Campaign of Harassment. Retrospective: Justified – “Shot All to Hell”

Season 5, Episode 05

Air date: Tuesday, February 4, 2014, 10PM E/P on FX

Rating: ★★★★★

“An unpredictable man can be unpredictable.” – Boyd Crowder

[warning]WARNING: Spoilers ahead for those who’ve not seen this episode.[/warning]

I must begin with an apology. I have made a grievous error. I’m such an idiot. In last week’s “Over the Mountain,” I confidently said Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) didn’t have anything to do with Nicky Augustine’s (Mike O’Malley) death at the airport but I was wrong. I went back to that episode and although Raylan didn’t pull the trigger, he should have stopped the massacre; he is a U.S Marshal after all.

Raylan doesn’t mince words but I’m not sure that’s going to be enough to get him out of hot water.

This secret leads us to the events in “Shot All to Hell,” during which Raylan is put in a compromising position after learning why Art (Nick Searcy) went to Detroit to investigate Sammy Tonin’s (Max Perlich) death. Art was also tracking down information about what really went down the night Nicky was killed. Raylan is in a prime position to be blackmailed by Picker (John Kapelos), the one person who knows he was there at the airport that night.

Art is no fool. I’m not sure what Raylan is going to do but when he walks back into Art’s office at the end of “Shot All to Hell,” I became worried about Raylan’s future as a U.S. Marshal. Art knows Raylan is a good man but he also knows Raylan has a chip on his shoulder. Raylan has confidence but sometimes his cockiness takes hold and makes him seem more like an asshole than anything else.

Bodies

Now I know what all those dead bodies at the end of “Over the Mountain” were for. If you thought Lee Paxton (Sam Anderson) was going to be around to give Boyd (Walton Goggins) hell all season long, you are sadly mistaken. I liked Paxton as Boyd’s antagonist; he was far better suited to the task than the inept Sheriff Nick Mooney (William Gregory Lee). Mooney is no match for Boyd. He may be taller and heavier but he cannot compete with Boyd’s cunning and intelligence. Both Mooney and the now widowed Mrs. Mara Paxton (Karolina Wydra) will be getting their comeuppance sooner rather than later. Although, I still think Mara may surprise us. She’s not just going to leave town without a dime.

Brothers and Sisters

Wendy is a bit of a mystery – does she really want to continue being part of this life or is she just buying her time until she can make a clean break?

Daryl Crowe (Michael Rapaport) is the big brother and both Danny (A.J. Buckley) and young Kendal (Jacob Lofland) are fully aware of it. But Danny is a shit disturber, a pot stirrer, if you will, and he’s itching to be the badass of the Crowe family. He doesn’t want to be a leader but he sure as hell won’t stand for anyone, not even his baby brother Kendal, to sass him or provoke him. I don’t really understand why Jean-Baptiste (Edi Gathegi) is in the picture other than being Daryl’s confidant and advisor; Jean-Baptiste hasn’t had very many words to say until “Shot All to Hell.” He shouldn’t have poked the snake — aka Danny Crowe. I just hope Kendal can keep his mouth shut because I don’t think Danny will hesitate to kill another brother (remember Dilly in “Murder of Crowes?”). And what about the Crowes’ sister, Wendy (Alicia Witt)? She comes up to get Kendal out of protective custody but will she stay to help or will she hightail it back to Miami? I’m still puzzled about Wendy. Did she become a paralegal to help her brothers when they got into trouble, or does she really want to get out from under Daryl’s thumb?

Memorable Moments:

Dewey Crowe (Damon Herriman) has an epiphany. “A’ight, listen. Maybe, maybe you ain’t just the things you done. All I’m saying is you do a thang that…that you never done…one day…shit changes and you change, and things change and everything’s changin’…” I think Dewey’s conscious is eating at him; why else would he give away his “prized possessions” to two of his favorite whores? I wonder whether Dewey will walk away from all this chaos his cousins have brought him or if he’ll finally stand up for himself. We’ll have to wait and see.

Johnny (David Meunier) does something that made me yell, ‘Hot damn!’ He does a double cross to end all double crosses. Hot Rod Dunham (Mickey Jones) is completely blindsided and the look on his face is priceless. But I don’t know if Johnny’s plan is going to work. He’s paid Hot Rod’s men to side with him, but if money talks maybe they’ll switch sides again.

The littlest prison guard, Albert (Danny Strong), seems to be a bit chuffed at what happened to him in last week’s “Over the Mountain.” His crude advances are spurned by the lovely Ava (Joelle Carter) but he’s getting payback. What Albert does to Ava is the biggest surprise of “Shot All to Hell,” because her chances of getting her day in the sun are shot all to hell. If Ava is supposedly “protected” in prison under Boyd’s orders, how did Albert get to her like this? This is interesting.

Elias Marcos (guest star Alan Tudyk) comes to Harlan County to pay Picker a visit. The question is – who sent him? Tudyk comes in like a blaze of glory and goes out with an even bigger bang. What a shame he won’t be in future episodes because Tudyk is brilliant as Marcos. I wonder what Marcos said to Picker – he spoke in Spanish and I couldn’t make it out. Aren’t Picker and Boyd trying to do business in Mexico, smuggling heroin across the border? Coincidence? I think not.

And an infamous crime boss from Detroit is back. One guess who that might be. Hint – he’s the big brother of Sammy Tonin (Max Perlich).

Memorable Lines:

This is the meeting I’ve been waiting for – Daryl and Boyd. Things are getting very interesting.

“I’ve been accused of being a lot of things; inarticulate ain’t one of them.” – Boyd to Daryl Crowe.

“Yeah, I goddamned flinch; crazy asshole runnin’ at me with a knife…get outta my face.” – Kendal to Danny.

Overall, “Shot All to Hell” is an intriguing episode that sets up some major plot twists for upcoming episodes. With Ava shipped off to the state penitentiary, Boyd is going to have a hell of time getting her out of this one. And if Raylan tells Art it was him at the airport the night of Nicky’s murder, what will that do to his career? Will Art look the other way?

Let me know what you thought of “Shot All to Hell.” Leave a comment below and/or tweet me @judybopp.

Check out the interviews with some of the cast at the season five red carpet premiere.

Tune in to Justified, Tuesdays at 10PM E/P only on FX.

For more on the show, go to http://www.fxnetworks.com/justified.

Follow Justified on Twitter and use hashtag #JustifiedFX.

Follow cast member Joelle Carter @Joelle_Carter on Twitter.

For fans of Walton Goggins, follow @WaltonGFan.

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Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.