“I might be doing some undertaking around here.” – Raylen Givens
The series opens on a great and ironic note: a man in a cowboy hat is at a pool in a tropical locale while a hip fueled Caribbean beat pumps in the background. It helps of course and is no less ironic that the man in the cowboy hat is Timothy Olyphant, who is already iconic from his stoic character Seth Bullock on Deadwood.
And immediately we’re thrust into a tense situation, an old West-like standoff if you like, where Raylen Givens (Olyphant) is giving the bad guy a chance to walk away. A Han Solo and Gredo-like shootout ensues, and immediately we know that Givens is brave, has a sense of a code and honor about him, and might be just a little bit nuts. And there’s a great payoff where Givens’ boss (presumably) at the U.S. Marshals service chews him out, telling him that you “just can’t shoot people one site” like you could do 100 years ago. Givens stares back with a look that says it ain’t like the old days.
Soon Givens hears that, “The weather forecast is for a shitload of shit raining down on this office,” and is sent off to the eastern Kentucky region from whence he was raised.
So, we’ve got a great premise and things just keep getting better. The first thing is that the series is based on a short story by legendary crime writer Elmore Leonard, and Leonard in fact is an executive producer on the show. (I read somewhere that he feels that Justified has come the closest to capturing the quirky/gritty/strikingly witty atmosphere of his books, and so far I’m inclined to agree.)
Then we get ourselves some Walton Goggins (who plays Bowd Crowder), who was fantastic throughout The Shield’s run as a dirty cop, and is Givens’ first target here in the small Kentucky town of Harlan. It’s super fun to see Goggins freed up here from any law abiding or moral considerations and just be a flat-out bad ass and bad guy.
What’s not as fun is that Crowder is a full-blown white supremacist who thinks nothing of killing people (including his friends), but that only makes him a more worthy target of Givens and his code. Well, that, plus the gal (Ava Crowder, played by Joelle Carter) that had a crush on Givens back in the day (she was too young at the time) killed her husband, Crowder’s brother, for being a generally abusive and stupid-headed lout.
That sets things up nicely for Givens to both protect and rekindle his feelings for Ava while going after Crowder. The series premiere ends on an intriguing psychological note after a blast of action (and several astoundingly good scenes featuring Goggins and Olyphant together), with Raylan’s ex-wife (Winona, played by Natalie Zea) telling him that he’s the angriest man she’s ever known, even though “he’s so good at hiding it.” He seems genuinely surprised to hear it.
And all in all I think we’re in for one hell of a ride: this was the best pilot I’ve seen in years (maybe since Mad Men S0101?).
More thoughts on “Fire in the Hole”:
- Maybe it’s just my personality, but I laughed out loud when Crowder yells “fire in the hole!” before firing a rocket launcher missile into a church. It’s just that that is messed up.
- Pretty terrific music throughout the pilot episode, which is always a good thing.
- Crowder’s trailer adorned in all kinds of neo-Nazi flags and paraphernalia is pretty freaky.
- “I might be doing some undertaking around here.” – Givens
- Givens’ bit about not pulling his sidearm unless he means to shoot to kill is vintage Elmore Leonard and played perfectly by Olyphant.
- You know you’re not in New York City or LA when someone under the age of 65 refers to a “necktie” in 2010.
- Love the shot of Goggins/Crowder walking out of a barn sporting a huge Confederate belt buckle.
- Overall the scenery of rural Kentucky is authentic, rustic, and gorgeous.
- Goggins and Olyphant are fantastic in their scenes together. Goggins as Crowder can be disarmingly charming but then you remember that there’s crazy Nazi stuff all over the joint. And that he’s a murderer and crazy and stuff.
- I don’t usually talk about advertising, but I really love that Svedka campaign: voted best vodka of 2033.
- “What are you packing?” says Crowder. “You’ll pay to find that out,” replies Givens. Great writing, great exchange.
From Around the Web: Justified, “Fire in the Hole”
- TV with Alan Sepinwall: Because Olyphant is who he is and does what he does, and because the part of Givens fits him so well, a lot of the fun of the series comes from seeing how cops and crooks alike with more contemporary attitudes react to this walking, shooting throwback to a very different time.
- TV Squad: Goggins is the perfect man for this gig. Here he plays a much shrewder and more evil version of Shane Vandrell, but with a much meaner tone and demeanor. He spouts biblical motives for his racist ways, but clearly enjoys knocking off banks and blowing up churches as much as knocking back some homemade hooch.
- Spinetingler Magazine: I would guess that Givens and Boyd will butt heads and that Givens will wrestle with his violent nature episode to episode (Olyphant already did the same thing in Deadwood but what’re you gonna do?) and also grapple relationship-wise with the comely Ava and the no-nonsense Winona. We’ll no doubt see more of Boyd’s hilarious redneck gang and Givens’ spry team of small-town marshals.
Some stats and info about Justified, “Fire in the Hole”
TV SHOW – Justified
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 1, Episode 1
AIRED ON – March 16th, 2010
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – FX, FXX, Hulu
GENRE – Drama, Crime Dramas
CREATED BY – Graham Yost
CAST – Timothy Olyphant, Nick Searcy, Joelle Carter, Jacob Pitts, Erica Tazel, Walton Goggins, Natalie Zea, Jere Burns, David Meunier
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.