I adored Justified's first season, and the series showed a ton of potential. Its second season doesn't quite reinvent the wheel for the show, but it improves on the first categorically with its strong villain, excellent payoff, and darker tone.
Season 2 of Justified is focused entirely around the Bennett clan, led by the matriarch Mags Bennett. Mags is a very interesting character, initially seeming like an amicable motherly figure only to poison a father to take his kid in the first episode. This contrast makes her such a scary character to watch, because she always starts her conversations with a friendly attitude, leaving you wondering about when her cruel interior will show. The great performance from Margo Martindale definitely helps, as she toes the line between both sides of her personality excellently. The Bennett clan as a whole is a pretty fascinating, an entire town (police force included) controlled by a single person with all the power in the world. This season has a lot of buildup, as Mags's motivations are unclear until episode 9, but the reveal that her initial disdain towards her land being mined was just a ploy to get even more from the deal was a brilliantly shocking twist. Meanwhile, the Bennetts' long-lasting war with the Givens' was fascinating, and slowly built towards an insane finale that ends the season with a lot of bloodshed and rewarding plot resolution.
For all intents and purposes, Mags is the main focus of the season. One might even say she's the main protagonist of Season 2, not unlike Gruber in Die Hard and Thanos in Infinity War. As a result, the character work for the rest of the cast does feel a bit shafted, but it's still mostly good. Raylan's arc about debating leaving Harlan is an interesting one, even if we know he's not gonna leave given there are four seasons left. I loved Boyd and Ava this season, their relationship was surprisingly likable and Boyd's decision to get back into crime made him a much more fun character. His motives are more clear this season, but the way he plays people is still super fascinating and fun. Art's disdain for Raylan is also given a lot of focus their season, leading to some electric confrontations between the two. The only storyline that I didn't quite enjoy this season is Winona's, as she makes some really dumb decisions that put Raylan's job at risk. It did lead to a few tense episodes and a great moment near the end of the season, but otherwise, this was by far the weakest part. As for the writing, it's still really strong. I don't think the jokes are as frequent as Season 1, but the dialogue is as sharp as ever and it helped to keep me engaged throughout.
Similarly to Season 1, Justified is a really consistent show (except for the Winona stuff), but there are episodes that definitely stood out to me:
Cottonmouth: While the first half of this season was mostly buildup, this was a definite standout episode, focusing on Boyd's attempts at secretly stopping a trio from robbing the mines. It's always fun to watch Boyd play people, and the episode ends with him finally figuring out who he wants to be. This episode is also noteworthy for one of Mags' many cruel punishments, a wince-inducing scene involving a hammer.
The Spoil: After two Winona-centric episodes in a row, The Spoil got back to the Mags stuff, kicking the plot into second gear. This episode just has a lot of strong individual scenes, like Raylan confronting Art over the evidence money, the debate at the church with Mags' big speech, and the chaotic shootout in the last few minutes.
Brother's Keeper: After all that buildup, we finally get to one of the best episodes of the series yet, with all of the season's major plotlines colliding as we know where everyone's allegiances are at. Loretta learns of her father's death, Mags doesn't really care about the land, Boyd betrays Carol, Coover and Dickie have their falling out, and Raylan punts the hornet's nest by killing Coover. It's a shocking and eventful turning point in the season, which is surprising given a lot of it takes place at a party.
Full Commitment: While most of this episode was tension and buildup, the final ten minutes were phenomenal. The Winona storyline finally hits a satisfying resolution as Gary is revealed to be behind the hit and Raylan finally gets to have a confrontation with Duffy. But in case that wasn't enough, the episode ends with the shocking death of Helen, kickstarting the final two episodes.
Reckoning: A surprisingly somber penultimate episode, Reckoning focuses mostly on the aftermath of Helen's death. Unlike most of Justified, this episode is really sad and grim, as Raylan is mourning and trying to figure out what to do with Dickie. It's definitely Olyphant's best performance yet, and the final confrontation in the woods is incredibly emotionally charged. Not to mention the tense set-up for the finale.
Bloody Harlan: Bulletsville was a great finale, but Bloody Harlan was an amazing finale. After all that tense buildup, the powder keg explores in a brutal bloodbath where hardly any character escapes unscathed. But even with all the violence, there are tons of great character moments like Art and Raylan seemingly making amends, Loretta learning the truth about her father, and Winona revealing she's pregnant. There are tons of tense scenes here like Dickie shooting Ava, the Raylan piñata, and of course, that final confrontation making this finale feel incredibly climactic. And as on the nose as it is, Mags dying to her own poisoned apple pie was a strong sendoff to the character and a far less messy conclusion than Bulletsville's open ended ending.
Overall, Justified's second season is yet another compelling and satisfying outing with a fantastic villain, the show's typically sharp writing, and an amazing ending that makes the whole season even stronger in retrospect.
5/5 Stars
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