Drugs, Lies, and Break Ups. Retrospective: Justified – “Whistle Past the Graveyard”

Season 5, Episode 8

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

Rating: ★★★★★

“Not unless you have to but if you have to, you make every shot count.” – Boyd

“Whistle Past the Graveyard” should be an exciting episode considering Boyd (Walton Goggins) finally killed his last remaining blood relative. But sadly, it is not. This is a filler episode by every definition. There are some tiny nuggets of gold sprinkled throughout, but I’m not sure if I care anymore. Boyd only has his band of misfits to back him up but several new members may not be living up to their end of the deal. Can Boyd trust Daryl (Michael Rapaport), Danny (A.J. Buckley), and Dewey (Damon Herriman)? Not as far as he can throw them.

Federales

Boyd is hoping he can get the heroin safely across the border…

Boyd and the gang are having a rough go of things in Mexico. After a skirmish among the guys riding in the back of the truck, Boyd is forced to get another vehicle. While I understand it can be suffocating, especially if you’re sharing it with four dead bodies, however, the point of all this is to get a separate vehicle; a vehicle that will come in quite handy when Boyd and the gang are stopped by Mexican Federales. Surprise, Jimmy (Jesse Luken) can habla español. Who didn’t see this snafu coming? We know Boyd and his troop aren’t getting out of Mexico that easy. The other oddity is Boyd listening to Daryl and Danny talking about another way out of Mexico via their pal Corey Flores (J. Anthony Pena). I smell something rotten and it’s not the dead bodies.

Uncle Jack to the Rescue?

Wendy really needs to learn how to be a better “sis” to Kendal.

I’ve become a bit bored with the story lines this season. I’m not sure what the writers have up their sleeves but a new revelation has come to light regarding Wendy (Alicia Witt) and young Kendal (Jacob Loflund). I should have seen it from the start but I guess I wasn’t interested enough to pay attention. What is Wendy’s purpose in the whole Crowe family business? Is she just the paralegal sister who bails them out of trouble or will she have a grander role in all of this? Loflund has impressed me lately. His acting is very convincing and he delivers his lines with such realism, you almost think he’s this completely messed up teenager dealing with family drama. But now that his “Uncle Jack” (Kyle Bornheimer) is in town, things go from bad to worse when Jack brings trouble from a card game gone awry.

Wendy enlisting Raylan’s (Timothy Olyphant) help to get Kendal back seems a bit out of place. I know he wants her help to get to her brothers but this is just too contrived. Besides, we know good and damn well Wendy isn’t going to tell on her brothers. Is she bluffing or is she really in the dark about her brothers’ nefarious deeds?

Dislocated

Ava (Joelle Carter) attempts a bold move to secure her place among her fellow inmates. She needs to find a way to get the heroin into the prison and enlists Penny’s (Danielle Panabaker) help. It’s a foolish plan but somehow it works. At first I thought it was a dumb plan, but after meeting Rowena (Deidrie Henry), the prison infirmary nurse, there is something to this plot. I’m not sure what the writers have in store but it can’t be good for Ava or her “man.” What does Rowena want Boyd to do? And as for Judith (Dale Dickey), she’s keeping an eye on Ava…and that’s definitely not a good thing.

Random Thoughts:

Remember Theo Tonin (Adam Arkin)? He is still alive and we haven’t seen the last of his story arc. Get on with it!
Art (Nick Searcy) needs to make a decision about Raylan. Searcy mentioned during the red carpet interviews we will meet Art’s family this season…hope we’ll see that soon.
Raylan and Allison’s relationship. Truly over or just a bump in the road? The real question is do we care?
We’ve heard via FX about Mary Steenburgen guest starring this season…where is she? I’m sure her story arc will tie into the Theo Tonin story line because she’s his ex.
I kind of wish the writers would have let Ava get ‘man-handled’ a little. Maybe that would spice up her character’s story line a bit. You know, give her a bit of angst, maybe put a wedge between her and Boyd. Justified is supposed to be a drama, remember.

Interesting Lines:

Boyd and Daryl discuss their success after their encounter with the Federales:

Boyd: “Well, we ain’t succeeded yet.”

Daryl: “C’mon, Boyd. The way we played them greedy ass Federales, you and me is workin’ together, ain’t no mountain high enough.”

Raylan to Wendy about their arrangement: “Again, Wendy, I don’t know how the man beat me to the punch and I don’t give a shit. The important thing is not how we arrived at this sad state of affairs, it’s how we get Kendal back safe so you can live up to your side of the deal.”

Overall

The title of this episode, “Whistle Past the Graveyard,” doesn’t make sense because I didn’t see a graveyard. If it’s meant to imply another meaning, I still don’t get it. Again, “Whistle Past a Graveyard” is nothing more than a filler episode through and through. It sets up future episodes but with so many unfinished story arcs from previous episodes, I’m not sure why so many of this season’s episodes haven’t been as enthralling. I can’t be the only one who thinks Justified is beginning to lose its luster.

Let me know what you thought of “Whistle Past the Graveyard.” Leave a comment below and/or tweet me @judybopp.

Tune in to Justified, Tuesdays at 10:00 PM ET/PT, 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.