Over the Mountain (Justified)
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Episode 4
| "Over the Mountain" | |
|---|---|
| Justified episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 4 |
| Directed by | Gwyneth Horder-Payton |
| Written by | Taylor Elmore |
| Featured music | Steve Porcaro |
| Cinematography by | Francis Kenny |
| Editing by | Steve Polivka |
| Original air date | January 28, 2014 |
| Running time | 44 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Over the Mountain" is the fourth episode of the fifth season of the American Neo-Western[1] television series Justified. It is the 56th overall episode of the series and was written by co-executive producer Taylor Elmore and directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton. It originally aired on FX on January 28, 2014.
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, Raylan ventures into wild country on the hunt for a missing informant, while Boyd's last living relative, Johnny, threatens his life and livelihood.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 2.36 million household viewers and gained a 0.8 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received positive reviews from critics, who praised Damon Herriman's acting but critics also expressed frustration at the episode's pace and lack of progress in the plot.
Dewey (Damon Herriman) and Wade (James LeGros) go to the woods to dig something. In reality, Dewey intends to kill Wade and is making him dig his own grave. Wade turns around and Dewey shoots him in the stomach, but Wade attacks him until Dewey knocks him over with a shovel. As the shovel breaks, Dewey is forced to take a crowbar from the car. However, when he returns, he finds that Wade is nowhere to be found.
Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) is told by Art (Nick Searcy) and Vasquez (Rick Gomez) that Wade was an informant for them and request that Raylan finds him. He and Tim (Jacob Pitts) check Audrey's but only find Kendal (Jacob Lofland) tending the bar. They then check Wade's house, only to find Danny (A. J. Buckley) in the property. Johnny (David Meunier), whose condition has improved and can now walk without a cane, meets with Boyd (Walton Goggins) to visit Ava (Joelle Carter) in prison. Johnny defends his decisions, stating that everything is Boyd's fault and leaves. Boyd sends Carl (Justin Welborn) to follow Johnny in car.
Dewey gets lost in the woods while trying to find Wade and finds that he has no service in his phone. Desperate, he asks for a sign of God, promising to clean himself after killing Wade. Just then, he notices a blood tail and discovers a severely wounded Wade nearby. Before he shoots him, a family finds him, failing to notice Wade. Dewey then decides to leave with the family, leaving Wade to die in the woods. In prison, Ava is sexually harassed by a guard, Albert Fekus (Danny Strong), whose plans to assault her are thwarted when a female guard shows up. Later, the female guard attacks Fekus for trying to assault Ava, and makes him promise to never do it again.
Raylan gets Wade's burner phone from Boyd in an attempt to locate him with a GPS. The phone gets him to a lodge where a murder of crows reveal that his corpse is nearby. Dewey contacts Daryl (Michael Rapaport) about his location and they set to go to the lodge. However, they notice the authorities have found Wade's corpse and they leave. When Dewey angrily confronts him about why he ordered him to kill him, Daryl says he tested him to say if he was a Crowe. Dewey exclaims that he is not a Crowe but Daryl points out that he shot at Wade.
Boyd and Carl eventually discover that Johnny met with Hot Rod (Mickey Jones) for the drug shipment. Art has gone to Detroit as he has a possible lead on Sammy Tonin's role in Nicky Augustine's death. Marshal Ed Kirkland (Shashawnee Hall) introduces him to Canadian gangster Al Sura (Will Sasso), who previously dealt with Boyd. Sura says that Sammy had a Kentucky lawman on his pocket who let him kill Nicky Augustine. He says that for more information, they must find Picker, who is hiding with Wynn Duffy. Meanwhile, Paxton (Sam Anderson) returns home, where he is convinced by Mooney (William Gregory Lee) that he killed Boyd. He tells Mara (Karolina Wydra) that he intends to pursue a case against Ava.
Raylan confronts Daryl, accusing the Crowes of being involved in Wade's death. He orders them to return to Florida but Daryl refuses to do it. So Raylan decides to put Kendal on state custody, as he was a minor serving alcohol earlier. The Crowes and Raylan are about to start a fight when Kendal agrees to leave with him to avoid problems. The episode ends as Carl shows Boyd the corpses of the men they killed at the bridge and men who were in the shipment robbery.
Production
Development
In December 2013, it was reported that the fourth episode of the fifth season would be titled "Over the Mountain", and was to be directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton and written by co-executive producer Taylor Elmore.[2]
Writing
The writers were considering putting the opening scene as the last scene of the previous episode. Series developer Graham Yost said, "we often think of ending an episode on a cliffhanger, and then almost invariably, we end up moving off that and trying to put it all in the same episode. We just thought that was a strong way to open. Part of it is Dewey's character: We don't know that he's ever killed anyone before. He's a violent criminal. He's a bad guy. But, he's also Dewey, and there's something so hapless about him that we just thought this could be, in the classic Elmore sense, a really scary, funny thing for an episode."[3]
Casting
Despite being credited, Jere Burns and Erica Tazel do not appear in the episode as their respective characters.
On casting Danny Strong, the writers needed "someone who could be believably beaten up by a female guard." Executive producer Dave Andron knew Strong, offered him a part and he accepted.[3]
