Debts & Accounts

[redbrunja]

I had a very successful if exhausting shopping trip ...technically yesterday. It involved a lot of driving and very little sleep but I got an awesome new phone and the Apple store managed to fix my computer in under a day AND compted the repair because I had a long wait while at the store to pick it up.

And then I came home to a new episode of Justified!

–I am giddy over the way Boyd/Ava played out. I love how straight Ava is with Boyd. She calls him on his actions and comes across as really adult. 

"You give me a reason to wake up in the morning. For that I'll be eternally grateful."
"Get out."

And then in the end of the episode she calls him Mr Crowder! That just delighted me. And I'll be frank, I expected Boyd to take the lead in this romance more than he did; in the end of the episode he's being very verbally emotionally honest but it's clearly Ava who lays one on him first. And then hugging at the end? To me, that so clearly showed how much they care about each other. (And if/when they have a sex scene, I am going to be VERY curious about how it's filmed. Watching the first season the show clearly showed the difference between Raylan's emotional investment in Ava versus Winona simply by how they filmed the love scenes, and I'm very curious about how they'd handle a Boyd/Ava sex scene. So show, get right on that, plz.) And also, I would ADORE the instrumental music that was playing as they kissed.
A hell of a lot of other stuff happened this episode but I'm tired and it's late so I'm just going to mention how much I loved the Mags and Helen scene. It reminded me of Winter's Bone in the level and respect it showed for the social power women in this society wield and the way in which they use it.

Comments

[norgbelulah.livejournal.com]

And then hugging at the end? To me, that so clearly showed how much they care about each other.

Exactly. I thought that too, the fact that it's not just a physical attraction, that they emotionally need each other is emphasized with that hug. I'm so glad the director lingered on it.

Also, I'm wondering about the reason Boyd seemed so hesitant to act on feelings he was undoubtedly having, if his words are to be believed (which i do think they are). Do we have any idea if Boyd has ever actually been in love before, or at least had feelings similar to these?

I'm not saying it's not like he never had a girlfriend or anything, but from the way he was before, I would imagine that any relationship he was in would have been more based on power dynamics and sex than anything really emotional.

This could be completely new territory from him. Or this could just be wild speculation!

[elizchris.livejournal.com]

My life is currently structured around Wednesday night at 10. It's a sad story.

There were so many things that made me happy in this episode. First off, full-on fangirling about Boyd and Ava. Anything with a Crowder in it this week made me happy. I was also pleased to see Kevin Rankin back as Devil. First of all, it's good to see Boyd with a henchman who maybe has a brain. Secondly, I just love Kevin Rankin. Between this and tonight's NBC broadcast of FNL, I'm having wonderful flashbacks.

Secondly, I love that Loretta is still present in Raylan's life. Kaitlin Dever does a fantastic job with the role, but I was still apprehensive with her first couple of appearances. Looking back, even in the first episode, while she's tough, smart, and mature, Loretta doesn't really understand the full implications of her situation. The character I feared she might be would have seen through Mags. Television rarely does tough who've had to grow up too fast well. Loretta is smart, cool, rough, and realistic in her responses. I loved her last week and this week as well.

Thirdly, Damn right, Helen and Mags! With such economy, Justified tells us again just how strong Helen is. I do wonder, though, whether Mags is driving Dickie's back to the wall in an attempt to give herself plausible deniability. I can believe that her grief over her two losses has narrowed her vision, so she assess the Dickie situation accurately. I could also believe that Mags plays her cards very close to her chest, knows exactly who her sons are, and wants vengeance while keeping her hands clean. Setting Dickie against Boyd might be a kind of trial by fire for a son who's ambition usually exceeds his abilities.

Fourthyly, Art is my favorite television boss right now, eclipsing Ron Swanson. The fact that Raylan went for seven episodes (probably six months) without killing anyone probably made this confrontation much worse. Art got a period of Raylan being a good marshall. Then the money shenanigans. Then another shooting. When someone who looks like they're changing reverts to their old ways, you feel so much more disappointment and anger. I also wonder if part of the motivation for the money theft is to get Raylan involved in something questionable.

On of Justified's skills is drawing Raylan's aggression as a law enforcement officer, not in the fact that he shoots criminals, but in the fact that shooting Raylan confronts them so aggressively that events come to a stand-off. We've seen shooting Raylan and non-shooting Raylan in action. When he's actively managing his aggression, Raylan is a canny negotiator and manipulator of criminals. The tricky thing here is that shooting Coover is not one of those situations. About the only thing Raylan could do, besides charge right in, is contact the state police (and we don't know that he didn't also do that).

So all of that to say this: because it is so hard to make Art's actual issues with Raylan's performance in re Harlan County (acting outside of the marshall's purview, antagonizing the Bennetts, generally not seeking to de-escalate situations) sound reasonable in the wake of eminent reasonability of shooting Coover, the writers felt like Art needed something else to pin his anger on. Thus the Art knows spin on the money subplot.

[spirited-lizard.livejournal.com]

I loved the hug at the end, too! <3 And like you said, it really shows the differences between her and Raylan, too. I would expect that the Ava/Boyd relationship will be very sensitive.

[mollivanders.livejournal.com]

Just caught up on Justified and had to come over here and second your comments on Ava/Boyd. They really sold me this episode. I've really enjoyed their character development this season but wasn't sure that they'd actually go there, and when they did, it was just another great step in the right direction.

Also, Ava shooting Charlie and chasing Coover and Dickie out of her house? LOVE.