Justified "Fugitive Number One" Review: Trading Places

Justified S06E11: "Fugitive Number One"

Three dead characters. Two main characters swapping roles. And one supporting character turning into the realest dude that ever duded. That's just a quick countdown of the major happenings in "Fugitive Number One," another fantastic episode in Justified's farewell tour that served as the opening of a trilogy to send this wonderful series off into the sunset.

After playing an outsider who watched the gears of the criminal element of Harlan turn for much of Season 6, Raylan Givens got himself his best episode of the year. Aside from being one side of the vice that squeezed Ava into desperation, Raylan's mostly been a dance partner in this insanely choreographed number of bullets and betrayal. But in "Fugitive Number One," there was a new fire in his eye befitting a man on a collision course with his series finale. Did you see him square off against Boon in the shadowy interior of the pizza parlor? Did you hear him lay down the situation to Earl in his airport ride? And best of all, did you watch him tell that dirty cop to be thankful he had his teeth? That last one was a character defining speech from Raylan Givens, not just because it made him look like a badass M-Fer, but because it very clearly laid out how he sees his role in law enforcement.

You see, Raylan respects the work but he doesn't respect the rules of the badge or most of the assholes who keep him from doing his job. He don't got time for that shit. So when he chewed out that filthy pig who was in Markham's pocket, it was a fitting preamble to his decision at the end of "Fugitive Number One" to ditch his marshal star and go after Boyd solo. The only person he needs with him to get Boyd is his swagger. When you think about it, it's the way Justified was always meant to be. What, did you want to see Boyd stuck in a woodland shack while Raylan held a megaphone outside, SWAT teams waited, and helicopters hovered ahead? Nope, from the pilot, this was always a man-on-man situation.

The interesting part of all this was that while Raylan went vigilante, Boyd put on a State Trooper (or Deputy?) uniform during his improbable break from marshal watch while in the hospital under custody. No one is going to mistake Boyd for a law-abiding policeman, but the irony of the uniform exchange is clear. Raylan put down his badge while Boyd picked one up. These two are, apart from what side of the law they stand on, remarkably interchangeable. And when it all comes down to it, they'll be stripped of their uniforms (not in that way you weirdo fanfic fanatics) and just be two men squaring off.

But back to focusing on Boyd for just a second. I'm concerned that his behavior this season has been a little more volatile for a reason: Justified is going to kill him and is preparing us to see one of TV's greatest characters gunned down. He started Season 6 by killing Dewey, hauled Ava off to his murdering cabin and became a monster after correctly assuming she wasn't trustworthy anymore, and killed Carl, who had been nothing but loyal to Boyd down to the very end. Now don't get me wrong, I love Boyd, but he (like Raylan) is kind of a dick. And this season he's been a notch more dickish than the past, to the point where his demise wouldn't be the worst thing to happen in the series finale. The truth is that in Justified's world, the bad guys get caught when it's their time. And in order to not leave fans with horrible tastes in their mouths, Boyd has to be flavored just right so we accept that it was his time. That means he can't always be the charming rogue we adore, and sometimes he has to do things even we find despicable. There's a similar situation with Ava, who is also ripe for the reaper after burning every bridge she spent so many seasons walking across. My idea situation? Boyd gets her.

I'd have to fire myself if I didn't talk about that scene in Wynn's Winnebago and give the biggest of props to Mike—I mean Michael. It's amazing that this character, once just a handbag of Wynn's, became one of my favorites in just a few episodes. Ever since Michael saw Wynn play nice with the cops, he became more than a punching bag. And he kept it real to the very end, heeding Katherine's words and stepping up for his longtime boss in an attempt to give the rat the small chance he deserved. But he ran into a clipful of bullets yet still had the strength—no, the primal determination and unflinching power of loyalty—to choke her out and crush her windpipe because she didn't respect his code.

I mean, WOW. Michael rules. This scene was one of Justified's most intimately violent acts in its entire series run, the instruments of death, his hands, her gun, connected to their target while Wynn cowered under the table they fought on. It's as if the flavor of one of Justified's infamous conversations was transferred to an action piece and scored to"Canon in D." And it ended with Michael saying, "Hold me," to Wynn as he expired on the floor of the Wynn-ebago for what may become Justified's most touching and surprisingly powerful deaths ever. That's how gorgeous this bloody scene was. And in the end, Wynn cockroached himself out of another dead end, which is exactly how it should be. (Don't kill him, Justified.) "Jesus Christ!" Wynn said, as the killing went on around him. Yep, I couldn't have said it better myself.

We're right where we want to be with jsut two *sniff* episodes of Justified left. Raylan has pretty much thrown the gloves off and is ready to get his man, Boyd is taking one last shot at the money that will set him free, and the rest of Harlan's colorful characters all have their part to play. Will Raylan and Boyd have their showdown in the penultimate episode so that there's one more hour left to sift through the dust and possibly get Raylan off to Florida where he can be a daddy? It's a possibility. But if we've learned anything, it's not to expect anything from this show, particularly in this brilliant run to end the series.

POSTCARDS FROM HARLAN COUNTY

– I rewound Tim's Mordor joke about 50 times. "I've been to Mordor but not through the mines." "Is that a yes or a n-" "No." The comedic timing on Jacob Pitts is ridiculously good. He better get a good show next pilot season, and I hope it's Tim Gutterson, P.I.

– Sure Boon is a creepy weirdo, but he's a perfect gentleman when it comes to putting a seatbelt on a lady. Nice move, son.

– "911, what is your emergency?" "I'm not sure where to start."

– Ava got in more literal movement than character movement this week, hauling millions of dollars up a mountain with Zachariah.

– If you were surprised that Art didn't do more to stop Raylan at the end, remember his conversation with Rachel that replayed in the "previously on" intro of the episode. He told Rachel to bring Raylan in earlier in the season, but Rachel guess that's not what Art would do. "Is that what you'd do? You'd let it go. Wouldn't risk the case just to save your own ass." This is all looking like Art is going to take a fall for Raylan's behavior, and I think Art is okay with that.