Review: #JustifiedFX "Guy Walks into a Bar" (...and the bartender says...)

Review: Justified, Season 3, Episode 310 – “Guy Walks into a Bar”

Air date: Tuesday, March 20, 2012, 10PM E/P on FX

Rating: ★★★★★

There’s a debate going on in my head – three stars or four. While there are elements in “Guy Walks into a Bar” that nearly knock me on my ass with their audacity, there are also moments of mediocrity. In the end, I’m giving the episode four stars because of its surprising, bare naked ending.

Review: #JustifiedFX "Guy Walks into a Bar" (...and the bartender says...) 1

Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) squares off with Quarles (Neal McDonough) after Quarles threatens to kill Raylan

I’ll begin with the jaw droppers. Quarles (Neal McDonough) reveals an eye-opening piece of information about his childhood and how he came to be in the Tonin family. When he talks about killing a man for the first time at the tender age of 14, I’m not too shocked; but when he tells us that man was his father, my jaw drops. After the abuse he’s endured, I can’t say I blame Quarles, but now we know what beast haunts him. McDonough does a very effective job of portraying a man at war, not only with most of Harlan but himself as well. I think Quarles struggles to rise above his past but it’s obvious when things don’t go his way, he reverts to his vices – chomping on Oxy pills like they’re chewable aspirins and snorting cocaine like there’s no tomorrow.

Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) struggles with what he plans to say during his testimony against Dickie Bennett (Jeremy Davies). With Dickie’s pending release from prison , Raylan tries everything to coax Judge Reardon (guest star Stephen Root) to stall the proceedings and even tries to convince AUSA Vasquez (guest star Rick Gomez) that some out-of-state criminal with the same name could be Dickie. This scene makes me laugh because of Raylan’s sheer audacity of employing desperate tactics to prevent Dickie from being set free.

Vasquez: “This guy’s black.”

Raylan: “He looks black in the picture but you never know ‘til you find ’em.”

Vasquez: “He’s not Derek Jeter black – he’s Wesley Snipes black. This is a black man.”

Art: “Now come on; you’re mixing your metaphors there going from athletes to actors.”

Review: #JustifiedFX "Guy Walks into a Bar" (...and the bartender says...) 2

Jenn Lyon as Lindsey

One of the most arousing and steamy moments of the episode happens when Raylan decides to hook up with a pretty blonde bartender named Lindsey (Jenn Lyon). I guess after a late night showdown between him and Quarles, Raylan needs to burn off some energy. Mmm, talk about stress release!! I’m glad Raylan’s not hung up on Winona (Natalie Zea). Yes, I know she’s pregnant but I’m still not sure Raylan is the father.

Now, for the mediocre moments, which are nonetheless important to not just this episode but to the overall plot of the season. Limehouse (Mykelti Williamson) seems perturbed by the bullshit among the white folks – meaning Boyd (Walton Goggins) and Shelby (guest star Jim Beavers) going against Quarles and Napier (David Andrews) in the race for sheriff. Of course, each employs various dirty tactics to undermine the others’ campaigns. But when Boyd’s bit of debauchery throws a huge monkey wrench in the works, Quarles becomes unhinged. Seeing him at a loss for words and losing composure is enlightening. The hard Detroit shell cracks, giving us a peek inside the mysterious Quarles.

Review: #JustifiedFX "Guy Walks into a Bar" (...and the bartender says...) 3

Jeremy Davies as Dickie Bennett (background L-R: Nick Searcy as Art and Timothy Olyphant as Raylan)

As much as Dickie is mentioned throughout the episode, we only see our squirrely little friend when he pleads his case in court. Can someone tell me what the heck is up with Dickie’s hair? Is it a faux-hawk or some new kind of prison rocker style? It’s distracting but doesn’t diminish Davies’ fine performance of embodying the confusing and troubled soul that is Dickie Bennett.

With the surprising ending and the mano a mano showdown between Quarles and Raylan, I really hope the last few episodes amp up the intensity and drama. Quite frankly, these little tidbits here and there are starting to piss me off. The scenes with Quarles are intense and reveal more to the puzzle but there is also the lingering unfinished business with the Bennett money and Limehouse that may come into play now that Dickie is getting out of prison. Where is Limehouse hiding the millions of dollars and to what purpose is he keeping it from Dickie? Limehouse is all about honoring his word yet this seems contradictory behavior of that fact.

Funny Moments/Lines:

Ellen-May (Abby Miller): “We better win. I never handed out so much pineapple juice in my life.”

Shelby: “Pineapple juice?”

Ellen-May (who mimics an oral act afterwards): “It makes…it makes the taste a little more tolerable.”

Judge Reardon to Raylan about Dickie’s pending release: “Well, sometimes you can flush all you want, but there’s just that one turd that just won’t go down.”

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/.

Follow FX on Twitter and use hashtag #JustifiedFX.

Follow cast member Joelle Carter on Twitter: @Joelle_Carter.

For fans of Walton Goggins, follow @WaltonGFan.

LIKE Justified on Facebook.

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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.