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“The future holds nothing else but confrontation.” That’s the first line of Public Enemy’s song “Lost at Birth,” and it fits this episode to a T. There are plenty of standoffs and staredowns here. There are some clear winners and some clear losers, and then there were some that were waiting to be resolved.
Winners
Chief Marshall Art Mullen: He gets to take on Elias Markos (Alan Tudyk), a clean-up man for the Detroit Mob, twice. The first time, he’s in a restaurant with Wynn Duffy and Ethan Picker (John Kapelos) and just manages to avert a shootout, since Markos wants to kill Picker. The second time is in a warehouse, when he has Raylan Givens as backup. Despite Marcos having a Tommy Gun and several tins of ammo, Givens is able to shoot him. Added bonus: He’s able to get Theo Tonin (Adam Arkin), the head of the Detroit Mob. This is a nice gift for his impeding retirement.
Johnny Crowder: For now. He looks to be in the catbird’s seat after turning the tables on his cousin Boyd and Hot Rod Dunham. Who knows how long his victory will last before he has vengeance exacted on him by Boyd?.
Losers
Lee Paxton: First he gets set up by Lieutenant Nick Mooney for burning bodies at his funeral home to make money, and then Boyd stages his suicide by making him hold his own gun and shooting him to begin the episode.
Canadian Goon: Poor Will Sasso. He was just talking up how much he enjoyed acting on this show, and now his character gets shot by Markos at the beginning of the episode.
Mooney: He gets plugged by an associate of Boyd’s who has the black lung and wouldn’t live to see trial.
Mara Paxton (Karolina Wydra): After her husband’s death and witnessing Mooney’s murder, she learns that Boyd was giving her ransom money to the family of his soon-to-be-deceased hitman and was also told in no uncertain terms to leave Harlan and never come back.
Baptiste: He gets turned into “Haitian Hamburger” by Danny Crowe at the end of the episode after confronting him about his behavior towards his other family member. Tough break for Edi Gathegi. His character looks like a real badass for the first few episodes… and then he gets shot by a raging redneck.
Dunham: Johnny gets his own men to turn on him after arranging to turn Johnny over to Boyd. The scene ends with several guns pointed at him, though I’m not sure if they are discharged or not.
Undecided
Boyd Crowder: Boyd winds up on the winning side with Paxton, Mooney, and Mara, though he loses with getting Ava free and it’s unclear what will happen after he refused to give Darryl the cut of the money.
Darryl Crowe Jr. (Michael Rapaport) – His brother Danny is a loose cannon, recklessly killing Baptiste and he’s got Boyd angry at him now. Let’s not count on the Florida Crowe clan staying in Harlan for more than this season.
Givens: He gets Picker to give up Markos’ whereabouts but who knows where his confession to Mullen at the end will lead?
Body Count
Four people dead, five if Dunham does wind up getting lead deposited in him. That’s mild compared to some other episodes, though.
Is Ava Crowder Free?
The hashtag #FreeAva was trending last night. Sadly, it was to no avail, as the episode sees her framed for shanking the same guard who almost raped her last week. She gets sent off to the State Penitentiary, triggering Boyd’s fury to the extent that he needs to be held back by several guards upon learning of this.
Predictions
-Boyd is going to rain hell down on the people that sent Ava back into prison. He was just so evil in the way he killed Paxton and Mooney and then calmly sat with Mara while she still had Mooney’s blood on her and issued his ultimatum. You can’t spell “High Body Count” without “Boyd.”
-Things are REALLY going to get bad with Mullen and Givens. Next week’s preview shows the older chief slugging his younger deputy.
-I’m still puzzling out what is going on in the Crowe clan. Baptiste’s death further muddies matters and it’s going to be interesting to see what sort of infighting goes on.
Was It a Good Episode?
Considering that I found my head spinning several times due to all the twists and turns, I would definitely say so. The only disappointments include that Gathegi, Sasso, Tudyk all expiring earlier than I would have liked. This week’s is a bloody episode and a lot of things get pushed forward at a seemingly earlier time in the season. This is a show that unwinds at its own pace, with most of the action occurring later in the season. Considering that there’s only one more season after this one, I’d predict that it’s going to be a hell of a ride.
The State of Raylan
He’s growing up. Raylan seems to man up at the end of the episode by apparently telling Mullen that he had been the one on the airport tarmac. The next step will be for him to spend some time with his daughter. Will this maturation be too late for the lawman, who has been living by the seat of his pants for far too long?
Best Lines
“Is this because I stuck my finger up your butt last time?” A hooker asking Dewey Crowe why he was waxing philosophical.
“You want to swap?” One hooker to the other after Dewey had given them a couple of crappy trinkets that reminded him of his ties with the Crowe clan in Florida.
“I’ve been called many things, but ‘inarticulate’ ain’t one of them.” Boyd to Darryl Crowe Jr.
“I want you to think about something. The only reason you’re in the position to blackmail me is because of the things I do… that you witnessed me do.” Givens in a not-so-subtle threat to Picker to get him to give up Markos’ address.
“You could do the old thing.” Wendy Crowe (Alicia Witt) to her brother Darryl about how to raise money. Now let’s find out what that “old thing” is.
