S06.E12: Collateral

[lulee]

He was trying to sell it himself, so he was trying to get something from it.

He didn't need to hold onto the property, he could have left it to her on the request it be sold and she gets the money for her future. Raylan hasn't done anything to provide for his child at all. If he doesn't make it, the land being sold to give to her the proceeds, could have at least been one thing he could have done to help Winona provide and think longer term for his daughter.

I agree with you, but for Raylan I'm not sure it's out of character for him to say "fuck it" and just give it away at this point.

[AuntiePam]

Thanks for the explanation about Markham's money. 

 

The "bill of sale" Raylan wrote said I give "this man" my property.  Why didn't he write the guy's name?  Seems odd, unless it'll be a minor plot point in the finale -- that gang from Deliverance fighting each other over that piece of paper. 

[dargosmydaddy]

I thought he didn't actually know the guy's name (though I don't see Raylan as being too embarrassed to ask, so maybe it will factor into the plot).

[gesundheit]

Raylan signed the land over so he could get away, didn't he?

 

I can't wait to find out who Ava called. This could turn out to be a great long con. I like the Duffy idea and the Limehouse idea, but in general I'm open to being delighted by whomever it is. I have loved how this season stood up and reminded us this show is about three people, not two. (I think Joelle Carter is very good, but the accent thwarts her line delivery because she really has not mastered it. But it doesn't detract from the story for me, I'm thrilled a woman is just as much of a real player in this game.)

Edited April 8, 2015 by gesundheit

[wdillon]

The mountain men are the same ones that locked Raylan and Boyd in the shed back during the Season 4 Drew Thompson arc. We discover in that episode that Cousin Mary is Raylan's mother's cousin, and she's the one that lets them go.

[Raylan Lives]

Been lurking for the last couple of weeks and this will probably be my only post but.....

the way it needs to end is with Raylan and Boyd facing off at Ava's kitchen table with Raylan finishing him off once and for all. After all; it's justified.

[fireice13]

I think Loretta will take out Boon. He told her in this episode to always go for a head shot in case the person is wearing kevlar. I think that will come back and haunt him when she shoots him in the head.

 

I don't see this ending with Raylan in prison so either he gets away with everything somehow or he ends up dead. This show does love twists so maybe Ava was calling Vasquez and it turns out he was working the wrong side all along.

 

I really want Wynn to survive, for some reason I just love him. 

[gwhh]

I would have love to see bob and Rayland team up for a big shoutout at the end of the show!

[5cents-worth]

The mountain men are the same ones that locked Raylan and Boyd in the shed back during the Season 4 Drew Thompson arc. We discover in that episode that Cousin Mary is Raylan's mother's cousin, and she's the one that lets them go.

 

I recognized them right away, and thought they were a nice surprise. If Raylan is traipsing around the back woods, it's plausible that he might run into some hill folk. I'm sure that the characters on the show are an exaggeration for dramatic effect, but I also had a friend who went to school in Corbin, KY and said they were warned about not going too far off the nearby trails, because you might still run afoul of moonshiners or other shady locals from time to time. 

[Christina]

I really, really, really want Boon to shoot himself while trying to quick draw and spin his gun. I will laugh so hard I will wet myself, and then laugh harder.

 

I would also like Vasquez to get shot, not necessarily killed, and maybe by Art. Have we seen him shoot anyone? He's not usually in the field. The only times I remember is when he went to get the social worker and one time when he was with Tim going after Colt.

 

I've given Joelle Carter some crap on her acting, but last night I was really impressed by the fact she moved her face when expressing emotion. My mom was watching a soap earlier in the day, Y&R I think, and there were some really young girls who could not express anything facially from the Botox. I like it when women and men have wrinkles, but it seems like it is hard for actresses to get away with it. Her forehead scrunched, her eyes blinked, her mouth scowled, when she was angry she looked angry, when she was scared she looked scared. That's hard to pull off when your face is stretched, lifted, or Botoxed to oblivion.

[justmehere]

(I think Joelle Carter is very good, but the accent thwarts her line delivery because she really has not mastered it. But it doesn't detract from the story for me, I'm thrilled a woman is just as much of a real player in this game.)

 

 

Funny thing is, I don't remember her accent being off in previous years, but this season I'm noticing unevenness, like she's tripping on words that were no trouble earlier. I think she's been really great -- early S1 breeziness and the whole S4 Ellen May arc come to mind -- but she seems uncomfortable now for some reason.

[Voice of Joy]

This show does love twists so maybe Ava was calling Vasquez and it turns out he was working the wrong side all along.

I would so love this. And then he gets his due.

ETA: You know the more I think about this, the more sense it makes.

Vasquez has only himself to blame for this FUBAR. He has in the past thought that Raylan was in Boyd's pocket...and at best knows how obsessed Raylan is with Boyd. Plus making Raylan the handler to his former lover.....not sure what he expected. If they were going to go after Boyd, they should have sent Raylan to Florida first. Of course there would be

no drama to that :).

Maybe the reason Vasquez went along with this whole thing was because he had Ava snitching for him, and he was setting Raylan up. Vasquez is dirty, and taking Raylan down was his goal. Wouldn't that be a kick? Edited April 8, 2015 by Voice of Joy

[ruby24]

I'm almost convinced it hs to be Duffy she called now because of his "duffel bag" request. What else could that be for besides the money, right?

[Ohwell]

A possible Ava/Vasquez alliance would be an intriguing twist.

 

I hope there's some follow up on Bob's condition next week.

 

The PTV recap uses too many exclamation points and I got a headache reading it. 

[tv-talk]

Cant lie I'm really annoyed at how the writers have cheapened Boyd so as to "Justify" whatever god awful death he's going to endure next week. There is just NO WAY Boyd would have shot that good man! I mean that is not even the same character who we've seen all these years, imo it's really a crappy way to tie up the show. Just write Boyd into being a monster so when Raylon finally kills him it feels right. The whole point which they had played up so well is how little difference there was between the two. Now suddenly Boyd is murdering locals who help him in cold blood? That just is not Boyd Crowder, period. Very weak imo.

 

That said, I still love the show haha! Was so happy Wynn had escaped only to find he's going right back into the teeth of it. I dont see how they are going to wrap everything up well in only an hour next week? Bottomline for me is since Boyd obviously has to die now I really hope Ava gets it as well and wont mind if Raylon dies- but it will suck if he dies at Boon's hands though possibly fitting. I'm going to say Loretta kills Markham.

 

And I hope Boyd kills at least one more person, preferably Ava, if this is how they are going to have him go out.

Edited April 8, 2015 by tv-talk

[Anela]

I'm watching it  again. Boon reminds me of Joel Osteen with a gun. 

[TVAddict]

This season has hit every single note dead on, allowing the series to come to a fitting end.  I just hope they don't piss me off by not letting Raylan get out of Harlan alive.  I am so going to miss this show and these characters.  

[ruby24]

It seems like what they've done is turn Boyd back into the guy he was in the pilot. It's just that it's been so long since we've seen that particular guy that it feels kind of strange now. I guess he has had his moments of killing people who didn't deserve it since then, but not like he's done in the last few episodes. Obviously it's been done to justify his upcoming death.

[LCanterbury]

I think this had been building for Boyd for a while. He has been creating this outlaw identity for himself (following on from previous identities like sovereign citizen tax evader, white supremacist and born again evangelist) - and part of it is his escalating violence in order to prove himself as beyond the law.

I don't think there will be a Ava/Vasquez alliance reveal - Vasquez is just a small, angry man who can't think beyond his immediate goal.

Bring on next week!

[joshmaeks]

I love this show so much, I can't believe it's ending. As far as I'm concerned, every second Boon has been onscreen has been a waste of precious time because the character is awful and the actor is way overacting the part. And as great as Sam Elliott and Mary Steenburgen are, I think there was too much time spent on their characters these past few episodes. Any scene with Raylan, Boyd or Tim is the best in my opinion.

[tv-talk]

Even in the pilot Boyd yells "fire in the hole!" so as not to kill the guys at the church when he fires the rocket launcher. He did kill the guy he thought was an informant but wasnt, however aside from that I dont really recall Boyd murdering people in the style he did Karl and then this guy last night. I could be forgetting tho.

 

The one thing this obvious "set Boyd up to die" storyline has done for me is now I dont care if Raylon dies- in fact it would be fitting if you think about it and Art foreshadowed what could be Boon killing him in a previous episode (tho I doubt it). Speaking of Art, could be a huge showdown between him and Raylan one in which Raylan basically forces Art to shoot him or not- that could be good.

 

Agree now that season is finishing I wish there was just less Ava, she just cant hold a candle to Boyd, Raylan, Tim, Wynn, Art, Bob...hell basically anyone else in the show.

[Mei]

Absolutely loving every single moment of this rapidly developing shitstorm.

 

In fact, the quality, pace, and scene transitions in this ep brought me right back to my favorite TVshow of all time--Deadwood.  How awesome is that?!

 

I'm reminded of my excited anticipation as I waited for Justified's first season to begin. So, so sad to see it go as well.

[AuntiePam]

As far as I'm concerned, every second Boon has been onscreen has been a waste of precious time because the character is awful and the actor is way overacting the part.

 

I think that's on purpose.  Boon is consciously or unconsciously playing roles -- a wild west gunfighter with Raylan in the pizza place, a gangster from the 30's in the scene in the diner with the hat, a a little bit of Wilem Dafoe from Wild At Heart tossed in when he's around Loretta.  He's watched too much TV, that's for sure. 

[Voice of Joy]

Vasquez is just a small, angry man who can't think beyond his immediate goal.

Alas, you are right. I guess I simply wanted to find a way to get him killed.

Seems like Ava has to have called Wynn. Why else would he need hiding space in the van, if it isn't for the money?

[dohe]

"What you want and what you get are two different things" ....Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid directed by Sam Peckinpah.

 

I wanted Merrill to live.  This elongated cameo by the fine actor Shea Wigham was coming to it's conclusion and I knew where it had to go.  I didn't want it to go there.  Yet Justified respects it's viewers.  It knows we have watched Boyd from episode 1.  Charming, articulate and rationalizing each and every inhumane act, this is Boyd Crowder.  To allow this stranger to live or to tie up a loose end is not that hard a decision for Boyd.  This is Boyd Crowder, a character so mesmerizing that we wish he was not who he is.  I had a lengthy discussion with a relative after the end of season 4.  She said she could not stand Cassie because of what Cassie had done and how she had hurt Boyd and Ava.  This led to a series of rationalizations concerning how Boyd was perfectly innocent in the death of Cassie's brother.   That is what the characters that mesmerize us on shows and the people who mesmerize us in life are capable of.  They can create the very same rationalizations in us that they resort to themselves. 

 

Yet this show has not faltered.  It has retained a respect for the viewer.  Boyd is stubborn, wounded, and desperate.  The man who has never had a problem shooting people in the head is more dangerous then ever. 

 

The show has built splendidly to this.  The big three Raylan, Ava* and Boyd are all heading to their fates.  Each had a mission and yet ultimately each had found themselves not only pretty much back where they started but even worse off than ever.  Ava's plan fell through due to a death of an old man - yet again placing herself in the protective hands of a man fails her with it amped up to a man who is no longer even of this earth.  Boyd is hurt, cold, and in arguably his most desperate condition yet.  Raylan was unable to recover the money, unable to find Ava, unable to kill Boyd and has been arrested.  The running is over.  The end is approaching and what we get may not be what we want.  However, if the show continues to stay true, it will be honest and right. 

 

In an episode of many great scenes, the most important was Raylan making that call.  By doing so, he is putting the mission on hold.  However he does not lose his humanity.  In the same way that Ava not killing Ellen May keeps her from losing her humanity the same can be said of Raylan there.  He realizes saving Bob is far more important than anything else.  Just as it seems as if he may have lost his way, he is forced into a decision and makes the right one. 

 

The amazing character of Empty Chamber Boon - as someone who has studied crime in the 1800's outlaws this character is brilliantly conceived.  The false romanticism of the outlaw is called out with Boyd by Merrill.  Meanwhile Boon, who is clearly the 1870's outlaw dropped in to 2015 Harlan, not only shoots a teen but shows a distinct sexual desire for Loretta**.  A common tendency is to romanticize these outlaws, whether it be of the 1870's variety or the 1930's gangsters*** which Boyd has always struck me as.  Both Boyd, in his rationalizations, and Boon, in his delusions, are lost in their own romanticizing of their lives.    Boon's behavior towards Loretta can also be compared to Raylan's behavior to Loretta.  Boon forces his delusions upon Loretta in an attempt to make his reality become true.  Raylan is protective of Loretta but that is out of a genuine selfless concern.  If Boyd symbolizes what Raylan was afraid of becoming, Boon exists more as a rival in terms of a long gone imagery - which to a degree Raylan is.  As Zachariah says Boyd does not wear a hat.  Boon does and that is as purposeful as Zachariah's line. 

 

*Thank you Justified.  Thank you for never treating Ava as an appendage.  You could have easily made this the Marshall vs. the outlaw.  Instead in Ava, you gave viewers a complex, nuanced character who, in many ways, is the heart of the show.  Thank you so much.

 

**While the words Billy the Kid have come up, I again see John Wesley Hardin here.  First is Boon's talk about head shots.  Unlike many outlaws Hardin, who had incredible accuracy, focused specifically on head shots.  Second is Hardin married a 14 year old and, his wife dead and having been released from prison, he married another teen. 

 

***Boyd says "the ballad of Boyd Crowder".  This is likely a reference to Bonnie Parker's poem "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde" which is thick with rationalization.     

Edited April 9, 2015 by dohe

[LittleIggy]

I knew that when Winn eyeballed the jewelry on the dead Katherine last week that he was going to take it.

I hope Loretta gets the honor of killing Cleetus, I mean Boone, not only because he is an annoying douche but also because of his sexual harassment of her.

Yeah, I going to miss this show...

[justmehere]

***Boyd says "the ballad of Boyd Crowder".  This is likely a reference to Bonnie Parker's poem "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde" which is thick with rationalization.

 

 

And possibly a prophetic note for Justified's wannabe duo? It would be a bit obvious but still kind of poetic.

[Captanne]

Why did Wynn Duffy ask for two passports from bench lady who is capable of getting a used dog grooming van (that is hilarious!) overnight?

 

The more I think about it -- he didn't say for whom so if the two aren't both for him how does bench lady know whom to make the second one out for?

Edited April 9, 2015 by Captanne

[Macbeth]

I love that Constable Bob automatically knew it was Raylan who stole his Crown Vic, and that it still didn't deter him from helping him out.

 

Also I loved that Raylan gave his property to the Hill people.  He doesn't want his daughter living in Harlan, and he doesn't want Winona dealing with Avery in re to selling the house.  He is trying to protect his family and completely screw Avery at the same time..

 

That document may not be legal - but tell that to the Hill people.  Have Boone show up and make a really big entrance.  Someone will just shoot him from behind a tree.

[tv-talk]

This led to a series of rationalizations concerning how Boyd was perfectly innocent in the death of Cassie's brother.

 

 

Cassie's brother was a fake though as I recall? Stealing money from his flock by handling snakes that didnt have any venom right? I'm not so sure I would blame his death on Crowder so much as on the way he was living his life. The gig was up and he didnt have to handle the actually poisonous snakes. Or wait, was it that Cassies had reduced the venom and he'd always thought he was handling lethal snakes? I really cant remember, tho if that's it then I'd implicate Cassie in his death as much as anyone else.

 

What I didnt like about killing that stranger is he wasnt really a loose end. The entire Marshall service is out there looking for Boyd and knows he's after the money. Everyone knows Ava has the money and is in the hills. What was that stranger going to say to anyone that would change anything? When he's found dead with a bullet to the head, are the Marshals to think that's just a random, different murder in no way related to Crowder or the rest? The guy wasnt a loose end, he was a local that helped Boyd, that's why that scene leaves a bad taste in my mouth as far as Crowder's character arc is concerned.

[Bannon]

That document may not be legal - but tell that to the Hill people.  Have Boone show up and make a really big entrance.  Someone will just shoot him from behind a tree.

 

This is exactly right. A person who hunts for calories woud see Boone as an easy problem to solve. He's noisy and predictable, and obviously possessed of malice. Another myth of the Old West which I wish was deconstructed more regulalrly is the one where the outlaw(s) easily terrorize into submission people who would not easily be terrorized, based upon their lives. When Jesse James and gang tried to ride into Northfield, Minnesota to get an easy score, they encountred a town packed with hunters and Civil War veterans. When you've lived the bloodbath that was Gettysburg, a bunch of yahoos riding into your town with revolvers is about as scary as a rat you accidentally corner in the woodpile; you just shoot its ass off and get on with your day.

 

Unfortunately, I think they are going to dispose of Boone via a cinematically exhausted showdown with Raylon, ala Sergio Leone's westerns. I hope I'm wrong.

Edited April 9, 2015 by Bannon

[soapfaninnc]

Cassie's brother was a fake though as I recall? Stealing money from his flock by handling snakes that didnt have any venom right? I'm not so sure I would blame his death on Crowder so much as on the way he was living his life. The gig was up and he didnt have to handle the actually poisonous snakes. Or wait, was it that Cassies had reduced the venom and he'd always thought he was handling lethal snakes? I really cant remember, tho if that's it then I'd implicate Cassie in his death as much as anyone else.

 

 

The brother was a true believer, but Cassie was a con woman. She had done something with the snakes so they weren't venomous and Boyd had them replaced with real ones or something like that.  She claimed she was just trying to keep it going for her brother's sake, but I think she really hated that Boyd had gotten their number pretty quick and then, caused her brother's death - along with her lying to the brother (by omission) that the snakes were actually venomous. 

 

I never bought Cassie's born again act myself. Ellen Mae had a more 'real' conversion to me. 

 

Boyd has always been this bad. Except when he was trying to go straight and kept getting sucked back into crime. After he got back in, he totally embraced it. And here we are. 

[Bannon]

Boyd has always been this bad. Except when he was trying to go straight and kept getting sucked back into crime. After he got back in, he totally embraced it. And here we are. 

Yep, and I really like the fact that the writers have plainly shown Boyd for what he is. I don't mind when violence is portrayed as having humorous elements, because sometimes it does; you can read any number of real accounts from combat veterans in which violence produces some very black humor. I thought the time last season when one of the thugs was enamored of his ability to kill with a knife, and stepped into a hole and stabbed himself to death while charging Raylan, was really good writing. I really dislike it when criminally violent people have their violence soft sold. Boyd has some attractive characteristics, but he fundamentally has chosen to embrace evil, from the very beginning.

Edited April 9, 2015 by Bannon

[Captanne]

I also like that Boyd is self-aware.  He knows exactly who and what he is.

[tv-talk]

I'm trying to recall the cold blooded murders Boyd engaged in and having difficulty come up with ones similar to Karl or this innocent local. In fact I can think of many more times when he probably should have or could have killed someone but did not. Gave 2nd chances etc. My take is there was a period Raylan was killing so many people the line was being blurred between them to an extent, hence one of the top scenes in show's history with Boyd calling Raylan out after/before the Augustibe situation. In this season there was a great line where Raylan was telling Tim how basically of course Boyd would get himself shot because he wants to be and outlaw and he'd never allow himself to be caught and Tim responded "but that's HIS choice right Raylan, right Raylan?" That was clearly indicating that Givens in fact kills people whenever he wants to and for whatever reasons he deems acceptable and that he'd probably decided to kill Boyd already. I think a big part of the show is that Raylan morals and codes are very questionable and they've in part indicated that by exhibiting an "honor amongst thieves" type dynamic with Boyd up until basically right now. Setting Karl and his brother up to go to jail, killing Karl the way he did, killing this innocent guy who helped him...I cant really think of other storlines where Crowder behaved like this- tho maybe I am forgetting.

[Bannon]

I'm trying to recall the cold blooded murders Boyd engaged in and having difficulty come up with ones similar to Karl or this innocent local. In fact I can think of many more times when he probably should have or could have killed someone but did not. Gave 2nd chances etc. My take is there was a period Raylan was killing so many people the line was being blurred between them to an extent, hence one of the top scenes in show's history with Boyd calling Raylan out after/before the Augustibe situation. In this season there was a great line where Raylan was telling Tim how basically of course Boyd would get himself shot because he wants to be and outlaw and he'd never allow himself to be caught and Tim responded "but that's HIS choice right Raylan, right Raylan?" That was clearly indicating that Givens in fact kills people whenever he wants to and for whatever reasons he deems acceptable and that he'd probably decided to kill Boyd already. I think a big part of the show is that Raylan morals and codes are very questionable and they've in part indicated that by exhibiting an "honor amongst thieves" type dynamic with Boyd up until basically right now. Setting Karl and his brother up to go to jail, killing Karl the way he did, killing this innocent guy who helped him...I cant really think of other storlines where Crowder behaved like this- tho maybe I am forgetting.

I think killing a religious delusional via the extraordinarily painful method of snake venom, because he is creating an impediment on your ability to sell oxy to addicts, because the religious delusional is convincing them to not intoxicate themselves, is about as evil as evil gets. 

Edited April 9, 2015 by Bannon

[CaptainCranky]

This has been one of my favorite shows over the past ten years or so. However the writers have so many story lines and characters in play writing a final episode to deal with it all seems a daunting task at least to me.

 

I anticipated some half baked final that will leave more questions unanswered than answered.

 

One final thought. The gratuitous act by Boyd with the truck owner was pretty lame IMHO.

[cassandle]

I think killing a religious delusional via the extraordinarily painful method of snake venom, because he is creating an impediment on your ability to sell oxy to addicts, because the religious delusional is convincing them to not intoxicate themselves, is about as evil as evil gets. 

 

To be fair Boyd did sort of try to talk that dude out of holding the snake and even his own sister didn't try to hard to stop him from doing something stupid.  That being said, Boyd could have stopped him if he really wanted to.

 

I keep going back to the pilot when Boyd shot the skinhead in the off chance that he was a fed.  He had no qualms about killing that guy purely because he didn't like him and didn't quite trust him but if Boyd had waited a few minutes he would have learned from Devil that he was the racist asshole he was claiming to be.

 

And he was perfectly willing to shoot Raylan in the pilot and at that point Raylan hadn't done anything to him yet but drag him in for a lineup and (rightfully) accuse him of shooting the skinhead and blowing up a church.  I think Boyd was much more ruthless in the pilot and it seems like that's what they're circling back to in the past couple episodes.

[thuganomics85]

I'll admit that maybe I'm just not thinking that deeply, but I have been assuming that a lot of this recent behavior is because Ava turning on him and losing the money, as just unleashed a more unhinged Boyd.  I think normally Boyd wouldn't be this violent, but that betrayal has just set him off, and he won't ever coming back.  I don't know why, but this behavior doesn't surprise me too much.

[The Real Chon]

Someone mentioned twists upthread, and here I am thinking that Rachel might be the one Ava called. She's certainly smart enough to have Raylan bounce around Harlin County and draw the kind of attention he always does while she works in the background. Be an interesting development ...

[Bannon]

I'll admit that maybe I'm just not thinking that deeply, but I have been assuming that a lot of this recent behavior is because Ava turning on him and losing the money, as just unleashed a more unhinged Boyd.  I think normally Boyd wouldn't be this violent, but that betrayal has just set him off, and he won't ever coming back.  I don't know why, but this behavior doesn't surprise me too much.

This is entirely reasonable. Violent criminals very often become more prone to more egregious violent criminality when subjected to stress, and having 10 million slip thorugh your fingers when your fiance shoots you in the chest is pretty stressful. 

Edited April 9, 2015 by Bannon

[teddysmom]

I think it's very handy that Shea Wigham's son had button-front shirts in exactly the blinding shade of white Boyd prefers. No hill country plaid for him, no sirree!

 

How did Boyd get his teeth to match his shirts?  I don't know why the USMS can't find him, I'm sure he could be spotted from the Int'l Space Station.  

[Inquisitionist]

How did Boyd get his teeth to match his shirts?  I don't know why the USMS can't find him, I'm sure he could be spotted from the Int'l Space Station.  

 

Early in the series, IIRC, he mentioned that his dental work was courtesy of the US armed services while he was in Iraq.

[teddysmom]

I do remember that.  He at least has done a great job with his dental hygiene, for living in a small town in Eastern Kentucky.  They must have a great dentist. 

[Ohwell]

Maybe he flosses.

[soapfaninnc]

Early in the series, IIRC, he mentioned that his dental work was courtesy of the US armed services while he was in Iraq.

 

That fabulous conversation with Nicky Augustine where he was accused of using forty words when five would do or something like that. I do miss him verbally sparring with folks and that time that Raylan came back and found Tim playing Scrabble with Boyd was great. (Season 5 I think).

 

I wonder if losing Ava means - to Boyd - that the only thing he considered really good and true in his life is gone and that's why he's coming so unwound. Or if Raylan was right in that epic conversation on the way to the airport in Season 4 to meet Nicky Augustine - Boyd's 'great love' is constantly changing and its really himself that he loves best. To date, that scene is the best dialogue in the show's history between the two characters. I loved it.

[tennisgurl]

I live in Kentucky now, and I just met a woman who sounds exactly like Ava. It was kind of freaky.

 

I am just going to miss this show so much...

[Etta Place]

I finally watched the episode last night. I was torn between wanting to see it right away and not wanting it to end.

 

I feel like the show is trying to remind the audience that as much as we may love Boyd, he's not a romantic hero or a good guy. I have known that, but seeing him shoot the guy in the truck was a tough thing for me to take. *sigh*

 

I'm hoping Boon's comments about the possibility of misfire is some foreshadowing about his imminent death.

 

Can't wait to see how Raylan gets out of the pickle he's in with the officers at the end of the episode.

 

It's looking like Duffy really will be the one who survives the whole thing and quite possibly ends up living well and getting away scot-free like the cockroach he's always been. (I love Duffy, but that man would be the only survivor of the apocalypse, somehow.)

[Tarasme]

 

Someone mentioned twists upthread, and here I am thinking that Rachel might be the one Ava called. She's certainly smart enough to have Raylan bounce around Harlin County and draw the kind of attention he always does while she works in the background. Be an interesting development ...

While this would be a really cool turn of events, I don't think so since Ava- who upon arrest didn't know that the cops picking her up were residents of Avery's back pocket- didn't immediately shout that she was waiting for/working with Federal Marshals and that Rachel should be contacted soonest.

 

IMO Boyd and Raylan have always been the same person except- IMO- for the nuances brought about by the intervention of Raylan's mom and Helen. The character of those two women, their complex relationships with Arlo, Raylan's horrid relationship with Arlo, and the resulting rejection of everything Arlo was, is what caused Raylan to take a different course.

 

So far, his badge has sanctioned his skirting of the law (skirted is too soft a term), but he's put his badge down and now Raylan kinda has to face the consequences of his choices- just like Boyd. I don't think Boyd ever really believed himself capable of doing the *right* thing (he did believe in his twisted way he could be a good husband/partner to Ava) whereas Raylan desperately wants to believe himself capable of doing the right thing.

 

Boyd's now got no reason to be anything other than the worst villain ever.  Raylan, on the other hand, has all the reason in the world to be a hero and maybe he feels like he'll finally be capable of being good if Boyd, whom Raylan somehow uses as a representation of everything bad/wrong in Raylan, is dead and gone. I hope the character commentary over the last few weeks isn't an indicator that Raylan will use death as a means to get out from the pressure of needing to rise above his character.

 

Gosh- I'm gonna miss this show.

[AuntiePam]

I'll admit I'm not a deep thinker, but I've never seen Boyd and Raylan as two sides of the same coin.  Raylan occasionally breaking the rules on his job doesn't come close to what Boyd's done.  Except for that Nicky Augustine thing, and that was an end justifies the means situation. 

 

They both have father issues and big egos and think the rules don't apply to them and they use people, but Raylan's never been all that "dark" to me.  Maybe it's my own superficial shortsightedness, seeing as how he's the protagonist of the show.  That's how he started and that's how he's ending, in my view anyway.