Monthly Archives: May 2011

Wow. Just wow. I said last week that what I loved about that episode was how they took the expected turns and did them in unexpected ways. Shows like this have to be somewhat cliched because our expectations about narrative demand certain twists and turns as we reach a climax. What Justified (and Elmore Leonard in general) does so well is play around the edges of our expectations. Last week did it great. This week was the equivalent of a straight flush.

Rather than go over the episode linearly let me just pick out some great highlights.

First we knew all season that Loretta was going to be key either in the finale or close to it. The fact they’ve made a point of keeping her in our minds the past episodes sure suggested she’d be key. Justified is frequently about that strange confluence of justice and revenge. Loretta wants justice. Her actions really drive all the action.

I really loved the tension between Raylan and Winona in this episode. I’ve been pretty disappointed in how they’ve handled Winona this season. In many ways she’s been the weakest link. (Which given how great the season is doesn’t mean it’s bad – just that it’s not as strong as everything else) We still don’t fully understand her motivations with the money. There were earlier hints about pregnancy but today we found out she is indeed pregnant. Oddly it is a recent thing which makes those earlier scenes not make much sense except to foreshadow Raylan’s desire for a child.

The point where Raylan goes to rescue Loretta is pretty interesting and highlights that tension between what Winona wants and what Raylan wants. Raylan is driven by justice and responsibility. But there are now competing responsibilities. Those for his family and those for others. Does he see in Loretta a daughter or does he see in her himself? Probably a bit of both. Winona tells Raylan when he says he’s going after Loretta that she might not be there when he gets back. There’s a lot going on here that will appear next season.

Read the rest of this entry →

So lots of shows look to be on the chopping block. Including shows that have been on the air so long they qualify as being the undead. Yes, several CSIs and Law and Orders are down in CW level ratings. Will they return? I don’t pay a lot of attention to ratings but I suspect next year may be the big shake up relative to shows.

Justified is the third highest rated cable show. Yet surprisingly is getting around 1.0 in the ratings. I guess that’s high for FX but still lower than even a lot of CW business. Game of Thrones has been taking a critical beating by many. It’s also doing around Justified numbers. Will HBO keep it for next season? We’ll see. HBO doesn’t do ratings in the normal way. In many ways they are more concerned about buzz related to subscriptions. However expensive shows – even critically acclaimed ones like Deadwood – sometimes get the axe. All in all though I guess I don’t feel guilty about not watching Games of Thrones.

South Park started up this week. Seems to me they tried to keep it contemporary but were either running out of ideas or were a bit burnt out after their broadway play. It’s largely a play on Apple’s location controversy mixed in with outright copying a particularly silly and bad horror movie.

Read the rest of this entry →