Justified: Burned – Review

“I’m not saying that we are in the End Zone doing the ‘Ickey Shuffle’, but we are in the Red Zone.” Never has an uttered phrase so perfectly described a show. The phrase in question was uttered by Raylan Givens while describing a case, but this phrase could actually be used to describe Justified’s final season. Justified is driving towards the End Zone (an epic series finale), but the show is still 15-20 yards away with a few more episodes to roll through. “Burned”, the latest episode is like a power run for 10 yards in that it is simple, but effective. You expect the run, but it still works to perfection. “Burned” is the same in that you expect this episode to be simple and good, and it fulfills the expectations.

“Burned” was a very interesting episode that followed multiple characters around Harlan County in pursuit of different objectives. Raylan Givens was continuing to track down Boyd while preparing for the inevitable vault robbery. In order to achieve this mission, Raylan went to interim Chief Rachel Brooks and former Chief Art Mullen for help. This duo created some humorous moments around the U.S. Marshal office that translated into even better moments later in the episode. These moments came when Raylan and Art went out to recruit another criminal informant in hopes of capturing Boyd once and for all. Basically, Art’s recruitment methods weren’t technically legal, but they were hilarious.

Wait, so who do I call “Chief?”

Of course, Raylan’s quest to arrest Boyd wouldn’t exist without the criminal activities of Harlan’s favorite hooligan. Boyd spent most of “Burned” trying to figure out whether or not he could trust Ava with his most secret heist details. Unfortunately, this trust was tested by Ava’s uncle Zachariah, who is bat-crap crazy. Zachariah completely destroyed Boyd’s plans for robbing Markham’s vault while also destroying Boyd’s trust in Ava. Additionally, Zachariah also made Raylan look like a moron when his predictions about Boyd didn’t come true.

Finally, “Burned” featured a great final scene in which Loretta McCready made her triumphant return to Justified’s storylines. After a disturbing run-in with a strange, new character, Loretta decided to find a new ally that could provide protection. Even better, Loretta also chose to take on Avery Markham in a land-grab/weed growing competition. Her decision to take on Markham was made even better by the fact that Loretta announced her intentions during a party that Markham threw. Plus, this choice was fantastic because Loretta is a fun character, and she knows more about weed than anyone in Kentucky.

Speaking of fun characters, Justified’s writers once again proved how great they are at creating some psychotic villains. The newest addition to Harlan County is a creepy villain with a disgusting mustache who happens to believe that he is a cowboy. Obviously, this new character is going to die a horrible death, but hopefully he will have some fun scenes before his death.

Creepy.

“Burned” was another stellar episode of Justified with only one downside. The ending of the episode was slightly unfulfilling, but at least it did lead up to some other important plot points. Justified will be a lot more interesting now that some of the characters have to scramble and refocus their efforts on the important goals.

Look, I can’t say what some of these decisions are because of spoilers but rest assured that these moments made the episode worth watching.