review | Justified – Season 3

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• there is failed, Read here, reviews of other seasons of the series and, here, all the stuff related to the character Ryan Givens.

After setting up the conflicts surrounding returning Deputy Ryan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) to his homeland in season one and delving even deeper into internal threats in season two, Graham Yost looks a bit out of place in Kentucky and becomes a villain. introduces Joe who comes from the Detroit Mafia and who seeks to establish himself in the hero’s sphere as the new big boss of oxycodone smuggling (or just Oxy for acronym). Not that this hasn’t happened before in the series, as there have already been skirmishes with the Miami Mafia and, of course, with the mining company represented by Carol Johnson (Rebecca Kreskoff), but now everything is in the same place. This new threat seems to be getting more and more common. exogenous.

Neal McDonough, expert at playing strange villains, embodies Robert Quarles, the so-called Detroit mafia enforcer who, in addition to that inevitable traumatic past, is empowered to use a convenient sleeve pistol and unhealthy sexual habits to justify his evilness. . This isn’t a great villain, so, like a bunch of other better villains we see out there, represents a drop in quality in the series, especially if we compare it to the fabulous Margo Martindale as Mags Bennett. Yes, in the last season. Although Quarles soon reveals himself to be far less accomplished than he pretends to be as a gangster, he manages to generate enough interest to justify him as a man who would be interested in this particular Fits into the imperfect world in which Ryan Givens lives.

More than that, Yost has a clinical vision and knows he can’t bet all his chips on a new character, and Quarles uses a well-established structure of “villainous hickness”. serves as the “anomaly” within that the series generously introduces .amount. thinking about what is already established showrunner takes the pieces from his board and rearranges them, so as to first highlight platinum-haired, trailer-dwelling fop Wynn Duffy (Jere Burns) as Quarles’ second-in-command, and then Elstin Limehouse (the excellent Michaelti Williamson) can be introduced. ) as the butcher and owner of Noble’s Holler, an area dominated by African descendants. The increasing use of Duffy and the introduction and development of Limehouse as a type of con “banker” are the ingredients that give the season its real spice, as all the other characters and well-known plot threads converge there.

By portraying Quarles as a decaying villain who needs to prove himself to his boss and mentor Theo Tonin (Adam Arkin, also series director), he necessarily needs to lean on other criminal elements in the area. Which naturally justifies his association with Duffy and Limehouse. Because of his confrontation with good old Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) and Ava (Joel Carter), now in his gang, he is increasingly embracing his gangster side, Arlo (Raymond J. Barrie), who is in love with Helen (Linda Gehringer). The soon-to-return (special guest) on his mind, the Devil (Kevin Rankin) who tries to cross over to the other side and Johnny (David Meunier), the always treacherous. And, as if that wasn’t enough, an unresolved narrative point from last season — the fate of Mags’ missing money — serves to bring back not only Dickie (Jeremy Davis), but young Loretta (Caitlin Dever) as well. brings Nice way to tie the whole series together up to this point.

In the midst of all this, it’s interesting to see how Ryan’s own growth is limited by his ex-wife and soon-to-be new wife Winona (Natalie Zea), now pregnant with his child, and trying to leave. is deciding. Due to his inability to transform again and get away from danger. It’s an interesting discussion that would lead to nice dramatic developments, but, here, the only option is to remove the character from the spotlight of the series, leaving Ryan even more introspective, living on the top floor of a bar and having an affair with the beautiful owner. . The chain of events in the personal life of the protagonist has the right logic, but my point is that the path adopted in the season is too simplistic, giving both Olayo and Zia a chance to work their characters with satisfaction.

It’s not that the protagonist doesn’t, at times, make room for the villains and the plot as a whole, but, here, Ryan becomes little more than a supporting character in his own series, at times much more of a narrative bridge than that. Works as someone organically inserted into the story beyond what is surely their blood ties and old friendship. Things would have been different if at least Boyd Crowder had gone up on stage and (presumably) taken the role for himself, but that doesn’t really happen, so sometimes Ryan gets to start something without actually participating. Or watching it end is uncomfortable. Throughout the process, something that clearly appears to be Quarles’ attempt to frame her, making her an FBI target, a situation that ends as quickly as it began.

After reaching the top with its second season, Justified takes a step back and proves less than excellent in its third year. But this is normal and happens in the best of families, especially since the end result is still great. The important thing is to keep moving forward and try to get back on top again.

Justified – Season 3 (USA, January 17 – April 10, 2012)
Creation and Development: Graham Yost (based on the works of Elmore Leonard)
Direction: Michael Dinner, Michael Watkins, Jon Avnet, Dean Parisot, Adam Arkin, Don Kurt, Peter Werner, Gwyneth Horder-Pyton, Tony Goldwyn, John Dahl, Bill Johnson
Road Map: Graham Yost, Fred Golan, Benjamin Cavell, Dave Androne, Taylor Elmore, John Worley, Nichelle Tremble Spellman, Ryan Farley, Ingrid Escajeda, VJ Boyd
mould: Timothy Olyphant, Nick Searcy, Joel Carter, Jacob Pitts, Erica Tazel, Natalie Zea, Walton Goggins, Neal McDonough, Demetrius Gross, Mykelti Williamson, David Meunier, Jere Burns, Raymond J. Barrie, Jeremy Davies, Jonathan Kowalski, David Andrews, Brendan McCarthy, Damon Herriman, Jesse Lucan, Abby Miller, Jim Beaver, Jane Lyon, Peter Murnick, Todd Stashwick, William Gregory Lee, Kevin Rankin, Stephen Root, Adam Arkin, Kaitlyn Dever , Rick Gomez, William Mapother, Max Perlich, William Ragsdale, Stephen Tobolowsky, Linda Gehringer
Duration: 550 m (13 episodes)