A Short Review of Justified – Season 3

This morning I am kinda pissed off.  Why you ask?  Because this season of Justified is over, I finally watched the last episode thanks to my Amazon season pass subscription.  The good news is I can go back and watch it again any time I like.

For those of you who may not know, Justified is one of the best shows on TV.   It stars Timothy Olyphant as Marshal Raylan Givens, a throw back to the old west days and very similar to his character in Deadwood (another great show).  While a marshal’s job is to hunt fugitives Raylan finds himself pulled back into the goings on of his home town, the backwoods crime ridden county of Harlan.  There are drugs, prostitution, murder and a lot of that is due to his former best friend and current crime boss Boyd Crowder played to perfection by Walton Goggins formerly of The Shield (another great show).

This season of Justified dealt with a new type of criminal coming to town, a Detroit gangster named Robert Quarles.  Quarles is a smooth talking manipulative bastard who kills with a spring-loaded pistol strapped to his wrist.  He is in Harlan to setup an oxy ring and ship the bulk of the prescription drug back to Detroit where they can sell for a massive  profit.   He gets entangled with Raylan up to the point where he tries to have the Marshal killed.  Failing at that he attempts to frame him for murder.  The ensuing war between Raylan and Quarles is some of the best TV going.

While we are at it, let’s not forget that other great character introduced this season, Ellstin Limehouse.  He is the leader of another crime syndicate in the backwoods of Tennessee.  His group of black agents gather information, launder money and perform more subtle crimes than the likes of Crowder or last seasons Bennett family.  I really think I will enjoy the further exploits of Mr. Limehouse.

Well until next year, I guess I will bid Justified adieu.  I hope you take the opportunity to catch an episode or two, that is all it will take to get you hooked.  In fact last time I checked the pilot episode was there for free in the Amazon Special Offers section.  Those offers don’t last long though so I would get on that one.