TV Review: Justified 3.9, "Loose Ends"
Naming an episode “Loose Ends” is somewhat of a challenge to fans who’ve been keeping track, but Justified once again refuses to disappoint and addresses many (not all) loose threads that have been blowing in the wind.
rating: 4
Naming an episode Loose Ends is somewhat of a challenge to fans whove been keeping track, but Justified once again refuses to disappoint and addresses many (not all) loose threads that have been blowing in the wind. Not that the series has made a habit of failing to provide satisfactory resolutions to various storylines, but characters and situations that most shows wouldnt think to revisit or elaborate on are followed up in this episode such as Quarles former point man, Tanners employment limbo, Limehouses lieutenant, Earls unfinished business (his words, not mine) with the aforementioned Tanners last couple assignments involving robbing Boyds clinic and getting Boyd locked up for detonating explosives in Sheriff Napiers car, and even poor junkie-prostitute, Ella Mae also gets an update and change in professional trajectory; well, at least new management. Something tells me Avas a big fan of True Romance. And we of course have surly, heart-broken Raylan (my favorite kind of Raylan) on top of most of it. The first loose end to be addressed was the gun used to kill Gary, Winonas screw-up ex-husband, which Quarles had planted in Winonas house but was recovered by Raylan who had said he would eventually return in it to its rightful owner, but in this episode he only hid it in his new place above the bar where he now moonlights as a bouncer. Seeing as how the indispensable item has been touched on a couple times now without being utilized, Im pretty positive itll serve some crucial purpose later on. The second loose end was the inconvenient fact that despite Raylan having plenty of intel implementing Robert Quarles in some less than legal operations, such as putting male prostitutes in the hospital and other nefarious activities, Art points out he has no hard evidence necessary to pursue the investigation. This cements Raylan in the time honored position of the rogue law enforcement agent, not that its much of a stretch to put Raylan in that position anyway, which is why I dont mind that it took us nine episodes to get there as it only primes Raylan for the dirty work that will no doubt be required to take Quarles out of the equation. The next loose end introduced before the opening credits began to roll was where Ella Mae ended up after Raylan had formed a weak agreement with her pimp, Delroy, to keep her out of harms way by delivering to Delroy a swift beat down, not necessarily the surest of foundations to secure a contract on as demonstrated by Delroys perverted Charlies Angels-esque mission of sending three of his girls to rob a check-cashing establishment which of course goes terribly wrong. As Delroy and his ladies dispose of their dearly departed associate, Delroy takes it upon himself to try to tie up his own loose ends by killing the remaining girls, one of whom, Ella Mae, escapes to the loving arms of Ms. Ava Crowder. After some sleazy advice from her partner Johnny to ignore the stray and focus on taking care of each other until Boyd is released from prison, Ava decides to do as Boyd would which she lets Johnny and the audience believe is selling Ella Mae back to Delroy. Of course, anyone whos at all familiar with Boyd or Ava knew that Ava, whom has consistently expressed sympathy and consideration for the women of the night of Harlan, had something up her sleeve which (again, not much of a surprise) was a shotgun. After cleaning up the mess that was once Delroy, Avas bid for managing Harlans prostitutes was by far the most interesting development of the episode because it would put Ava in a new position of power, one that poses to her its own set of practical and ethical challenges. Viewers watching this past season might consider Avas desire to keep the prostitution business up and running to be hypocritical considering how adamant Ava has been about staying out of that enterprise. However, others might see this turn of events as totally consistent with Boyd and Avas penchant for making the best out of a potentially profitable situation. This progression makes sense to me as I can definitely picture Ava in a position of greater authority while attempting to manifest the theory that strippers and prostitutes should actually be venerated and perceived as empowered masters of their own sexuality over the hapless, unworthy patrons of their services or so the theory more or less goes. Then again, if Ava is to take care of and empower these women, how is she going to continue enabling their oxycontin addictions? Will she merely try to keep them from getting beat up and forced into other dangerous activities or will she attempt to sober them up? And if the girls do get clean, what will keep them tied to such an unsavory career? These are the questions that have me very interested to see how Ava handles the situation. Meanwhile, a fairly inebriated Raylan gets tipped off by Boyd and Ava that finding Tanner is not only Boyds best shot at getting out of prison, but also Raylans best shot at producing some official dirt on Quarles that would actually stick. After Raylan orchestrates a hilarious phony A.T.F. visit to Sheriff Napier and an even funnier visit with Tanners television fixated, sharp-tongued mother, Imogene, Raylan finally gets his man -- unfortunately hes trapped on a landmine set by the explosives dealer Tanner and Earl robbed and killed to cover their tracks and despite an intense interrogation, Tanner is blown to bits before Raylan can get the information he needs. Apparently though he got enough to clear Boyd of the charges he was incarcerated for, which enabled him to make one of his best, most rousing speeches ever at the VFW Hall debate between Sheriff Napier and Boyds man, Shelby. Limehouses campaign manager, who Limehouse insisted Quarles hire, did appear to do a fine enough job letting Napier look way better suited for the job than Shelby until the great orator that is Boyd Crowder intervened with talk of Black Pike, the coal mining corporation which screwed over so many of Harlans land owners last season. This makes me wonder whether Limehouse really wanted to ensure Napiers victory and marginalize Boyd since, as Limehouse said, Boyd doesnt have the money or the men to keep Quarles out, or if Limehouse wanted to sabotage Quarles investment in Napier, giving Boyds man, Shelby, a lead in the polls. Im inclined to believe that despite telling Boyd he doesnt really have a chance against Quarles and saying that he likes to back the winning side, Limehouse, like Boyd, would rather contend with fellow local natives than foreign carpetbaggers like Quarles and will subsequently work with Boyd and Raylan to ultimately rid Harlan of the blue-eyed devil. This actually meshes with the episodes closing scene between Limehouse and Raylan in which Raylan informs Limehouse that hes putting Quarles in prison or the ground, and asks whether he really wants to see Nobles Holler become a battleground. In typical Limehouse fashion he neither confirms nor denies his interest in helping Quarles and simply retorts that hes protected his land from worse. This keeps with Limehouses pragmatism concerning the future of his operation in which he remains in the background, playing both sides until the opportunity to come out on top presents itself. What wasnt so simple was Limehouses recollection to Raylan the memory of beating his father, Arlo. Though this failed to rile Raylan, the mere mention of Raylans mother clearly got him upset. Though nothing came of the exchange, it served to heighten tension between the two as those whove gotten under Raylans skin in such a profound and effortless manner are part of a very exclusive club, one that probably has a pretty high mortality rate.