Justified is loving the small time with ‘Cut Ties’

When I watch Justified, I’m doing it on multiple levels. I’m watching as a fan. I’m staring and thinking, “How the heck can Timothy Olyphant always be this good?!?” And as a writer, I’m studying Graham Yost and company.

“Cut Ties” is an example of the latter. It was entertaining to watch from the couch, but I truly appreciated it knowing how it illustrated all the different things that writers have to juggle each week, and showed how the Justified writers’ room can handle every one. It was an argument for a poster entitled ‘Everything I Needed To Know About Screenwriting, I Learned From Watching Justified.’

Here’s some of the things you’d find on that poster, courtesy of this episode.

• Today, it’s practically a requirement that a series has both standalone stories and some sort of ongoing plotline. Justified has both, but it has always been a pristine balancing act. While we were treated to an entertaining one-shot about the death of a U.S. Marshal working Witness Protection, we also received several pieces important to the season-long plot, the biggest being our first glimpse of Ellstin Limehouse (Mykelti Williamson).
• Those pieces were introduced where they naturally fit within the script, rather than blatantly thrown out or introduced in an attention-grabbing cliffhanger at the end. Justified doesn’t need to grab our attention. It’s confident enough to know that it already has it. Rather than talk a big game, like Raylan Givens, the show lets its actions speak for themselves.
• Speaking of Raylan, although I continue to metaphorically worship at the altar of Timothy Olyphant the acting god, I love that the show has continued to flesh out the supporting cast.  Nick Searcy showed once again that Art Mullen is a lot more than just the boss, and Erica Tazel lent real emotion to Rachel’s scenes protecting an endangered witness.
• And hey, Carla Gugino as a U.S. Marshal who is not (but we’re all pretending she is) Karen Sisco was pretty neat, too. She was fun, and my money’s on her having a crush on Raylan, if they didn’t already have a romantic past. Him planting one on Winona in front of her plus her longing look as he and Winona left together? Yeah, there’s some pining going on there. Not that I don’t completely understand it (see above).
• I missed Jacob Pitts as Tim Gutterson, and was sad that Joelle Carter was scarce, but I have respect for a show that has the characters serve the story, rather than trying to find space for every single regular. Better to have an episode light on someone than see them sticking out like a sore thumb.
• And this show is still the funniest drama on TV, what with Raylan jokingly comparing his unborn child to a creature from Alien.

This episode might not amount to much in the grand scheme of season three, but who cares? It didn’t need to. It showed us that Justified has it all: standalone stories and an overarching plot, drama and comedy, an electric leading man and a strong supporting cast, great actors and solid writers. Whatever way you look at this show, it’s doing something right.

Clacked by Brittany Frederick
on Jan 25, 2012 @ 04:55 EST5EDT