‘Justified’ Recap: Who Took the Money?

S3E6: The third season of Justified seems to have a mission statement: shake Raylan Givens to his core, and leave him without so much as a grip on himself. We haven’t seen a lot of interaction between Raylan and his father Arlo—who one would suspect might be the hottest trigger to set Raylan off. Perhaps he is, in fact. But Wynona is at least a close second. Last week, Wynona left Raylan abruptly after promising him she wouldn’t (classy). To be fair, the reasons for her uneasiness in involving herself in a serious relationship with Raylan are completely understandable. But I think it’s easier to sympathize with Raylan in this circumstance, considering how many of his promises she has rejected, convincing herself and him that he’d never hold true to them in the first place.

“You going to hit her on the head and drag her back home?” – Judge

“I probably shouldn’t. She’s pregnant.” – Raylan

This week, Raylan spends a good amount of time looking for Wynona. All the while, he’s investigating a shooting that took place in, of all locales, his deceased aunt’s house—where Arlo just happens to be running an oxy operation under the reign of Boyd Crowder. Ellen May, a Harlan prostitute, witnesses the murder of two of Boyd’s men and her co-prostitute and friend Trixie at the hand of two rival oxy dealers—men working for the nefarious Mr. Quarles, whose disturbing factor skyrockets this week.

But before Raylan heads out on the prowl of these shooters, he looks into where Wynona might be. Her work computer shows signs of island destinations—he figures she might be looking to skip town and head to more tropical horizons. Regrettably, Raylan heads down to the evidence room—saying hi to ol’ Charlie, of course— and checks the money-filled locker once scoured by his beloved: it is completely empty. All of the stored money is gone. Naturally, Raylan assumes the worst.

“It’s them pills that keeps a roof over our heads.” – Delroy

Back to the homicide/drug robbery case. Raylan’s investigations take him through some pretty hostile terrain. He pays a visit to his father, voicing issue with the use of the late Aunt Helen’s home as an oxy ring, and goes a little bit mad. Then, Raylan finds himself in the company of Boyd Crowder. And for the first time in a while, Boyd seems to be really getting to Raylan. Our cowboy hero gets awfully riled up at Boyd over the dragging of his family name through his crooked dealings. But it’s more than that, we know. Raylan is emotionally distraught over Wynona. As such, he is unable to keep his cool in the company of Arlo, Boyd, or even the dimwitted pimp who has been beating and manipulating Ellen May in an attempt to find the men responsible for stealing the oxys she was meant to pick up for him. Raylan still manages to get the best of this man—and, to some degree, of Arlo and Boyd—but he’s clearly not on his game. But then again, when has he been lately?

“Don’t say you were honoring her memory by setting up an oxy clinic in her home.” – Raylan

Raylan does, via the word of Ellen May, get the identities of the men responsible for the shooting. After he shoots them in a “justifiable” series of events, word gets back to Quarles that two of his men are dead. Now, Quarles has seemed so far like a pretty cold-blooded, steady, businesslike criminal. But this week, we see a different man. For one, he has a prisoner in his bedroom—a naked man, bound and gagged and tied to a bed. Behind clothes doors, what we (and Winn Duffy) hear sounds like Quarles’ rape of the man. Obviously, super disturbing. But what disturbs me even more is the quavering space-out that Quarles gives shortly after his phone convo this week. I’m beginning to suspect that his son—the one he’s always chatting with on the phone—is dead. Call it a hunch, and one out of thin air. But there’s something weird about the whole ordeal.