Justified 6.10 “Trust”

With only four episodes remaining, I expected various pieces of the overall plot to begin coming together. However, there were times when I was watching “Trust” (6.10) that I thought I might be watching the series-ending conclusion rather than having three more to go after this fast-paced, intense episode.

It even seemed that my anticipated ending of Raylan and Boyd finishing the series with a High Noon-styled shootout in which one (or both) of them dies was not going to happen, as it seemed for a moment that Boyd died in this episode. However, the previews for the next episode show Boyd alive in a hospital bed—so he will likely recover in time for a final shootout with Raylan.

While it came as a surprise that Ava shot Boyd, it was believable that she would do so considering the only two paths her life could have otherwise taken at that point. Despite confessing to Boyd that she had made a deal in prison to be an informant in exchange for her release, Ava has continued to provide Raylan with information about Boyd’s plans—all of which has now placed her in a perilous position.

Boyd thought she was now working with him by providing false information to Raylan. However, Ava has continued to provide accurate information because she has obviously been thinking having Boyd in prison while she’s in the Witness Protection Program would be better than being a fugitive always on the run and always dependent on Boyd.

However, the situation that has forced Ava into making the decision in this episode to shoot Boyd was one of two elements in the plot that was stretched too thin in the area of believability. In this case, after learning Assistant District Attorney David Vasquez intended to have Ava sent back to federal prison to finish serving out the remainder of her sentence, Raylan decided to tell Ava her deal with the government was no longer in place.

It’s unclear why Raylan chose to tell Ava her deal was blown. It’s understandable that he felt sympathy for her, but sympathy doesn’t explain it. There are only two hopeful outcomes in telling her—and neither seems a viable possibility of Ava being able to achieve:

Did Raylan tell her as an act of sympathetic kindness so Ava could then choose to flee as a fugitive on her own without having any resources at her disposal?

Ava already tried to take that path in “Sounding” (6.05), and she failed miserably.

Did Raylan tell her as an act of sympathetic kindness so Ava could work on providing substantial evidence against Boyd that would cause Vasquez to reconsider his decision to terminate her deal?

It seems unlikely that Vasquez would reconsider his position regardless of what information Ava might still provide. Furthermore, Raylan then rejected each suggestion she made about a way to implicate Boyd in the murder of Dewey Crowe—finally acquiescing to the ridiculous plan of Boyd volunteering the information if Ava were to ask him while she took off her clothes and committed sexual acts. With Ava naked and performing erotic acts, Boyd would surely admit to killing Dewey while Raylan hid behind a tree to listen to the confession.

Yeah, I know; it’s farfetched, but that was the plan that eventually convinced Raylan he could trust Ava in getting the murder confession from Boyd.

Raylan telling Ava that Vasquez killed her arrangement was not well thought out. Raylan has rarely acted this unprofessionally or unethically unless he stood to benefit from it himself in some way—such as his unethical killing of Ty Walker in “Dark as a Dungeon” (6.08). However, let’s give the writers the benefit of the doubt and put the muddled thinking on Raylan if we can.

The few times when Raylan has not clearly thought through his actions is when he has interacted with a woman whom he is either (1) sleeping with, (2) wants to sleep with, or (3) has slept with and might sleep with again.

Ava seems to fit into that latter group.

The second plot element that seemed a bit unbelievable in this episode was when Markham took the 10 million dollars he was keeping in his vault and simply handed all of it over to Boyd as ransom for Katherine.

It would have still been unbelievable if Markham had no reason to suspect Katherine of working against him. However, it’s even more unbelievable considering Raylan provided Markham with evidence that Katherine has been working against him—and that she’s been working with Boyd all this time to steal his money.

Why would Markham give Boyd all that money to “save” the life of a woman he just found out has been playing him all along? Let’s look for some religious guidance to answer this puzzling question.

In various episodes during season, there’s been a half-hearted Biblical motif that’s never been fully developed—one that partly hinges on Markham’s surname (the Mark of Ham) and one that partly hinges on Raylan comparing Markham to a snake (as in the serpent in the garden). Perhaps, then, Katherine is meant to be Lilith (she certainly isn’t Eve), and Markham the serpent has enough fondness for Lilith that he’s willing to give Boyd 10 million dollars for her safe return.

Yeah, I know; it’s still farfetched. It would be more believable if Markham had simply laughed at Boyd’s ransom demands—forcing Boyd to come up with a plan C for getting Markham’s millions.

Despite those two flaws that stretched credibility to the limits, “Trust” was the best episode of the season for the same reason that “Burned” had been the best episode of the season only a week earlier: Boon!

Boon is the character this season has been needing since the second episode. Why it took nine episodes to bring him in is a mystery that probably only Justified’s showrunner Graham Yost would be able to answer.

I suppose having Garret Dillahunt playing Ty Walker looked like a sure thing during the pre-production plans for this season. However, Walker never clicked as a character, so it was the correct decision to remove him and bring in Jonathan Tucker to play the psychotic Boon.

As I watched their first meeting in the previous episode, I knew Boon was going to be a fun character for Raylan to interact with. In “Burned,” Boon was prompted by Loretta to show Raylan his gun—which Boon was very willing to do since he considers himself a quick-draw artist with the weapon.

Boon has been anticipating a showdown with Raylan ever since he heard of the marshal from Markham, but Raylan was not impressed with Boon’s decision to show off his gun—calling Boon “John Wayne” due to the way Boon was acting like an Old West gunfighter. However, Boon had never heard of John Wayne and Raylan had to explain the reference.

Well, “Trust” opened with the second meeting between Raylan and Boon, and I loved it. Boon opens the conversation by alluding to John Wayne—whom he has now researched a bit (he probably read John Wayne’s Wikipedia page), and he then compares Wayne to the man behind the counter at the diner he and Raylan are in because the waiter is wearing a fedora.

Yes, Boon’s comparison of the waiter to John Wayne has to do with the waiter wearing a fedora—which Boon actually seems to think is a type of cowboy hat:

Boon: Been thinkin’ on what you said about that movie cowboy and his toy gun. Put me in mind how you come across a lot-a guys who go heels like they’re playin’ dress up.

Take this fella; wears that lid on his head, but I bet he can’t tell a mare from a stallion.

Raylan: Anybody ever tell ya you should talk less?

Boon: (Pauses; a look of remembered anger from a past experience slowly crosses his features) Yeah, one guy.

Raylan: Well . . . you’re young yet.

Boon: Anyway . . . the matter I wanted your take on . . . you come across a fella like this . . . never sat a horse or roped a steer once, puttin’ on a hat to make him more . . . buckaroo . . . you think it’s up to gentlemen like us to . . . disabuse him?

Raylan: You’re askin’ if we’re keepers of some kind of flame?

I guess my main take is I believe you’re overestimatin’ how much you and I have in common.

Boon: (Pauses as he ponders Raylan’s words) All right . . .  that gives me somethin’ to think on.

I was hoping Boon would return to the diner at some point to “disabuse” the waiter for “going heels like he’s playing dress up,” and he did—later in this same episode. Boon disabuses the waiter by abusing him in front of his girlfriend—not physically abusing the waiter, but tormenting him through emotional intimidation.

At first, the waiter (whom Boon implies is trying to imitate the “hipsters” in Lexington) believes Boon is just a jerk whom he can easily dispense with. However, after Boon gives the waiter a hundred dollar bill for his hat (not offers, but forcefully gives—while also demanding $20 in change), the waiter tries to get tough by threatening to call the cops.

When it’s clear Boon isn’t intimidated by a threat of calling the cops, and that physical violence is only seconds away, the waiter backs down—cowering while Boon tries on the fedora and asks the waiter’s girlfriend what she thinks.

She’s too terrified to respond, so Boon looks at his own reflection in the side of a napkin dispenser and correctly determines that the hat does not look good on him—so he returns it to its rightful owner and takes back his hundred dollar bill.

However, he then gives the $100 to the girlfriend because he claims he needs to bring something home for “his girl” (by whom he means Loretta, though she wants nothing to do with the psycho who left a headless snake in her living room in the previous episode). Thus, Boon asks the waiter’s girlfriend what she has that he can buy for a hundred dollars.

It’s all very creepy, but superbly acted by Jonathan Tucker.

Rather than a season finale showdown between Raylan and Boyd, I’m halfway hoping the Boyd plot line gets resolved before the final episode so the final confrontation that concludes the series will be a High Noon-styled showdown between Rayan and Boon. Both are quick-draw artists with their firearms after all.

The final three episodes should definitely be worth watching—particularly if Boon is given even more screen time.