Truth and Consequences (Justified)
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Episode 3
| "Truth and Consequences" | |
|---|---|
| Justified episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 3 |
| Directed by | Jon Avnet |
| Written by | Benjamin Cavell |
| Featured music | Steve Porcaro |
| Cinematography by | Francis Kenny |
| Editing by | Keith Henderson |
| Original air date | January 22, 2013 |
| Running time | 40 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Truth and Consequences" is the third episode of the fourth season of the American Neo-Western[1] television series Justified. It is the 42nd overall episode of the series and was written by producer Benjamin Cavell and directed by Jon Avnet. It originally aired on FX on January 22, 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, Raylan starts to look for Drew Thompson, who he now believes is alive after his visit to the Truth family. Meanwhile, Boyd continues confronting preacher Billy St. Cyr but things take an ugly turn.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 2.44 million household viewers and gained a 1.0 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received positive reviews from critics, who praised the character development, although some expressed a polarized response to the closure to Billy's storyline.
Boyd (Walton Goggins) approaches Cassie (Lindsay Pulsipher) at the Church, accusing her of controlling his brother and the Church for profit, which she doesn't deny. Boyd offers her money to leave but she demands more. Later, he sends Colt (Ron Eldard) and Jimmy (Jesse Luken) to vandalize the Church. However, the tent is revealed to contain snakes, many of which mortally bite Jimmy.
Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) and Lindsey (Jenn Lyon) talk about Randall (Robert Baker), who is revealed to be working as a brawler. Randall served time in prison but Lindsey admits she also stole from many men before. He finds that Randall is not allowed to leave Florida and tells him he has until the 6 p.m. to leave the state. Raylan also starts to look for Drew Thompson, who he now believes is alive after his visit to the Truth family. He is told by Mullen (Nick Searcy) that at the time of Drew Thompson's apparent death 30 years ago he was wanted in a sealed federal witness warrant, putting the search for Thompson under the purview of the Marshals.
Raylan and Tim (Jacob Pitts) then visit Thompson's former wife, Eve Munro (Julia Campbell), a psychic. Raylan is skeptical of her, but is surprised when she deduces he will meet a "weightlifter" or "fighter" that he shouldn't be meeting. An FBI agent, Alex Barnes (Josh Stamberg) appears, wanting to speak with Eve. While Raylan and Tim question him, Eve escapes through a window but is knocked out unconscious by a man named Mason Goines (Michael Graziadei). Unbeknownst to them, Barnes is actually working with Goines, who takes Eve to a hotel room to find Drew's location.
At the bar, a doctor treats Jimmy, whose condition surprisingly is stronger than expected. Johnny then secretly meets with Duffy (Jere Burns), offering a partnership and even offering himself to kill Boyd.
At the gym, Raylan prepares to meet with Randall, but he's cleared out his locker. As Raylan leaves, he finds Barnes has trailed him. He deduces Barnes's intentions and confronts him. Barnes tells him where Eve is and then kills himself. Raylan and the team arrive at the motel room where Goines was about to torture Eve and arrests him. After Goines is revealed to be working for Theo Tonin, Eve then confesses that Theo Tonin wanted her husband dead after he saw Theo kill a federal witness.
At the Church, Billy (Joe Mazzello) is talking to the congregation when Boyd arrives with a snake in a box. Boyd challenges Billy as he found out the snake that he shows to the congregation has been drained of its venom by Cassie, something Billy himself didn't know. This humiliates Billy in front of the crowd, so he sets out to take Boyd's snake. He holds it and the snake bites him in front of everyone. As Billy dies, Boyd leaves the church, ashamed. Raylan meets Rachel (Erica Tazel) at the bar, who just left her husband. Raylan notes that Lindsey is nowhere to be seen. He returns to his apartment, to find that it's been robbed and his money is gone.
Production
Development
In January 2013, it was reported that the third episode of the fourth season would be titled "Truth and Consequences", and was to be directed by Jon Avnet and written by producer Benjamin Cavell.[2]
Writing
Lindsey's storyline was based on a pitch with the phrase "I want to have a word with my wife" in the writers' room.[3] Series developer Graham Yost explained, "One of the things in Elmore Leonard's world that we've embraced is that people have a hard time changing. You end up doing the same things again and again, and you swear you're not going to. But Raylan has a blind spot for pretty women. That's basically it. You see what you want to see and you hear what you want to hear."[4]
Yost previewed that the episode would reveal more about Cassie, "she's not so much badass as she's the pragmatic hand guiding things and keeping things afloat for her brother."[3] Regarding the opening scene between Boyd and Cassie, Yost said, "we wanted to make sure that Cassie was a formidable adversary for Boyd, that she's not cowed by him." For the scene where Jimmy is bitten by the snakes, the crew shot a scene showing Billy praying while all of this happens. The writers decided to remove the scene, deeming it "distracting and it didn't really help the scene."[4]
The episode featured the death of Billy St. Cyr, played by Joseph Mazzello. The writers wanted to establish that Boyd didn't want the character to die, having symphatized with Billy's intentions. The confrontation "kinda hurts him to bring down a man of faith. And yet, it then confirms again his dark nihilistic view of the world." Yost also added, "So it was just the idea that he offers up the challenge, it's a test of Billy's faith, and he's hoping that Cassie will stop him and that that will be that. The church will then have to pack up and move on. That's all he wanted. He didn't want Billy to die. It was Billy's own feeling of having been betrayed by Cassie and his own hubris — that 'No, no, the Lord is gonna protect me.'"[4]
