Justified - Series Finale “The Promise” (Recap & Review)
(SPOILERS BELOW!!!)
You might remember that Raylan was brought back to his hometown because of a controversial case he had in Miami and because Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Art Mullen wanted him to help with Boyd and the Crowder family. You might also remember that Raylan wanted to protect Ava from the Crowders and that Raylan shot Boyd in a stand-off with Boyd temporarily ending up in prison where he spent his time preaching to the prisoners. Like I said earlier, the show has come full circle, which I'll explain more as we go. This season has felt like a slowed down version of its usual self, but it has picked up the pace over the last few episodes as we race to the finish.
The episode starts with Raylan being arrested after failing to come in last week. He's telling the officer that he has the wrong man, but this officer is just as no-nonsense as Raylan and puts him in the car anyway, after removing his white hat of course. Boyd is back at the cabin searching for the money, but is not having much luck. Ava is being held by Avery Markham. He knows that she stole his money from Boyd and wants it back. She tells him it's at the cabin, but he doesn't believe that she could have stolen it by herself. She reluctantly confesses that her uncle helped her hide it but that he wasn't involved in stealing it.
Meanwhile U.S. Marshals Tim and Rachel are briefing a group of marshals on their mission. They are looking for Ava and Boyd. One finds the tooth necklace left behind. Raylan, who is being escorted back, overhears this on the radio. He tells the officer to ask if it's a gator tooth necklace. They share some great banter here that makes me wonder if sarcasm and wit was taught at the academy (or maybe it's just the quick-witted writing on the show). He tells Raylan this “is the second time I'm telling you to sit back, or you're gonna ride the trunk, we clear?” Art finds them soon and tells him that he wants to take Raylan in, but the officer doesn't want to let him. There's some more quick-wit and banter and then Raylan is with Art.
Boyd is crazily digging outside. He is still injured from the gunshot and from the explosion, but he is maniacal in his digging. After a while he finds a dead body and almost seems startled before laughing. He falls over clinging his side. Ava, still being held by Markham, calls the cabin in hopes of reaching her uncle. However, to her surprise, it's Boyd who answers the phone. Pretending that she is speaking with her uncle she says, “Thank God you're okay. I was wondering if Boyd might have got to you and put a bullet in you.” Boyd answers, “He did.” She tells him that Markham wants his money back or he will kill her. Boyd doesn't seem to care until she tells him that Markham knows they are the only two to know where the money is so he agrees to meet them at Compass Rock because he wants the money as well. What a cunning move by Ava and what a surprising lack of detail by Markham for not asking to speak with her uncle as well. Markham sends Boon and Loretta to meet him.
Raylan thinks Art may be turning him in after all and reminds him that Markham is going to get Ava and that Boyd is at large too. He's going on about it when Art swerves the car to a stop and gets Raylan's badge and gun out. “Where do we start?” he asks. I like their chemistry and I like seeing them work together. Tim, Rachel, and some other marshals are at the cabin. It starts intensifying here with them looking around and with the helicopter circling. Boyd has managed to escape, but they see him and start to chase him up the mountain. He's injured and moving slowly, but thinks to throw dynamite at them to keep them from getting too close.
Then it's back to Raylan and Art. They are looking for the cops that were in the hospital when Boyd escaped. The bartender tells them they have to leave their guns at the door because of past incidents they had. He has a baseball bat that he uses to enforce things that he calls his “powers of persuasion”. Raylan takes the bat and uses it to intimidate the cop who was in the room when Boyd escaped. He repeatedly hits it against the bar, which is too loud for the recently concussed cop to handle. They get some information and leave. They now know Loretta is with Markham, but they don't know if she's working with him or if he just has her. Art says they should split up because he needs to help the marshals with Boyd and Raylan should go find Markham. I was a little disappointed to see them split up because this will be their last outing together, but I understand that's part of the story for Raylan. Art leaves him with the warning, “No matter what you find at the drying shed, no matter what they done to Ava or Loretta...”.
Markham finds out that Zachariah is not at the meeting place and warns Ava that she shouldn't play him. He says he knows she's known dangerous men, but he can be dangerous. Boyd walks in suddenly to everyone's surprise. Markham is holding a gun on Ava in a scene that was very similar to that shared between the two men only with Katherine instead of Ava. It's a quiet minute and a quick stand-off. Markham underestimates Boyd, which I thought was kind of surprising. He shot the cop Boyd was standing behind and then everyone started shooting. Boyd winds up standing over Markham who was killed. Although we had more to cover after this, I was kind of surprised that it ended this quickly. It seems that someone as formidable as Avery Markham would be a tougher opponent. Ava reaches for a gun while Boyd's not looking, but he catches her. Perhaps an even bigger surprise is when he points the gun at her and then actually pulls the trigger several times. However, it's a relief that he is out of bullets. I guess this proves that he is willing to do whatever he has to do. Although Boyd is the bad guy, I liked him and always hoped he would come away from all of this. It's been harder and harder to see how that could happen, but now it seems obvious that it won't happen.
Raylan makes his own surprising in-the-moment appearance. This is it. The big moment. The big showdown. Boyd is clearly frustrated, but not totally surprised. He asks Raylan does “it please you someone does your dirty work for you?” Raylan says, “I don't care as long as it gets done.” They are going to pick up where they left off in the woods. Boyd shows that he is out of bullets so Raylan kicks him another gun. “Either way I'm gonna put you down” Raylan promises. Raylan tells Ava to get out of the way, but before she does Boyd asks her why she turned on him. She says, “Honestly Boyd, I put myself in your shoes and did what I thought you'd do.” He looks surprised. He refuses to pick up the gun. He tells Raylan to just do it because if he doesn't one day he will get out of prison and that he will kill Ava and then come for him. We have another intense stare down...
Then it cuts to the marshals walking Boyd out of the building. They found some of the money in the barn, but a lot is still missing. Rachel will be driving Boyd in and Raylan will drive Ava. She tells him she will never make it inside and offers him some of the money. He says there are no more deals and no more outs. We start to get an eerie vibe with a song wailing on “...You'll never leave Harlan alive...” as they slowly drive around winding, curvy roads. We know something is coming. A truck hits them and turns their car around. It's Boon and Loretta. Raylan, as cool as ever, gives us one more slow walk in his old boots and duster coat as he walks toward the truck. Here's another showdown, one that many probably looked forward to as well. Loretta and Ava duck down in their respected cars and each man prepares to reach for his weapon. Remember that Boon is very quick on the draw. Remember that Raylan's quick-shot is one of the reasons he had to leave Miami and one of the reasons he's survived many showdowns. They both draw; they both shoot; they both fall. Although it might have gone either way, it's Raylan who sits up after having his head grazed by the bullet. He is examining his hat and the blood on his head when Ava pulls away in the car.
Raylan is taking his final walk (and our final walk) into the station. His flight to Miami is in a couple hours. He says it feels incomplete with 9 million still unaccounted for in the hills and a missing Ava. Art reminds him that he asked him to come to Kentucky to help get Boyd Crowder and that even though it took longer than they thought that he did it and he did it the right way. They drink to it one last time before Art has to take a call and Raylan has to get ready to leave. He says goodbye to Tim and Rachel. He puts on his new hat. (Is that Boon's hat? He might just deserve that.) You almost want to imagine that Art, Tim, and Rachel will really continue to work together and that we just don't get to see it anymore.
Then we flash to four years later. Raylan is having ice cream with his daughter at the park. Winona, her mother, meets him. Willa runs back over and asks if her dad can come to dinner. Winona says he can and that Richard has made a nice dinner. Oh. So they didn't end up together. He's still in Miami, though. Raylan goes to the Miami office and catches a ball being thrown from his colleague, David Koechner. Whammy! What a show those two would make. Raylan got a letter with a newspaper clipping with a familiar looking blonde in the background. Then we are in Lebec, California where Raylan is knocking on a door. A long-haired Ava opens the door. She doesn't invite him in, but they go for a walk outside. She tells him she has been afraid of who would show up on her doorstep. He asks who helped her get out of Harlan. He assumes, rightly so, that Duffy helped her in exchange for the money. He tells her about the photo of the pumpkin patch in the newspaper. She tells him of all the good she is trying to do now. He doubts this. Then she shows him her son, Zachariah, who is dressed very oddly like Boyd Crowder as a preschooler. This wasn't much of a surprise at this point, but it was enough for Raylan to say he wouldn't turn her in.
Remember how I said the show has come full circle. Well we had the showdown and the arrest, although it went a little different this time. We still have Raylan trying to protect Ava. He makes the trek to Kentucky to visit Boyd in prison. We have Boyd who is once again preaching to the prisoners. He's definitely in his element. It's not hard to believe that he can get others to follow him. Boyd is surprised to see Raylan. Raylan says he has news that deserves to be delivered in person. He shows Boyd a death certificate and a fake driver's license for Ava. He tells him that she died in a car crash three years ago when she was trying to run away. They just found her remains and tested the DNA. Boyd, at a loss for words for the first time, has tears in his eyes. He says, “maybe it's for the best. She was trying to get out and I just don't think that's possible. The only way to get out of our town alive is to have never been born there, but then there's you.” However, what's ironic (but appreciated by me) is that they all made it out alive even if it's not how they expected it to be. I think it's a fitting end to a great story. But doesn't it feel like there's more to tell?
Review by: LBurden
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