Before I get into episode 9 (“Burned”), I would like to talk about the writer hiring process on Justified. Taylor Elmore, VJ Boyd and Leonard Chang all have written or contributed to scripts for this season. The path to working on Justified is clear: have a name that contains either a character’s or the author’s first or last name. If I had cracked this sooner, I would’ve changed my professional name to Ronnie Givensdocki in the hopes of attaining gainful employment. Alas, it is too late, but that’s a tip you can use for Graham Yost’s next show. (Someone named Boomer Townington did work on Boomtown, for instance.) So what have Yost’s cadre of not so coincidentally called compatriots brought us with “Burned”? A Markham henchman dies, another is introduced, there’s a town hall meeting of sorts and the return of Wynn Duffy’s Winnebago. (Wynnebago.) Like many other seasons of Justified, alliances are shifting and everything’s up for grabs even at this late date. The endgame is becoming ever clearer, however. It’s a $10 million pizza weed bank vault and everybody wants it.

If the Pizza Portal robbery goes south, he could always slip back into his persona from his male stripper days, Synn Duffy.

The ratting on Grady Hale story reaches its conclusion, or at least the revelation phase, and I hate that I didn’t think of the outcome beforehand. When it plays out onscreen, you’re apt to go “of course Wynn Duffy is the rat!”. He inserted himself into the ‘investigation’ and has the most reason out of anybody to do it. There weren’t many viable candidates when you exclude the bullshit “Art did it because he’s actually Avery Markham from an alternate timeline where the Nazis won” speculation on IMDB. Wynn is a man that will see the writing on the wall and do whatever he has to do to get the fuck out of a precarious situation. He sums it up well to his bodyguard, who is not having the federal informant thing on account of his “code”, in saying that Hale, Markham, Boyd Crowder, none of them would put anybody above themselves, so why should he. The one with Wynn Duffy’s best interests at heart is Wynn Duffy, not some business partner. Of course, the problem with admitting that out loud, the “every man for himself” pragmatism, is there’s no reason anyone ought to trust you. Being a cockroach is great for survival, but people knowing you’re a cockroach will just end with you being sprayed with RAID. I don’t know where this metaphor is going exactly. What would his equivalent of a roach motel be? A free tanning bed?

Separated at not having it

The Marshals do trap him in a tanning bed roach motel until he agrees to cooperate, though. He remarks that Art and Raylan ought to be more adult, which…well, where’s the fun in that? Yes, I’d be okay with law enforcement violating the civil rights of people if said people consisted of colorful goofballs like Wynn Duffy and Earl. Using Duffy to ensnare Boyd after Ava’s become a compromised asset isn’t only a great way to further the plotline without it becoming contrived, it also gives us Wynn Duffy, Bitchy Federal Informant. Raylan derives amusement from putting assholes in precarious situations and Duffy can still mouth off while doing the minimal requirements of his “job”. Raylan uses him to force Boyd into robbing the vault that day, and as expected everything goes according to plan for both groups.

Both Markham and Boyd in their own ways fail to realize that money doesn’t buy everyone and everything. Avery’s plan to buy up land and use it to grow weed, compensating the owners of that land handsomely, sounds good until Loretta swoops in with a better offer for the people of Harlan. Markham states he’s under no pretenses of being a savior to the county, while (like her mother figure before her) Loretta appeals to the people’s sense of familiarity and history, while also laying out a mutually beneficial business plan. The total derail of Markham and Hale’s ‘coming out party’ can be compared generously to any number of great Justified speech scenes, from Mags going after Black Pike to Boyd at the sheriff debate. Loretta all but goes “man never drank a Duff in his life!”. Harlan County is like an organism, and it will react with violence when a foreign entity tries to invade it. Plus, I don’t know how you can’t love Sam Elliott being shown up by a little girl.

Wynn has one of those new iPhones they install directly into your hand.

That reminds me – how old is Loretta supposed to be? She’s living on her own and a number of characters treat her as an adult, but I don’t think a whole lot of time has passed since the tail end of Season 2 because Winona was pregnant then and little Willa’s only five months old. The fact that Kaitlyn Dever plays 14 on Last Man Standing muddles matters. You ever watch that show? You should. It’s about a cocaine trafficker espousing racial hatred. I guess it doesn’t matter if the timeline was massaged somewhat, and other child characters on television shows (like on The Shield, the only other TV show I’ve ever watched) have aged out of step with the official word on how much time the events have spanned. In any event, the physical contrast between Kaitlyn Dever and pretty much everyone in the cast leads to some nice blocking moments, like when she tells Earl “don’t crowd me, boy”. It’s astonishing how she can remain cool and collected in the company of anyone. Well, with one exception.

Still working on the drinking game, but a good rule would be “take a drink whenever Boyd puts on his glasses”.

Since Katherine Hale dispatches Seabass with a concealed purse handgun (he does get one good line in, referring to the Walker bounty as “the soft rock militia”), Markham needs new enforcers. Henchmen, especially in episode 9 of 13, have precious little time to make their mark, and Jonathan Tucker’s Boon (an episode of Criminal Minds, not John Tucker Must Die somehow) certainly accomplishes that. From his two scenes we can glean the following things: he’s a crack shot, doesn’t give a shit about personal boundaries, is a huge creep, admires Raylan Givens. He knows Loretta’s name without giving it. Doesn’t know who John Wayne is, though. While it’s late in the game to add a new antagonist, Boon’s Raylan fanboyism, infatuation with Loretta (which is even worse given how young the actress looks) and off-kilter demeanor succeeds in fulfilling the obligation of a henchman: making me want to see our hero shoot him, hopefully in the head. Boon’s presence additionally confirms that Sam Elliott’s mustache died so another could live. For some reason most shows only allow one principal character with facial hair. First Garrett Dillahunt had his beard of bees and now Jonathan Tucker’s sex offender ‘stash makes its appearance. A tenured actor such as Sam Elliott could’ve demanded right of first facial refusal; I commend him for putting the show’s integrity before the needs of his face fuzz.

Avery Markham also promises to stem the scourge the Ninja Turtles pose to all pizza establishments in Harlan County.

Boyd’s mistake is he believes money can soothe the hatred Zachariah has towards his entire bloodline. Jeff Fahey will take your money and then immediately fuck you over. Zachariah’s betrayal furthers the theme of the tenuousness of loyalty and trust, especially in the criminal world. Trust simultaneously comes harder and means much more for criminals. If you promise to pay me back $100 and you don’t, I’m pissed, but no one’s going to die. These people risk arrest and death with each action, so any betrayal will have huge consequences. Markham figured he could push a dollar amount Seabass’ way to keep him silent, scarce and on his side. Cue a radio broadcast that confirms to Seabass that employees are only indispensable when in the employers’ best interest. Those two cease overlapping, Timothy Olyphant’s shot you in the back and is quipping while you’re choking on your own blood. Art and Raylan may have their problems with each other, but there’s an expectation that they have each other’s back. No one criminal could claim likewise, except for the deluded.

He could be a humanitarian and I still wouldn’t trust him because of that fuckin’ thing.

“Burned” leaves every character worse for wear, in a situation more precarious than that at the end of episode 8. Markham and Hale are regarded by the people they sought to win over as carpetbaggers who don’t pretend to care about Harlan; Wynn is outed to his Waylon Smithers as a rat and is on the hook to help out Raylan Givens (who is known for not caring much about the safety of the criminals he employs to help him bust bigger criminals) for as long as Raylan Givens feels like it; Zachariah tried to kill Boyd and failed; Boyd’s ingenious robbery scheme was a botch and the only reason he wasn’t arrested was because he fucked it up; Ava has Boyd thinking she tried to get him killed again; the Marshals case is a boondoggle. I feel for Rachel. Getting a promotion and then having to oversee Raylan Givens’ last case is like being given $5000 and also syphilis.

“So, this is all based on a hunch?” “When you phrase it like that it sounds mildly insulting” says Raylan about confirmation of Ava’s burned status. Raylan’s falling out of his office’s good graces as the Crowder RICO case continues to stumble, in large part due to his mistakes. Hitching the CI wagon to Wynn Duffy from the start would’ve led to a cleaner, quicker dragnet. Raylan’s problem (a Mike O’Malley execution aside) has been looking dirty instead of being dirty, and his complicated relationship with Ava shows it. Yet again, the cool, sarcastic objective Tim Gutterson could’ve solved everything in a week’s time. He doesn’t fuck witnesses or have coal digging flashbacks at inopportune times. Tim just drinks a lot and takes his rifle up to a clocktower, you know, just for the view. But who watches Justified for ethically above board, competent federal law enforcement duties anyway? Season 6 will end messy and bloody and I’m looking forward to it.

How many people did Raylan shoot/kill?: 0, 2 for the season
How many people did Boyd shoot/kill?: 0, 1 for the season