Justified: Midseason thoughts

Tonight's episode "Blind Spot" marks the midway point for FX's new original series Justified. I have mixed feelings about the season so far. However, the good far outweighs the bad and I have no intention of bailing on the series just yet.

Whenever I approach a new show I do so with a little trepidation. I was nervous not knowing what type of show Justified would be. After watching the pilot I was hooked because it seemed to be a show right up my alley, a serialized drama. I was more than a little disappointed in the second and third episode which acted as stand alone episodes that didn't follow up on the stories from the pilot.

See, I know my viewing habits and I am not one to jump in on the middle of the show. If there is a show I am late coming to, I have no problem waiting for the DVD to catch up. I have to start at the beginning. I think of it the same way I think about reading a book. I don't just open up a novel and begin on chapter twelve. No, I start at the beginning and pray that I am not waiting my time. In the past most shows featured interesting character studies that revolved around a "case of the week" format (think Law & Order). After each episode the clock was reset and if you happened to miss an episode or two it didn't affect the narrative. Those types of shows were fine in their day, but for me, in order to grab my attention stories need to be told in an arc and keep me looking forward to the next installment. I guess I just prefer my TV serialized rather than procedural. In fact I can't think of a drama I watch that isn't serialized. I guess House is a mixture of both but that is about as far as I will go. I need a reason to tune in the next week, something to think about during the time in between episodes. The idea of everything being tied up in a bow at the end of each episode just isn't interesting to me. Justified seems to be walking the line more than I would hope. Six episodes in, Justified has a great story arc with characters and stories that I want to spend time with. Unfortunately, we haven't spent enough time with the stories that interest me the most. So here is where I stand: I just need to know what to expect and then be at peace with it. Because just when I think I have the show pegged as a procedural they throw in an episode like "The Lord of War and Thunder" to get me all excited about the narrative again.

The pilot, which for the record is near perfect, did a great job of setting the right tone (down to the awesome credits/theme song btw) for the series and establishing a character that is as mysterious as he is flawed. Timothy Olyphant brings the same intensity (and cowboy hat) to the character of US Marshall Raylan Givens as he did to Sheriff Seth Bullock in Deadwood. Except with Raylan, Olyphant provides an infectious charm that masks his inner demons. Olyphant brings both ease and danger to the character that makes watching a confrontation with him captivating. An example is given in the first five minutes when Raylan keeps up on a promise he made to a criminal to kill him if he doesn't get out of town in 24 hours. The episode, based on and named after Elmore Leonard's short story "Ace in the Hole" (Raylan also appears in his books "Pronto" and "Riding the Rap"), could work as a stand alone movie but it sets up so many possible stories to follow that you are glad it's a TV series. The pilot was filmed on location in Kentucky and you can tell. It looks beautiful in HD from the lush green foliage to the paint chipping off a decrepit house. I was kind of disappointed to learn that the rest of the series is filmed in California but oh well. Raylan is forced to return to his hometown for work and that sets up one my favorite narrative devices: prodigal son going back to the town he vowed to never return to. Raylan seems to have run away from his family, friends and past. Returning to that environment makes him uneasy and it seems he is going to have to face some things/people that he is not prepared to face.

After a stellar first episode the next two offerings are fairly forgettable and kill the momentum set up in the pilot. I was loosing interest but then came the episode which featured Alan Ruck as a sadistic dentist running from the mob and my interest was piqued. The episode was not part of the long arc but it worked as a stand alone piece. It featured Raylan on a mission to California to chase an old criminal that had jilted him a few years back. The action worked as a modern western and the storytelling was anything but generic. It caused me to change my mind and expectations about what to think of the series as a whole. Maybe the whole procedural aspect isn't that bad if it is done right. The fifth episode, however, blew the lid off the overall story arc and really got me hooked. We finally get to met Raylan's father of whom we have heard so much about. Arlo Givens, played masterfully by Raymond J. Barry, is a perfect contrast to his sons contained anger. Arlo seems to have no self control and unbridled anger and Raylan is trying desperately to not be his father. Episode six brought us back to the "case of the week" format but teases us a little with some great scenes between Raylan and his ex-wife. The previews for tonight's episode promise the return of Walter Goggins' character Boyd Crowder. In the pilot Boyd was set up to be the great antagonist to Raylan but he has been locked up for a while with only small scenes here and there. There is a lot of potential for Goggins' character and I hope they include him more often in the story.

Another reason to check out Justified would be the great guest stars that have appeared so far: Buster from Arrested Development, Tim Riggins' dad from FNL, Herc from FNL, Sanka from Cool Runnings, Cameron Frye from Ferris Bueller, and Livingston Dell from Oceans 11.

I am really interested to see where this series is headed. A good sign that I'm on board with the show is I have dusted off my Raylan Givens centric Elmore Leonard novels. I'm rereading them picturing Olyphant as Givens and hoping that they draw more from these novels in future seasons. I like when a show gets me excited like this.