Justified: The Hunt – Review

A manhunt may have been the backdrop of Justified’s latest episode “The Hunt”, but relationships were actually more of a central theme. Both Boyd and Raylan dealt with lady troubles, and they were only part of a larger group. Of course, this is Justified, so the constant relationship discussions were surrounded by witty banter and a lot of violence. In fact, “The Hunt” did a fantastic job tying these relationships into the larger story without seeming forced or sappy, which led to a great and slightly unnerving episode.

Continuing on from last week’s episode, Ty Walker is still on the run from the Marshals and local police, leading to a massive manhunt across Harlan County. Unfortunately for Walker, he is also dealing with a gunshot wound from his firefight with Raylan and Tim. Seeking solace and medical attention, Walker goes into a gas station bathroom to patch himself up, similar to Harrison Ford in The Fugitive. Walker also finds time to get rid of his credit cards in an effort to distract the Marshals. This patch job is only temporary, however, so Walker sets off again in search of more medical attention while awaiting extraction from SeaBass and Avery Markham.

While Walker is running from law enforcement, Raylan is dealing with the surprise reappearance of his ex-wife, Winona, and their infant daughter. This duo came from Florida to get some medical attention, but this visit also served as a reminder that Raylan needs to get some issues figured out with his career and daughter. However, these relationship issues did lead to some entertaining scenes where Raylan paraded his daughter around the U.S. Marshals office. Granted, it was also nice seeing Winona make a return to Justified. Winona has always been a minor character, but she is still enjoyable.

Of course, Raylan isn’t the only one who can have relationship issues during an episode. Ava and Boyd discover that they have some…unique troubles to deal with in their own relationship. Apparently, Boyd is trying to figure out what Ava is up to after a mysterious phone call from Limehouse. This suspicion leads Boyd and Ava on a scary trip to an old hunting cabin, where they have a rather weird fight. Honestly, Boyd and Ava’s argument scene was super messed up, but it did lead to old school Boyd making a return. For some reason, Boyd channeled his personality from season one while hunting wild pigs. This was a little weird, but it was great seeing Boyd act like a crazy person.

“The Hunt” may have been a relationship-centric episode, but it didn’t hold back with the violence. Ty Walker found a way to kill his a path through Kentucky while avoiding law enforcement, yet he somehow made the entire scenario entertaining. Seriously, there was a moment where Walker almost shot a hole in his Mercedes because it was pissing him off. So great.

If you want humor, Justified is a great source, no matter how serious the episode is. Part of the episode takes place in the U.S. Marshals office, and this scene mostly revolves around different characters making funny comments to each other. Justified had been missing Chief Mullen—mostly because of his injuries—so it was nice to see him return and slip back into the role of office smartass. Even better, Mullen played this role while hanging out with Rachel, Raylan, and Tim. When those four are in the same scene, funny moments tend to happen.

Don’t let the scowl fool you, Mullen is hilarious.

“The Hunt” may have been quite the serious episode, but it still provided enough humorous moments to keep the mood light. Plus, the returning characters like Chief Mullen and Winona just brought back some of the fun moments from earlier seasons. Sure, some of Boyd and Ava’s scenes may have been a little awkward, but the rest of the episode was absolutely brilliant. Now, I want to go shoot my car because it is terrible.