March 12, 2013

Episode Review: JUSTIFIED, "Get Drew"

Now that Shelby's true identity has been revealed, the manhunt for Drew Thompson was on in the appropriately titled "Get Drew."

Since there are like six different entities trying to find Drew Thompson, I figured it'd be easier to sum up what each camp did individually. Let's hope this makes some sense.

Shelby and Ellen May
Now that his cover's been blown, Shelby made it a priority to get out of town ASAP, and Ellen May wanted to go with him but he couldn't stand getting her involved, so he gave her some money and took off. He was on his way to freedom when he saw a stray dog walking the streets, and that caused a change of heart, so he went back for Ellen May. The two tried to head to Mexico, but all of their avenues out of Harlan were compromised, so she suggested they seek sanctuary from Limehouse in Nobles Holler rather than give themselves up.

The U.S. Marshals
Raylan and Rachel took point on finding Drew, which took them to a small airfield where Shelby kept his plane, but the fugitives smelled something fishy so they kept going. Givens was smart enough to figure out Drew's second escape plan, but Thompson never showed up, and then it dawned on him that the key was finding Ellen May. Off to the whorehouse where they bumped into a bitter Cousin Johnny.

Johnny Crowder and Wynn Duffy
Since Johnny's been holding a grudge ever since Boyd stole the family business from under him, he thought it'd be a good idea to get into bed with the Dixie Mafia and Detroit. After telling Wynn that he knew who Drew really was but didn't know how to find him, he was assigned to do the legwork in Harlan to get his hands on the man. When Raylan and Rachel showed up at Audrey's, he vented his frustrations and decided to work with the feds.

Boyd and Ava
The Crowders were still on the lookout for Drew and Ellen May so they could get in good with Theo Tonin and cover Ava's tracks since she killed the guy who ran the whorehouse before her. Before Delroy, Audrey's was operated by guy named Nicky Kush, and he had a friendly relationship with Ellen May. Boyd and his thugs paid Nicky a little visit, and after the threat of torture, he blurted out that Ellen May would go to Limehouse for protection if needed.

Limehouse
Drew and Ellen May made their way to Nobles Holler, and he tried to strike a deal to keep Ellen May safe while he continued to run. Unfortunately, the money he was offering wasn't enough to cover what Limehouse owed to his customers, so he decided to give Drew up for a bounty. As luck would have it, Ava showed up looking for Ellen May, and Limehouse agreed to sell the two of them to Boyd for $150,000 a piece. Crowder then called Nicky Augustine and haggled for a price tag of $500,000 for Thompson. Once Boyd showed up in Nobles, Limehouse changed the deal and said the $300,000 would only buy one of them. After deliberating with Ava, the Crowders picked Shelby over Ellen May since he was vital to their future.

Dénouement
Before dropping off Thompson in a field for Augustine, Johnny alerted Raylan. The marshals showed up just as Nicky's chopper was about to land, so Tonin's henchman took off, thus leaving Shelby in the hand's of the U.S. government. As word spread that Thompson was in custody, everyone involved got spooked and figured out how to evade the wrath of Theo Tonin.

While I usually don't waste too much time writing elaborate recaps, I felt it was necessary to do so this time around since there was so much plot to get through and all of the twists and double crosses didn't help either. In spite of the fact that there was too much going on, which has become a point of contention for many this season, I still thought "Get Drew" was an entertaining episode. Admittedly, watching everyone try to outsmart one another did get a little tiresome after a while, but there was enough tension and anticipation that I didn't mind in the end. Plus, it was a great episode for Art, but I cannot help but think that his time's almost up.

My only gripe about the episode was at the end when everyone became instantly terrified about what Theo Tonin was going to do now, and he somehow became the big bad of the season. Now, I'm willing to go with it because the idea of the major antagonist being someone we haven't even seen yet this season has a compelling quality to it, but everyone's reactions were a bit much.

Other Odds and Ends:
  • And we're back to the sexual tension involving Raylan and Rachel.
  • Art's rant about how Shelby's a badass was beyond brilliant.
  • This is probably sacrilegious to admit, but I didn't miss Limehouse one bit.
  • "You should've been on the other side with me and your daddy. Oh, you'd still be able to shoot people and be an asshole. Your two favorite activities, except you'd be a rich asshole."
  • "It's pretty badass."
  • "Yeah, let's go find a whore."
Messiness aside, "Get Drew" was still a fun, thrill ride of an episode, and a good addition to the larger season. I'm sure it wasn't everyone's cup of tea, and that's fine, but I've appreciated the Drew Thompson mystery for what it's been and I'm excited to see where things go from here.

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