Justified - Noblesse Oblige - Recap and Review

Previously on Justified: Raylan confronts Walker’s operation, Rachel offers Raylan the chance to catch Boyd as the last thing before moving to Florida, Ava stole documents from Boyd, Boyd disappoints Katherine Hale, Ava figures out the importance of the plans Boyd stole.

“You’re the last person I’d want cutting my hair.”

Boyd and Ava are having fun laying on the bar, drinking, reminiscing about high school and the past few hours alone. Ava gets a text message she says from the salon telling her she has to open the salon after drinking whiskey for the past six hours. She kisses him and he promises to hold the thought while she goes to work.

Raylan asks if something’s funny when Ava pulls up to his house. She confesses to being shitfaced right off. Raylan is not impressed. Ava wants to get back to nursing her affliction. Vasquez and Rachel come out from around the side of the house. Inside, they present her with the official paperwork of her being a CI. Vasquez tells her throwing a stone into any of the surrounding hollers would have turned up more information. Raylan of all people comes to Ava’s defense. Rachel does her best to be understanding, but informs her that if she does not bring them some good information she will be back in prison to serve her sentence out. Ava yells at Raylan for dragging those two assholes out to impress upon her the importance of the situation before leaving the room to hurl. And she has just promised Boyd she wasn’t going to do that.

“Damn son, you like to talk as much as I do.”

Boyd has had one of his minions bring him a cheeseburger. Walker comes by and no one knows who in the hell he is. Boyd tells him he doesn’t have the bandwidth for a casual conversation. Walker claims he’s there to apprise them of the situation and tell them to back off or there will be consequences. Have you not tuned into the last five seasons? Boyd informs the newbie of who he is and that he is damn sure gonna finish his fries in piece. Man after my own heart. Carl tells Walker to take a walk-er. He’s not happy that that their faces have been exposed to the current owners of the Pizza Portal.

Raylan isn’t happy either, but for a different cause, he thinks Rachel should have been nicer to Ava. She tells him it’s a bitch running the office with him running around without a leash. Raylan offers her the chance to go to his nest thing, visiting a man with whom he dug coal. He, Luther, and Boyd all dug coal together.

Luther invites them inside over some idle chat and tells them that things aren’t getting better around there. Raylan finds his ledger over the explosives and det-cord. He makes some notes. Rachel asks if some explosives have gone missing. Raylan tells him that his numbers don’t add up. Now they know where Boyd gets his Emulex. Rachel wants to bring him with. Raylan thinks there’s something wrong. Rachel then gets a call that Ava is at the Pizza Place.

Ava spills some soda on her blouse and asks over the ladies room. Putting her glass on the bar, she heads towards the back and takes photos of everything back there, including the bank vault. A guy comes in and Ava plays dumb as to what the vault is. Luckily, the guy is Choo-Choo and he knows as much as Jon Snow is reported to. Walker comes down and has Ava taken back upstairs. Choo-Choo offers her a tour. Ava says she’ll think about it and gives him a fake last name to go with her real first. (Or could Randolph be her maiden name?)

Boyd’s men are kicking up a fuss, Boyd offers them a chance to step off the train. Carl says that no, they’re fine. So Boyd sends them to get more Emulex.

Rachel and Raylan go to squeeze Luthor’s son. As does Boyd’s other henchman (not Carl). Unfortunately, they’re all there. Raylan squeezes (in a different context than he had originally meant) Other Henchman while Rachel tells Luthor’s son to sit down his ass down. They leave their card for Luthor’s son and Other Henchman complains about his ground nuts. Perhaps he would have liked them chopped instead? Anyway, now he’s got a new plan to get Emulex.

Alone in the bar, Boyd inquires as to the state of Other Henchmen’s location and instead gets hit, duct taped, and kidnapped by persons unknown.

Other Henchman and Luther’s son go to rob Luther. The son is not thrilled about beating up his dad, but Other Henchman convinces him that it’s the right way to go. Raylan and Rachel are smarter than these dimestore villains and Raylan very calmly informs Other henchman that if he presses the issue, he’ll shoot his dick off. Luther meanwhile offers to go down for his son.

Boyd meanwhile gets taken to a barn where he is informed over his second warning and that I third will not be coming. Boyd tells them he does understand them and then they make the fatal mistake of threatening Ava.

Speaking of Ava, she gets to meet Sam Elliot. Of course viewers watching live will recognize his voice from the truck ads that were so pervasive during the run. Ava declines to invite Sam in so Walker offers that he go in with as he and Ava are already acquainted.

Sam, er Markum, tries to be pleasant towards Ava, even going so far it was not his choice to kidnap her; it was her choice. He tells her about the type of woman she’s got to be to not be the token girl that gets threatened. Ava, sweetie, why don’t you offer them something to eat and go get your shotgun? Been awhile since you killed someone and how better to prove your allegiance to Boyd?

Raylan refuses to let Luther take the fall for his dumbass son, but would allow him to go with his son. Luther tries to relate to Raylan, father-to-father.

Boyd returns to find Walker and Sam Elliot in Ava’s house. He offers the chance to make a second first impression on Walker, but notes that Walker is not the man he’s there to talk to. No, he introduces himself to Markum. Markum notes they do know each other from way back when Boyd was young. Boyd offers an apology of his “craven attempt to pilfer what is rightfully” his. Markeum notes that Boyd thought he was stealing from Calhoun. Boyd agrees. Markeum tells them to stay away from the Pizza Portal or he’ll kill them. Delivery’s okay though. He then tells Boyd that Boyd’s still playing pretend at being a grown badass.

Raylan wants to stay to see how things shake out an kick Other Henchman back to Boyd. Rachel says she hopes he knows what he’s doing.

Duffy is tanning .Mikey interrupts informing him that Boyd has demanded Katherine be there when he arrives. Boyd also wants a room. Mikey is reminded to grab Boyd’s cigarettes on the way in.

“You know Boyd, from the moment I met you, I knew you were the man of my dreams.”

Katherine does, in fact, get her ass over there and Boyd tells her about finding the money. He also expresses displeasure with not being told about Markum’s involvement. She tells Boyd straight out that she’s sleeping with Markum but insists that she was not intending to set up Boyd. Duffy asks if Boyd’s out. Boyd informs them that he is not backin’ down, he intends to rob Markum and stick a bullet in Hale’s boyfriend’s head.

Ava asks if Boyd has gotten Katherine to come clean. Boyd tells her he has and that those men will never come after them again. Ava asks how much money they’re going after. He asks why she needs to know the particulars. Ava asks what would happen if they just ran and started over doing anything else. Boyd tells her that since she got out, sometimes he doesn’t know who she is anymore. Ava pulls back the sheet to reveal her naked body and offers to remind him.

Next time: Raylan gives Markeum 24 hours to get out of town. Art is not on board.

My thoughts:

I liked this episode quite a lot. Loads of Rachel (which fans have been asking for for years,) lots of snark (well, when isn't there,) much plot building and setting up...What's not to like?

Body Count: Still just Dewey, after two more weeks, you'd think there'd be a higher body count, but you can't kill 'em all; you'd have no recurring cast.

Well, what did you all think?

About the Author - Robin Smyth

Robin Smyth is an avid watcher of television; her favourite show is Justified. Her current focus is on writing her long-awaited novel.

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