Justified Review: “Kill The Messenger” (Season 5, Episode 6)

This also presents a convenient solution for the Danny (A.J. Buckley) problem. Although in the grand scheme of things he’s more of a blip than an actual problem, he’s rapidly turning into the latter. Between killing Jean Baptiste (Edi Gathegi), running Allison (Amy Smart) off the road, and kidnapping Boyd’s henchman, he clearly has too much time and anger in his corner. Boyd is his savior. Danny can use his considerable aggression to aide in any number of Boyd’s delicate web of issues, so i’s a win-win situation for everyone.

A victory is exactly what Boyd needed too after he found out about the mishap with Ava. Instead of his money buying her protection, it bought her a very uncomfortable first day in gen pop. Apparently not everyone has forgotten about his stint in the ‘white is right’ movement and his subsequent departure from the clan. It’s a shame that Ava is the one paying for Boyd’s past. Surely this will be reiterated in the form of a morale lesson (something about the friends you keep) at some point in the future. Possibly even in a lengthy monologue courtesy of Raylan himself?

There’s been a considerable amount of character development when it comes to Ava this season. As a whole, the way she has been portrayed over the length of Justified is in a continuous state of flux. We’ve watched her emerge as the revenged wife which she then followed up with a short-lived relationship on the right side of the law. Moving on, she fell for Boyd (her former brother-in-law). Now, a certain sense of karma has been put in play and she’s dealing with it in a particularly graceful manner.

Raylan made a big choice on last week’s episode of Justified to come clean to his boss and friend (of sorts). He admitted in a conversation that fans will mostly have to imagine, that he made a judgment call that was not on the legal side of things, but he made it nonetheless. This moment could have gone a lot of ways, and still could, but it looks like Art is settling for a powerful right hook to express his disappointment. Raylan took a risk and we’ve seen him take similar life altering ones in the past. His instincts have mostly worked out for him, so we can only hope they will go his way once more.

Do you think this is where Raylan’s confession ends? Will Boyd be able to eliminate some more threats to his person and against his business in the next couple of episodes? How will Ava fair inside? Let us know all your theories on Justified in the comments section below!