TV Review: Justified 3.3, "Harlan Roulette"
Not only did “Harlan Roulette” fulfill any critic’s checklist, but it had my butt glued to the edge of my seat and my jaw frequently hitting the floor in astonishment and laughter.
rating: 4
Apparently they should just call this show Takin Care of Business: Harlan County with Raylan and Boyd, but I suppose that doesnt roll off the tongue quite as easily as Justified. Seriously, the yin and yang of the modern Old West each just dominated their respective games like true professionals no, legends. This episode had everything you could ask for: a compelling stand-alone story that contributes to the seasonal arc in which bodies pile up and our hero demonstrates exactly why he has earned that title, significant advances in our other heros ongoing story, plus cameos from all three of our major villains of the season. Not only did Harlan Roulette fulfill any critics checklist, but it had my butt glued to the edge of my seat and my jaw frequently hitting the floor in astonishment and laughter. Though I love the pace of and the sequence of scenes in just about every episode of Justified, for the sake of clarity lets look at each component in full. To begin, well examine the Raylan half of the episode. Its opening included the first of two minor complaints with what was otherwise a near perfect episode. Ive mentioned this in the previous two critiques of the third seasons episodes thus far the apparent replacement of Raylan and Winona discussing moving to Glenco, the training facility in which Raylan could act as a shooting instructor in relative safety for the sake of his growing family, for discussing simply moving into a house together in the local area. While buying a house alone or with a new (or new old) partner is of course a significant step forward and a lot to put on the line, its a noticeable departure from the potential to leave the setting of a series which is as integral a character as the protagonist. I could accept this transition if there were any acknowledgement of it but there has been none. Ill stop harping on this issue since it looks like the series is doing the same but it is a noteworthy deficiency. The other minor complaint I have is the heavy handed nature in which the topic of narcotic addiction was consistently touched upon. Throughout Harlan Roulette we are reminded at every possible opportunity (including the song playing in the pawn shop Raylan first confronts the episodes head outlaw in) of the profound gravity of this topic and although it is a very serious issue that indeed should not be taken lightly, I found it to be slightly shoved down the audiences throat. On the other hand, I do appreciate the consistency of the theme. Anyway, all minor drawbacks aside, the primary plot of Raylan tracking down a couple oxycontin traffickers whom are operatives of the Dixie Mafia was very well executed. What started as an apprehending of two suspected armed robbers led to a direct confrontation with the seasons new main villain which successfully established some powerful tension between Raylan and Quarles. Ten gallon hats off to the writers for using past minor characters when they could have easily got new faces to fill the roles. Using JT from (I believe) the episode in which Chief Deputy Mullen tracked down an older fugitive from his past and Wade Messer, the family friend who escorted Mags adopted daughter half way to the Bennett house in the climax of last season, added a sense of real time and decay to the citizens of Harlan County whom have fell even deeper into the criminal world as well as that of the world of addiction. These two thugs along with the third, Wally Beckett, are all criminals but also victims of their superior, Glen Fogel, a sadistic crime boss who truly enjoys exploiting his underlings dependence on the drugs he peddles as demonstrated by his manipulation of the roulette game which JT won but acted as the catalyst to the confrontation in which Fogel murdered JT. Similar to last episodes main antagonist, Fogel also holds an affinity for lethal games which are fixed in his favor, a trait characteristic of the lack of honor among the criminals which meet their demises as compared to the more honorable criminals such as Boyd Crowder. This scene as well as the one in which Messer and Wally bury JT greatly emphasized both the tragedy of narcotics addiction and the tragedy of addiction to power which Fogel was clearly a personification of. The resolution to this story was ironic in that it, like last episodes, showcased Raylans expertise in dealing with outlaws without having to use his weapon, and fitting in that Fogel and Wally ended up turning on and shooting each other, much like how they were each willing to betray JT for personal gain. Raylan is so disgusted by what transpires he takes it upon himself to make an unofficial visit to Wynn Duffy who was named by Fogel before his death. In an earlier scene with Duffy we learned Quarles plans for profiting from the oxy scene in Harlan which is smart to spell out at this point in the season as theres no need to prolong letting the audience know what the main villains up to; doing so only prolongs the audiences investment in this character. This earlier scene was also the one which elicited the first big laugh from me while simultaneously adding to the mystery of what kind of man Quarles truly is. Im referring to Duffys suppressed reaction to the man Quarles has gagged and tied to the bed as well as Quarles casual dismissal of him. Is the tied up man an underling being punished or an object of Quarles sexual recreation? This is unclear and therefore contributes to the mystique of our new big bad. The closing scene of the episode further revealed what delight Quarles takes in relishing violence as he demonstrates to Duffy version 3.0 of his homemade hidden quick draw mechanism a la Taxi Driver which he apparently found a key component of while Christmas tree shopping. The rest of the episode followed Boyd who I do consider to now be Justifieds other hero, the foil to Raylans upstanding lawman, an outlaw who is smart enough to devise the strategies necessary to seize the criminal underbelly and deadly enough to implement them, much like Raylan whom uses the same traits to reach the same goals but for the purposes of safety and justice as oppose to Boyds purpose to profit. Boyds plot opened the episode with a scene in which he and Limehouse discuss the Bennett money and Boyds marijuana business. This scene revealed that Limehouse and Eva know each other from when Eva was still married to Boyds brother Bowman and also alludes to a past relationship between Limehouse and Arlo in regards to racially divided violence. These two allusions speak to Limehouses ties to Harlans mythology and his long history as a crime boss as does his conversational grace when exchanging with Boyd. Though brief, this scene further establishes Limehouse as a force not to be reckoned with and it promises that his part in the season will gradually become a source of much conflict. Further complicating Boyds plans for the Bennett money is the involvement of the prison guard who arranged Boyd and Dickies solitary confinement meeting and now wants Dickies money for himself. This thread was not touched on again throughout the episode but will play heavily in the next. After reprimanding Devil and Arlo for not following his order as delivered by Eva to burn the weed, Boyd then speaks of the new professionalism by which the gang will operate including the relinquishing of any involvement in prostitution. This is a signal not merely of a womans involvement in the affairs of this new crime family, but also the relatively more sophisticated standard by which Boyd wishes to conduct his team by. This professionalism is demonstrated at the bar which was formerly owned by Boyds cousin Johnny who finally reemerges to reclaim his establishment as the Crowders new headquarters. It is this scene in which Boyd tells the tale of how he was shot to make a point and convey the severity of the situation which most reflects the actions and methods of Raylan. Like Boyd, Raylan used an anecdote, about a group of men looking to enter his family home as a young boy and assault his uncle, to dramatically emphasize a point which was in fact a strategy that worked to secure his victory in a dangerous situation. A subsequent scene at the same bar between Boyd and Devil drew attention to the core of who Boyd is. Boyd answers Devils inquiry as to which Boyd Crowder is now present the loyal soldier or the unpredictable backstabber with a cryptic both. This answer epitomizes the complexity of Boyd and is the largest reason why he is such a fascinating character to watch progress and succeed. Its a difficult task to distinguish among Justifieds best episodes, but Harlan Roulette is certainly a strong contender as it successfully encompassed so much into one episode by not only telling a self-contained story which ties into the larger conflict of Quarles involvement, but also revealed many key elements which set the stage for what could be the series best season yet.