Justified: "The Devil You Know" Review

Warning: Full spoilers for the episode follow...

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Devil references abound in this one, "The Devil You Know" was a meditation on whom or what the devil is among the characters in the show. While Quarles has emerged as a cool-ass bad dude, Boyd is still the Devil We Know in Harlan County.

Devil (the character, played by Kevin Rankin) had questions about Boyd's character earlier in the season, asking Boyd who he really is. Boyd responded: "I am every part of me, past and present." Boyd's gone through quite the metamorphosis over the past two and a half seasons, from the cocky, ignorant, cross-clutching neo-Nazi to the humbled coal worker to the chess-playing evil mastermind he is today. It was a little too much too fast for myself and I wonder if it would've been less ridiculous to just kill Boyd in episode 1 and introduce his long-lost twin brother Lloyd (also played by Walton Goggins), who's what we know as Boyd today, in the very next episode. It would've been less arduous, at least.

Either way, this path got us to the Boyd we know today. The point of the whole scene where he shot Devil in the chest served two main purposes.

First, Boyd is cold … as hell. (YEAAAAAAAAAAHHH!) He's said it a few times and he said it in this one: that shot to the chest from Raylan in the first episode changed him. He put Devil in the same position he was in and instead of calling for help like Raylan did, Boyd told him flat out he wasn't going live.

Good writing is circuitous. There were hints that Devil would betray him from the start of the season and there were hints that Boyd would probably catch him. I don't think anybody would've believed Devil killing Boyd would've been even a possibility. The writing team knew this and so they made the turn around quick. What changed is that when push came to shove, Boyd shot his … friend, I guess, ruthlessly and with little warning. He would've done the same thing in episode 1 (where he also shot a guy), but he was far less arrogant, boisterous, and cartoon-y.

But Boyd didn't stop there. He took the time to let Devil know, "Yes, I was in your exact position. I know exactly what you're thinking. The difference is you're not going to survive." He even offered Devil a bullet to the head, which came off as merciful, but he's still shooting his acquaintance/business partner in the face. He's not kind and he never will be.

The second … well, this one's harder to define. There are a few moments from horror movies I'll probably never get out of my head: the girl with the needles in Audition saying "deeper … deeper …;" the eyes of the Last Girl from Texas Chainsaw Massacre when she's tied to the chair; the golf ball dropping on the hard wood floor in Funny Games. Devil's last little whimper wasn't quite on that level, but it was pretty horrifying. The face the actor made just before getting shot, too, was memorable and I have to wonder how many takes it took to get it exactly that way. Good lord, that was perfect. The last touch of the episode is Boyd giving the viewers sympathy for the devil.

Have no doubt, Boyd is a bad dude.

"The Devil You Know" had a main story arc of Dickie Bennett and Dewey Crowe escaping from prison. Ash, the corrupt prison guard from the past couple episodes, gave Dickie and Dewey a way out by way of the infirmary and a not-so-nice doctor/surgeon. In return, he was expecting the Bennett Family Trust that Limehouse has been holding onto for Dickie. It was well-planned and clear they'd done this before. Ash shot a guy just for good measure. (Body count is about 50 short of Total Recall now).

The whole thing led to a sticky situation that would've trapped a lesser writing team. The whole prison break group sat in a hotel room, waiting for Limehouse to respond while the Marshals blockaded every truck and car attempting to get out. While the group was hungry, Ash, being the only one who can be seen out in daylight without suspicion, went out to get chicken. On his way back into the hotel room, he ran into Raylan.

The moment they spotted each other was the perfect balance of comedy and seriousness for this show. Ash had a "Oh s***" moment, tried to act calm and then realized there was no way out. Raylan ran over him with his car. Ash then reenacted a scene from The Walking Dead. (Heh. Ash. Zombies.)

Raylan withholds calling the police for information and acts like a jerk while doing it. He's still an angry man.

Again, very good writing and very good acting. It's not the same situation as Boyd's/Devil's, but it's enough to create a parallel. We know what happens to both of them when a gun is pulled on them. Raylan and Boyd are two sides of the same coin.

Now Ash gets to spend time in prison while Dewey gets carved up by the crazy doctor/surgeon (Dewey's final screams and spasms were quite tragic; I don't give enough credit to the acting).

The whole strategy of the season was laid out before us in this one. Boyd and Quarles are now connected. The Marshals now have someone to look for that'll get them involved in this. These minor transitions are nuanced in a weekly "Who's Missing" game and I think that's the most impressive part of it. Season 3 is looking strong as ever.

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