6) Slaughterhouse (Season 3, Episode 13)
Noticing a pattern? “Thick as Mud” might represent Justified at the height of its procedural game, but among the qualities that put the show head and shoulders above other case-of-the-week dramas was the sheer pleasure of watching all the seasonal dominoes start to fall. The tail end of any year of Justified is a TV event unto itself, and the final hour of Season 3 was no exception. Stepping out from the shadow of Mags was a tall order, but the cadre of schemers new and old vying for the Bennett fortune made Justified’s third season its most intricately plotted yet.
With Boyd, Limehouse, Quarles, and Duffy having allied with and double-crossed one another so thoroughly by the finale, a bloodbath seemed in order. But it’s only state trooper Tom Bergen and Mr. Quarles that don’t make it out of the night in one piece (literally so, in the latter’s case). Like “Bloody Harlan” before it, “Slaughterhouse” ended on a somber note of contemplation for Raylan, as Arlo heads to prison for not only shooting Bergen, but taking the fall for Boyd on another killing. With Arlo behind bars, the last of Harlan’s previous generation of criminals was gone for good –that is, until Season 4 scared up one last ghost for Raylan and Boyd to chase.
Best Scene: The climactic hostage standoff in Limehouse’s titular slaughterhouse doubles as a brilliant reveal for where all of Mags’ money has been hiding: inside a dead hog. “Holy shit, it’s a piggybank!” Quarles squeals with delight, the second-to-last laugh he’ll have before losing more than just his arm.
Memorable Line: “Jesus Christ!” After surviving a game of Harlan Roulette with Raylan, Jere Burns turns a run-of-the-mill obscenity into one of the great Wynn Duffy line readings.
