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'Justified' - 'The Collection' Recap
by Danny Gallagher, posted Apr 21st 2010 10:29AM
(S01E06) "In the words of St. Francis, 'It is only by forgiving that we ourselves are forgiven.'" - Boyd to Raylan upon hearing that Raylen doesn't want to know about his father's misdeeds. "Ain't he the one with the birds?" - Raylan
I've been waiting with eager anticipation for Walton Goggin's character, the reformed bigot Boyd Crowder, to saunter back into Raylan Givens' field of view since the very first episode.
He's the perfect foil, not just for a guy like Raylan but in any villainous context. He's got those cold shark eyes that look like they would turn white if he bit into someone, a smooth and almost calm voice that screams evil and a jaw lined with a set of chompers that look like he has bitten into more than a few someones.
Goggins has played that evil backwoods character in all sorts of ranges from the ridiculous like his role as a brain-dead Texas outlaw in 'Shanghai Noon' to the slightly less brain-dead Shane Vendrell (aka Cletus VanDamme, that name still makes me laugh) in 'The Shield'.
Tonight I got my wish...and then some.
Raylan's attempt to use Boyd to get back at his scheming father was a sheer stroke of genius. It not only set up a perfect chance for Boyd to become the villain he was meant to become, even though he's found Jesus in prison. It's also put him in a perfect position to make his checkmate. It really could go either way at this point. Boyd could become Raylan's new found friend or enemy, and that's what I love about this series. Anything could happen. UFOs could land and abduct Raylan and somehow, there is a chance it could would work.
The main mystery story felt a little short and quite fast for an hour-long series. They were book-ended with Raylan's attempt to take down his old man through Boyd, so they were pressed for time but they did feature a few nice twists and helped take down one real mean sonovabitch: a conniving trophy wife who loves money a little too much and human life a lot less.
The case itself is a little confusing and gets muddled down in the facts too much, but it picks up steam when it is revealed to be a case within a case, so to speak, when the wife's horse training boy-toy shoots the husband in the head and frames the scene as a suicide. It also really gives you someone to hate, which is no tall order compared to a villain who used to blow up churches with rocket launchers for fun.
The real payoff is after the arrest when the art dealer shows Raylan his "collection," a bookcase of burned ashes that once were Adolph Hitler's priceless collection of mediocre paintings. That second-to-last scene with Robert Picardo as the secretive and snooty art appraiser whose life has become a never-ending quest to erase the legacy of his Nazi sympathizing father was really engaging. It sucked me in for the final tumble down the hill at just the point when I thought the coaster had already taken its last big free fall.
It also set up a moment of realization for Raylan that constantly chasing after his father to right either of their misdeeds never accomplishes true justice. Unless, of course, the misdeed is something so astronomical that it could completely destroy either one or both of them. Then just as the wheels start turning again, the ride comes to a complete stop. Our hands and arms are free to move outside of the ride for another week.
Other observations:
- Good Lord there were a lot of famous TV people in this episode. Tonight's episode had Tony Hale aka Buster from 'Arrested Development' and the aforementioned Picardo who also played the doctor in 'Star Trek: Voyager'.
- I just loved how Raylan's chief, played wonderfully by Nick Searcy, just knew that Raylan was sleeping with Ava, even though she didn't accidentally reveal herself covered in a bed comforter and her hair all tussled the way she does in my dreams (sigh). I loved his reaction because even though he's clearly pissed that Raylan is "doing" one of his cases, part of his reaction and demeanor also showed some unspoken body language that read "Hey, can I blame him?"
- Raylan didn't kill anyone this episode. Does that mean he'll have to make up his quota next week?
[Follow @thisisdannyg on Twitter]
I've been waiting with eager anticipation for Walton Goggin's character, the reformed bigot Boyd Crowder, to saunter back into Raylan Givens' field of view since the very first episode.
He's the perfect foil, not just for a guy like Raylan but in any villainous context. He's got those cold shark eyes that look like they would turn white if he bit into someone, a smooth and almost calm voice that screams evil and a jaw lined with a set of chompers that look like he has bitten into more than a few someones.
Goggins has played that evil backwoods character in all sorts of ranges from the ridiculous like his role as a brain-dead Texas outlaw in 'Shanghai Noon' to the slightly less brain-dead Shane Vendrell (aka Cletus VanDamme, that name still makes me laugh) in 'The Shield'.
Tonight I got my wish...and then some.
Raylan's attempt to use Boyd to get back at his scheming father was a sheer stroke of genius. It not only set up a perfect chance for Boyd to become the villain he was meant to become, even though he's found Jesus in prison. It's also put him in a perfect position to make his checkmate. It really could go either way at this point. Boyd could become Raylan's new found friend or enemy, and that's what I love about this series. Anything could happen. UFOs could land and abduct Raylan and somehow, there is a chance it could would work.
The main mystery story felt a little short and quite fast for an hour-long series. They were book-ended with Raylan's attempt to take down his old man through Boyd, so they were pressed for time but they did feature a few nice twists and helped take down one real mean sonovabitch: a conniving trophy wife who loves money a little too much and human life a lot less.
The case itself is a little confusing and gets muddled down in the facts too much, but it picks up steam when it is revealed to be a case within a case, so to speak, when the wife's horse training boy-toy shoots the husband in the head and frames the scene as a suicide. It also really gives you someone to hate, which is no tall order compared to a villain who used to blow up churches with rocket launchers for fun.
The real payoff is after the arrest when the art dealer shows Raylan his "collection," a bookcase of burned ashes that once were Adolph Hitler's priceless collection of mediocre paintings. That second-to-last scene with Robert Picardo as the secretive and snooty art appraiser whose life has become a never-ending quest to erase the legacy of his Nazi sympathizing father was really engaging. It sucked me in for the final tumble down the hill at just the point when I thought the coaster had already taken its last big free fall.
It also set up a moment of realization for Raylan that constantly chasing after his father to right either of their misdeeds never accomplishes true justice. Unless, of course, the misdeed is something so astronomical that it could completely destroy either one or both of them. Then just as the wheels start turning again, the ride comes to a complete stop. Our hands and arms are free to move outside of the ride for another week.
Other observations:
- Good Lord there were a lot of famous TV people in this episode. Tonight's episode had Tony Hale aka Buster from 'Arrested Development' and the aforementioned Picardo who also played the doctor in 'Star Trek: Voyager'.
- I just loved how Raylan's chief, played wonderfully by Nick Searcy, just knew that Raylan was sleeping with Ava, even though she didn't accidentally reveal herself covered in a bed comforter and her hair all tussled the way she does in my dreams (sigh). I loved his reaction because even though he's clearly pissed that Raylan is "doing" one of his cases, part of his reaction and demeanor also showed some unspoken body language that read "Hey, can I blame him?"
- Raylan didn't kill anyone this episode. Does that mean he'll have to make up his quota next week?
[Follow @thisisdannyg on Twitter]
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