he says something about it not being about Boyd and Raylan, but about Ava.

Edited March 26, 2015 by Christina

[90 Day Pinochet]

I think Mikey is dead and I have a feeling Wynn is too.

 

I think Wynn Duffy not making it out of this alive would shock me more than any other outcome. I can't shake the sense that, despite whatever craziness may happen in the end, the final shot of Wynn Duffy will be of him watching women's tennis (while DVR-ing mythbusters) from an RV overlooking a beach sunset. Seriously, Bear Grylls:The Wilderness::Wynn Duffy:The Criminal Underworld.

[ruby24]

I disagree that Ava's been a character of importance on the same level as Raylan and Boyd. For a couple of seasons in a row she rarely had more to do than just being a part of Boyd's crew. I'm pretty sure that her storyline in the fifth season was the most amount of screen time she had in a single season up to that point, and now this year of course. I see it very differently.

[Bannon]

Raylan tried to save Ava's deal as a CI, and when he couldn't, he went to Ava's home and acted like a complete cold fish asshole to her.  What the hell did he expect her to do when she was backed into a corner, with Raylan showing absolutely no sympathy for the situtation that she is now in?  Of course she was going to make a move, she has nothing to lose.

 

I thought for sure that those bags of money would have a tracking device in them. 

 

I am really getting tired of watching innocent victims dying, when it is so needless.  Why the hell isn't someone watching Avery's every move?

 

The writing on this show is turning into "The Americans" level of shit writing.  Innocent victims dying everywhere, with so called protagonists with their collective heads up their asses, not seeming to give a damn.

Two shows connected by Graham Yost. Just sayin'.

 

What has always saved the writing in this show is Leonardesque humor,and when an episode doesn't contain it, it's noticeable.

[Linderhill]

 

I don't care about Ava, and (to me, at least) she just sucks up way too much screen time that could better be utilized by other characters.  Raylan versus Boyd shouldn't be the distraction - that should be the main story.

I fully agree with this.  I've never found the character compelling in anyway.  Last season's arc of her prison time was particularly awful. I'm quite sure that Ava's rise in importance is because Yost wanted to be clever and saw it as a way of giving Joelle a boost in her career. 

 

I never found her storyline to be particularly complex.  Heck, Raylan barely remembered her in the pilot episode.  She always struck me as a girl used to being the prettyest one in the room and to be treated accordingly.  She married the high school football star who turned out to be an abuser.  instead of leaving and divorcing him, she shot him.  (not that he didn't deserve it but we were never given enough info to get a full background)  I still wonder about how she was released without even a trial for Bowman's shooting.  Anyway, she and Raylan sleep together, Raylan's big weakness, the ladies, and messes up the marshalls case.  During this whole time Raylan encourages her to leave town for her own good.  She refuses (despite the fact that at one point she said she wanted to run away).  When she refuses, Raylan basically dumps her and sleeps with Winona.  Despite this, Ava pursues him and accuses him of cheating on her.  That was where I was fed up with her and her self righteous indignation.  She throws herself in with Boyd and his grand plans and is shocked that she ends up in jail,  (I'm not going to get into that whole conversation) someplace she should have been for shooting Bowman let alone the pimp and attempted murder of Sue Ellen.  Ava never seemed to be all that desperate to get away from Harlan until things weren't going her way and she ended up in jail. 

 

Wow, that was much more than i intended to write.  At any rate, I don't find her compelling in the least especially when there are much more interesting characters, like Raylan and Boyd, the marshalls, anyone is more interesting and compelling.  Its my one gripe about this season that she's become so important. 

[attica]

I think Wynn Duffy not making it out of this alive would shock me more than any other outcome.

 

Yeah, Wynn is the cockroach: he's gonna outlive 'em all.

[lulee]

Maybe I'm having Season 5-induced amnesia and having a hard time remembering back to the first couple seasons, but why was Dewey's apparent murder such a trigger for Ava? Not that she shouldn't have cared, but finding his necklace (and then Boyd's lies about it) was what pushed her over the edge with Boyd. Were they kin?

[90 Day Pinochet]

Maybe I'm having Season 5-induced amnesia and having a hard time remembering back to the first couple seasons, but why was Dewey's apparent murder such a trigger for Ava? Not that she shouldn't have cared, but finding his necklace (and then Boyd's lies about it) was what pushed her over the edge with Boyd. Were they kin?

 

Because Dewey is a stand-in for Uncle Zachariah, who Ava is assuming is dead. 

He is totally alive since the only people that die off-screen in Justified are the background grist for the bad-guy mill. However, Ava doesn't know that Zachariah is still shit-kickin' it somewhere around Harlan.

Edited March 26, 2015 by 90 Day Pinochet

[Febgirl]

Maybe I'm having Season 5-induced amnesia and having a hard time remembering back to the first couple seasons, but why was Dewey's apparent murder such a trigger for Ava? Not that she shouldn't have cared, but finding his necklace (and then Boyd's lies about it) was what pushed her over the edge with Boyd. Were they kin?

Earlier this season, when Boyd was hiding the papers he stole from Markham's safe deposit box in the barn, he mentioned something about Dewey dropping by to pick something up?  She hadn't seen/heard from Dewey since, and the necklace was such an important part of Dewey's "look", I am guessing that 2 + 2 made 4 in her mind?

[seacliffsal]

Due to Wynn's audible moaning I was assuming that he was distracting Mikey in order to work something out and figure a way out of his predictament.

[ChipBach]

Raylan tried to save Ava's deal as a CI, and when he couldn't, he went to Ava's home and acted like a complete cold fish asshole to her.  What the hell did he expect her to do when she was backed into a corner, with Raylan showing absolutely no sympathy for the situtation that she is now in?  Of course she was going to make a move, she has nothing to lose.

 

I thought for sure that those bags of money would have a tracking device in them. 

 

I am really getting tired of watching innocent victims dying, when it is so needless.  Why the hell isn't someone watching Avery's every move?

 

The writing on this show is turning into "The Americans" level of shit writing.  Innocent victims dying everywhere, with so called protagonists with their collective heads up their asses, not seeming to give a damn.

 

I actually thought this was Raylans way of giving Ava some time to prepare to fly.  He knew she was up to something and I think he was OK with it as evidenced in his repeated "I want to trust you".  I think he was telling her, "I know this is bullshit, by the way, I hope I don't get killed in your plan".  He let her go, he could have pulled down on her easily, shot at the truck during the get away, etc.

[dohe]

I disagree that Ava's been a character of importance on the same level as Raylan and Boyd. For a couple of seasons in a row she rarely had more to do than just being a part of Boyd's crew. I'm pretty sure that her storyline in the fifth season was the most amount of screen time she had in a single season up to that point, and now this year of course. I see it very differently.

There has not been a season in which Ava's role was just being part of Boyd's crew. 

Edited March 26, 2015 by dohe

[edhopper]

I don't get why Avery gave Boyd the money. He knew from the phone call to Katherine that she was in on the robbery. He must have suspected Boyd was bluffing.

And even if he didn't, he doesn't seem to be the type of man to give everything he has, even for love.

 

Perhaps we will find out something more next week, but for know, I am incredulous.

[CaptainCranky]

Sam Elliot is one of my favorite actors of all time but in this show, he doesn't look right, almost like he had a stroke or something. 

 

Still love the character though.

[ruby24]

I'm wondering if Avery had some kind of a tracker on the money. Maybe it's traceable somehow.

[greenbean]

I was shocked when Ava shot Boyd, but I've been suspecting that the ultimate face off for Raylan is really between him and Rachel/Vasquez. So this may bring that about. People becoming unlikely allies, and previous allies becoming foes, has been a theme, so I'm not surprised Boyd and Raylan find themselves possibly needing to work together. It may even be Tim who actually takes out Raylan. The writers could be doing another bluff with Boon.

 

When it comes to Raylan and Boyd, I always think of that scene in the last episode of S1. Where when in the thick of it, they ended up on the same side, and at the end Boyd said Raylan is his only real friend. It set the tone to their relationship for the rest of the show, so I've suspected the writers will revisit that dynamic.

 

Now, I could be completely wrong, and this will sound farfetched, but I also suspect that Lorretta and Boon may become the new outlaw couple of Harlan. Just as Ava shoots Boyd, and ends an era, something happens that creates a new one with those two.

Edited March 26, 2015 by greenbean

[ruby24]

Loretta and Boon? Ick. God, I hope not.

 

I was secretly hoping that Raylan and Boyd would be forced to team up for the last season, against a bigger bad guy or something. I still hope that happens somehow, in the little amount of time left.

[dargosmydaddy]

 

I was shocked when Ava shot Boyd, but I've been suspecting that the ultimate face off for Raylan is really between him and Rachel/Vasquez. So this may bring that about. People becoming unlikely allies, and previous allies becoming foes, has been a theme, so I'm not surprised Boyd and Raylan find themselves possibly needing to work together. It may even be Tim who actually takes out Raylan.

Hmm. I could definitely see a showdown with Raylan/ the bosses, but I can't picture it being a violent one, not without a major 180 that would be impossible to pull off in three episodes. And I can't picture Tim ever shooting Raylan unless Raylan was drawing on him, and I think Raylan respects Tim (as a shooter, if not as a man) too much to ever do that.

[paigow]

I'm wondering if Avery had some kind of a tracker on the money. Maybe it's traceable somehow.

If Ava gets a cattle bolt in the skull, that would be evidence of a tracker in the bag.

[queenanne]

No surprised, Boon's insane.  Totally scared the crap out of the hipster waiter and his girlfriend (and, yes: I totally recognized him as Gareth from The Walking Dead, which I found highly amusing.)  Jonathan Tucker still has the crazy-eyes thing going for him, but he's not grabbing me as much as Ty did.  Kind of wish Garrett Dillahunt's availability had been more open, if that was the reason they had to kill him like they did. 

 

 

Oh, I'm pretty sure that's the only reason; I was rolling my eyes at the scene (though it has convinced me that Andrew J. West totally needs a lead role somewhere; his reaction really invested me in that throwaway character), because otherwise there's no reason to throw that level of luscious detail about a brand new adversary into the story, where you know the show is winding to a close.  Considering I'm pretty sure this was planned as the last season, I don't care if the actor who plays Boon is the nicest person in the land, having such a scene about a character in the last quarter of the final season is self-indulgent nonsense, and/or too lazy on the part of the writing team to replace what also seems like it must've been a transplanted Dillahunt (or Herriman!) scene.  The Boon stuff in the diner was "spinoff-introduction-character" level of drawn-out, for zero good discernible reason.

 

I’m fine with Ava getting this level of preeminence; it’s just that it’s not for a very good story.  I mean, the end of S1 is Boyd, Ava, and Raylan all holed up together shooting at a batch of adversaries, no?  She’s Boyd’s Lady Macbeth.  I feel like the (IMO) horrible last fifth season and the clear MacGuffin nature of Ava-in-prison lamitude (seriously, does the journalist take suggestions for the Yost's Posts?  I'd like to see him explain this plotline and what he thinks Vasquez actually has over Ava) may be presenting an unfavorable coloring towards her overall series-arc contributions.

Edited March 27, 2015 by queenanne

[Texasmom1970]

Cannot believe I was actually feeling a bit bad thinking Ava might go back to jail. Then she just shot Boyd and hauled ass with the money, damn woman!

[tennisgurl]

Even if she was just around for one scene, I really liked Loretta`s great aunt. She was a tough old broad. Sucks that she had to go. I think Boone is interesting, but I hope Loretta pumps him full of holes. 

[dohe]

The menacing stranger/strangers in the diner sequence is hardly anything new.  Max and Al menaced that diner in 1946 when they were looking for The Swede and television shows such as Boardwalk Empire and Fargo have had their own takes.  My personal favorite is the variation depicted in A History of Violence.

 

I don't see Walker in that diner sequence.  Walker was doing a job and while his reaction to the word peacock demonstrated he was sensitive to insults the murder of the old couple was founded in their refusal to sell the land. As for Dewey, it would have been almost certainly revised to a comic sequence with Dewey held up to mockery.  

 

In the past, Justified has given us sequences like that diner sequence to give an impression of the guest star's character and/or to add a layer to the character.  I could maybe comprehend the notion that, due to the show almost being over, it should no longer have such moments if Boon was not a critical character at this point and one who serves a purpose beyond being an opponent.  I have already touched on Boon's trying to create an atmosphere that fit his delusions.  However I didn't touch on how his character serves as a contrast to Loretta just as Avery/Katherine serve as a contrast to Boyd/Ava.  That was because so many characters and relationships on Justified can be compared and contrasted with each other, that the tendency towards tangents makes itself apparent in criticism.

 

Some of the contrasts are obvious - Loretta is of Harlan/Boon is an outsider, Loretta is her own boss/Boon does as his boss says to do, Loretta uses conversation in an attempt to ingratiate herself with those she wants to buy from/Boon invades personal space in an attempt to control the atmosphere, Loretta makes herself known in a way at the meeting that makes it difficult for Avery to take her down - an act that makes her less vulnerable and forces Avery to look for a different avenue such as Loretta's relatives/Boon makes himself known out of the desire for confrontation.

 

One of the few things they share in common is an appreciation of Raylan.  Loretta sees him somewhat as a sort of parental figure who is wanted around only when it helps her.  Like many a rebellious teen.  Boon sees Raylan as being of a stature that he can respect which leads to his misguided attempt to see each other as equals - reminiscent of Hardin's fawning encounters with Hickock - a want to be seen as alike as masterful gunslingers.  That underlining Boon's unrequited admiration is a desire to take down the best to be the best is very much there which adds discomfort to the sequences between Boon and Raylan.  Whereas Loretta may exploit Raylan, she does care about him.  Boon's admiration is of a much darker tone to say the least.

 

These contrasts and even their admiration of Raylan are in keeping in what they represent.  In this regard, Loretta feels of the modern day. Boon is of an archaic world.  Loretta is the future criminal mastermind.  Boon, as with his boss, is of the past.  Both are youthful but Loretta, while having gone back to where she grew up, looks forward while Boon is stuck in a past which was, for the most part, gone almost a century before he was born.  Boon is so lost in old ideals he sees Loretta, who impressed him with her toughness - notice that look on his face when Loretta rejects his twisted offer of a noble gesture and says she will get rid of the snake herself, as "my girl" when Loretta is no one's "girl".  Boon has the same warped outlook in regards to Loretta that makes him emasculate a person over the undeserved wearing of a hat.  That moment in the diner, one in which he references "my girl" multiple times, shows a person who sees the world as having to fit his specific - and delusional - codes of what is worthy of being honored and what is not.  That sort of demented belief in the world needing to fit his requirements of a code makes him as dangerous as any criminal Justified has had - right there with Fletcher Nix's concept of a fair fight or Jody Adair's I challenge you theatrics.    

 

Cannot believe I was actually feeling a bit bad thinking Ava might go back to jail. Then she just shot Boyd and hauled ass with the money, damn woman!

 

Good for Ava.  Raylan and Boyd escaped Harlan for awhile.  They were ultimately drawn back.  However Ava never escaped Harlan.  She based her life around men.  She was not a complete pushover.  She killed the husband who abused her and she looked elsewhere when it became apparent Raylan did not see her as the one.  She looked for a man she could believe in.  That became Boyd who she thought she could change.  However he won out and so she became a partner in crime.  There comes a realization one is betraying themselves.  Beating up a prostitute and deciding someone, Ellen May, who adores her should die - Ava began losing herself and the purgatory of prison forced her to confront that.  Boyd was not some super man who represented happiness in old age.  He was a criminal who voiced pipe dreams and failed to protect her.  She began to turn back more to Raylan but recognized that he could not just snap his fingers and save her.  When she went to Limehouse she found greed tops all.   She finally had to recognize there was no magical savior she could put herself in the hands of. 

 

Just as she had to recognize responsibility for allowing herself to go down the path with Boyd and not sticking to a good path, in this episode she finally recognized she had to make a decision.  Whether it works or not, she needed to stop following out of love or misplaced respect and take control of that moment. 

 

Boyd had no problem yelling at her, scaring her, playing games with her.  Boyd is a terrible person.  I love watching him.  He is incredibly charismatic.  But I don't feel sorry for Ava doing what she did to him.  And while I will root for couples here and there and found Boyd and Ava to have great chemistry, she should have got away from him a long time ago.  Carl, who saved Boyd's life just last week, was betrayed by Boyd without hesitation.  Ava saw this happen.  And stuck between going back to jail and helping out the person she foolishly trusted as her partner in life, she chose unexpected option # 3.  While it may not last long, she decided the heck with these two guys and took a gamble.  In a way, she was finally truly taking control of her life even if the move turns out fatal. 

Edited March 28, 2015 by dohe

[gwhh]

Did anyone else never think Wynn Duffy was an informat for the Feds? I never did.

Mickie become thug for hire into thug with a personal mission.

Boyd get shot by wife!

Boyd no longer number one bad guy!

Great changes here!

[Captanne]

dohe

Good for Ava.  Raylan and Boyd escaped Harlan for awhile.  They were ultimately drawn back.  However Ava never escaped Harlan.  She based her life around men.  She was not a complete pushover.  She killed the husband who abused her and she looked elsewhere when it became apparent Raylan did not see her as the one.  She looked for a man she could believe in.  That became Boyd who she thought she could change.  However he won out and so she became a partner in crime.  There comes a realization one is betraying themselves.  Beating up a prostitute and deciding someone, Ellen May, who adores her should die - Ava began losing herself and the purgatory of prison forced her to confront that.  Boyd was not some super man who represented happiness in old age.  He was a criminal who voiced pipe dreams and failed to protect her.  She began to turn back more to Raylan but recognized that he could not just snap his fingers and save her.  When she went to Limehouse she found greed tops all.   She finally had to recognize there was no magical savior she could put herself in the hands of.

 

That is, imo, a very nice analysis.  Kudos!

 

As for Wynn Duffy surprising us as an informant?  I remember the original Canadian television show, "La Femme Nikita" in which a guy totally out of left field became the surprise Mr. Big.  I called it because he was so unlikely.  My guess is that, as in LFN, it was a drunken decision made around a giddy, "last season" writer's table. 

 

It works for me, though.

[Enigma X]

At the end of last season, I told my friend that I suspected Wynn to be the informant.

[ChipBach]

I guessed Wynn when he kept bringing up the subject to Katherine.  Seemed like he was very interested in throwing Avery under the bus.