The star of this season - and anyone who has seen this season has to agree - is Margo Martindale as Mags Bennett. I don't want to be hyperbolic, but she possibly has the greatest performance in any season of any television show I've ever seen. She is simultaneously terrifying, loving, motherly, sympathetic, crime lord, conniving, and just about every contradictory adjective you can imagine. Somehow, none of those ring false and the audience is with her every step of the way. She won a well-deserved Emmy for this role.
The season kicks off with a child molester hired by the Bennetts trying to reach his next prey in Loretta McCready. But Loretta's a smart girl and she also has the fortune of having Raylan Givens trying to help her. Mags then kills her father for calling the police and then the chain of events that led to this season's conclusion happens. I like how ultimately her decision to kill him - which was rather pointless - was her direct downfall.
I have to give props to the child actress who plays Loretta. I haven't seen her in anything else, but she can act. She held in her own in scenes involving Martindale and Timothy Olyphant. To put it in simple terms, a large portion of this season depended on how much you were invested in her story and she certainly succeeded in that regard.
The main story line of the second season was so incredibly invigorating that any story involving the secondary characters fell flat, whether by comparison or for some other reason. Winona's not exactly a drag on the show, but she's very close to becoming one. For instance, in the season finale, she begs Raylan to not go to Harlan to FIND A MISSING GIRL. Ok, I get it, she is worried he's going to get killed. But seriously you draw the line on this particular instance? I'm not even saying it's bad writing, this character isn't extremely likable and a little on the insane side - like oh say stealing money from an evidence locker. (However, she is listed as "credit only" in almost half of the Season 3 episodes and is removed from the main cast for Season 4 so I shouldn't worry about this.)
Boyd Crowder's transformation from a guy wanting to be good to turning into a criminal longing to control Harlan and maybe more was the second best thing about this season. I'm not going to lie. I fell for him becoming a "good person." This made a lot more sense and felt more natural. Congratulations to Goggins for elevating his season one performance in my opinion.
Season two felt like a nice balance between episodes concerning the main plot and episodes that feature a mostly unrelated, standalone plot. I feel they have found the secret formula to achieving 13 interesting episodes. I really don't believe it has to be 13 consecutive episodes of just the plot that ultimately matters, because honestly if that plot is uninteresting, the whole season tends to suck. (Season 3 of Sons of Anarchy for instance).
Another thing that was great about season two? It deglorified Raylan's tendency to go rogue as a marshal. When he kept abandoning Tim, he came off as pathetic more than badass. It's always nice to know when the show tries to show all facets of the character, even the less savory aspects. On the other hand, Raylan is still clearly a hero. In the age of anti-heros, he barely qualifies. He disobeys command and shoots way too many guys, although all of them are bad guys. It's pretty damn easy to root for him when he refuses to kill a guy for revenge (Dickie) or accept witnesses who lie.
If there's a weakness to this show, it's that it still hasn't really solved its supporting marshals problem. Art is still as great as ever and his distrust of Raylan was one of the more affecting parts of the show. The other two? They became marginally more intriguing and interesting. Tim is nearly solved with the aforementioned episode when he needs to "nanny" Raylan and gets all the good one-liners. ("That shit gets me hard.") Rachel? I was honestly invested in her one plot involving her sister's killer going insane, but that was about it. I don't mind the really slow development, but I'm still waiting for it to come.
I haven't mentioned the plot involving the coal mining company. I don't know what really went on even though at the time it was easy to follow. I can't say anymore due to not really remembering any specifics. Anyway, the only important part of the plot was getting Boyd more confident (and more power) and showing the Bennetts for what they were.
Overall, I feel season two strongly improved the first season. I always find post-season one reviews to be difficult because I talk too much about plot, and it looks like I'm guilty here as well. Oh well I guess that's just a product of having said everything that needed to be said in my season one review.
New Justified reviews will be coming pretty quickly as I plan to catch up to the fifth season. I'm posting on another show next week (maybe The Simpsons fourth season?) and then I'll return to Justified the week after that. Then probably another non-Justified week followed by Justified. Yes, it will be after the season premiere, but DVR's exist. Anyway thanks for reading.
Playlist
1. "Love Natural" - Crystal Fighters
2. "Two Trains" - Yo La Tenga
3. "Country Shit" - Big Krit ft. Ludacris & Bun B
4. "Sister Christian" - Night Ranger (Boogie Nights)
5. "Rap God" - Eminem
1. "Love Natural" - Crystal Fighters
2. "Two Trains" - Yo La Tenga
3. "Country Shit" - Big Krit ft. Ludacris & Bun B
4. "Sister Christian" - Night Ranger (Boogie Nights)
5. "Rap God" - Eminem
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