“Not easy being a strong woman, take it from me.” – Mags
The cliffhanger is a staple of serialized storytelling, but Justified left us with an interesting one. Not with a character’s life in (at least immediate) peril or a mystery that needed to be solved. No, the cliffhanger dealt simply with characters leaving to go to a party.
Of course, this isn’t just any part. It’s a Bennett party. And it would seem very unlikely that the festivities are limited to just chips, drinks, and conversations.
“The Spoil” positioned Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) in another Marshall Service assignment that he wanted nothing to do with: providing security to Black Pike Coal executive, Carol Johnson (Rebecca Creskoff), as she makes the rounds in Harlan County, attempting to get support from the residents for a new mining project.
The Bennett family wants nothing to do with Ms. Johnson’s operation as they have their own plans, of which we know very little so far (though Boyd apparently catches on near the episode’s finale). During a pretty darn spectacular townhall meeting scene, Mags (Margo Martindale) convinces all those attending that Black Pike cares little about the residents of Harlan and will simply leave the town poisoned and in shambles when the mine runs dry.
And to be fair, even though she’s the main antagonist this season, it’s hard not to agree with her. Hell, even Raylan has serious reservations about the coal mining industry in general. The disconnect comes into play when you stop and think what Mags is really up to. Because I’d bet dollars to donuts, her plan doesn’t solely revolve around keeping Harlan County and its residents safe from the big, bad corporation.
Following the meeting (which is interrupted–possibly at the hands of Carol herself–by firecrackers), Carol and Raylan drunkenly flirt, but give not into temptation. Yet. The next morning, they visit with Raylan’s father Arlo in an attempt to get him to sell his land to Black Pike, but gunshots ring out and a bullet strikes Arlo in the leg. The shooter ends up being the sister of the escaped bomb-threatener in last week’s episode, and Raylan quickly gets her under control. And yet, in spite of all of the danger she just faced, Carol still wants to attend Mags’ party in order to try one last shot at convincing the people of Harlan to side with her.
The other big obstacle facing Raylan this episode is his realization that Art (Nick Searcy) knows Raylan was up to something in the evidence locker. He might not know all the details, but for a born investigator like Art (hell, it took him like ten minutes to track Raylan down to the batting cages), it won’t be hard for him to figure out the truth. The question is, will he dig deep enough to try? And what will he do when he does find out?
Just like season one of Justified, this second season is really picking up steam as it passes the 2/3 mark. With conflicts coming from all angles, it’s good to know that Justified won’t have to resolve every storyline in the next few episodes. In not entirely surprising but nonetheless pleasant news, FX announced that Justified would be renewed for a third season. So rejoice, Raylan will be back, and angrier than ever, in 2012.
Lingering thoughts about “The Spoil”:
- Have I mentioned that Margo Martindale is awesome?
- It was probably a by-product of my screener, but man were the stunt-double very visible in the fight scene.
- With all this baseball talk, it gets me even more excited about Opening Day tomorrow. I can’t say I have high hopes about my Cubbies, but in that crappy division, anything is possible.
- So, what kind of animal do you think “Charlie” is/was? Do we know this already?
- The gunfight at the end of the episode reminded me a lot of the gunfight at the end of last season’s “Bulletville.”
Some stats and info about Justified, “The Spoil”
TV SHOW – Justified
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 2, Episode 8
AIRED ON – March 30th, 2011
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.