Imagining Raylan without his glock and Stetson is a much harder task than envisioning Boyd all by his lonesome, at least visually. There was a whole first season of Justified that saw Boyd almost entirely absent from Raylan and Ava’s affairs. But now that Boyd and Ava are so intrinsically linked to one another, it’s more an emotional exercise than a creative one to speculate what would become of the two if separated. “The Hunt” forces the pair to reckon with who they were before hitching their wagons to one another, Ava, the Crowder-killing survivor, and Boyd, the ruthless manipulator.
Seeing as we already know all the dirty laundry Ava’s been hiding from Boyd, and the limited amount of it that Limehouse could have exposed him to, there’s a distinct lack of surprise to be found in Boyd’s drawn-out backwoods inquisition. As a viewer, we can rightly assume that Boyd’s love of Ava will trump his anger at her betrayal, and that Ava’s best option at this point really would be to just spill the beans. By the time the two finally do show their cards to one another, it might feel like one vital scene has been delayed to accommodate four others worth of build-up.
But Boyd’s arc has always been one of redemption, bloody as his efforts to attain it may often be. Ava represents the chance at being a better man than the one his father raised, so for that avenue to be taken away from him his devastating. What his not-so-subtle game of cat and mouse amounts to in “The Hunt” is really more a series of trials for himself, not Ava. Can he control his rage, his violence in the face of Ava’s betrayal, or is he spoiled by the same demon that was inside Bowman and Bo?
Goggins puts in an outstanding effort tonight, reminding us through most of the hour of what an unlovable menace Boyd Crowder can be, and was, before Ava helped rescue him. It’s only after her confession that he can flip the switch, and return to being the lost soul we’ve grown to admire. “I understand what you did. I understand why you did it. I still love you.” The pleading, desperate voice that asks Ava to trust him once more is that of the man we, Ava, and Boyd want him to be, the tragic black sheep who faced loss and treachery, only to hold to a higher standard.
It would have been touching to end with Ava and Boyd’s reconciling embrace, but already those seeds of distrust planted last week are starting to sprout. Revealing at the last minute that Boyd really didn’t trust Ava to not kill him if given the opportunity, “The Hunt” does for its main villain what it already did for its hero. Boyd has considered what it would mean to live without Ava in his life, an option that frightens him, but not as much as his own death. Freedom has been the end-goal for many on Justified, but the freedom that comes with being given a choice also comes with the burden of having to make it.
- Stray Thoughts
-If there’s any real wheel spinning to be found tonight, it’s in Ty’s story, which says as much as it really needs to once it’s clear that he (rightly) can’t trust Seabass anymore. His encounter with the frat boys is funny (“it has been a DAY”), and his reticence at leaving more bodies in his wake is humanizing, but the plot largely amounts to a stall for time.
-As for Art and Avery, I’ll agree with the latter that I’m confused as to what’s being implied about the Hale case. At this point, it seems to me like Avery killed D.A. Poole to try and help Grady, but at the same time that Katherine killed her husband to prevent him from ratting her out. I’m sure more will be revealed as necessary, though the scene is worth having, if for no better reason than to watch Nick Searcy and Sam Elliott trade crusty barbs about old age.
-Between the forest birds knocking on trees and the violent tapping Boyd uses to indicate where Ava can shoot him, it only just occurred to me that there’s a Woody Woodpecker-esque quality to Boyd. He doesn’t have Woody’s laugh, but the wild hair and knack for mischief give them plenty in common.
-“Do you hear I’m condescending to you just now?” Pointing out how unnecessary it is for Raylan to explain Ty’s obvious credit card ploy is totally okay if it means Tim being a dick to Raylan, which is always hilarious.
-“What is this sleep you speak of?” says Winona, as Natalie Zea’s version of “exhausted single-parent who just had a kid” looks how most of us wish we would at our best.
