Justified 3 X07 The Man Behind The Curtain
Mar. 3rd, 2012 08:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chaniThe episode was very serial, didn't show a particular storyline, but moved the pieces ahead on the chess board, yet I enjoyed it.
My take on it is that it could have been titled "The Man with Two Sons", as father/son relationship and siblings rivalry seemed to be a big theme in the episode.
BTW the line of the episode had to be voiced by a minor character: "Two horses is twice horseshit to shovel" !
Of course, actually there are several men and several sons in there.
First father to appear – if we except Limehouse who yet has a habit of calling younger men "son" – was a confused Arlo, looking for his dead wife. He's off his meds but Raylan, his biological son, couldn't care less – which is understanable given Raylan's childhood – and it's Boyd Crowder ( Arlo's "son-in-crime") whom Limehouse obviously called to pick up Mr Givens. Ava even played the daughter in law to him later, making sure he would take his meds!
I really like the idea of Boyd becoming a son for Raylan's father. It adds a new layer to their complicated and conflicting relationship, and a possible rivalry, on top of every thing, that is more interesting than the usual love triangle.
But there's also the Detroit boss and his sons. Quarles explained to us (well to Duffy) that he was the son the boss – perhaps the man behind the curtain of the title – wanted to have, so Detroit boss groomed him to take over some day, but eventually Sammy, the real son, the "crown prince" who's a coward and an idiot (loved Raylan's line "it's dress the part, be the part, it ain't dress the part and hide behind your daddy"!)got it all, and Quarles was sent in exile to Harlan! Quarles is bitter about that...
Raylan, who's a smartass and is super pissed-off at Quarles for assuming that he was in Boyd's pocket, takes advantage of the Cain/Abel situation (loved the gag of Sammy assuming Raylan was sent by Quarles and Raylan again feeling offended that people would consider him to be dirty!) , so he used Sammy's desire to get rid of Quarles. Eventually Quarles finds a new use of his"brother" as he plans on framing Raylan as a bent cop, working for Boyd Crowder!
And in the Mashall's office there was Art and his two undisciplined "deputy sons", Raylan and Tim. I swear, they both just looked like siblings when being admonished and warned byJarry from Deadwood, the Principal, the FBI guy, while daddy Art was watching!
Raylan is an awful co-worker, an asshole even, McNulty style, always asking favours, and Tim alwas gives in but is getting more and more pissed off (and is calling Ryaln on his shit), and Raylan knows it but keeps pushing and even seems self-satisfied for getting what he wants. Given that Mr Givens is Art's favourite son, we have again a possible rivalry on the Marshall front. Tim the sniper might become bitter eventually.
So in that hellish place of Harlan county, the show is more and more sounding like East of Eden!
I'm sure that between Arlo and Art, Raylan would pick his boss over blood ties, but I wonder whether he will have to choose some day between his "law brother", Tim, and his "mine brother", Boyd. For all the cajoling smiles and all what he owes to his "partner', not sure Raylan would pick Tim over Boyd.
Last thoughts:
I like how tactician Boyd can be whether dealing with personal stuff (with Arlo and Ava) or professional matter.
But Raylan isn't too bad a thinker either when it comes to find a trick to be allowed to do things under the cover of Marshall stuff, like with using the name of a fugitive somehow connected to Sammy, or the fact that there were piano lessons close to Quarles' house!
Also only Raylan can make beating a guy in a wheelchair badass! Poor Johnny...but he had it coming! I loved his last "Raylan!!!!" after Raylan hit him on the face. It was partly plaintive and partly outraged. The three of them sounded like family! And this is where I dream of kissing cousins...
I loved how Raylan outsmarted the "feebs". Also the "two horses is twice horseshit to shovel" line seemed to recall what Boyd said earlier about not fighting Ava's logic. Sammy's body guard wasn't wrong.
Speaking of good lines, Raylan again had a great many of them like “I’m not gonna grab his nutsack or any other part of him.” or his asking Quarles whether it was how they teach you to pitch a bribe at business school. Ha!
But Tim's were good too, especially "Last time I checked. You're a marshal too."
It was nice to have Jim Beaver back as Shelby! Yay for two Deadwood alumni, beside Olyphant, in one episode! I want John Hawkes next !
Oh and I just loved that phrase from Noel Murray's review on the T.V/A.V Club:
"The other major theme has to do with the futility of burying mistakes in a community founded on digging."
My take on it is that it could have been titled "The Man with Two Sons", as father/son relationship and siblings rivalry seemed to be a big theme in the episode.
BTW the line of the episode had to be voiced by a minor character: "Two horses is twice horseshit to shovel" !
Of course, actually there are several men and several sons in there.
First father to appear – if we except Limehouse who yet has a habit of calling younger men "son" – was a confused Arlo, looking for his dead wife. He's off his meds but Raylan, his biological son, couldn't care less – which is understanable given Raylan's childhood – and it's Boyd Crowder ( Arlo's "son-in-crime") whom Limehouse obviously called to pick up Mr Givens. Ava even played the daughter in law to him later, making sure he would take his meds!
I really like the idea of Boyd becoming a son for Raylan's father. It adds a new layer to their complicated and conflicting relationship, and a possible rivalry, on top of every thing, that is more interesting than the usual love triangle.
But there's also the Detroit boss and his sons. Quarles explained to us (well to Duffy) that he was the son the boss – perhaps the man behind the curtain of the title – wanted to have, so Detroit boss groomed him to take over some day, but eventually Sammy, the real son, the "crown prince" who's a coward and an idiot (loved Raylan's line "it's dress the part, be the part, it ain't dress the part and hide behind your daddy"!)got it all, and Quarles was sent in exile to Harlan! Quarles is bitter about that...
Raylan, who's a smartass and is super pissed-off at Quarles for assuming that he was in Boyd's pocket, takes advantage of the Cain/Abel situation (loved the gag of Sammy assuming Raylan was sent by Quarles and Raylan again feeling offended that people would consider him to be dirty!) , so he used Sammy's desire to get rid of Quarles. Eventually Quarles finds a new use of his"brother" as he plans on framing Raylan as a bent cop, working for Boyd Crowder!
And in the Mashall's office there was Art and his two undisciplined "deputy sons", Raylan and Tim. I swear, they both just looked like siblings when being admonished and warned by
Raylan is an awful co-worker, an asshole even, McNulty style, always asking favours, and Tim alwas gives in but is getting more and more pissed off (and is calling Ryaln on his shit), and Raylan knows it but keeps pushing and even seems self-satisfied for getting what he wants. Given that Mr Givens is Art's favourite son, we have again a possible rivalry on the Marshall front. Tim the sniper might become bitter eventually.
So in that hellish place of Harlan county, the show is more and more sounding like East of Eden!
I'm sure that between Arlo and Art, Raylan would pick his boss over blood ties, but I wonder whether he will have to choose some day between his "law brother", Tim, and his "mine brother", Boyd. For all the cajoling smiles and all what he owes to his "partner', not sure Raylan would pick Tim over Boyd.
Last thoughts
I like how tactician Boyd can be whether dealing with personal stuff (with Arlo and Ava) or professional matter.
But Raylan isn't too bad a thinker either when it comes to find a trick to be allowed to do things under the cover of Marshall stuff, like with using the name of a fugitive somehow connected to Sammy, or the fact that there were piano lessons close to Quarles' house!
Also only Raylan can make beating a guy in a wheelchair badass! Poor Johnny...but he had it coming! I loved his last "Raylan!!!!" after Raylan hit him on the face. It was partly plaintive and partly outraged. The three of them sounded like family! And this is where I dream of kissing cousins...
I loved how Raylan outsmarted the "feebs". Also the "two horses is twice horseshit to shovel" line seemed to recall what Boyd said earlier about not fighting Ava's logic. Sammy's body guard wasn't wrong.
Speaking of good lines, Raylan again had a great many of them like “I’m not gonna grab his nutsack or any other part of him.” or his asking Quarles whether it was how they teach you to pitch a bribe at business school. Ha!
But Tim's were good too, especially "Last time I checked. You're a marshal too."
It was nice to have Jim Beaver back as Shelby! Yay for two Deadwood alumni, beside Olyphant, in one episode! I want John Hawkes next !
Oh and I just loved that phrase from Noel Murray's review on the T.V/A.V Club:
"The other major theme has to do with the futility of burying mistakes in a community founded on digging."