How good was that scene? Seriously. The first two episodes of this season — from Boyd’s perspective, at least — steadily built toward the confrontation between him and Preacher Billy, and when it was time for it to happen it did not let me down one iota.
Now, admittedly, I am openly in the tank for Boyd Crowder (and Walton Goggins’ portrayal of him), so any scene that starts with him referring to himself as the devil while casually leaning against a weight-bearing part of a tent, and ends with him ripping a win out of a loss by deducing the identity of the true power player in an operation, well, you could say that’s somewhat inside my wheelhouse.
Preacher Billy and his professed innocence (which is either real or an elaborate show) going toe-to-toe with Boyd in all his lightning-quick, menacing glory? That will do just fine, especially when it’s followed up not five minutes later with Boyd going toe-to-toe with Preacher Billy’s polar opposite, the fantastically evil Wynn Duffy, in a confrontation that made Boyd seem like the innocent one. I love Raylan and Art and Ava and everyone else, don’t ever mistake that. They all have their moments. But Boyd was mesmerizing last night.
As always, more highlights — and GIFs from Chet Manley — after the jump.
- My favorite non-Boyd part of the episode: Near the end of the terrific bit with the Truth family, when Raylan unceremoniously disarmed the hillbilly kid who pulled a gun on him. That had the potential to be a big, dramatic thing — it’s not often a 13-year-old pulls a gun on a U.S. Marshal — but instead of playing it like that, they just had Raylan walk up and yoink the gun away from him while he was talking. It reminded me a little of this scene from Indiana Jones. I love this show.
- Let me be very clear about something: If, when the time comes for me to step down from my post here at UPROXX, one of you brings me a $200 bottle of Pappy Van Winkle, to the extent I have any say in the matter, you can have my job. I am very corrupt and I like bourbon.
- Two other quick notes about that scene: I love that Art characterized all the fugitives in Bowling Green as pussies, and I loved his descriptions of the marshals in his employ.
- Art also made a couple very good points while they were prepping to go after the hillbillies. One, the boss doesn’t drive unless he wants to, and two, you should always grab lunch before you hunt fugitives with Raylan, in case he ends up shooting one of them.
- “On a scale from 1 to a sh-tload, how much do you need to tell me right now?”
- Raylan is keeping addict hours and the office money is on exotic dancing. Ladies…
- Sheriff Shelby thinks he and “concerned citizen” Boyd Crowder are square. Boyd’s response: “Now Shelby, I thought we were a circle?” <3
- The one hillbilly spent three months in juvy for pissing on a cop. I … I must know more.
- This Drew Thompson/Waldo Truth thing has my full attention. Maybe it’s just me, but I can get behind a mystery involving a parachuter crashing to his death in a cul de sac — surrounded by cocaine — only to be identified 30 years later as someone else thanks to a stab wound his battered ex-wife left in his butt cheek.
- If anyone on this show gets a spinoff, please — PLEASE — let it be Wynn Duffy. You can’t separate Boyd from Raylan, and most of the other characters probably need to stay within the orbit of one or the other to remain as interesting as they are now. But an hour-long, Breaking Bad-style show about Wynn running his criminal enterprise? Would watch. Forever.
- “I don’t even trust the way you just now said I could trust you.”
- Soooooooo hot bartender is secretly married to a bare-knuckle brawler who likes to “raccoon” people when they get tough, and who desperately needs money for some mysterious purpose? This should end well.
There were plenty more notable moments and quotes, as per usual, but those were probably my favorites. Feel free to add yours below. And now, your GIFs.
