There’s always been this interesting push and pull relationship between Raylan and Art (Nick Searcy). Most of the time Raylan gets a pass on his unprofessionalism since he still manages to get the job done, and he does it better than most of the agents in that office, but this season has been hinting at Art taking a less accepting approach to dealing with his hotshot subordinate.
The closer Art gets to retirement, the more he seems concerned with the legacy he’s leaving behind. A lot of his career will be able to speak for itself, yet there is this questionable element of what certain people may read from between the lines. He clearly has a soft spot for Raylan, but he also needs to think about the larger picture – is Raylan the right man for the job, or does his own personal brand of thinking he’s above the law he represents hinder his performance as an enforcer of such?
Obviously the incident Art’s been secretly investigating is a grey area. Raylan looked the other way and condoned an illegal act that was mutually beneficial to all parties involved, and let’s face it, for the greater good. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of ways to spin it that don’t make it sound like he was working for the wrong side of the law.
We’ve seen Raylan make alliances with unlawful men in the past in order to further his sanctioned work, walking the line between ethical and distasteful, but he’s always maintained a margin of control. Giving Sammy Tonin (Max Perlich) an unspoken pardon to kill Nicky Augustine (Mike O’Malley), especially considering Tonin’s penchant for exaggerating his resources, was not only an invitation to be crucified professionally down the line, but sloppy on his part.
Do you think that Raylan coming clean to Art will get him kicked out of the Marshal service? Will saving Art’s life be enough to save his career? Let us know what you think, along with all your other Justified theories in the comment section below!
