You can forgive me for worrying about Justified's final season before it started. After all, here was a show that I really loved and had to watch stumble badly in its fifth season, spinning its wheels and losing its momentum in a meandering, uninvolving story with a weak villain. So the ship was already coming off of a bad season, and as it moved into its final, it threw a big batch of new characters into the mix, instead of focusing down on the Boyd/Raylan showdown we knew it had to build to. And yes, those characters were going to be played by Garrett Dillahunt and Sam Elliott, but you couldn't help but worry the final season would feel bloated, or lose its focus, or steer deeper into the spiral of season 5 and end in a dissatisfying way. And yet, not only was season 6 better than I expected, it was just plain great, bringing back the swagger and fun that Justified was capable of at its best times, interweaving a slew of plot threads effortlessly into a satisfying whole, building perfectly to that showdown with Boyd while making superb use of the season's villains, and, most importantly, delivering a truly beautiful and wonderful final epilogue for the show that stayed true to the characters and the show's spirit. Justified was never a show about its plotting; it was about the dialogue, the set pieces, that wonderful tone, and most importantly, the characters who filled its world; whether it was a central player or a brief bit player, the show invested its characters with personality, wit, and heart. And its final season delivered all of that, whether it was the fantastic banter between Art and Markham, the tension between Raylan and Boon, the constant agony of Ava's situation, or - and doesn't it always return to this? - Raylan Givens and Boyd Crowder, who once dug coal together. Justified never tried to be revolutionary television, and that's fine; what it was was damned good television that entertained, thrilled, and just plain worked, and I hate to see it go. But I'm glad it went out as well as it did, staying true to its spirit and delivering a final season that served as both a closing of the show and a chance to say farewell to the denizens of Harlan.
- Josh Mauthe
- Josh Mauthe
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