However, a select few are so charismatic and good at their jobs that they make us wonder if they are the true heroes of their shows.

These characters are in it for the long haul, living out in the open and evading capture.

They may build a business empire or just maintain the solitary life of a freelance assassin, but whatever they do, it's done with style and a certain "why didn't I think of that" cleverness.

A fair number of these criminals inhabit shows that carry their names, like Dexter, Barry, and Ripley.

But many more operate within larger fictitious worlds that center law-enforcement heroes and recognizable moral codes.

Here are four of our favorite smooth TV criminals. We definitely shouldn't love them as much as we do, but what can we say — our hearts are the first thing they stole!

Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins), Justified

The GOAT of smooth TV criminals is from down in the holler of Harlan County, Kentucky.

Boyd, the former high school friend and current nemesis of Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant), hails from a long line of drug runners but began the series as a bank robber.

Boyd is a slightly tarnished version of Raylan. The two share a history of mining coal as young men and are intelligent, attractive, and excessively articulate.

After a near-death experience, Boyd cycles through finding religion, going to jail, and running a bar before becoming a major local crime boss. He and Raylan are often at a standoff, but their mutual respect keeps them from fully destroying the other.

Boyd always presents a sharp figure no matter where he's currently located on the income spectrum. His neat, perfectly fitted attire contrasts with the shock of hair standing straight up from his head, a sign that all is not as it seems with him.

Boyd's mythic sense of self and complicated code of ethics make him a fascinating criminal. He is often funny and poetic during his frequent contraction-free and preacher-cadenced monologues.

Various setbacks occur during Boyd's criminal career, but he uses his hometown connections to great effect. It's mesmerizing to watch him leverage old ties and suggest mutually beneficial compromises between local factions that would never occur to outsiders.

Boyd's situational intelligence and twisted moral core make him compelling, but his business acumen takes him to the next level as a villain. Like Raylan, we secretly want Boyd to escape the law and maybe just be satisfied with running that darned bar.

Villanelle (Jodie Comer), Killing Eve

Villanelle is the apex predator of the smooth criminal set. A remorseless killing machine, she also boasts a wry sense of humor and a preternaturally excellent sense of fashion.

Her exuberance is matched only by her skill as an assassin.

Villanelle kills those she is paid to but somehow ends up leaving several other bodies in her wake with every assignment.

The kills are usually instinctual and clean, as if operating from muscle memory.

Villanelle's competence and insouciance are what draw British Intelligence Investigator Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh) to a point bordering on obsession.

The two play cat-and-mouse all over Europe, with Eve always a step behind.

It is tempting to label Villanelle a sociopath and be done with it, but she is far too complicated for that description to be either accurate or fair.

Villanelle's orphaned childhood, constant lies from her handlers, and the different personas she's assumed to complete assignments have all contributed to a fractured view of life and her place in it.

She is also genuinely curious about people, even if that doesn't stop her from killing them.

Villanelle and Eve mirror each other much as Boyd and Raylan do in Justified.

Villanelle is an expert assassin who moves through the world stylishly and mostly without consequences, but it takes Eve some time to stop making mistakes in her new globetrotting job.

Villanelle is initially intrigued by Eve's flawless hair but soon senses that her nemesis has an enviable core of decency.

The possibility that Villanelle might reform keeps Eve and the audience invested in an otherwise monstrous criminal character — well, that and her outfits!

Berlin (Pedro Alonso), Money Heist and Berlin

Suave, sophisticated, and sadistic, Berlin's character stood out among the red jumpsuits and Dali masks of his fellow bank robbers in the hit series Money Heist.

Berlin is one of the masterminds behind a daring plan to infiltrate the Royal Mint of Spain. Armed with those red jumpsuits and guns, a group of thieves take the Mint's employees hostage while they try to steal 2.4 billion euros.

Berlin is as charming and assured as a gameshow host with the hostages, but he can instantly turn threatening when challenged. He is a volatile bon vivant who lives in the moment even more ferociously now after a dire medical diagnosis.

In what is starting to look like a pattern for these characters, Berlin is brilliant, scathingly funny, and extremely good at his job.

Criminal characters also share the lack of a moral compass, but Berlin conveys a palpable sense of danger that keeps his odds of redemption low. 

Every time you are charmed into liking his character and wishing him well, he performs a brutal act that will leave you speechless.

His character benefits from flashbacks showing preparations for this and other heists.

While not entirely stripped of his cruelty, Berlin presents as a debauched dilettante still in love with life in these scenes of earlier times.

This is perhaps the best (and only) excuse for a prequel series starring this mercurial but always-entertaining character.

Berlin (the show) returned to a jewelry heist years before the events at the Royal Mint and was recently renewed for a second season on Netflix.

Rio (Manny Montana), Good Girls

Honestly, all three women in this show deserve to be on this list.

But it did take them some time to work out the kinks of their criminal enterprise, while Rio was smooth from the get-go.

When three friends and suburban mothers at the end of their financial ropes rob a grocery store and get away with it, the last thing they expect is to wind up in debt to a sexy crime boss. 

Rio is a gang leader who uses the grocery store as a money-laundering front.

The women discover a talent for counterfeiting and keep working for Rio after their debt is paid.

Rio's dealings with the women tend to be more dangerous than humorous.

Still, Rio sees a kindred spirit in Beth (Christina Hendricks) and slowly opens up to her throughout the series, revealing different aspects of his character.

Beth is also drawn to him, but their mutual attraction never becomes more than a power battle.

He is taciturn but compelling, letting his presence and physicality silently convey dominance better than any words could.

Rio can still be quite funny, and he enjoys upending Beth's expectations, such as taking her to meet his grandmother at a backyard family dinner.

He maintains a large criminal organization with seeming ease, although the FBI might have taken notice.

Rio is another example of how appealing it is when characters play outside the rules.

They give us the vicarious thrill of skirting mundanity in everyday life without consequences, or at least fewer than we'd meet if we tried the same.

Smooth criminals tend to be impressively competent but are also multi-faceted characters who often help balance out their misdeeds with charm and humor.

Who are some of your favorite criminal characters?

We'd love to know!

The post Hero or Smooth Criminal? These TV Characters Make It Hard to Tell appeared first on TV Fanatic.

Mostly, I feel incredibly cheated by a revival that promised to carve out a new path for Raylan Givens — one where his sensibilities as a father would temper his quick trigger, shaping his renegade spirit into an inspiring leader.

Instead, Detroit breaks him. Then, all the ghosts of the past return. And does everything that happens in Detroit even matter at the end of the day?

Seriously. Are we meant to care about Robinson, Bryl, and Downey? Do the Detroit PD deserve to have their resources tied up investigating Downey?

If she was Clement's mole in the department, there was NOTHING in the script to even hint at a connection between the two. That's not good gotcha writing; that's bad plot planning.

Instead, I offer this interpretation.

Downey is in the book and is guilty of providing false testimony for money in order for Judge Guy to have enough to put the defendants away.

However, Clement doesn't know her name — and wouldn't care as she's small potatoes in the scope of the book's potential marks — when she frisks him at the sting on Justified: City Primeval Season 1 Episode 6.

So, she wasn't the person who gave him the heads-up to come to the meeting without the book or a weapon. She would've wanted him to bring the book as she could've lifted it off him and made it truly disappear.

For that bit of double-dealing, my money's still on Carolyn. She needed Diane out of the picture but didn't want Clement arrested, as her role in the sting would come to light. As his lawyer, she can't be seen to be conspiring against her client. That would ruin her chances at a judgeship.

Carolyn: You read my application. You know that I have lived in Detroit my whole life. I understand the place. I understand the people. I’ve worked both sides of the line because while everyone is entitled to a defense, some people need to sit in a room and think about what they’ve done. You likely made calls about me. If not, you will. And you’re going to be told that Carolyn’s not good at playing the game, making me ideally suited for that bench.

_{🔗 permalink: You read my application. You know that I have lived in Detroit my whole life. I understand…}

So Downey's a dirty cop but not involved with Clement.

Carolyn, on the other hand, realizes she can't use the police to take Clement out, so she reaches out to the Albanians and makes a deal she knows Raylan would never endorse.

Toma: You know why I did what I did? This way satisfies us both. For me, it’s like Skender doing it. Much better. For you, this is only way you get this man who kills people. It’s a soundproof room but maybe later there’s a certain odor. A tenant complains, we go through the wall. Ooooh, so this is where he’s been hiding! Ooooh, too bad. Too bad.

_{🔗 permalink: You know why I did what I did? This way satisfies us both. For me, it’s like Skender doing…}

Carolyn's horseshoe luck holds out. When Clement escapes the panic room trap, the first thing he does is wipe out anyone who knows about her pact with the Albanians.

Except Raylan. And then Raylan takes care of Clement.

There are lots of ways to justify Marshal Givens shooting Clement "The Oklahoma Wildman" Mansell.

Michigan is a Stand Your Ground state. Clement had broken into Carolyn's house. He'd threatened and laid hands on her before. He's known to be armed and dangerous. He'd just killed an entire gang of Albanians.

All of this justifies using deadly force, as any reasonable person could assume he had intent to do more harm.

Clement: Can’t believe it, Chickenfat. What you kill me for?

_{🔗 permalink: Can’t believe it, Chickenfat. What you kill me for?}

However, the look on Raylan's face when he sees the cassette demo tape in Clement's hand indicates he's not ready to make that argument.

Instead, one can almost see him replaying his conversation with Raymond Cruz on Justified: City Primeval Season 1 Episode 5 in his head.

Cruz left law enforcement as well. Although he claims he doesn't lose any sleep over killing his bottle-opener-wielding perp, the fact he no longer carries a badge belies his claim that the system works.

I suspect Raylan loses a lot of sleep over the five weeks we don't see, which leads him to tender his resignation.

Dan Grant: Hey, y’know, I’ve never seen anything like it. You stepped in a big pile of shit in Detroit. And, once again, you scrape it off your boot, and you get your man.

_{🔗 permalink: Hey, y’know, I’ve never seen anything like it. You stepped in a big pile of shit in Detroit….}

I'll just say here that the intervening years since the OG Justified series have treated Chief Grant very well. Matt Craven, in reprising the role of Raylan's beleaguered boss, should at least look like he's aged a bit.

Same goes for Winona.

Winona: When did you decide to do this?

Raylan: A week ago.

Winona: You didn’t talk to me about it?

Raylan: I didn’t think I needed to.

Winona: Are you okay?

Raylan: Yeah.

Winona: Why now?

Raylan: Question I’ve been asking myself? Why I didn’t do it sooner.

Winona: Well, if you couldn’t do it for me, I’m glad you could do it for her. Don’t muck it up.

_{🔗 permalink: Well, if you couldn’t do it for me, I’m glad you could do it for her. Don’t muck it up.}

It's a sweet reunion — seeing Winona and Raylan together again — but the relationship's mellowed, and the two are the picture of amicably separated ex-lovers.

Willa's learner's license is far more frightening than Clement ever was. Maybe even more terrifying than Crowder's return.

And while we're considering moral ambiguity, let's drop the mic on Carolyn Wilder.

As ever, Carolyn sees herself as a white hat, someone who will make the world better by meting out justice in a way that will punish the guilty and protect the innocent.

Carolyn: What are you going to tell the DPD?

Raylan: That God himself sent down a lightning bolt and the book came with it.

Carolyn: The world’s better off. And I’m tired.

_{🔗 permalink: The world’s better off. And I’m tired.}

But if we've learned anything from her overlap with Raylan, it is that her means to an end doesn't adhere to the straight and narrow.

Judge Wilder may never keep a notebook like Judge Guy — she'd never be dumb enough to write those sorts of things down — but she's not above stepping into the shadows when it's the strategic thing to do.

I don't know. She may live up to her own hype, and she may not lose any sleep over the deaths she had a hand in — Clement, Toma, Skender, Sweetie — but her armor is less shining and more dinged and dented through real-life wear and tear.

Maybe, just maybe, that'll make her the kind of judge she dreams of being.

Carolyn: Goddammit, Raylan.

Raylan: Yeah, I get that a lot.

_{🔗 permalink: Yeah, I get that a lot.}

Will we see her visiting Florida with Raylan as she proposes? Will Raylan welcome her visit, considering she is a living reminder of Clement's shooting? Will her role as a judge — and Raylan's role in getting her there — factor into future shenanigans?

Who else could we see crossover from Detroit to Florida or wherever it is that Raylan chases Boyd? Sandy? Dickie? Trennell?

Because, mark my words, the narrative fans were clamoring for has only just begun.

And that's what really gets my ire here.

What was the point of spending seven and a half hours building to a reveal that has nothing to do with the preceding seven and a half hours?

Yes, it's fantastic that Walton Goggins is back as Boyd Crowder. Yes, there'll be some reckoning to be done, as he'll want to look up Raylan and may even discover Ava's still alive. Yes, Raylan's just a cooler character when Boyd's around.

But if that's where we were going, what did we just spend our last two months watching?

Devoting time and energy to watching a novel serial that spends a lot of time wandering through moral quandaries with characters missing crucial brain cells and riding the craziest luck streaks only to have it all flushed in favor of a "Best Of Harlan" reunion feels like the most disrespectful bait-and-switch nonsense.

It doesn't escape me that this finale is titled "The Question," which echoes the Justified: Season 6 Episode 13 series finale title, "The Promise." I've got so many questions about how they couldn't follow through on the promise of new frontiers.

Welcome back, Boyd. Rest in peace, Toma. You both deserve better.

Over to you, Fanatics. Did you stick it out to the reveal? Was it worth it?

Hit our comments with your takeaways from this season and what you think the future holds for our coal-mining buddies.

The post Justified: City Primeval Season 1 Episode 8 Review: The Question appeared first on TV Fanatic.

Clement makes comments about heading down to Tampa. Raylan shuts the door. Clement protests. Toma cautions him it might start to smell around here after a few weeks, but points out this is the best solution for everyone. He gives Raylan the notebook and his sidearm back.

Left alone in the dark, Clement uses a lighter to find a lantern and then takes stock of what’s in the room with him. He starts to trash the place.

Meanwhile, Carolyn and Raylan sit in a booth at an Irish pub considering their next steps. Carolyn invites him over but he says he has to deal with some things first.

In the morning, Raylan follows Bryl and Robinson to Downey’s home where they tell her they need to talk.

In Lansing, Carolyn visits the Lieutenant Governor. She pitches herself as the best candidate to take over for Judge Guy. When the Lieutenant Governor comments that the process of selecting a replacement is complicated, Carolyn warns her to warn her boss not to nominate among his inner circle, especially Diane Rogers.

At the police station, Downey is questioned as to why her name is in the judge’s book. She stands firm that she’s done nothing wrong and they have nothing to charge her with.

Outside the Internal Affairs meeting, Robinson and Bryl discuss how they can nail Mansell. Raylan excuses himself and heads out to get some rest.

Raylan goes to Carolyn’s where he scrubs her back while she’s in the tub. She tells him she hates the house because it was Jamal’s dream but the tub was hers.

Raylan isn’t able to sleep and gets out of bed. Carolyn wakes up. She realizes he’s decided to go back and free Clement and arrest him properly.

He arrives back at the panic room and is shocked by what he finds.

Flashback two hours: At the Venus, Skender is frustrated with his situation. He wants to kill Clement. One of the Albanian goons gives him a gun and tells him where to find Clement.

Skender takes a taxi to the panic room, opens the door, and gets jumped by Clement who beats him to death.

In the present, Raylan calls Carolyn to warn her to get out of the house. He then calls Bryl to warn him that Clement is on the move and probably going after the Albanians at the Venus.

Clement enters the Venus and kills everyone he comes across. After killing Toma, he’s searching his desk for weapons and cash and an elderly resident comes in with a gun trained on him. He can’t pull the trigger though and Clement doesn’t shoot him. Instead, he takes the old man’s gun and thanks him.

Raylan walks into Carolyn’s house. Bryl calls him to let him know the police were too late getting to the Albanians. Carolyn’s at a gas station and checks the time. 12:13. She mutters about Raylan and drives home.

Raylan is waiting when Clement breaks a window to get into Carolyn’s house. Clement goes to get a beer and Raylan follows him into the kitchen. Clement asks him if he likes music because he’s heard his own father was a great musician and believes he inherited his talent. Raylan doesn’t want to hear about this and Clement says he’s heading out but has something for Raylan to remember him by. He reaches into his pocket and Raylan fires three shots, killing him.

Clement is shocked at being shot. He asks Raylan why and shows him the demo tape he was reaching for.

Carolyn walks in just then and calls the morgue.

Six weeks later, Raylan attends a retirement for his Florida chief, Dan Grant.

Afterwards, Raylan approaches Grant. Grant congratulates him and offers to recommend him for the chief position he’s vacating. Raylan tenders his resignation and hands in his badge.

Raylan’s painting his house when a parcel arrives from Carolyn. She’s now a judge in Detroit. He’s reading a note from her when a car’s screeching wheels and a horn get his attention. Willa drives up with Winona.

He tells them he retired. Winona’s shocked and wants to talk to him alone.

He takes Willa for a day on a boat that was seized from a drug dealer. They make plans to learn to drive the boat so they can get one to live on together one day.

In the Tramble Penitentiary in Kentucky, Boyd Crowder bids his inmate friends goodbye as he’s being transferred to a hospital for tests to see what is causing his decline in health.

He is taken into custody by Officers Ramirez and Gerret for the transfer. Once they’re out of the penitentiary and on the highway, Crowder starts yelling and pounding on the walls of the transport cell. Gerret’s annoyed and pulls off the road to deal with him.

Ramirez opens the door and tells Crowder he’s in for it now. Crowder doesn’t think so as Gerret pulls a weapon on Ramirez. Gerret and Crowder are intimately acquainted.

They leave Ramirez locked in the transport and walk to a getaway vehicle to change their clothes and have sex. They decide to head for Mexico.

On the Miss Ethel, Raylan’s falling asleep. Willa asks if they’re going to talk about why he quit. He’s willing to talk about it. Just then, he receives a text alert of an inmate escaping from Tramble Penitentiary.

He ignores it and gives his attention back to Willa. Then his phone starts ringing. Call display says it’s the Marshal's office. He lets it ring.

The post Justified: City Primeval Season 1 Episode 8 Recap: The Question appeared first on TV Fanatic.

While Raylan still doesn't pull a trigger — literally or metaphorically — on Justified: City Primeval Season 1 Episode 7, the pacing and building pressure of the action has a familiar edge to it.

The showrunners do seem intent on making it painfully obvious that Detroit ain't Harlan. They subvert every expectation at every opportunity. It's both a novel and frustrating approach, narratively speaking.

Let's get the business of the Detroit Police Department out of the way first.

Downey's decision to pin the judge and Rose Doyle's murders on the PCP-using war vet is the shoe Raylan was waiting to drop on the case.

He's felt for a while that the case was being hobbled by something or someone. Seeing Downey take the murder weapon and use it to convict a mentally unwell bystander indicates that she's been working at cross-purposes, possibly because she's in the judge's book.

I'm not ready to pile everything on her, though.

Yes, there's a possibility that she's in the book, and it serves her interests to have the judge's case closed so it can fall out of the news cycle, and maybe the book never turns up.

But, if that's the case, Downey wasn't the one to give Mansell the heads up about the sting on Justified: City Primeval Season 1 Episode 6.

She wants the book; the best way of getting it would've been to have Mansell walk into the sting carrying it.

She probably placed Rose Doyle on the judge's staff as a confidential informant in hopes she'd not only be able to nail the judge but to get the notebook and destroy her page.

It's still disappointing to discover that she's bad police.

Bryl: Look, quarter of these guys cooling their jets, waiting for sentencing up in Wayne County, they didn’t do what they’re being tried and convicted for. But they did other stuff that they got away with. Now, I’m okay with that. And even them, deep deep down, they know why they’re there. Does that make me an asshole? Maybe. But I never sent some poor devil up the river I know didn’t do it just to get a win.

_{🔗 permalink: Look, quarter of these guys cooling their jets, waiting for sentencing up in Wayne County,…}

Of course, that doesn't necessarily make Bryl good police. He's just a better person than she is.

I'd like to know if the Albanians are still gunning for Bryl. Is he keeping close to the station until things cool down? Do things ever cool down with the Albanians?

Raylan's gun-in-a-bag approach feels about 15 years and 500 miles out of place. It's not that surprising that Clement sees right through it.

To be sure, Clement's never been textbook stupid. He's a loose cannon with very little sense of personal consequence. He makes choices that would get anyone else dead or arrested.

But once you get away with killing your own mother, the world doesn't owe you anything, it seems.

It is nice to finally know why the Oklahoma farmhouse flashback scene has been given such prominence in both Clement's mind and the show's production.

Of course, Clement's villain origin story hasn't been a burning question.

And, as it turns out, it's not much of one, really. From the credits, we learn the farmhouse flashback is when he was 17 years old.

But a guy doesn't go from good ol' farmboy to mom-murdering psychopath all of a sudden.

Clement: I ever tell you about the story about Oklahoma? A day later any other day. And then it changed. Sky turned dark. Mama was, uh, indisposed. Cause that’s what people do: They fuckin’ let you down. I waited patiently for him to leave. Think his name was Dalton? Some shit. He worked a rig down in Glenpool Field. He wasn’t the first asshole from Glenpool to be in her bed, but he was the last. Cause once his car disappeared down the dirt road, grabbed my .22, shoved three inches of steel down her throat. Cause the very last thing I wanted my mama to see before I told her to close her eyes tight and pulled the trigger was her son’s face. Then I drove her one county over and buried her where no one could ever find her. Or. That story’s just bullshit. A tornado carried her away.

_{🔗 permalink: They fuckin’ let you down. I waited patiently for him to leave. Think his name was Dalton?…}

So either there was more than his mother's string of lovers and the bad weather triggering him on that specific day, or he had been building to a murderous psychosis for a while.

One wonders if he ever shared the truth of his mother's demise with Sandy.

She heard him tell Skender the tornado version on Justified: City Primeval Season 1 Episode 3. Maybe she'd heard it before that night. It could've been part of their scam routine.

Sandy: Here we go. You think I’m going to testify against Clement? I mean, even if he was paralyzed from the neck down and had to be fed with a spoon, even if you swear you’re going to put him away forever like they told me the last time, I wouldn’t do it. And thank Christ I didn’t because he walked, didn’t he?

Raylan: He ain’t going to walk this time.

Sandy: Bull. Shit. You don’t know.

_{🔗 permalink: Bull. Shit. You don’t know.}

I sincerely hope she gets on a plane after giving Raylan her phone. By that point, she's already missed the Nassau flight, but there are a lot of places she could go with the money she has now.

Sandy: The only way in the world, I’ll tell you right now, I’d ever testify against Clement is if he was dead and buried with a stake through his heart, and even then I’d be nervous. You can send me to jail if you want. I’m not saying one fuckin’ word.

Raylan: Why do you stay with him?

Sandy: He’s fun.

_{🔗 permalink: He’s fun.}

You can't help but shake your head at her reasoning for staying with Clement. Part of it is the audacity of the lie. She's scared witless of Clement. Somehow, she's fooled herself into thinking that fear is excitement.

As the pieces for the finale fall into place, it's clear that no one's getting a clean conclusion to this case.

The most distanced member of the team is Robinson, who has to be seriously looking at early retirement when he looks at his department.

Bryl will have some hard questions to answer regarding the chain of custody of that gun.

Downey's entire case against Woods is gone with the weapon.

Carolyn's made some sort of deal with the Albanians, and I still think she tipped Clement off on the sting. However, with Diane out of the way, she may still reach her mission objective. She just needs to keep the balls in the air a little longer.

Carolyn: You took the only father I’ve ever known. Fuck your mother and fuck you.

_{🔗 permalink: You took the only father I’ve ever known. Fuck your mother and fuck you.}

Mind you; this has gotten personal.

Clement killed Sweetie and laid hands on her, promising to return whenever he feels like to do her real harm.

I imagine the Albanians will be looking for an eye-for-an-eye justice. Or, in this case, a leg-for-a-leg?

Skender: You should not be here.

Sandy: I screwed up, okay? But I want to make this right. So, did I set you up to get robbed? I did. Did I hook you good, let you take me out and spend money on this and that? I did. But you gotta believe me, honey, I never ever thought that you’d get hurt as bad as this. I mean…

Skender: No. There is nothing you can say. You have broken my heart. And also my leg.

_{🔗 permalink: No. There is nothing you can say. You have broken my heart. And also my leg.}

I'm curious why Toma dumps the gun. Is that part of Carolyn's deal?

Without the gun, the book is the only thing linking Clement to the judge. And it'll be hard to convict him of murder with only the possession of the notebook.

So if dumping the gun is Carolyn's idea, she's given up hope of taking Clement to trial.

Clement: She’s cute, ain’t she? Gets stoned too much. Keep telling her quit smoking that queer shit and drink like a normal person.

Raylan: Some people, you can’t tell them anything.

Clement: Ain’t that the truth.

_{🔗 permalink: Some people, you can’t tell them anything. Ain’t that the truth.}

With only a single hour left to wrap this up, I feel the series has tried something new under the giant shadow of the O.G. series with mixed results.

The case is baffling, and the players aren't pulling in the same direction. With everyone going their own way, sustaining any momentum in the narrative or developing connections to the ensemble is hard.

And as a marshall, Raylan's been left without direction until now.

Toma Costia is inadvertently forcing Raylan onto a particular path. His options are getting more limited with every scene.

What do you think, Fanatics? Is this Marshall Givens's curtain call?

What has Carolyn set in motion?

Hit our comments below with how you think this little trip to Motor City will conclude!

The post Justified: City Primeval Season 1 Episode 7 Review: The Smoking Gun appeared first on TV Fanatic.

Sweetie is playing bass in the band at a club. A young Carolyn sits backstage, watching.

In the alley, he and the band are unwinding and someone asks him about Carolyn. Sweetie explains he promised her father he’d always look out for her. After the gig, Sweetie takes Carolyn and the band by the bar he bought. He describes his vision for the place. Carolyn sees his dream and thinks it’s great.

In the present day, Carolyn watches as the coroner’s people take Sweetie’s body away. Robinson checks in on her. She’s silent. Raylan arrives. She breaks down in tears. Looking up, she sees Trennell watching from his apartment.

Trennell tells them about a brother he has in New Mexico. Carolyn encourages him to give Raylan the gun.

In the penthouse, Sandy finds Clement smoking alone in the living room. Clement wants to know where the painting is. She tells him she sold it and that it wasn’t worth much. He’s mad and leaves.

Raylan passes the gun over to Downey for ballistics testing.

Clement finds a new car, breaks the window, and hotwires it.

Raylan visits Sandy. He tells her he has the gun that killed the judge, Rose Doyle, and Sweetie (even though it had nothing to do with Sweetie’s death.) He points out that Clement never intended that gun to get to Raylan when he gave it to Sandy to dispose of. She recognizes that she’s in danger.

Carolyn arrives home and finds Clement in her house. He tells her about Oklahoma and what really happened to his mother. There was a tornado but it didn’t carry off his mother. He killed her for having affairs with men and letting him down.

Carolyn tries to tell him she isn’t going to represent him anymore, but he grabs her by the throat and reminds her he can come back anytime he wants. He leaves her shaken and wary.

Sandy visits Skender in the hospital but he’s not forgiving and tells her she’s dead. She leaves quickly.

Raylan’s at a bar and gets a call from Carolyn.

Sandy’s packing her stuff quickly when Clement comes home. She tells him she’s hurt that he never plays her his music. He gets excited by the idea that she’s a fan of her music. He has sex with her, he’s so happy. She puts up with it to buy herself time to get away.

Raylan sits with Carolyn as she explains how she was choked by a bully in school. Sweetie had her learn to box and defend herself. Raylan asks what happened to the bully. She asks him how he’s going to get Clement’s fingerprints on the gun.

Carolyn wakes up and finds Raylan gone. Raylan drives up to the police station where there’s a crowd of news crews outside. Robinson tells him inside that Downey and Bryl are now questioning Darrold Woods, the Afghan vet who was high on PCP the night the judge and Rose Doyle were murdered.

Clement wakes up and finds Sandy gone. He discovers his money is gone. Just then, the owner of the penthouse, Del, returns.

At the station, Downey interrogates Woods and accuses him of killing and raping Rose Woods’s body. He admits to burning her with his cigarette but says he didn’t kill her. Downey produces the gun and says they found it in his belongings.

Raylan follows Downey and Bryl out and accuses Downey of being in the book. She gives Bryl the gun to take back to evidence. Downey doesn’t give him a straight answer, tells him instead they appreciate his help and he should head home now.

Sandy’s at the airport when a call from Del comes in. She answers it and it’s Clement. He tells her to bring his money back to the penthouse or he’s going to hurt Del. She hangs up on him.

Raylan is sitting in his car in the parkade when Bryl brings him the gun. He’s not willing to go along with Downey’s plan to pin the judge’s murder on Woods.

Raylan’s phone rings.

Clement asks Del to explain Twitter. Sandy calls just then and she tells him that she got scared.

Clement tells her to meet him at the Radisson near the airport. Raylan’s standing next to Sandy and tells her once she’s hung up that he’s got it from there.

Clement kills Del.

Raylan lets Carolyn know that he’s meeting Clement at the Radisson hotel bar. She tries to get him to delay and take her out for a drink. He thinks she’s joking and says he’ll see her once it’s done.

Carolyn hangs up and turns to Toma Costia whose office she’s in. She agrees to a deal with him.

Raylan walks into the bar to see Clement.

They sit down together. Raylan puts the bag with the gun on the table. Clement says he’s leaving town because of the Albanians. Clement is curious about the bag and Raylan offers him the bag. Clement calls the play – Raylan wants him to handle the murder weapon so his prints will be on it.

Raylan offers him the chance for a shootout. As he considers it, Toma shows up with his gang and takes the gun and the men.

The Albanians stop the car at the bridge and Toma dumps the gun in the river.

The post Justified: City Primeval Season 1 Episode 7 Recap: The Smoking Gun appeared first on TV Fanatic.

Raylan articulates it as a feeling of being played the fool. Clement sees it as a sign he needs to take control. Sweetie faces it head-on and takes it point blank.

And Carolyn? Well, it's looking like her dreams of sitting on a bench in a white hat are blinding her to the damage she's doing to get there.

Doom's been dogging Sweetie's steps for a long time. He's had Clement's crazy haunting him ever since the Wrecking Crew murders, and ever since he set Clement up with Carolyn as his attorney, he's made him bulletproof.

His days have been numbered since Clement came back to Detroit, and the clock only sped up when he decided to dance with that particular devil while, at the same time, trying to conduct the music.

Carolyn's offer of immunity in exchange for testimony and the gun on Justified: City Primeval Season 1 Episode 4 was really Sweetie's last chance to step away clean from the Mansell madness.

By leaning in on the extortion scheme, thinking he could handle Clement as a partner by using the gun as leverage, Sweetie chose a path that would never end with them both upright and breathing.

Clement: Close your eyes for me.

Sweetie: Fuck you. I gotta go out listening to your honky chicken-fat cover song bullshit. Nah. You gotta look me in the eye.

_{🔗 permalink: Fuck you. I gotta go out listening to your honky chicken-fat cover song bullshit. Nah. You…}

At least he got the opportunity to give Clement some honest feedback on his singing before the end.

Sweetie's death puts Trennell into play as an invested party now. Trennell has the gun and knows its significance. And now he's got a score to settle.

The question is: Does Clement know?

Clement probably assumes the gun has been destroyed in the fire. It was Carolyn who advised Trennell to hide the gun from Sweetie, and Trennell most likely moved the gun to his home across the street.

I don't believe Sweetie would've survived even if the gun had still been in the jukebox.

In theory, he might've managed to wound Clement, who would've left to get patched up rather than set fire to the bar, but Clement came in with the intent of tying up loose ends and settling a score.

Speaking of settling a score, Carolyn does a startlingly effective job at getting her own back by setting Diane Rogers up for the Mansell sting.

Their relationship has taken a complicated turn, from drinking buddies to adversarial colleagues to slam-dunking Diane's career.

Diane: You can’t just sit there like a wallflower, hoping people will notice you. I do what has to be done.

Carolyn: You are a politician, Diane. And politicians should not be sitting on the bench.

Diane: You want it, Carolyn? Go make friends with the governor. Don’t beg me for it.

_{🔗 permalink: You want it, Carolyn? Go make friends with the governor. Don’t beg me for it.}

So much of Carolyn's success relies on her keeping her involvement on the down low and pulling the strings from the shadows, as it were. Not a great place for someone who wants to be a hero.

So far, it's worked out — for her.

Diane doesn't know she sent Downey and Raylan to shake her down for cooperation on the sting. Diane's now out of the running for the judgeship.

Sweetie doesn't know she told Trennell to move the gun. He's dead.

Clement doesn't know she's seen the book. He's still the wild card.

And Raylan doesn't know she tipped Mansell off about the sting. But he suspects.

And when our good marshall gets his spidey senses tingling, he typically doesn't let things distract him from figuring out the cause.

But, then again, it's been fifteen years.

We have no idea what his track record's been like since transferring back to Miami.

All we do know is that it's been SIX EPISODES, and he hasn't shot a single person. So yeah, people change. Obviously.

Raylan: Am I actually watching this man walk away right now?

Downey: You told me you want to do this the right way. You make a move on him here, the right way is no longer a possibility.

_{🔗 permalink: You told me you want to do this the right way. You make a move on him here, the right way is…}

There's a great irony that Diane's documented sin is looking away (for a fee) from unjustified police shootings.

Clement: How many people you shoot with that little bitty gun?

Raylan: Lately?

Clement: Oh, you think you’re pretty good with it.

Raylan: Qualify every year.

Clement: Wouldn’t it be something we had ourselves a little shootout?

Raylan: Don’t think they got a range where you’re headed.

Clement: I’m not talking about any range. I’m thinking on the streets. Just when you least expect it.

Raylan: I’ll ask the Chief. See if he says it’s okay.

_{🔗 permalink: I’ll ask the Chief. See if he says it’s okay.}

Keeping in mind that the full title of the literary source material for this limited series is City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit, we can safely assume Clement plans on having the showdown he proposes.

But who will be in attendance?

Picture it: Some desolate Detroit parking lot or back alley. Raylan and Clement face off, each intent on shooting the other first.

But wait, here come the Albanians with Sandy.

Oh, and there's Trennell with a familiar-looking weapon.

And, damn, Bryl just shot himself in the toe and gave away the position of all the DPD snipers. LOL, I'm kidding, of course. (But it's not an entirely impossible scenario, admit it.)

In the peanut gallery, we have Willa and Jamal hanging out while Carolyn's off getting herself measured for her judge's robes.

If the writers intend to convince the viewer that justice doesn't always shake hands with the Law, I find it problematic that Carolyn is set up to espouse this message.

Carolyn: There are things that I want to do with that book and none of them have a damned thing to do with what’s legal but everything, EVERYTHING to do with what’s just. So do you understand what it means for me to trust you?

_{🔗 permalink: There are things that I want to do with that book and none of them have a damned thing to do…}

She's crossing a lot of lines quickly and risked everything in hopes of catapulting herself into Judge Guy's vacated seat.

I'm kind of hoping someone knowledgeable in the workings of Detroit's legal system will explain how she can step into that position from her current private defense attorney role. Also, why aren't there more candidates than she and Diane?

My last quibble with the narrative is also a regret that David Cross didn't have better material to work with as a guest star.

Why does that painting matter so much?

Dickie: I hired you to do a specific job and you completely betrayed my trust.

Lonny: You didn’t pay enough.

Dickie: You stole.

Lonny: I’m a thief.

Dickie: Yes, exactly! Which, thank you, that’s what brings me here today.

_{🔗 permalink: Yes, exactly! Which, thank you, that’s what brings me here today.}

As it is, the ghosts of Lonny and Sweetie will have to get in line to haunt Clement as he continues to rack up a body count. (I'd have to go back and check, but I think he's had as many human victims as stolen cars since he returned to Detroit.)

What do you think, Fanatics?

Is Clement the Joker to Raylan's Batman? Will Raylan have to go from white hat to dark knight to take him down?

Hit our comments with your thoughts and theories!

The post Justified: City Primeval Season 1 Episode 6 Review: Adios appeared first on TV Fanatic.

Burt Dickie bangs on the door to a trailer home, calling for someone named Lonny. Inside, he hires Lonny to get his painting back from Clement.

Clement is telling Sweetie about the sound system in the car he’s most recently stolen. Sweetie tells him he should just get a portable cassette player instead of trying to steal cars old enough to have a tape deck.

They’re meeting with another mark. Sweetie doesn’t want Clement involved in the face-to-face. He goes to the mark’s car and returns with money. Clement says it’s not enough. He backs the car up into the mark’s car and goes after the mark who runs and jumps off the parkade roof.

Raylan fills Downey in on how Sweetie and Clement are using the judge’s book. She realizes he’s sleeping with Carolyn, but doesn’t care as long as Clement gets caught.

Lonny walks into Sweetie’s bar and tells Trennell to call Sweetie.

Sweetie’s fuming in the penthouse with Sandy and Clement. Sweetie’s phone keeps ringing. He silences it and then notices the painting from Dickie’s. Sweetie finally answers the phone and Trennell tells him about Lonny.

Sweetie leaves. Sandy is frantic and wants Clement to commit to a certain amount of money when they’ll finally leave Detroit.

Downey and Raylan go to meet with Diane, the mark they want to bait the sting. Downey’s keeping the operation small and quiet.

Sweetie arrives at the bar and sits down to talk with Lonny. Trennell calls him over to take a phone call from Diane. She sets up a meeting.

Sweetie returns to the table, tells Lonny where to find Clement when he meets Diane. Sweetie pays him six thousand and tells him Diane will have thirty thousand on her at the meeting. He agrees to get him Dickie’s painting too but only if he kills Clement Manswell at the meeting.

Clement walks into Sweetie’s. Sweetie tells him about the meeting and says he’s going on his own, knowing that Clement will insist on going.

Sandy brings the painting into a gallery, saying she wants to sell it.

Carolyn calls Sweetie and tells him to stay away from Clement. He calls and leaves a message to Lonny to call him before doing the hit.

At the meeting point, the cops are watching Diane. Lonny enters the square and waits. Clement is late but walks in eventually. He refuses to show Diane her page until she shows him the money and when he threatens her, Downey activates the team. Lonny’s approaching with a knife when Clement sees Raylan. Lonny puts his knife away and detours. Clement sees him.

Clement and Raylan have words before Downey takes Clement off to check him. Raylan and Robinson talk with Diane. Downey returns to let them know Clement has no gun and no book. They have to let him walk.

Raylan and Robinson discuss the failed sting afterwards. Raylan’s leaning towards something unorthodox and Robinson insists he drop the subject.

Raylan drives up to Carolyn’s. He tells her what happened and she asks what’s next.

Raylan wonders what she’s not telling him. She convinces him to come inside to talk.

At Sweetie’s, Lonny arrives to talk. Clement shows up with a boombox. He kills Lonny when he goes to answer a call from Dickie. Clement tells Sweetie he wants to play him his demo tape.

Sweetie goes for the hidden gun in the jukebox but it’s not there. He tells Clement straight that his singing is terrible and he’d better look him in the eye if he’s going to kill him. Clement shoots him in the chest and sets the bar on fire.

Trennell sees the flames from their apartment and runs down to the street level just in time for the bar to explode.

The post Justified: City Primeval Season 1 Episode 6 Recap: Adios appeared first on TV Fanatic.

Sure, Raylan and Carolyn get complicated, and Clement and Sweetie start their extortion endeavor together, but the governor's not the only one wondering why the judge's murder investigation isn't progressing.

I appreciate that Carolyn's not impressed by Raylan and Jamal's cockfight posturing. Still, if the purpose of piling the pain on her is to push her to use the judge's notebook to secure her judge appointment, I'm not feeling it.

I'll allow that trying to put Jamal in her rearview is a challenging process.

It took over a year to clear out his office in their law firm. He's still collecting alimony. They have A LOT of history together.

So it's understandable if Carolyn's conflicted about how surgical she can be cutting him out of her life.

Jamal: Marriage. Law school. Partners.

Carolyn: Divorce.

Jamal: Just a little bump in the road, baby.

Carolyn: At this point, it’s really a whole other street.

_{🔗 permalink: At this point, it’s really a whole other street.}

Deleting his presence means giving up on the girl and woman she was. That's a hard thing to leave behind. And an even harder thing to give up on.

I don't doubt they were a deeply devoted pair. He might've even been faithful at some point. She believed in him and them once upon a time.

Raylan: Are we at emotions already?

Carolyn: Ah, let’s keep it at aspirations.

_{🔗 permalink: Ah, let’s keep it at aspirations.}

Then, he was part of her vision of the future. Now, he's just an obstacle.

Carolyn believes she's a white hat. She intends to be a force for justice and to right the wrongs of society.

Carolyn: See, in my life, everybody has their foot on my neck to get what they want. Fuck them. Fuck them to be so small that they abuse their power. Now, see, I want mine, but I’m going to use my power to do what’s right. I’m going to bang my gavel to set things straight.

Raylan: And you have confidence in the sobriety of your judgment.

Carolyn: Gotta be if I’m going to sit on the bench.

Raylan: You are sitting here with me.

Carolyn: I never said that my judgment wasn’t occasionally impaired.

_{🔗 permalink: I never said that my judgment wasn’t occasionally impaired.}

What we're meant to believe here is that finding out one friend is gunning for the judgeship, another is getting in deep with her sociopathic client, and going broke for her ex, who is still the cheating dog he's always been all on the same day is enough to push her into the shadows to achieve her dreams.

Carolyn: The whole city is in this book.

Sweetie: You see somebody could help you?

Carolyn: If there’s a wall in Jericho, it’s about to tumble down.

_{🔗 permalink: If there’s a wall in Jericho, it’s about to tumble down.}

Using the judge's book to coerce The Powers That Be to appoint her to the bench damages the pristine foundation of her authority.

She may not be using the intel to extort money like Sweetie and Clement, but she is punching her ticket for the low road.

Interestingly enough, Clement and Sweetie are the only ones to get anything done here.

With guest star David Cross as their moneyed mark, Burt Dickie, they leverage the notebook to the tune of ten thousand dollars. But Clement, being Clement, amps up the pressure for some personal gain on the side.

If the farmhouse painting seems familiar, it's because it's reminiscent of the scenario Clement describes to Skender on Justified: City Primeval Season 1 Episode 3 about Sandy and his mother being taken by a tornado.

I'm not totally sure where they're going with this pastoral farmhouse visual theme. It feels like another random Clement eccentricity.

I've commented before he puts out a Joker-like anarchistic vibe. He wants the win but doesn't want the team. He wants Sandy's loyalty and Sweetie's compliance but with conditions.

He's also very sensitive to how others lean in any given situation.

Clement: You think I got a good singing voice?

Sandy: Baby. Isn’t what matters that you like your singing voice?

_{🔗 permalink: Baby. Isn’t what matters that you like your singing voice?}

Sandy may have become expendable when she didn't immediately praise his singing voice.

Sweetie's anecdote about Miles Davis twigs something too. What does it mean to Sweetie? More importantly, what does Clement think it means to Sweetie?

Sweetie: The point was not the money. See if the book worked.

Clement: I’m not saying the point is always the money, okay? But when it comes to extortion, I do think the point is the money.

_{🔗 permalink: I’m not saying the point is always the money, okay? But when it comes to extortion, I do…}

Trying to read a method into Clement's madness may be futile. After all, the randomness of his killing Judge Guy and Rose Doyle in a fit of road rage, serendipitously leading to him finding the notebook, is what's frustrating Raylan about this case.

Of all the seemingly rambling monologues collected here, Cruz's recount of his vigilante moment seems most significant to Marshall Givens's hero's journey.

Cruz: Look at you, still giving a fuck.

Raylan: I try.

Cruz: You remind me of me, man. When I started out. Except you’re old.

Raylan: I ain’t gonna sleep at night this sonofabitch wins.

_{🔗 permalink: I ain’t gonna sleep at night this sonofabitch wins.}

Earlier, Robinson sketches out his thoughts on how the Mansell case will end up this time, and Raylan voices his preference for a quick and bullet-forward conclusion.

Robinson: There’s three ways this’ll go. One is God himself sends down a lightning bolt and breaks the case open. Two, this shit drags on and drifts away and all we got to show for it is a peptic ulcer.

Raylan: Three, go find Clement and shoot him

Robinson: I suppose there are four ways. The third way I was thinking – call it a Detroit way, although for sure we don’t hold the patent.

Raylan: Entrapment. Plant a little dope or go all the way and frame the guy up.

Robinson: Yeah. Not my style either.

_{🔗 permalink: Yeah. Not my style either.}

Sitting down with Cruz, a complete stranger, the two lawmen recognize something in each other.

Raylan's got a history of justifying some sketchy choices, but Cruz doesn't even try to justify his shooting. He believes in the outcome, not the law.

Will Raylan take this as a warning or encouragement?

History has shown that Raylan believes in the law, even if he tends to squint a little at its interpretation.

As recently as Justified: City Primeval Season 1 Episode 4, he laid it out clearly for Bryl, which still wasn't enough to keep the detective from killing the Albanian goon he was meant to cover.

Speaking of Detective Bryl-liant, when the Chief says Bryl is "on ice" for the time being, do we think that's because he shot and killed a suspect (totally legit, by-the-book police protocol) or because they're hiding him from the Albanians for his own protection?

In any case, Downey's not looking keen to be the lead detective on this investigation — and Robinson's dreaming of a change of scenery.

On the other side of the law, Sandy's getting pretty wound up, and it doesn't help when Sweetie nixes an Albanian mark in the book out of sheer fear of being flayed.

Sweetie: Sounds like a walk in the park to me.

Clement: Have you walked in the park lately? It’s full of bums and perverts.

_{🔗 permalink: Have you walked in the park lately? It’s full of bums and perverts.}

Everyone's on edge and making tricky choices.

With the danger of invoking our favorite Harlan County explosives expert, this is a powder keg ready to blow. Fire in the hole, my friends.

Question is: who will light the fuse?

It's morbid, I know, but I can't help but predict a body count as we careen through the back half of the series toward the finale.

I still think Sweetie's going to be collateral damage. Trennell could end up in the line of fire too. Sandy's in a fragile state, and it's unlikely Skender will be able to protect her.

Will Jamal redeem himself by saving Carolyn? Or Sweetie? Sacrificing himself rather than giving up on fancy shoes?

Not to mention, I imagine a whole lot of Albanian mobsters and Detroit PD will be getting in on the action too.

What about you, Fanatics? You good? Hit our comments with your predictions!

The post Justified: City Primeval Season 1 Episode 5 Review: You Good? appeared first on TV Fanatic.

Raylan runs into Jamal driving up when he goes to get some coffees. He tells Jamal she’s in the shower but he’ll take a message if he likes. Jamal chooses to leave rather than wait with Raylan.

Clement and Sandy meet with Sweetie to discuss who to extort out of the judge’s book.

When Sweetie nixes a name in the book because the mark’s Albanian, Sandy gets antsy and leaves. Sweetie suspects something’s up but Clement’s not talking and refocuses on the names in the book. Sweetie decides on Burt Dickey.

Raylan fills Carolyn in on her visitor. Carolyn realizes it was Jamal but tells Raylan he needs to stay out of her business.

Raylan arrives at the police station in time for an staff-wide address by the police captain demanding to know why the judge’s killer hasn’t been apprehended yet. Downey’s been put in charge of the investigation.

Carolyn calls Trennell to try to convince him to get Sweetie away from Clement’s scheme with the judge’s notebook.

Raylan’s teamed up with Robinson and theorizes the judge’s notebook is with Clement. Thinks maybe the notebook was the reason the judge was killed.

Sweetie makes a call to Burt Dickey and sets a meeting time for 4pm at Dickey’s home.

Carolyn runs into her friend, Diane, and finds out Diane’s put herself up for the judgeship.

Robinson and Raylan discuss options on how the case can be resolved. Raylan asks about Raymond Cruz. Robinson takes him to see Cruz’s ex-wife, Mary Alice. She’s not helpful.

They return to the police station. There are flowers waiting for Raylan from Clement.

Sweetie and Clement visit Dickey. They get ten thousand dollars out of him although Clement wants to shake him down for more, specifically a painting of a farmhouse.

Raylan waits for Carolyn with Clement’s flowers. They go for dinner together. Jamal watches them leave the parkade together.

Carolyn tells Raylan about her aspirations over dinner. Jamal interrupts and regales Raylan with the entire history he and Carolyn have. Carolyn tries to tell Jamal to leave. Raylan backs her up. Jamal wants to start a fight. Raylan shows his badge. Carolyn has enough of their posturing and leaves.

Sandy sees the money Clement got from Dickey and jumps that the chance to fly away, but Clement insists they get more money before they go.

Carolyn visits Jamal. They get close but then she realizes there’s a woman living there with him and storms out after telling him she’s paid the lien.

Burt Dickey wakes up and finds Clement in his room. Clement leaves with the painting.

Carolyn goes to Sweetie’s and demands to see the notebook. She doesn’t want to be part of the extortion gig for money. She wants the judgeship. Sweetie lets her look at it.

Raylan texts Willa and she shuts him down. Raymond Cruz joins him at the bar. Raylan asks him about Clement. Raylan tells him he won’t sleep if Clement wins. Cruz tells him about a guy he tangled with that he was never able to arrest. They went for a drink one night and Cruz shot him in the chest. Cruz tells Raylan he sleeps just fine.

The post Justified: City Primeval Season 1 Episode 5 Recap: You Good? appeared first on TV Fanatic.

Toma Costia, Mags Bennett says howdy-doo, and please give Raylan a run for his guns.

With the Albanian mob making things complicated, does anyone else feel like Raylan's just about done being all calm and collected and by the book?

To be fair, he still hasn't shot anyone. And that's really the best measure of how far he's come since his stint in Harlan County.

When Agron takes off on Bryl — more thoughts on our dear Norbert later — Raylan's restraint when Besnik's instincts are to back up his buddy is laudable. Pre-parenthood, Raylan would've at least shot him in the leg to make sure he stayed put.

Taking a moment to admire Yuna's spunk. For those who don't speak Mandarin Chinese, she calls Bryl a "fat freak" when she's already tied up and outnumbered. And even after they carry out their threat, she's not broken, just pissed.

Have to wonder how she and Sandy ended up roommates. There's a cool backstory there—or maybe more to Sandy than we see when she's with Clement.

Besnik: Do you know what this is?

Yuna: Pliers?

Besnik: It’s Albanian tooth extractor.

Yuna: Well, what makes it Albanian?

Agron: The fact that I’m holding it.

_{🔗 permalink: The fact that I’m holding it.}

But back to Bryl.

Detroit's finest has some fascinating takes on how police work works.

Bryl: Either the Albanians lead us to Mansell or they turn him into little tiny pieces. Done and done.

Raylan: That’s an optimistic point of view. Another would be we just put a hit out on our suspect.

Bryl: Excuse me for misunderstanding that you had the willingness to do what needs getting done.

Raylan: I have no problem getting things done. I do have a problem rolling up on Mansell, face down in a river, shot to death by some Albanian dipshits, when what WE want is for the man to be prosecuted, forced to answer for his crimes, long period of reflection in a tiny cell.

Bryl: That’s another way to look at it.

_{🔗 permalink: That’s another way to look at it.}

His constant gum-chewing and "take 'im out by any means necessary" attitude has me suspecting something is going on with him.

Maybe he's breaking an addiction? Had a relationship fall apart recently? Reinventing himself in the wake of an emotional loss or setback?

He doesn't seem like the level of law enforcer who should be coordinating task forces or put in charge of raids.

He's not that good a tail, either, which is probably why Raylan's doing the driving when they're teamed up.

Bryl: So we land, right? We find a dozen goddamned Albanians carrying homeboy on their shoulders like Christ off the cross. We roll up, like, ‘Hey guys, what’s crackin’?’ They go, ‘Fuck yourselves. He fell down the stairs.’

Raylan: That clumsy Jesus now?

_{🔗 permalink: That clumsy Jesus now?}

As the visiting badge, Raylan has had the opportunity to ride along with Robinson, Downey, and Bryl, even taking Willa over to stay overnight at Downey's.

Of the bunch, Bryl evokes the most #SMH reaction.

Robinson, as a detective, is an example of solid police. He's the link between the Wrecking Crew murders and Clement's current streak of violence.

He has history with Raymond Cruz, the original protagonist of the City Primeval novel. He knows players like Sweetie, even recognizing Sandy on Justified: City Primeval Season 1 Episode 2 and making the connection with Clement.

Downey is also good police, but possibly because of her being a woman, she gets a lot more "feelings" moments. It doesn't detract from her as an officer: she's just as tough and probably smarter than her male counterparts. Still, it's curious that she's telling Raylan about her Magic Mike dreams while Bryl's usually stuffing his face or making up credentials and Robinson's sharing about his conversion to matcha.

None of them are a Tim or Rachel. And the branch chief certainly isn't Art, but — once again, for our friends in the back — Raylan is just passing through. These are transitory relationships at best, and honestly, if Bryl can manage to finish out this limited series on the side of the living, I'll be shocked.

Whether he dies on the job or off-the-clock by choking on a wad of gum, only time will tell. The only predictable thing is Bryl won't see it coming.

Toma Costia recognizes dumb when he sees it. Skender can't be the only busted bulb in the family holiday lights.

Toma: You choose your friends, but family is thrust upon you.

_{🔗 permalink: You choose your friends, but family is thrust upon you.}

He's also savvy enough to see Raylan for what he is, someone trying to do his job but intelligent enough to be trouble.

Toma's the kind of character that really owns his space.

Toma: I know you have come here to get me to compel Skender to tell you who has done this so police can arrest and serve justice as you see fit.

Bryl: He catches on fast.

Toma: Course that justice is really no justice at all. It is only satisfaction of a mandate for the appearance of order. But order and justice, they’re not the same thing. If I wanted to restore order, I could, of course, instruct Skender to cooperate. But I am not interested in order. Justice, however. Justice is meted out in accordance with the action it remedies. And in this case, justice requires more than the law is willing or able to provide.

_{🔗 permalink: Course that justice is really no justice at all. It is only satisfaction of a mandate for the…}

Like Mags, he does what needs doing and makes no excuses. He's driven by pride and family and good business sense. He has a philosophy and articulates it well. Whether his visitors agree or not does not factor into it.

Raylan: Look, I can’t stop you from doing what you’re gonna do. Even sympathize, in a way. But you also need to understand your place in line, which is to say, ‘Me, first.’ After I’m done, you can charge the shitheap with felony assault, but it ain’t gonna mean much if he’s doing life. You understand what I’m sayin’?

Toma: You tell me to get in line. I say, ‘You want him, you better find him quick, or he’ll be dead.’

_{🔗 permalink: You tell me to get in line. I say, ‘You want him, you better find him quick, or he’ll be dead.’}

Carolyn's plan of action takes a sudden detour when Sweetie decides to get his own back by playing Clement.

None of this improves my foreboding feeling about Sweetie. Watching him dance with the underwear-clad, Beach Boys-singing Clement in the penthouse strikes me as wrong. Looks like Sandy feels the same way.

Carolyn: Wading around in murky waters like this? That’s how you get bit.

_{🔗 permalink: Wading around in murky waters like this? That’s how you get bit.}

Despite warning Sweetie about the dangers of messing with her other client, we never hear Carolyn say she won't use Judge Guy's notebook to make a play for a bench.

That's a clue. They like to hold onto possibilities.

On Justified: City Primeval Season 1 Episode 3, it was hinted that Clement had killed Skender, but he hadn't.

We can assume Carolyn will take the high road, but the possibility remains that she won't.

There's also a lot we can assume about where she and Raylan are taking their relationship next.

Raylan: As we speak, hordes of Eastern Europeans are spreading across Detroit, looking to ixnay your client and likely Sandy Stanton and anyone close to him along the way.

Carolyn: Why, Marshall, I think you’re trying to scare me.

Raylan: I don’t have to. The Albanians should already do that.

_{🔗 permalink: I don’t have to. The Albanians should already do that.}

Sitting together in a car in the middle of the night with a bottle of high-end hooch could just be that. Or it could mean the waters are just as murky in Grosse Pointe as in the 'hood.

What do you think, Fanatics? Did Willa sense something or set it in motion before being exiled to Florida?

Hit our comments with your guesses and grouses. We want to hear them! Go ahead: Shoot from the hip.

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