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Justified: The Lost Alumnus of the Week

by Rachel Stein February 22, 2012 6:00 AM
Justified: The Lost Alumnus of the Week

I've been playing with the idea of turning this column into a running list of the most adorable lines uttered by Raylan each week. Sure, the sixth episode's "When the Guns Come Out" didn't involve our marshal equating anyone to being cute as a bed full of kittens, but there was the hilarious line where Raylan told Winona: "I saw that Kenny Chesney on your computer, I figured you were capable of anything."

Otherwise, I cannot bring myself to possibly care about this expecting couple's relationship. What Justified does best is blur the line between heroes and villains, setting up complex overarching storylines and writing dark, violent scenes -- let's just say constructing a heart-wrenching will-they-won't-they relationship between Raylan and Winona isn't the writers' forte. As much as I like the idea of learning about Raylan's personal life, Winona cannot compete with all of the other extremely strong characters battling for screen time on this show. Even though she serves as Raylan's Achilles' heel, I have no interest in their relationship. Though I do like that Charlie framed her to make her look as stupid as possible.

In more central plot news, we're got hillbillies fixing for Oxy and turf to sell that Oxy -- including the cameo of our Lostie of the Week, William Mapother -- a.k.a Ethan, and in the case of Justified, Delory the idiotic prostitute-beating pimp. There's a little too much going on right now as far as this Oxy war in concerned for me to weigh in on exactly how I feel about Quarles, Boyd and the Limehouse gang past the observation of, "Wow, this is all really intense!" -- except for maybe, "Holy crap, can Quarles possibly get any scarier?!" It was sad to see idiot Arlo talking to dead Helen (may she rest in peace), but sometimes Justified gets so bogged down in its intensity that it's almost hard to follow.

My favorite part of this episode, by far, was seeing Ava cross paths with her former high school middle school peer. In that conversation, we learned that women in Harlan County have one of a few options: become illiterate prostitutes or become a leader in a dangerous drug war. We know which way Mags Bennett decided to go (and how well that eventually worked out for her), and it seems like Ava is starting to follow a similar path. And she is freaking bad-ass doing it.

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5 Comments

February 22, 2012 8:15 PM
JB
Reply

Now that Winona's pregnant, I guess we're stuck with her. They can't kill her off or have her take the baby and leave; no-one wants to see a sad and tortured Raylan.

February 23, 2012 7:27 AM
Becks
Reply

I never thought I'd be such a fan of Ava, but I really enjoy this turn she's taken. She is Boyd's equal. HE thinks he's in charge, but she has really done more than he has to elevate him in this whole war. Go Ava!

And if Winona could just sit out the rest of the season, that'd be fine with me. Although after all that jazz with the money, I can't believe Charlie got off scot free!

Best show on television. I live for Tuesday nights- especially Raylan's one-liners. My fave from this week: After seeing Delroy come in with the knife, "I seem to have forgotten my knife" as he shows off his badge AND gun.

February 24, 2012 2:35 PM
Ivy
Reply

God I hate Winona. She is just so useless, always whinny adds nothing to the show. Btw, how do we know for sure the baby is not Gary's?

February 27, 2012 7:22 PM
Cesar
Reply

I like to always read the articles in this site was my favorite

March 19, 2012 11:09 AM
Kristen
Reply

JB, as far as I'm concerned, they can do either of those things with Winona. Heck, they can just let her wander off and never mention her again, and I surely won't be complaining about lack of continuity. She adds nothing to the show. My only regret about her leaving would be how much time they wasted on her in the first place.

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