Justified: "Save My Love"

Once I figure out how much money I could get for my dirty gym clothes, I’ll offer up a review of tonight’s episode, after the jump….

“This all goes to hell, people are going to know you’re involved.”- Winona

“That’s right. So let’s make sure it don’t go to hell.”- Raylan

A good portion of tonight’s main plot eventually dissolved into some sort of comedy of errors/farce, what with all of the obstacles that kept piling up on top of Raylan and Winona’s attempts to return the stolen money. While I recognize that this may have bugged some people, I am personally a sucker for a well made farce, and thus I found all of it to be quite enjoyable.

But what I really enjoyed about these complications – and what I perceive would make them acceptable to those who didn’t like the comedy aspect of all of this – was the fact that all of them seem to ratchet up the tension, and this was a storyline that really needed. Setting aside for a second the fact that Winona’s original, paltry crime of stealing the $100 bill was given actual weight this week when it turned out that she actually stole ALL of the money, which actual made all of this worry make more sense, trying to return a bag of money wasn’t inherently interesting. In fact, for most of the running time, I had no doubt that the bag of money would get returned before the hour was finished. I’m not saying that the show needed to go in the other direction for this to be entertain, but the only way for a show to create actual tension is to make sure the ending is never certain.

But then the complications set in, and the more and more that Raylan and Winona were kept away from the evidence room, and the more people besides the two of them who handled the bag, the more and more I believed that maybe –just maybe – that Winona (and possibly Raylan) was going to get caught. When the bomb threat was introduced – a complication that is and of itself tension-filled, as we have to worry about Raylan, Winona, Boyd, and the ever lovable Judge Reardon (a welcome return for Stephen Root) – that tension combined with the already existent tension, so that when the bomb squad saw Winona’s bag in her office, I was fully convinced that she was going to get caught.

And even when the two of them were finally able to get themselves and the money down to the evidence, the show didn’t even let up then, much to its credit. Not only does the show take seriously the possibility that the two could still be caught, and the show took good advantage of this by having Winona fumble around with the money. But then the show actually had this fear become a reality – unlike the other times we thought that the two might be caught. By having them getting caught at the last minute, after we have already slightly relaxed, and leaving the outcome uncertain, the show made sure to go out on a high note. (Though if you ask me, Art, in his gut, knows what just happened. The man’s not stupid, and based on last week’s episode, he’s got a good sense of intuition.)

“The thought that kept going through my head was ‘Just take it, and worry about why later.’”- Winona

“Everyone’s capable of something like this.” - Raylan

Yet the quality of this episode went beyond just the fantastic sense of tension it was able to deliver. If last week’s episode was meant as a way to explore Winona, then this episode was meant to go even deeper. Last week, Scott Tobias at the Av Club lambasted this portion of the episode, claiming he couldn’t get over how stupid Winona had to be in order for this plotline to work. I only partially agree with this sentiment, as I could understand how Winona stress could drive her to do stupid things. But with the introduction of the entire bag of money, it starts to make a little more sense. And with the monologue Winona delivered, it started to make a lot more sense. Despite Winona’s exterior as a sane woman, it turns out that this is all a front. She can rationally think things through after the fact, but when it comes to making decisions in the moment, she lacks the capability to make the right decision.

The other side of this emotional resonance was that we also got some further notes on the Raylan/Winona relationship. While last week’s episode focused on the past, however, this week focused on the present. While it appeared last week that babies and Raylan’s anger seemed to be the reason for the divorce, tonight added a third factor: Winona. Specifically, Raylan can’t seem to stand some of Winona’s qualities. Just check out his face as Winona fumbles around in the evidence locker. Raylan is a man who is very smooth in his actions, and can quickly carry out any action. So it makes sense that he would be bothered when his partner doesn’t have the same quality. Who wants to bet that’s going to come up again before the season finale?

“I like having one of my own to watch my back.” – Carol Johnson

“He has had my back on two occasions.” - Raylan

The other plot at play here tonight was Boyd’s switch to a more professional position. Despite his criminal ways, it is quite obvious that Boyd has always had some side of him that longed to rise above these low class ways. And tonight he had that chance, at least for a while. For despite his obvious enjoyment of being able to work on the straight and narrow, Carol Johnson, the big cheese of Black Pike, may have hired him as a “security team member,” but she clearly wants him for his criminal skills. Despite Boyd’s skill at this kind of work, I can’t shake the feeling that he’s going to buck up against this assigned role before we’re done this season.

Beyond the emotional connection for Boyd, this plot helped to service both the episode and the season. As to the episode, it helped to make sure there was some connection between the A- and the B-plot, and area where Justified has struggled in the past.  As for the season, we finally see what role Boyd is going to have in the overall narrative. At a few times during this season, I have mentioned that I was worried that Boyd’s estrangement from Raylan would ruin any sort of narrative momentum the show was hoping to achieve with his story. It looks like that won’t be a problem anymore; not only is he going to have to face down Raylan, but the Bennett clan as well.

I can’t wait.

What did everybody else think?

Additional Thoughts:

 Once again I am forced to hold off judgment on a new, yet slight plot development, this time concerning Gary. But considering how great Jere Burns was as Wyn Duffy last season, I’m excited, even if Gary has been the least interesting element of the show for me.

“You’ve been a bad boy.” “I’ve heard that before. You’ll need to be more specific.”

“I hear every day.” “Ever since you got those things in your ears.”

“I know fifty men in this building who would pay good money to sniff your gym clothes.”

Why would the Sherriff’s Office be holding onto a box of counterfeit Beanie Babies?

Was it just me, or did the score seem more prominent tonight?