FX’s favorite gunslinger Raylan Givens is back for the season premiere of Justified. What happened in “A Murder of Crowes”? Here’s our review.
FX
WINNER: Boyd Crowder’s drug deal expertise
Boyd is fully engaged in the drug game with Detroit but, unfortunately, the dope isn’t as plentiful as they thought it would be. So when the dealers from Detroit attempt to get Boyd’s cash without the dope, Boyd and his crew have to lay waste to all the guys, getting Boyd’s ear near shot off in the process.
Boyd then sets a date with Wynn Duffy to head up to Detroit to find out what the problem is.
WINNER: Dewey Crowe’s newfound wealth
Dewey Crowe receives a court ruling in his favor to the tune of $300,000 for suffering at the hands of the U.S. Marshals and, specifically, Raylan Givens.
But unfortunately for Dewey, Raylan needs information on Dewey’s family down in Florida due to the murder of a coast guard down there, interrupting a pool session with some prostitutes in the process. Dewey is now the owner of Audrey’s, the local sex shop. Nothing says good business ownership like using up your own products. Bonus: FX allows the girls a couple ass shots as they exit the pool because, as HBO has proven, nudity is a key part of any drama.
LOSER: The other Crowes
Daryl Crowe (Michael Rapaport) is the head of the Crowe clan down in Florida. They’re smuggling cheap sugar from Cuba to sell to low-rent candy companies and incompetent cousin Dilly shot the corrupt coast guard after the guy gave him shit about his stutter and being light on money. Dilly’s also got some muscle, a Cuban guy named Elvis Machado, who seems like a problem.
FX
Raylan and another Marshal played by David Kirschner of Anchorman fame negotiate a sitdown with Daryl with his trampy-hot sister/lawyer Wendy (Alicia Witt, for your Googling pleasure). Daryl agrees to offer up Elvis to Raylan to take the fall for the situation, dispatching him and Wendy to a hotel where Raylan will be waiting.
LOSER: Sammy Tonin’s criminal enterprise
Boyd and Wynn go to Detroit to get the drugs they were promised. Turns out that the Detroit crew owes some Canadians $1 million and one of Sammy Tonin’s underlings, Picker, cut a deal with them — if he kills Sammy, the incompetent head of the Detroit organization, and takes Boyd’s money, they’ll let him live. Unfortunately for them, Boyd and Wynn are prepared and savvy, disarming Picker and his muscle with the briefcase and a well-timed elbow.
Boyd and Wynn sit down with the Canadian gangsters (played by Dave Foley and Will Sasso) who are more interested in talking about donuts than a deal. Turns out that they found Tonin’s operation to be bad at organized crime and wanted to end the partnership as a result. But they relent to one last drop for the $1 million.
Meanwhile, Picker says he’s got connections in Mexico and that Boyd and Wynn might need him since the Canadian pipeline has dried up. They’re listening.
LOSER: The whole Machado situation
Machado forces Wendy at gunpoint to drive her to a marina with plans on escaping back to Cuba. But Wendy, ever the resourceful little Crowe, crashes the car and gets away. Raylan tracks him down to the marina and, when Elvis pulls his gun, he gets gunned down lickety split.
Raylan then abides by his part of the deal, getting Daryl off of his probation in return. Even though Daryl just had Dilly killed for being incompetent mere seconds before.
Now that the sugar deal has evaporated, Daryl looks for a new deal and a Haitian friend of his drops the news that cousin Dewey just found his way into some money. Wheels spinning.
LOSER: Raylan Givens’ absentee parenting
Throughout the episode, Kirschner’s character tries to tell Raylan to go see his family since Winona and baby have relocated to the Miami area. But Raylan can’t bring himself to see them while he’s in Florida for whatever reason, opting for a Skype session at the end of the episode instead. Raylan, so tortured.
WINNER: Boyd Crowder’s new friends
Despite how terrible Boyd’s drug situation is going, Boyd is focused on buying Ava’s freedom from the legal system. Unable to buy a judge, Boyd turns to Lee Paxton (best known for his old man crime syndicate in season 4) for help getting her off. Lee’s got a smoking hot wife named Mona and a big distaste for Boyd. He tells Boyd that if he turns himself in for some other crimes, he’ll help get Ava off.
But it’s not exactly a friendly offer that ends with him calling Ava “white trash” so Boyd seemingly beats him to death with a pistol while Mona sees. Mona then says she’ll take money to pretend it’s a burglar but, realizing he’ll just kill her instead, opts to just shut up and tells Paxton’s body that “she’ll take care of him.” Ambiguously dangerous in that sexy Eastern European accent, for sure.
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Whole lot going on in this episode of Justified. While the scenes with Raylan are always great in this show, it definitely didn’t feel like a drastic departure from his “Woe is me, life is so hard” gimmick that he’s been riding the last few seasons.
Meanwhile, Boyd is in a really dark place that he’s never really been before. Gone is all the bluster and, instead, we’re left with a very violent and desperate version of the character that I think we’re supposed to still be rooting for…but it’s a tough haul.
I’m not sure how I feel about Michael Rapaport playing the “big bad” for the season but the way the writers paint him as smarter and more ruthless than the rest of his relatively hapless family at seems somewhat intriguing. Here’s hoping they build him up into something more in line with the intensity and history of Boyd, Raylan, and some of the other villains gone by.
Giving the episode four and a half out of five exploding pools and, really, it’s just so nice to have it back.
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