“I love the way you talk, using 40 words when four will do.” A character says that about Boyd Crowder in an episode of Justified. It may be most true about Crowder, but it goes for many of the villainous characters on the show. Hero Raylan Givens lets his swagger do most of his talking, but the varying degrees of bad guys are fond of monologues and long, well-crafted threats, explanations, and all manner of verbiage.
It’s simply the show’s writing style, and I love it. Even less wordy Raylan still has a very particular and well-worded way about him. He may use the four words instead of the 40, but those four words are usually perfect. When you combine that style with the remarkably solid casting, you get magic. To use a cliché, some scenes are simply a joy to watch for the dialogue alone (both the writing and the delivery). Which is a special bonus, because there is plenty to like about Justified in addition to the diction.
That’s why Season 6 has left me in a serious good news/bad news situation. The bad news is that this is the show’s final season, and I will be relegated to the world of rewatching favorite episodes when I need a fix. Tragic. The good news is that with the addition of Garret Dillahunt, Mary Steenburgen, and Sam Elliott to this year’s recurring cast, the show is going out with a bang… probably literally considering Raylan’s tendencies. Those actors are exactly the sort of folks I want delivering that trademark Justified discourse.
Now if only I can find a way to convince the appropriate parties that there need to be a few Justified movies after the show wraps up, and we can all enjoy a happy ending.
