Justified -- "Cottonmouth" -- 3/09/11
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Justified -- "Cottonmouth" -- 3/09/11
By djariya at 2011-01-01
Synopsis:
Spoiler:
Episode 5 of 13
Promo:
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Re: Justified -- "Cottonmouth" -- 3/09/11
This episode was truly remarkable. Hard to say, but it just might have been the best episode this season.
I love what they're doing with Boyd. He's still morally ambiguous, but he's becoming the antihero we can root for. It was pretty clever how he bugged the guys with the phone call; and even that left it unclear as to whether he'd have gone ahead with the robbery or not had they not made it clear they planned to kill him. At times it even seemed that his initial involvement was only to see what they were up to and to try and put a stop to it, but we just don't know for sure. I figured he would have something up his sleeve so as to set the guys up, but I liked the way it played out. In a way, what Boyd said made a lot of sense; had they not decided to double-cross him, they wouldn't have ended up dead. Having him take the money to help out Ava makes his participation in the crime easier to accept; on the one hand he did take part in the robbery and profited from it (or rather, Ava profited from it), but on the other hand he saved the mine owner's life, his own, didn't blow up the mine, and only took what he needed to give Ava a little help. But having him as the antihero seems like it will be a good role for him; he isn't going to hurt the innocent and is taking out some of the scumbags along the way, sort of like what he was doing in the first season. Will be very interesting to see where they go with him from here on out, and I'm increasingly liking the relationship developing between Boyd and Ava.
Walton Goggins deserves some serious Emmy recognition for his portrayal of Boyd.
Great to see Dewey Crowe back again. His scenes with Raylan never fail to make me laugh and I love the way they have this sort of odd friendship.
Raylan's investigation this episode was pretty good as well. It was nice to see the guy get the upperhand on him with the stun gun; stuff like that that keeps the show more grounded in realism and makes viewers relate to the character more. It was funny seeing him just sitting there waiting for Dickie and Coover. Really liked his scene with Loretta there at the end and I'm interested to see if she'll end up helping Raylan take down the Bennett clan.
They do such a good job writing for Mags and Margo Martindale does a great job portraying her. She is so menacing and intimidating; much more so than Bo ever was. It's interesting in seeing how she treats her kids and now Loretta; you almost feel bad for Dickie and Coover because it's pretty clear she was rough on 'em. And you can just tell she's doing her best to manipulate Loretta into seeing her as a mother, but Loretta seems like a smart girl, so hopefully she doesn't fall for it. The last scene with her breaking Coover's hand was real intense; I loved how she blamed him for her actions and how even though Coover was the one in physical pain, she made sure Dickie felt the pain emotionally. Not only is she more menacing, but she's a smarter villain and adversary for Raylan; one can imagine that without Dickie and Coover screwing things up, Raylan would have very little to go on in his investigation.
It's nice to see Arlo back as well. Speaks volumes of the show that they don't let things like Arlo taking the money just fall by the wayside.
I love what they're doing with Boyd. He's still morally ambiguous, but he's becoming the antihero we can root for. It was pretty clever how he bugged the guys with the phone call; and even that left it unclear as to whether he'd have gone ahead with the robbery or not had they not made it clear they planned to kill him. At times it even seemed that his initial involvement was only to see what they were up to and to try and put a stop to it, but we just don't know for sure. I figured he would have something up his sleeve so as to set the guys up, but I liked the way it played out. In a way, what Boyd said made a lot of sense; had they not decided to double-cross him, they wouldn't have ended up dead. Having him take the money to help out Ava makes his participation in the crime easier to accept; on the one hand he did take part in the robbery and profited from it (or rather, Ava profited from it), but on the other hand he saved the mine owner's life, his own, didn't blow up the mine, and only took what he needed to give Ava a little help. But having him as the antihero seems like it will be a good role for him; he isn't going to hurt the innocent and is taking out some of the scumbags along the way, sort of like what he was doing in the first season. Will be very interesting to see where they go with him from here on out, and I'm increasingly liking the relationship developing between Boyd and Ava.
Walton Goggins deserves some serious Emmy recognition for his portrayal of Boyd.
Great to see Dewey Crowe back again. His scenes with Raylan never fail to make me laugh and I love the way they have this sort of odd friendship.
Raylan's investigation this episode was pretty good as well. It was nice to see the guy get the upperhand on him with the stun gun; stuff like that that keeps the show more grounded in realism and makes viewers relate to the character more. It was funny seeing him just sitting there waiting for Dickie and Coover. Really liked his scene with Loretta there at the end and I'm interested to see if she'll end up helping Raylan take down the Bennett clan.
They do such a good job writing for Mags and Margo Martindale does a great job portraying her. She is so menacing and intimidating; much more so than Bo ever was. It's interesting in seeing how she treats her kids and now Loretta; you almost feel bad for Dickie and Coover because it's pretty clear she was rough on 'em. And you can just tell she's doing her best to manipulate Loretta into seeing her as a mother, but Loretta seems like a smart girl, so hopefully she doesn't fall for it. The last scene with her breaking Coover's hand was real intense; I loved how she blamed him for her actions and how even though Coover was the one in physical pain, she made sure Dickie felt the pain emotionally. Not only is she more menacing, but she's a smarter villain and adversary for Raylan; one can imagine that without Dickie and Coover screwing things up, Raylan would have very little to go on in his investigation.
It's nice to see Arlo back as well. Speaks volumes of the show that they don't let things like Arlo taking the money just fall by the wayside.
#6
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Re: Justified -- "Cottonmouth" -- 3/09/11
That was an outstanding episode. This show makes me want to move down south just for the accents.
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Re: Justified -- "Cottonmouth" -- 3/09/11
#10
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Re: Justified -- "Cottonmouth" -- 3/09/11
One of the worst followed by one of the best. This week definitely washed away the bad taste that was left from last week. Does the Bennett/Loretta storyline remind anyone else of Animal Kingdom?
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Re: Justified -- "Cottonmouth" -- 3/09/11
Originally Posted by MrX
"Hillbilly Whisperer"
Art is comedy gold with the couple of lines he has every episode.
Art is comedy gold with the couple of lines he has every episode.
Originally Posted by kstublen
Walton Goggins deserves some serious Emmy recognition for his portrayal of Boyd.
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Re: Justified -- "Cottonmouth" -- 3/09/11
I love this show. I've been simultaneously getting thru S1 and a lot more makes sense (in terms of relationships) the deeper I get into it. I didn't know Arlo was was Raylans dad until last night when I watched S1 ep5
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Re: Justified -- "Cottonmouth" -- 3/09/11
Nice writeup (and I enjoy the long write-ups, it's good to see other folks excited by the show).... the whole caper was extremely well done from start to finish and that last scene with Mags was fantastic. I don't know why, but I was expecting just one smash of the hand, watching her do it repeatability really left much more of an impact. And as you mentioned they have struck a remarkable balance with the Boyd character. His character seems to be heading towards Omar... a man's gotta have a code, oh indeed.
The only thing that leaves me wondering a bit is how active the US Marshals should be in all of this. They addressed it a little in this show (Raylan doing it in his free time), but I wonder if they are going to have a reason for Raylan to be involved in a more sustained investigation (I'm assuming he'll continue to be involved). But that's a tiny nitpick on a pretty damn good hour of TV.
"thought it was some sort of monkey virus, you know like that movie" Dewey (and Art, as MrX mentioned) definitely get the good comedy lines.
This show just has a fantastic mix of plot, characters, dialogue and humor.
#17
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Re: Justified -- "Cottonmouth" -- 3/09/11
Loved this episode too. Very well done! A great balance of some action and incredible dialogue with a strong story.
Love where they're taking Boyd. Such a shame he's been overlooked for Emmy consideration. Hopefully this is the year.
Love where they're taking Boyd. Such a shame he's been overlooked for Emmy consideration. Hopefully this is the year.
#18
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Re: Justified -- "Cottonmouth" -- 3/09/11
I loved the scene of Coover and Dickie getting out of the truck and see Raylan sitting there.
Coover goes, "should we run?" The look Dickie gives him was just great.
Coover goes, "should we run?" The look Dickie gives him was just great.
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Re: Justified -- "Cottonmouth" -- 3/09/11
Just realized that Goggins is doing well on this show, his Shield costar Kenny Johnson (Lem) is on the also excellent Sons of Anarchy, and Michael Chiklis got stuck with...No Ordinary Family. Ouch.
#20
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Re: Justified -- "Cottonmouth" -- 3/09/11
He deserves an award for his acting
Well the season that featured Kenny the most was far from excellent. But I get your point
Well the season that featured Kenny the most was far from excellent. But I get your point
#22
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Re: Justified -- "Cottonmouth" -- 3/09/11
There is something about the way Loretta says "may i be so bold as to inquire?" that carries a little of the Deadwood regality along with common talk.
If she calls one of the Bennetts a hooplehead cocksucker , that will seal it.
If she calls one of the Bennetts a hooplehead cocksucker , that will seal it.
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Re: Justified -- "Cottonmouth" -- 3/09/11
And while we're harking, the intro song reminds me of Saving Grace, even though it's a rap song. And, a rap song for this show? Strange, but it doesn't bother me.
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#25
Re: Justified -- "Cottonmouth" -- 3/09/11
And a lot of bluegrass folks got PISSED about the artist using violence and swearing in bluegrass. It's pretty funny to read if you ever browse some of their forums or music reviews for the artist (Gangstagrass).