Justified - Episode 4.09 - The Hatchet Tour - Non Spoiler Preview

I was lucky enough to preview this weeks “Justified” and it really stands out as one of my favorite episodes this season. In general I think this is a strong season of the show, and although I was initially skeptical about the Drew Thompson mystery, it’s actually worked for the series so far. And it really pays off in tonight’s episode.

I’m avoiding any direct spoilers but if you really don’t want to know anything, stop reading now.

This episode will tie up a lot of loose ends but does it in a way that makes the viewer feel like these story lines are paying off and should continue. While there are some big reveals in the episode, it’s clear there are still plenty more mysteries to be solved.

Art gets a pretty great scene at the beginning of the episode, and it’s a departure from his typically easygoing attitude. Tim also gets some screen time as well and it’s great to see that they are really using the supporting characters this season. I think the departure of Winona really freed up a lot of screen time, and it’s great to see it being put to such good use.

We get to see a Raylan who is snarky and has little patience in this episode, which is always my favorite Raylan. Also Raylan and Boyd do share a scene, which is good because lack of Raylan and Boyd interaction is probably my biggest complaint of the season.

Some additional teases:
- Constable Bob is back! Always a pleasure to see Constable Bob.
- Johnny continues to be shady, but I’ll be honest this episode makes me question just what his motivations are at this point.
- Boyd and Ava are Harlan County’s new power couple it seems. I love watching their scenes and thinking about their progression as a couple over these past few seasons.
- Lots of familiar faces in this episode and the consistency is just delightful.

This is one of the most well done episodes of the season and it really doesn’t disappoint on any level. It’s firing on all cylinders here and everything about it just works. This is an episode you do not want to miss!