Season 3, Episode 5
“I'm a desperate man.”
Playing off of the recent world building that the past two episodes have done, “Thick as Mud” uses that same mentality by giving us an episode that wouldn't in theory seem like it could work, but excels and pops when on scree. And it's all thanks to the show focusing on one characters, perhaps the most pathetic in it's entire roster: one Dewey Fuckin' Crowe.
When we first met Dewey back in the pilot, Raylan quickly got the jump on him, handcuffing him to the steering wheel of the car that he was driving and busting up his nose in the process. Ever since then, Dewey's come to represent the the worst of the Harlan crime world – he's dumb, overly complacent with being a second (or third, or fourth) fiddle to whatever criminal enterprise he happens to be a part of, and he'll follow any slight charismatic criminal leader anywhere, often to his own detriment. To that end, centering an episode around such a pathetic figure would seem to be a risky move on the part of a show that often asks us to bask in the badassery of the characters on screen, but it's a gamble that paid off by giving us one of the best – and funniest – episodes that the show has ever produced.
As pathetic as Dewey is, he's also has a serviceable position as comic relief on the show, and I think it's a credit to both the writing the acting that the character, who is frankly a bit broad relative to everything else on the show, manages to fit right in among the much dryer banter that exists between Raylan and whoever he happens to be sharing a scene with. The show used this dialectic to its advantage by upping the humor in Raylan's scenes as he tracks Dewey down, since focusing on a more desperate Dewey means that the show has to sacrifice some of the laughs that that character usually brings to the proceedings. There were still plenty of laughs to be had his varied haphazard attempt to collect money, but the real comedy came from the juxtaposition of seeing his and Raylan's actions at the same crimes scenes.
In fact, what's interesting about watching Dewey tear hell through Harlan is that it forces us to reconsider the character all together. The “a pathetic character becomes a legitimate danger in the face of death” trope is an old one, but I also think that sheds some interesting light on the season as a whole. One of the show's constant themes is this idea of barely-suppressed rage, usually shown through Raylan, but seeing Dewey embrace that anger and become a legitimate threat is somewhat scary even if it remains mostly comedic. Given that Dewey isn't the only criminal being forced into situations against his will – Dickie and Boyd certainly apply, and Devil did as well before he got killed – Dewey's rampage looms as a large piece of foreshadowing for the rest of the season to come.
If I need to pick nits with this plotline, it's that the final twist – that Dewey in fact still has his kidneys – seems a little easy of a way to save Dewey's life, and predicates on the audience's lack of knowledge about kidney failure. If you didn't know about the symptoms of kidney failure – as I didn't – they the twist just makes you feel stupid, but if you did know – as I'm sure some did – then the plot itself seems a bit stupid. Either way, it's not a positive reflection on the show.
Additionally, while I understood why Lance lied to Dewey about stealing his kidneys – that it would trick him into giving Lance the 20 grand without the risk of him dying in the process, and he could then later actually steal and sell Dewey's kidneys – I'm not quite sure what role Layla served. Introducing here as the person to watch over Ash and thus keep him from spilling the crew's eventual plans to extort Dewey makes sense – assuming of course that that was the plan all along, which I believe we are supposed to do. However, what I don't understand is why she had to be at the house with Lance, or what her role was supposed to be in handling Dewey once he gave over the money. Was she supposed to be the one to take out his kidneys? The show doesn't say, much to my confusion and consternation.
Elsewhere – because with this show, there's always an elsewhere – Boyd's troubles are only just beginning, as he meets Quarles, in a move that feels like it's come both way to early (according to the traditional television narrative model) and at exactly the right time (according to this season's internal rules). While the show avoided have them come to any overt blows or have anything truly significant happen. But seeing Quarles extend a genuinely sincere offer to Boyd (it may have been an act of self-preservation, but he does recognize his skill at the drug trade) hold interesting implications for the future, especially in regards to Boyd's rejection of the offer. As proud and frankly inspiring as his poetic use of Carpetbagger-as-a-symbol was, part of me has to wonder if this isn't the start of some significant trouble for the world's luckiest criminal, the pride that will come before the fall.
Meanwhile, even further elsewhere, Limehouse continues to a fly in the ointment, even if nobody recognizes it. We learn two important facts about him tonight, fitting at the beginning and the end of the episode. It turns out that he actually is still holding some of Mags' money away from Dickie, and that he has a spy within Quarles' organization. Again, we still don't know entirely where this will lead, but it does make for some good tension building nonetheless.
Quotes and Other Thoughts:
I'll save analyzing the progress in Raylan and Winona's relationship until I know what was on that note taped to the fridge, and thus will have enough information to understand its current state.
“He's not the killing type.” “He's more the running around with his cut off type.”
“You ran me over – twice.” “Saved my from having to shoot you.”
“Holy shit – you mean I have four kidneys?”
“Honey, if I start arresting people for adultery, I'd never make it home in time for supper.”
In fact, what's interesting about watching Dewey tear hell through Harlan is that it forces us to reconsider the character all together. The “a pathetic character becomes a legitimate danger in the face of death” trope is an old one, but I also think that sheds some interesting light on the season as a whole. One of the show's constant themes is this idea of barely-suppressed rage, usually shown through Raylan, but seeing Dewey embrace that anger and become a legitimate threat is somewhat scary even if it remains mostly comedic. Given that Dewey isn't the only criminal being forced into situations against his will – Dickie and Boyd certainly apply, and Devil did as well before he got killed – Dewey's rampage looms as a large piece of foreshadowing for the rest of the season to come.
If I need to pick nits with this plotline, it's that the final twist – that Dewey in fact still has his kidneys – seems a little easy of a way to save Dewey's life, and predicates on the audience's lack of knowledge about kidney failure. If you didn't know about the symptoms of kidney failure – as I didn't – they the twist just makes you feel stupid, but if you did know – as I'm sure some did – then the plot itself seems a bit stupid. Either way, it's not a positive reflection on the show.
Additionally, while I understood why Lance lied to Dewey about stealing his kidneys – that it would trick him into giving Lance the 20 grand without the risk of him dying in the process, and he could then later actually steal and sell Dewey's kidneys – I'm not quite sure what role Layla served. Introducing here as the person to watch over Ash and thus keep him from spilling the crew's eventual plans to extort Dewey makes sense – assuming of course that that was the plan all along, which I believe we are supposed to do. However, what I don't understand is why she had to be at the house with Lance, or what her role was supposed to be in handling Dewey once he gave over the money. Was she supposed to be the one to take out his kidneys? The show doesn't say, much to my confusion and consternation.
Elsewhere – because with this show, there's always an elsewhere – Boyd's troubles are only just beginning, as he meets Quarles, in a move that feels like it's come both way to early (according to the traditional television narrative model) and at exactly the right time (according to this season's internal rules). While the show avoided have them come to any overt blows or have anything truly significant happen. But seeing Quarles extend a genuinely sincere offer to Boyd (it may have been an act of self-preservation, but he does recognize his skill at the drug trade) hold interesting implications for the future, especially in regards to Boyd's rejection of the offer. As proud and frankly inspiring as his poetic use of Carpetbagger-as-a-symbol was, part of me has to wonder if this isn't the start of some significant trouble for the world's luckiest criminal, the pride that will come before the fall.
Meanwhile, even further elsewhere, Limehouse continues to a fly in the ointment, even if nobody recognizes it. We learn two important facts about him tonight, fitting at the beginning and the end of the episode. It turns out that he actually is still holding some of Mags' money away from Dickie, and that he has a spy within Quarles' organization. Again, we still don't know entirely where this will lead, but it does make for some good tension building nonetheless.
Quotes and Other Thoughts:
I'll save analyzing the progress in Raylan and Winona's relationship until I know what was on that note taped to the fridge, and thus will have enough information to understand its current state.
“He's not the killing type.” “He's more the running around with his cut off type.”
“You ran me over – twice.” “Saved my from having to shoot you.”
“Holy shit – you mean I have four kidneys?”
“Honey, if I start arresting people for adultery, I'd never make it home in time for supper.”
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