Justified: Series Finale (The Promise) – Review

Tuesday marked the series finale for Justified after six mostly enjoyable seasons. During these seasons, Raylan has hunted fugitives, killed more than two-dozen criminals, stopped drug dealers, and had romances with many different characters, but he has never managed to catch Boyd Crowder. Seeing how the hunt for Boyd was the storyline that started Justified, it was only fitting that the series finale would pay off this plot in some manner. The series finale, “The Promise” had a tough task to fulfill by answering all of the season-long questions while finishing Raylan Givens’ story in a satisfying manner, but this episode sure delivered in a fantastic way.

Following the cliffhanger at the end of the penultimate episode, Raylan is being led away in handcuffs by some local police officers. This arrest is unfortunate because it comes right as Raylan is taking Constable Bob to the emergency room after a shooting. Even worse, the arresting officer refuses Raylan’s help after some very important news comes over the radio. Raylan could have solved an old murder case with this news, but the officer is more focused on showing the Marshal who is in charge. Of course, this power move doesn’t matter all that much because Raylan is immediately transferred over to Marshal custody and subsequently reinstated because of the ongoing manhunt.

After being released, Raylan teams up with Chief Marshal Art Mullen to go chase down both Boyd and Ava. Their investigation leads them to a bar that serves as a haven for law enforcement officials, both dirty and legitimate. One of Avery Markham’s men is healing via liquor after a nasty beating at the hospital, and he acts as a nice source of information for the duo. Of course, this information doesn’t come easily, so Raylan and Art creatively make use of a nice bat and a bar top.

This team up was a nice little nod to the earlier seasons when Raylan and Art would track down bad guys with one character acting as the shooter and the other acting as the joker. Raylan and Art may not have much in common, but their team ups always become the most entertaining parts of the episodes. Not many characters in Justified’s history have the vocabulary or creative insults of Art, which make his scenes that much better. Plus, Raylan either shoots or beats up anyone that causes trouble for the duo.

After getting information from the dirty cop, Raylan and Art split up to achieve different goals. Art heads up into the mountains to search for Boyd, while Raylan heads off in pursuit of Ava. However, Raylan actually runs into Ava, Boyd, Markham, and Boon during this pursuit. All of these encounters were expected in some manner, but the way that they unfold is absolutely surprising and quite entertaining.

Actually, the surprising method of storytelling is the factor that sets Justified’s finale apart from other shows. Coming into the finale, there was a list of expected moments and story beats, but none of these events happened the way that anyone expected. Yes, Raylan did have expected standoffs with multiple characters, including a brilliant moment with Boon, but the outcomes were surprising. The entire episode kept things interesting by constantly avoiding the expected events.

“Nice Hat.”
-Boon

Surprising storytelling aside, Justified’s finale was a brilliant way to end the series. Throughout the six seasons, Raylan has constantly struggled with the definition of being a good member of law enforcement, toeing the line when it came to justifiable force. Raylan still struggled with this issue during the finale, but he exhibited some serious growth and improvement during the episode. Old Raylan would have shot everyone and made some smart-ass comments, but new Raylan only shot some people while still making those comments. See that growth?

All joking aside, Raylan did grow as a character throughout the six seasons, keeping Justified from becoming stale. It was interesting to see how Raylan dealt with internal struggles while making major decisions about the fate of major characters. The outcomes of each storyline, based on Raylan’s decisions, may not have all been perfect, tidy finishes, but they felt authentic to Justified.

Sadly, there is one complaint about this finale. Not once did Justified show the fate of Constable Bob. During the penultimate episode, Bob was seriously wounded after being shot multiple times by Boyd. When Raylan left Bob at the emergency room, he was deliriously discussing Indiana Jones. Sure, Bob is most likely alive, but it would have been nice to actually see proof of his survival.

Is he alive or dead? We may never know.

Justified may be over, but the ending couldn’t have come at a better time. Season five was a drastic change from the rest, resulting in some pretty awful episodes. The show was in danger of running too long and ending too late, but the powers in charge found a way to return Justified to its entertaining roots while producing the best season yet. Not only did the sixth season renew interest in Justified, but it also led to a near perfect finale. Justified ended without leaving a bitter taste in the mouth, and it was the perfect way to go.