Decoy (Justified)
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Episode 11
| "Decoy" | |
|---|---|
| Justified episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 11 |
| Directed by | Michael Watkins |
| Written by | Graham Yost & Chris Provenzano |
| Featured music | Steve Porcaro |
| Cinematography by | Francis Kenny |
| Editing by | Harvey Rosenstock |
| Original air date | March 19, 2013 |
| Running time | 40 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Decoy" is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of the American Neo-Western[1] television series Justified. It is the 50th overall episode of the series and was written by series developer Graham Yost and producer Chris Provenzano and directed by Michael W. Watkins. It originally aired on FX on March 19, 2013.
The series is based on Elmore Leonard's stories about the character Raylan Givens, particularly "Fire in the Hole", which serves as the basis for the episode. The series follows Raylan Givens, a tough deputy U.S. Marshal enforcing his own brand of justice. The series revolves around the inhabitants and culture in the Appalachian Mountains area of eastern Kentucky, specifically Harlan County where many of the main characters grew up. In the episode, the Marshals work to take Drew Thompson out of Harlan while Boyd works with Theo Tonin's crew to get Drew back.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 2.45 million household viewers and gained a 0.9 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received universal acclaim from critics, who praised the writing, action scenes, tension, character development, pace and acting (particularly Patton Oswalt and Mike O'Malley), with many deeming it one of the series' best episodes. The episode was named by IndieWire, Time, Vulture and TV Guide as one of the best episodes of 2013.[2][3][4][5]
The Marshals have taken refuge at Arlo's house while Tonin's hitmen are looking for Drew Thompson (Jim Beaver). At the bar, Nicky Augustine (Mike O'Malley) brutally attacks Boyd (Walton Goggins) for his failure in delivering Drew. Boyd then makes another deal for $500,000 where he will help them get close to Drew.
Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) and Rachel (Erica Tazel) stay with Drew at the house while Mullen (Nick Searcy) and Tim (Jacob Pitts) create a decoy of cars that supposedly will take Drew out of town. In the outskirts, Tim notices three abandoned cars and assumes is a set-up for an ambush based on bomb-rigged cars and snipers. During this, Colt (Ron Eldard) and a Tonin hitman have been assigned to keep track of them. Tim notices this and calls him, where they trade insults. Colt then tells the hitman to shoot at the back of the cars to motivate them to move. However, Tim decides to do something: the cars circle the abandoned cars and draw their guns at them. Colt immediately calls Boyd to tell him that the cars are a decoy.
Raylan and Rachel take Drew to an abandoned school in Evarts. There, Raylan receives a call from Bob (Patton Oswalt), who was alerted of their presence at Arlo's house. Then, a truck arrives and a Tonin hitman, Yolo (Bobby Campo), takes him hostage and brutally attacks him in the house. Bob resists revealing Drew's location and fights back Yolo, stabbing him in the leg and killing him just as Raylan arrives. Raylan and Bob arrive at the school but Boyd has already deduced their school location and hitmen are going there.
As a helicopter approaches the school, the team prepares to fight back. Raylan catches Boyd and hitman Picker (John Kapelos) in the stairs. He threatens them to leave, but they intend to return with back-up. Back at the outskirts, Tim decides to test the cars by using a Molotov cocktail, which causes the abandoned cars to explode. As the Marshals retreat in their cars, Colt tricks the hitman to hand over his rifle and kills him. At the bar, Nicky insults Ava (Joelle Carter) and is told by Johnny (David Meunier) to stop. Nicky then exposes Johnny's betrayal and having secretly collaborated with Duffy. Ava manages to get Nick's gun after distracting Nick with brandy and a lighter to the face. Johnny has a gun on Ava and tells Ava he loves her. Ava leaves the bar and Johnny doesn't shoot or follow her.
Back at the school, Boyd, Picker and the back-up team have arrived and find Raylan and Bob in the principal's office but no sign of Drew. As police sirens approach, Raylan explains that they could simply leave or face getting arrested. Boyd immediately leaves and Picker and his team soon follow. The Marshals arrive and Bob explains that Drew didn't need to be transported by car or air. The final scene shows Rachel and Drew on a coal train safely leaving Harlan.
Production
Development
In February 2013, it was reported that the eleventh episode of the fourth season would be titled "Decoy", and was to be directed by Michael Watkins and written by series developer Graham Yost and producer Chris Provenzano.[6]
Writing
The idea to set part of the episode in an abandoned high school was done to save costs. Series developer Graham Yost said, "honestly, it was just trying to make the thing producible. Where could we go and just camp out for a couple of days? It posed certain problems for us. We didn't want any gunplay in a school, naturally, given the recent events. So we wanted to make sure it was an empty school, and that's part of the reality in that area — they did consolidate the schools into one big school. It takes Raylan back to this youth, and it reminds us of where Raylan came from."[7]
Bob getting attacked was an idea of star Timothy Olyphant. The scene served as a homage to True Romance. Yost explained, "when you torture a character you find out who they are. It doesn't literally have to be physical torture, but when you tighten the screws, you see who they are."[7] Speaking on Oswalt's acting in the episode, Yost said, "we've been very blessed to have him on the show, and the other side of that is that he gets to do stuff that he hasn’t gotten to do before, which makes it even more fun for us."[7]
Speaking on Johnny's revelation, Yost said, "One of my favorite moments is, as Fred Golan noticed, the little hitch in David's voice when he says it. 'Ava, I... I love you.' And the outing, we knew that we wanted to have it happen in this episode and we wanted to have it happen in this scene. And then again, there were adjustments on how it actually came out. In an earlier version, he's not outed until after Ava has threatened to set Nicky on fire, gotten a gun, and says, 'Come on, Johnny, let's go', and then you realize he's not going and then it comes out and he leaves. The switch was made: Let's have it come before, which is just another thing that tightens the screw on Ava. Just as Bob was beaten up and we saw who he really was, get Ava in this situation that gets worse and worse and worse and we see who she really is and what she's capable of." Ava's response was originally written as "If you really want to do something for me, put a bullet in your head" but the writers decided to change it to "Oh, that's sweet."[7]
