Quick Take: Justified, "Reckoning"
“We’ll take care of all that. Don’t you worry. We’ll take care of everything.” - Mags
Review: Justified, "Reckoning"
(S0212) It’s a testament to the strength of the writing of Justified and the depth that Timothy Olyphant brings to the Raylan Givens character that I actually really wondered if he would execute Dickie Bennett (Jeremy Davies) in the dark woods outside of the late Coover’s shack of a house.
Think about it: in most shows you would never consider it possible for the lead protagonist -- who is a U.S. Marshall no less -- would perform such a cold-blooded act, no matter how deserved it might be. But Raylan has always been a conflicted, troubling character, a fact we’ve known since the pilot when Winona called him the angriest man she knows.
Ultimately, Raylan spares Dickie’s life as a memory or vision or something of his Aunt Helen stopped him from pulling the trigger. There’s a lot of emotions to be read from Olyphant’s face as he accepted that decision, and it’s just another great moment in a continually impressive performance that Olyphant has been giving these past two years.
Dickie’s life is spared, but he is sent to jail for the murder of Helen. Briefly, at least. After she is forced to give up Dickie’s location in order to make sure the Black Pike deal went through, Mags (Margo Martindale) has a mysterious woman visit Dickie’s partner (who had blamed Dickie for Helen’s death and promised to testify to that fact) in prison and following whatever it is this woman said, Dickie’s partner recanted his original statement and claimed Raylan coerced a false confession out of him. So now Dickie is out and Mags, no longer burdened by the uncertainty of the Black Pike deal closure, is pining for revenge.
After previously disowning Dickie, she returns to full on mother-mode and vows (without actually saying those words) to get revenge on Raylan for putting her son through that as well for killing Coover. And as a fitting foreshadowing, next week’s season finale is titled “Bloody Harlan.” I don’t doubt that the name will be fitting.
This was one of the best television episodes I've seen this year. Overall I'd go so far as to say that Justified's second season is superior to its first, and the tension has been steadily building throughout.
Great point about Raylan -- I didn't know what he would do with Dickie -- arrest him, torture him, kill him, use him in some kind of gambit to wrap up the Bennett v. Crowder/Givens feud etc.
My only slight quibble overall is that Boyd's character has shifted quite a bit throughout but Goggins pulls it off remarkably well.
Can't wait until the finale !