Raw Deal (Justified)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Raw Deal" | |
|---|---|
| Justified episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 7 |
| Directed by | Bill Johnson |
| Written by | VJ Boyd |
| Featured music | Steve Porcaro |
| Cinematography by | Richard Crudo |
| Editing by | Steve Polivka |
| Original air date | February 25, 2014 |
| Running time | 44 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Raw Deal" is the seventh episode of the fifth season of the American Neo-Western[1] television series Justified. It is the 59th overall episode of the series and was written by co-producer VJ Boyd and directed by Bill Johnson. It originally aired on FX on February 25, 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, Boyd and the Crowes fly South for a crucial drug score, while Raylan pursues a small-time grifter with big time enemies.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 2.10 million household viewers and gained a 0.7 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received generally positive reviews from critics, with critics praising the closure to Johnny's storyline although critics criticized the pace, occasional aimlessness and Ava's storyline. Critics also expressed immense frustration at the progress on Raylan's and Art's storyline, with many signaling that the show hasn't made good use of it.
Boyd (Walton Goggins) and the Crowes raid Hot Rod's warehouse, but find no sign of him nor Johnny (David Meunier). Boyd then states that he will go to Mexico as he thinks Johnny might be heading for his drug shipment.
At the office, Art (Nick Searcy) has assigned Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) to attend more cases. A man named Larry Salmeron (Greg Bryan) asks for his help, as the Marshals took his winnings from an online gaming site owned by Charles Monroe. Raylan shows him that he was scammed as the notice incorrectly wrote "Marshall" instead of "Marshal". Furious, Larry and his henchman Kemp (Gary Basaraba) visit the man responsible for the scam, T.C. Flemming (T.J. Linnard) and his girlfriend Candace (Adrienne Frantz). However, upon learning of the money involved, Kemp kills Larry in front of them. Kemp then takes Candace with him when Raylan appears in the apartment, warning T.C. to deliver all the money or he will kill Candace. T.C. escapes through a window as Raylan finds Larry's corpse in the bathtub.
Johnny is in Mexico and convinces a local Mexican criminal to let him visit Korean gangster Yoon (James Kyson) after offering a better deal than Boyd's. Boyd arrives at Yoon's mansion in Mexico and is surprised to see Johnny already there. Boyd is then shocked when Yoon tells him he accepted Johnny's higher offer and Johnny calls his henchmen to bring the money to the mansion. Upon getting the money, Yoon and the Mexican partner with Johnny and allow him to do anything with Boyd. They just warn him that he can't kill him in Mexico, as it would arise suspicions and problems for them.
In prison, Ava (Joelle Carter) enters into the protection of Judith (Dale Dickey), supplying drugs for her in prison. However, when she finds that her future involves having sex with guards, she plants drugs on a guard, causing his arrest and heavily impacting Judith's business. Alison (Amy Smart) tells Raylan that she got suspended from her job after Wendy (Alicia Witt) talked to her boss about many misconduct cases and her relationship with Raylan. Raylan is also taunted by T.C., who has been hacking and emptying his bank accounts. The Marshals track T.C.'s location to a hotel room, but it's actually the location of Kemp and Candace. Candace then gives them T.C.'s location and the Marshals arrest him at his grandma's house. While driving him to jail, Raylan is given tips by T.C. on how to win money through radio stations.
Kendal (Jacob Lofland) tries to talk with Wendy about Baptiste's murder but can't bring himself to tell her so he calls his uncle Jack for help. At the office, Raylan finally talks with Art, who has been evading him and only talks to him through Rachel (Erica Tazel) or Tim (Jacob Pitts). He demands that Art either reinstates him as deputy or transfer him anywhere else. He then leaves for Florida to visit his daughter, telling Art he wants an answer when he returns. Before leaving for Florida, he talks with Wendy at a bar, where he deduces that Daryl (Michael Rapaport) was involved in Dyllie's death, surprising her.
In Mexico, Johnny and his henchmen take Boyd to the desert to show him the shipment. However, the Crowes emerge from the shipment and take them hostage. Yoon never planned to side with Johnny and tipped off Boyd. As he offers a chance to his crew to join him, Daryl and Danny (A. J. Buckley) kill Johnny's henchmen after they think they're pulling guns on them, infuriating Boyd as Yoon said they couldn't kill in Mexico. Johnny taunts Boyd for the moment, which prompts him to kill Johnny by shooting him in the head. Realizing what just happened, he calls Yoon to tell him that they've got a problem.
Production
Development
In January 2014, it was reported that the seventh episode of the fifth season would be titled "Raw Deal", and was to be directed by Bill Johnson and written by co-producer VJ Boyd.[2] The episode was originally set to be released on February 18, 2014.[3]
Writing
On Raylan's and Art's new trajectory, series developer Graham Yost said, "we were just like, how are we going to kick off this story? How is Raylan going to get into it? And we just thought well, what about walk-ins? We haven't done walk-ins on our show, but it's probably a part of the real life there in the eastern district of Kentucky. That's probably a little bit of a crap detail for someone like Raylan who wants to always be out running, and gunning, and chasing down fugitives."[4]
Regarding Johnny's death, Yost explained, "Well, I mean, that's the thing: the audience pretty much knows that Boyd's not going to die, but how can he [kill Johnny] in a surprising way? We wanted at least a couple scenes between Boyd and Johnny before Johnny met his end, with just a sense of past, and regret, and their years together, and this is where it ended up. Then when it came right down to the killing of Johnny, it was my push that it happen in a way where there was not a big buildup to it. That you think there's going to be a big buildup to it, but instead it just happens. Because we've had big, big moments before, like when Boyd killed Devil, but this just sort of felt like that was the right way to do it."[4]
Casting
Despite being credited, Jere Burns does not appear in the episode as his respective character.
