And it’s only because he hasn’t changed that Raylan gets led to California, where Ava has started a new life using her cut of the Markham money (the rest? Likely in the surf-sprayed hands of Wynn Duffy). Knocking on Ava’s front door like he did all the way back in the pilot, “Fire in the Hole,” the two wax nostalgic about how familiar the whole thing is. She knew Raylan would show up looking for her one day, same as before, but time and a child have changed things. Raylan made a promise to Ava, the titular promise to get her out of Harlan alive. To renege on that now wouldn’t sit right with him, or us.
Besides, to haul her away would mean risking the start of a whole new cycle of revenge, lest young Zachariah learn the legacy that comes with being a Crowder. Though it further muddies the plausibility of her escape (“We were looking for a woman, not a pregnant woman,” Raylan says, without thinking about how ridiculous that sounds), Ava getting another chance also means Boyd does too, in a sense. So much of the violence on Justified precipitated from the sleights and hatreds of the last generation being foisted on the next one; the minute he was born Bowman Crowder’s son, Boyd never had a chance. Free from all that weight, Zachariah might.
Which brings us to Boyd, his fate seemingly an afterthought, until the final scene of the night, and series. The last time Boyd ever had a shot at a decent life was with a flock at his feet, so it’s no surprise that the audience a prison church provides has given him some measure of peace. There was no way Raylan or the show could let Boyd get away, but to have him live out the sentence of his crimes instead of dying for them makes for a touching affirmation of the show’s belief in change –maybe not into different people, but at least the better version of yourself that might exist.
And so Raylan and Boyd have their true final showdown, not as mortal enemies, but as men with nothing left to connect them except ancient history. Raylan’s visit is mainly an effort to convince Boyd that Ava died in an accident, but Boyd astutely observes how odd it is Raylan would deliver the news in person. Maybe there’s a part of him that knows it’s a put-on, but the tears in Boyd’s eyes tell you that he’s finally ready to let Ava go. “She was trying to get out, but I just don’t think that’s possible. Follows you behind some how,” he tells Raylan, the show doing more open reflecting on its central themes, in between more callbacks to the pilot.
“Well, I suppose if I allow myself to be sentimental, despite all that has occurred, there is one thing I wander back to,” Raylan tells him. From the moment Raylan first starts to walk out of the marshal’s office, it was hard not to get a little (okay, a lot) emotional about the end of Justified. The operating sentiment seems to be that life will go on for these characters, with Tim still being a dick, Rachel running the show, and Art still kicking around (it does my heart good to know that Wynn Duffy is still out there, catching a wave for all us sinners). Sad as we are to see all these characters go, knowing their stories will endure beyond our time spent with them is a comfort.
“The Promise” literalizes this feeling in the best way imaginable, as Raylan doesn’t leave the office before pulling out a copy of The Friends of Eddie Coyle, a crime novel by George V. Higgins. “If I said I read it ten times, I’m low,” Raylan tells Tim while looking at his copy, the pages dog-eared to death and yellow from overuse. When Raylan passed the book along to Tim, my thoughts went straight to Elmore Leonard, and to wondering how many of his books have been shared by others in a similar fashion. Much as we need to thank Graham Yost, and the other writers for bringing Leonard’s words to life on Justified, it was Leonard who started this story to begin with.
That he wasn’t around to see its end adds a real life melancholy to the finale worthy of all the fictional melancholy Justified has given us over the years. Of course, that’s the reason we love storytellers: they make the imaginary feel as real as something you lived. The words of Leonard and Justified will long outlive either’s lifespan, not just as examples of smart, erudite, and damn-fine entertainment, but as places, characters, and stories we can always wander back to. As he did in “Fire in the Hole,” the short story that gave life to Justified, Leonard gets the last word. “We dug coal together,” Boyd says, making off with one last score by stealing Raylan’s closing line from the novella. “That’s right,” Raylan replies. Leave it to Raylan Givens to say so little, and yet so much about the end of his own story.
- Stray Observations
-“You gonna read that?” “No, Nelson, I’m gonna eat it.” Tim, your snark will be sorely missed.
-Enjoyed the flashback roundup featuring Limehouse, Ellen May, and Duffy’s dog-grooming van. Justified has had one of the great final cast roll calls in recent memory, and we’ve lost many great characters besides our main trio tonight.
-Thanks for reading, as it’s been my great, great pleasure to write about this show through its final year. I remember watching the pilot for Justified when it first aired back in 2010, and to know I’ll be able to remember the end of the show as fondly as I do the majority of it is a rare treat indeed. The TV world is a lesser place for losing Boyd, Ava, Raylan, and the rest, but it was made immeasurable better for their existence. Allow me to join Yost and company in thanking Leonard one last time for writing this story. Take it easy.
