Guns, Lies, and The Real Drew Thompson. Review: Justified - "The Hatchet Tour"

Season 4, Episode 9

Air date: Tuesday, March 5, 2013, 10PM E/P on FX

Rating: ★★★★★

“Thank you very much, but we don’t need your shit. Have a nice day.” – Ava

Remind me… why is Constable Bob helping? Everyone thinks he’s a joke. Are they antagonizing a sleeping bear?

Drew Thompson’s identity is revealed. That alone is the saving grace of “The Hatchet Tour.” While there are some key moments that stand out, like Constable Bob (Patton Oswalt) gunning it out with Lee Paxton (guest star Sam Anderson) and Gerald Johns (guest star Ned Bellamy), nothing can overshadow the revelation of the true identity of the infamous Drew Thompson.

I have to admit, I should have guessed it. It was right there in front of me and I didn’t put the pieces together. But I know Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) feels that way, too. He repeatedly mentions an uneasy feeling about the seemingly benign new Sheriff Shelby (Jim Beavers) but sometimes, the gut knows best. When Hunter Mosely (guest star Brent Sexton) greets Shelby as Drew I was so stunned it took me a minute to catch up. I wonder if the former Mrs. Thompson, Eve Munro (Julia Campbell), has been in cahoots with Shelby this whole time. Perhaps, as Raylan said in “Foot Chase”, Eve purposefully picked out potential guys who look nothing like Drew/Shelby so that no one would suspect him. Either way— bravo to the writers for stumping me; I felt like a prized idiot because I should have suspected Shelby all along. I guess because my vision is clouded when it comes to Beavers; I still see him as the lovable Bobby from Supernatural. It’s the quiet ones you got to be mindful of.

Raylan puts the smack down!

Overall, there are only a few moments that stand out in this episode, but collectively, none of them compare to the manhunt for Drew being cracked wide open. One moment that really made my teeth clench is when Raylan punches, several times in fact, Hunter, unleashing his frustrations about not getting answers about Drew and of course Arlo’s (Raymond Barry) death. No matter which way you slice it, Arlo’s death is taking a toll on Raylan, probably more than he thought or like it to. At the end of the day, good or bad, Arlo was his father.

Interesting moments:

Boyd (Walton Goggins) gets an earful from Johnny (David Meunier) about the lying sack of… (ahem) that is Colton (Ron Eldard). When the late Preacher Billy’s sister Cassie (Lindsay Pulsipher) stops by Audrey’s bar looking for Ellen May (Abby Miller), things get twisted pretty quickly. It was bound to happen. Colton is a ticking time bomb fueled by heroin. Hats off to Eldard for really ramping up the asshole factor because I sincerely loathe Colton. After he killed his dealer and a former veteran, who also happened to be a friend of Deputy U.S. Marshal Tim Gutterson (Jacob Pitts), his path of self-destruction began to implode. Too bad he is too high to fully realize it. It was going to be Boyd or Tim coming after Colton and it turns out, both of them do. I think Pitts is gravely underutilized in Justified. For such an interesting character, the writers aren’t showcasing what this former sniper is truly capable of. I hope in the seasons to come, they’ll give both Pitts and Tazel (who plays Marshal Rachel Brooks) more storylines.

***

Hunter gets the keys to his freedom but chooses to stay in the back of Raylan’s town car. He says he has nowhere to go, especially in an orange prison jumpsuit (point taken), but something doesn’t sit right with me on that point. I mean, he has an unfinished vendetta against the Crowder family, which is highlighted by both Raylan and Shelby recalling stories of some of the Harlan families feuding. I am inclined to think that Hunter’s story arc isn’t close to finished yet.

***

Now that Boyd and Ava know that Ellen May isn’t dead and she’s missing, what will they do now? And with Shelby vanishing, is he still the Sheriff of Harlan?

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

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

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Follow cast members Joelle Carter @Joelle_Carter and Jim Beavers @jumblejim 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.