In just about 3 hours' time, the lights will go out on Harlan County, Kentucky for the final time as FX's Justified concludes its 6 season run. Through its first 77 episodes, it has delivered each and every time it took to the airwaves. Crafty storytelling, and cunning dialogue (delivered with aplomb by the fantastic Walton Goggins et al) as Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) continued his struggle to get out of Kentucky and get on with his life just about anywhere else in the world. Standing in his way of walking away is the down but never beaten Boyd Crowder (Goggins) and on-again, off-again love interest Ava Crowder (Joelle Carter.) If I was a bit smarter, or had studied harder during psychology classes, I would expound on the fact that the three primary characters really are very similar in how they approach life, and it's only a matter of choices and circumstance that has determined which side of the law (indeed if there is any difference any more) they find themselves on.
Despite all of the marvelous work that has been done on the show, the show has not been without its critics, nor has it received the hardware that one might expect from Emmy voters. Sure enough, Margo Martindale won a supporting actress award in 2011 for her portrayal of 'Mags Bennett' during season 2, and Jeremy Davies
picked up a Outstanding Guest Actor Emmy in 2012, but that's all.
Part of the reason, perhaps, for this dearth of Emmy victories is timing, as Justified had the misfortune of running up against the equally brilliant Breaking Bad, which seemingly won every single award fathomable during its run. This season, in the final shot for the creative parties who turned Elmore Leonard's short story "Fire in the Hole" in to one of the best shows this century will run in to the albatross of an intentionally prolonged Mad Men, whom Emmy voters are likely to load up with awards, because 'everyone' loves that show. (In my opinion, that show jumped the proverbial shark sometime during its season 6, but that's only an opinion. There are those that have threatened to bludgeon me for that thought.) So it will go that one of the great shows to grace our television shows will go out without ever receiving the proper acclaim that it has deserved. (Through 3 seasons, at least, Olyphant was able to keep his cool about that. I'm not certain what he may still be that calm as he continues to be shut out, but somehow I'd guess he still manages to sleep at night.)
As if that wasn't enough, critics and 'fans' alike have near-universally beat season 5 in to the ground. Smart critics who have watched season 6 come around have managed to couch their previous comments by stating that "I was one who was critical of season 5, but even then, it was still better than 98% of everything else on television..." People who have had critical thoughts like that are used to spoon-fed story and for all I know, may be incapable of seeing the big picture, or are unwilling to trust that someone (or in this case, a whole group of talented someones) might know what they're doing better than a viewer or even a professional critic may be able to decipher. Part of the fun of this six season journey for me, at least, has been watching how the writers, actors, and everyone connected to the show would continue to spin the story in a fresh way. Without one doubt in my mind, I firmly believe they delivered on it, and for all the accolades and positive press that season 6 has received, absolutely none of it would have been possible with what most critics have labeled a 'terrible' season 5. The stories developed within the season 5 timeline were absolutely essential to position the three primary characters for exactly where they needed to be for season 6, and how each character would interact with the other, culminating in episode 10 "Trust", when Ava shoots Boyd and makes off with the $10 million he had just absconded with from Markham. It was simply brilliant, and Raylan 'allowing' Ava to 'escape' set up the final three episodes of the season to see which of them would come out victorious.
All I know heading in to tonight's finale is that it wouldn't appear all 3 of them will make it out alive, and which relationship will be repaired (if any.) If Raylan lives, it seems likely that Boyd will have to die, unless Boyd saves Raylan from an attack by Ava. Ava's options are to either die or end up in prison, so she should be a driving force in how the episode unfolds. I'm prepared to be thrilled, and expect to fight off a tear, knowing that such a show like this may not come along again in this lifetime, though I'm certain there will be those that will try. It is a genuine story, woven in back woods and mountains of a place many will not visit, but through the magic of Justified, will feel as if they spent a long portion of their lives there. Our television landscape grows a bit dimmer tonight.
