TV Review: Justified 3.4, 'The Devil You Know'
This episode brought us a brief albeit hysterically memorable appearance from the season’s big bad, slick and sadistic Detroit crime boss, Quarles.
rating: 4.5
I said give me a god-damned amen! This episode brought us a brief albeit hysterically memorable appearance from the seasons big bad, slick and sadistic Detroit crime boss, Quarles, which directly informed the proceedings concerning the ever evolving crew of Boyd Crowder whom actually cooperated with and helped Raylan by providing him with crucial information that lead him to the climax of the episodes primary story of Dickie and Deweys morbidly madcap escape from prison to retrieve the infamous Bennett life savings. The Devil You Know was a fairly simple episode by Justifieds standards, but nevertheless delivered on new mythology, its trademark use of a stand-alone story (the consequences of which look like will make for an excellent episode next week) which directly advance the seasonal arc, arguably the series greatest narrative strength, as well as thematic consistency throughout both plots, impressive character development, the absence of Winona and her and Raylans seemingly endless conversation about moving (which I did not miss at all), and of course general badassery peppered with moments of humor, including a Star Wars reference and the classic adage, Gettin old aint for pussies. As much as I absolutely love the regular cast of this show, one of its most notable assets is the virtually spotless record of effective performances from the series episodic antagonists. This episodes villains, the prison guard and nurse that the audience has met previously who learned of Dickies family fortune and facilitates his escape, as well as the victims of Mags dealings to sell land to the Black Pike Mining corporation of last season, were especially successful at conveying their desperate frustration and stone-cold homicidal tendencies which made for criminals worth Raylans time and attention (and bumpers). As awesome as that gun versus car drawdown was, and the clever if not painfully facetious interrogation that followed, the real stand out of this plot had to be good ol Dewey Crowe. From his endearingly sweet though misguided attempt to protect his buddy in a prison fight, to his gleeful declaration that theyre gonna get chicken no coleslaw! for dinner as captives in the hotel room, to his impulsive runaway attempt at the gas station, to the episodes closing moments with the organ harvesting nurse, Dewey provided comic relief that felt organic and authentic while simultaneously heightening the gravity of the unfolding situation. I challenge you all to find a more sympathetic dimwitted neo-Nazi in all of Western literature. Other welcomed illuminations of the spotlight fell on Dickie Bennett and Deputy Marshal Rachel Brooks whose restrained performances always communicate the chilling realization that under her layers of professionalism and reluctantly proud grassroots heritage is a bite way worse than her bark. Her stand offs with Limehouse as well as with his lackey each revealed just how formidable an enemy she can be. The latter of those two exchanges was especially entertaining, however, because of Brooks opponent, Limehouses runner, whose appeals to let him and his partner pass the checkpoint were truly admirable and even persuasive attempts that although appeared to fail actually served as the perfect distraction to allow Limehouse and his main man with the Tyler Durden kiss to save Dickie from the bitter Black Pike haters just in time to inform him that because of that whole land deal fiasco his family fortune has been reduced from 3 million dollars to a paltry 46,000 and change. Whereas I would jump at a five figure consolation prize, Dickie surprised me with his integrity by refusing to call it even with Limehouse and vowing (albeit somewhat unconvincingly) to come back for it once Limehouse makes the money have grandkids, what I thought was a clever way of articulating turning an investment into profit. Im intrigued by this open challenge to Limehouse as it appeared Dickie realized how futile his situation was in that moment by making sure Raylan heard him fire off his shotgun before finding Dickie relaxing between two corpses, guaranteeing his return to prison. Speaking of Mr. Limehouse, when Raylan made his way to Johnny Crowders bar to ask Boyd if he had any information regarding the whereabouts of the man who shot his woman, he very cleverly communicated to the criminal crew that he knows theyve been dealing with Limehouse by recanting an anecdote about Raylans father, Arlo, who was curiously absent from the episode, and whose past run-in with Limehouse was alluded to last episode. This allusion was elaborated on by Raylans story of Arlo chasing Raylans mother, whom had finally decided to run from Arlos domestic violence, into Nobles Holler, the area run by Limehouse and populated predominantly by the African-American citizens of Harlan County. Recounting the image of Limehouse beating Arlo down so decisively Raylan compared it to felling a tree, was a beautiful and effective bit of narration and further illuminated what kind of man Limehouse really is. Whereas Dickie rode the consequences of sticking with the devil he knew, Limehouse as opposed to his prisonbreak captors, the titular Devil found the consequences of not sticking with the devil he knew, Boyd, opting instead to challenge him in favor of being employed by the devious Mr. Quarles. Now anyone who knows the character of Boyd could probably predict someone like Devil would never get the better of him, however, as Devil has been seen for a while now growing increasingly dissatisfied with the Crowder crew, echoing to Johnny last episodes scene of which Boyd am I dealing with? stating that Boyd is not the man believed in, the suspense of how exactly Boyd would deal with this incompetent defector was palpable. The end result, Johnny double-crossing Devil and Boyd shooting him in the face in an especially creepy, almost merciful manner, perfectly punctuated the peril laden path of dealing with any devil, a potentially grave mistake Rachel foreshadowed earlier in the episode when speaking to Limehouse. The theme of treachery was infused with every single scene of The Devil You Know and demonstrated just how talented the writers of this episode are as well as how respectful they are to the fans of the show and its history. Im referring to the scene in which Raylan checked in on Loretta, the character at the center of last seasons over-arching plot, to see if she knew anything about the Bennett money everyone was after. Though the exchange didnt offer anything too substantial in terms of the plot, its nice to see the show not forgetting its history, further fleshing out its characters as real human beings with pasts as opposed to simple two dimensional imitations of real people. I also thought the detail of seeing Mags storefront sign that read Bennetts being spray-painted over to read Benedicts as in the infamous American traitor, Benedict Arnold was a truly inspired touch. As we approach the halfway mark for the season, I expect the machinations of Quarles to begin to catch the attention of Boyd and his crew, Limehouses, and of course the Marshals in what looks to be perhaps the most promising season of Justified yet.