Justified Season 4 Episode 1 recap
Now that we’re refreshed and ready to go, it’s time for some new Justified.
Starting with a flashback. It’s January, 1983. Oooo.
A skydiver crash-lands in the street, surrounded by packets of what look like drugs as a crotchety old couple argues. Cut to “30 years later”, aka now, Raylan is sleeping at the office, which pretty much sums up the state of his personal life. But Deputy Brooks is pulling a late night, too, so she can’t judge.
Sharon, a sexy bail bondswoman from Raylan’s past, calls in a favor tracking down a fugitive in Lexington. This three minute scene is better than anything in the entirety of One for the Money.
Raylan finds the guy, of course, and their confrontation ends up with Raylan firing his gun, of course. To be fair, he shoots the steering wheel, hitting the guy with the airbag. Classic Raylan.
Clearly Raylan is still dealing with his emotions via bullet therapy.
Boyd! There’s a new preacher in town, causing Boyd’s Oxycontin sales to dip as people are trading in drugs for Jesus (or maybe just different drugs?). But this Boyd at his best, talking circles around a backwoods addict. And Boyd is not messing around, blowing up the dude’s car because he flushed Boyd’s Oxy instead of selling it and now owes Boyd ten grand.
Note to self: Always have Boyd’s money.
And now we jump to a couple of kids robbing the Givens homestead. There’s something in the wall… The arrival of a local constable chases them off before we get to find out what’s hidden in the house.
Ladies and gentlemen, Patton Oswalt. I am SO excited for this.
This fugitive guy clearly doesn’t get that when Raylan Givens tells you to shut up, you shut up. And if Raylan Givens says he’ll put you in the trunk, he will put you in the trunk. Thus, he ends up in the trunk.
It occurs to me that Raylan always does precisely what he says. He’s the most honest person in the show.
A skeevy guy visits one of the methy hookers (now being managed by Ava), and gives her some coke, then he dresses up in a bear costume, surprises her, and she shoots him. He’s still dressed like a bear.
Raylan and Constable Bob!
Constable Bob is being paid to keep an eye on the empty house while Raylan tries to sell it. He’s a total sh*t talker. Constable Bob tells a story about defending himself against some jocks in shop class so often that Raylan can recite it to him. He also drives what looks like an old Ford Fiesta with cop lights mounted on top. Constable Bob is not cool.
Raylan pulls a driver’s license and a bag that looks like that one from the sky diver in the opening scene out of the wall. The kids watch him leave with the bag. Hmm.
Constable Bob, to Raylan: “You stay frosty”.
YOU STAY FROSTY.
Ella May, the methy hooker, tells Ava the guy she shot is a furry. Usually he wears a bunny costume. These are the details that make this show so rich.
Ava comes across the leaflet from the new church the furry brought his drugs in to Ella Mae’s trailer. So we’re setting up Boyd vs. New Church then.
The teen girl from the B&E at Arlo’s house comes on to Raylan at the hardware store. These kids are totally up to something. And yep, they stole Raylan’s car. And yep, the fugitive is still in the trunk.
These dumbass kids are going to get their asses handed to them by Raylan.
Cousin Johnny is managing Boyd’s Oxy business and is getting raked over the coals for the loss in revenue. Clearly this will be the focus of the drama in season 4—warring drug trades (church vs. Boyd).
Ava is SO much better now that she’s Bonnie to Boyd’s Clyde. She finally has stuff to do, and actual character development. I love her comforting Boyd because being a crime lord is hard.
Stranger at the bar asking after Boyd. These situations usually end in bloodshed, but not this time. He’s former military police, an old Army buddy of Boyd’s. Well, I say “ buddy” but this guy, Rhodes, arrested Boyd a lot during the first Iraq war. What is it with Boyd only being friends with people who arrest him?
God I’m digging Patton Oswalt so much. He’s killing the accent and his eagerness to be a real cop is both pathetic and endearing.
Constable Bob, you are not helping.
The fugitive is giving the teens advice on how to rob junkies on their way to their dealers. The details, the details.
Just as Raylan almost talks the kids into surrendering, he’s interrupted by the junkyard worker who’s in on the car-stealing ring with the kids. He got the jump on Constable Bob. Momentum shifts back to the fugitive.
Constable Bob, you are NOT helping.
Raylan gets control, but not before Constable Bob stabs the teen girl through the foot (he was aiming for the fugitive). But Constable Bob is not as dumb as he looks—he knows Raylan was using him because he couldn’t go to the regular police (I am a little confused about the difference between “constable” and “regular police”) because Marshals aren’t allowed to aid bounty hunters (the sexy Sharon) or something. Point to Constable Bob.
Rhodes got bounced out of the Army after an on-base baseball game escalated to a shooting incident. A lot of things in Justified escalate to shooting incidents. Most things, actually.
Boyd wants to hire Rhodes as his enforcer. The guy seems pretty level, but you know. Shooting incident. Actually, Rhodes seems a lot like Raylan. Hmm.
Arlo pretends to not know about the bag from the wall, but he totally does. So we’ve got a mystery.
Boyd quotes Isaac Asimov to the guy he almost dynamited in his own easy chair. Boyd Crowder: erudite redneck crime boss.
Boyd: “Take care of him.” Rhodes: *shoots the guy* Boyd: “What in the hell did you do that for?!” Rhodes: “You said to take care of him.” Boyd: “I meant cut him loose!” Rhodes: “Oh. Oops.”
Raylan is stashing his cash under his boxers, Boyd in the ceiling of his bar. So close, yet so far.
Joe Mazzello is the preacher at the new church. He’s a snake-shaking Pentecostal and he targets Ella Mae for his redemption spiel. Hmm.
Some inmate comes asking around about the bag Raylan brought for Arlo to look at and Arlo shanks the guy. I’d like to believe it’s to protect Raylan, but it’s more likely Arlo knows what’s up with that bag and he isn’t sharing whatever it represents with anyone else.
Lots of stuff in the mix at the beginning of season 4, and while it’s obvious Boyd will be going up the new preacher and his church, we haven’t even gotten to Raylan’s central conflict yet (though that bag is probably involved).
Raylan’s body count so far: 0 (season)/15 (total)
