Justified (Season 4)

Boyd, Mags, Quarles, one of Justified's greatest strengths has always been its villains. So can you make a successful season of Justified without a major big bad? Believe it or not, yeah! Rather than focus on a villain (or group of villains), Season 4 focuses more on telling an interesting murder mystery and ended up being my favorite season yet.

The first scene of Justified's fourth season is a flashback to 1983, where an unknown figure named Drew Thompson falls from the sky with a failed parachute. When Raylan and his team learns that Thompson is alive and the parachutist was someone else, it kickstarts a massive race to find the real Drew Thompson. This season doesn't have much of a villain, at least at first, focusing far more on the mystery. As a fan of mystery stories, this season is right up my alley, but for those who want a villain, Theo Tonin of the Detroit mob becomes the main antagonist as the season goes on as he wants Thompson killed. Tonin mostly stays in the background so he isn't a super fleshed-out character, but he doesn't have to be, he's a ticking time clock to make solving the mystery far more of an importance. His underboss Nicky gets a bit more screentime in the second half of the season, and he's really slimy and hatable even if he also doesn't get too much depth. I still enjoyed the season's first half for its fun subplots, but without a villain, it can feel a bit aimless. Thankfully, all of the set-up does pay off as Season 4's second half is by far the strongest in the series. The mystery gets a satisfying resolution, the characters collide in a series of really compelling episodes, and the sheer amount of twists and character deaths is insane compared to the last three seasons. And while Drew Thompson himself isn't quite a central antagonist, he's still a very interesting character on his own merits.

Though while I enjoyed the mystery, I think Season 4's biggest strength is in the characters, who all get some of the best material in the series. Arlo is at peak jerkass as he stubbornly refuses to reveal any of the info he knows about Drew Thompson, so when he dies halfway through the season, Raylan struggling to deal with it is incredibly compelling. There's an interesting theme throughout the series about how different Raylan really is compared to the criminals he fights, but this season also has him going rogue and partnering up with said criminals far more often. Boyd also gets a ton of great stuff this season. The subplot where he faces off with a preacher who keeps converting his men is ridiculously fun, as is his plan to take down Tonin from the inside. After becoming a criminal in Season 3, Ava really starts to face some of the consequences of her actions this season, culminating in her getting arrested in the finale. Even Tim and Rachel get more to do, with the former getting a subplot entirely to himself as he tries to get revenge for his friend's death, and the latter getting more involved with the main plot. Along with the characters, the general vibe of this season feels like Justified at its most offbeat. There are rattlesnakes to the face, a guy sawing off his foot to escape the police, Bob making Drew puns while getting brutally tortured, the black comedy this season is just masterful.

I adored most of this season, so there are a lot of episodes worth noting:

Where's Waldo: While I really enjoyed the season premiere that established the Drew Thompson story, Where's Waldo was a particular standout from the season's first half. Waldo Truth was a really intriguing figure, and the twist that Waldo was the one who died, Drew Thompson is alive, and the presumed Waldo was dude named Harold Shawn was insanely clever and surprising. We also get a big confrontation between Boyd and Preacher Billy that has the former at his scripture-spitting best.

Outlaw: After watching this episode, I went on the Justified Wiki to see how many characters died. It's seven characters, some minor and some major, an absolute bloodbath by the series' standards. Obviously, the scene that stuck out the most in my mind is the wince-inducing fight that resulted in Arlo's painful death, but there's also Colt shooting Tim's friend, Duffy's creepy fake cop assassin, and Boyd weaseling his way into Tonin's good grace. While most seasons of Justified have that one episode that kicks the plot into second gear, Outlaw is by far the darkest and most shocking of the bunch. Nearly every episode after this one is a highlight.

The Hatchet Tour: This episode finally reveals who was Drew Thompson: It was Shelby the whole time! The initial reveal was incredibly well-executed, but the show didn't go too long without the rest of the cast piecing things together on their own. I like that a lot of Justified's characters are pretty smart (except that Winona subplot), so I rarely feel frustrated with the show. This episode also had the first confrontation between Tim and Colt which was just as emotionally charged as I had hoped.

Decoy: Easily my favorite episode of the show yet, Decoy is an incredibly tense and action-packed outing as the Marshals have to elude the Boyd and the Detroit mob while getting Drew out of Harlan. There are just so many amazing scenes in this one, Tim and Colt's conversation, Raylan meeting Boyd at the stairwell, Bob taking down Yolo (and the aforementioned Drew puns), Ava learning about Johnny's betrayal, the Molotov cocktail, and the triumphant ending where Raylan really is able to get Drew out of Harlan. Decoy is brutal, incredibly well-written, and a series high point.

Peace Of Mind: Coming in between the tense and brutal Decoy and Ghosts, things went oddly well in this episode, at least for most of it. Ellen May is saved, Drew Thompson is in custody, Tim kills Colt in an incredibly satisfying fashion, and Limehouse gets to be left alone. However, this is still the penultimate episode, and the cliffhanger of Nicky targeting Winona is a typically tense set-up for the finale.

Ghosts: This was a very different finale than the others, it's not a big final conflict that the season was building up to (Drew doesn't even appear). Rather, Ghosts is personal and character-driven, leaving a large portion of the cast in a pretty unhappy state, particularly Ava, Boyd, and Raylan. It's not all dour, though, Winona shooting one of her captors was awesome and Raylan's revenge spree is a ton of fun. However, it also brings Raylan's darker side to the forefront, as the way he has Nicky killed is borderline criminal.

Overall, Season 4 was the best Justified season yet. Even with its lack of major villains, the Drew Thompson mystery was compelling, the writing and black comedy was top-notch, and the second half was some of the best the series has ever been.

5/5 Stars