THIS WEEK ON Justified: Harlan Roulette
We start this episode with Raylan going to … wait … Where’s Raylan? Oh well, he’ll show up. I guess we’ll pass the time with Ava introducing Limehouse to Boyd. Obviously these two characters are going to be interacting for the foreseeable future. The problem for Boyd is he’s relatively weak. What makes it worse for him is Limehouse knows it. Boyd tries to come to Limehouse as an equal, proposing they split Mag’s money, and fails. Perhaps he’ll have better luck next time, as of now, he needs to restructure his crew.
Ahhh, there’s Raylan. He’s having what I can only imagine the most boring conversation about house hunting when he’s interrupted by a call. Seems they found out where Wade Messer has been hiding. They promptly set up a road block to intercept him. Messer recognizes Raylan and informs his driver (J.T.) that a hasty egress is in order. As the box truck they were attempting to flee in tips over, Messer manages to hop out and book it from the scene leaving poor ol’ J.T. holding the bag.
When we last left Dickey he was in prison. He’s still there by the way; however, we have a new subplot launching! The new sub plot of the week (Brought to you by Subway, where your sub plot of the week is to plot a trip to subway) Dickey starts getting hassled by a guard who is also interested in the hidden Bennet family fortune. He tells Dickey in no uncertain terms that he can make Dickey’s life hell if he doesn’t hand it over. Next thing you know there will be a corpse with an arrow through its head that dances towards the hidden money every time it hears music. Come on, how often do you get make a Weekend at Bernie’s 2 reference?
Messer makes his way to a pawn shop owned by a guy named Fogul (Like the Subway guy). We’re then let in that it appears Fogul is paying petty crooks in to pull jobs in exchange for pills. Fogul it turns out is a sadistic motherfucker. Since addict J.T. failed to bring back something shiny, he’s forced to play Halran Roulette (Haha, just like the name of the episode!). J.T. plays and wins a few times before Fogul just out right shoots him.
Boyd sells his rotten weed to Limehouse. Its clear he’s not happy the weed wasn’t burned like he ordered. Its obvious Boyd’s got some issues in his crew. You’d think with a name like Devil, he’d be the picture of loyalty and composure. Arlo, doing his best Obi Wan informs Boyd the reason why they are acting like they are directionless is because, well, they are directionless. Boyd then sits down his inner circle and lets them know he has a plan to build the Crowder power base back up.
Quarles is starting to set his plans in motion. He’s got a vision of fake doctors’ offices passing out pills and shipping the profits back home to Detroit. While in the house, Duffy uncovers that this new boss of his might be a bit more unstable than Arnett. Knowing what we do of Duffy, it will be interesting to see how one rabid dog holds the lease of another.
Raylan’s back again and he’s found Fogul’s pawn shop … I’m betting it was next to a Subway. You ever drive across country? I have, in a few different directions, there are Subways everywhere. I would say the state that has the most is Pennsylvania. I swear there is one every 10 miles … Sorry, mind tends to wander. Raylan asks Fogul if he knows Messer and of course, Fogul lies. Seems to me that people who lie to Raylan don’t end up so well. Lets see how Fogul fairs.
Low and behold, Fogul is in business with Quarles and Duffy. Quarles quickly surmises that he needs to cut his ties with Fogul. He orders him to kill Raylan. See the trick is, if you send a sheep after a wolf, you get a nice new sweater, and if the sheep can actually kill the wolf, well, you get a nice new rug. Either way, Quarles wins. Fogul apparently studied the same play book. Fogul orders Messer to take Raylan out.
Boyd returns to the family bar and convinces the new owner that it would be in his best interest to give up ownership of the bar. We are also introduced to two new Crowder gang members. Jimmy and Rip. Welcome to the family boys.
When Messer gets home to set up the sting, Raylan is already there. Looks like Wade is caught between a rock and a hard place. And by hard place I mean marshal that has killed more people than cancer. Raylan tells a lovely story about how respecting people privacy is a lesson he learned a long time ago. Messer then heads inside to find his gun and murder our main character. Raylan sets up Messer and uses him to get Fogul to come out into the open.
Fogul arrives at Messer’s place to confirm Raylans is dead and to more than likely finish of Messer. Too bad Raylan is alive and well and Messer is in custody. Looks like Fogul is in some shit. In true weasel fashion, Fogul offers to roll on his friends. Wally, not looking forward to be the prettiest gal at the prison ball, decides he’s got some skeletons to share. Looks like the Twit Olympics has two new competitors. Fogul and Wally shoot and kill each other. As much as I love the shot, I have to say I had a hard time buying this scene. Even if you’re not a gun touting maniac like I am, you too might have a hard time buying the precision needed to shoot and kill the man who is shooting and killing you. However, I’ll let suspension of disbelief take over and just enjoy the rest of the episode.
I loved the scene in the newly founded Crowder hangout. Devil asks which Boyd is he following. He wants to know if he’s following the white supremacists Boyd, is he following the petty criminal Boyd, or perhaps even the religious zealot Boyd. Boyd’s answer is perfect. Boyd explains that he’s all of them. We are the products of our choices. Dissecting who he’s been over the years is irrelevant. They are simply parts of a greater whole. He’s all three, and yet he’s something else entirely, and that’s who Devil is following.
As Quarles is showing off his favorite toy, we have a knock at the door of Duffy’s trailer. Its Raylan and he’s looking for trouble. Who would have thought that putting a hit out on Raylan would be one of his sore spots? We’re left with Raylan threating Duffy with certain death. Quarles chimes in with a half threat of his own, and we close out another week of the best show currently running.
One of the things I felt like this episode was that Raylan was barely in it. It speaks volumes that a show can scale back its main character and still be a quality program. It also shows that Boyd is capable of carrying episodes as the primary POV character. I’m very interested to see how the two main story lines will intertwine and cause a clusterfuck the likes of which we’ve only dreamt of.