Justified--The Final Season *SPOILERS*

[J.T.B.]

Personally, Boone has struck me as a bit of a contrivance. He seems like a late-in-the-game addition to give Raylan a quintessential Western bad guy foe to slap leather with. He seems to be patterned after young cold-blooded Old West killers like Billy the Kid or John Wesley Hardin. But his single-action hogleg, bad haircut and mustache come across as a little too obvious. And kind of dopey; I don't think too many organized crime gunmen would welcome the attention that wearing a shiny holstered sixgun around in public might bring.

But he is effectively creepy, and the fact that the showdown seems obvious means there will probably be some twist to it. His little spiel about keeping a chamber empty is legitimate but how it was presented made no sense: He cocked as he drew and then dropped the hammer on the empty chamber, which would mean that the "safe" chamber hadn't been under the hammer but next in line. Still, I wonder if Boone's gun loading will have some bearing on the eventual shootout.

Some great moments of suspense and foreboding in the last one, very well done. Still quite a few ends to tie up, I'm really looking forward to the finale.

 

[137th Gebirg]

Boone's presence might be a not-so-subtle callout to Oliphant's "Deadwood" days. I remember similar kinds of characters that he ground his teeth over during the run of that amazingly cool and short-lived show. But yes, he has quickly risen to a high elevation of danger, far more than the somewhat skewed ex-SpecOps guy (another former Deadwood alum). Anyone notice Boone's little twitch and instant shift in demeanor when introduced to Loretta's "boyfriend" (or "not-boyfriend"). I think it was in that particular instant when Boone decided he was going to kill the kid and not a thing on earth was going to stop him.

Agreed about the empty chamber oddity. We'll see how that one plays out next week. Gonna miss this show!

 

[Ol' Scratch]

I can't figure out if they're going to have Raylan "ride off into the sunset" or not.

Personally, I think Boone is little more than a joke and Raylan'll take him out like he was nothing. Won't even bat an eye as he does so and walks on past. His real showdown will, obviously, be with Boyd.

 

[auntiehill]

I have mixed feelings about tonight. I can't WAIT to see what happens but I will be somewhat sad that it's over. This was a damn good show.

 

[137th Gebirg]

Agreed. Was starting to feel the exact same thing last week knowing that there was only one ep left. Gonna miss it bad...

 

[auntiehill]

Wow. That was a nice wrap up. A bit rushed, perhaps, but most of it got wrapped up.

Scared the CRAP outta me for a second there.

I'm going to miss Raylan and Company. They told a great story, or at least, told a good story pretty damn well.

 

[davejames]

Thought that was a pretty damn good ending. And after so many dark and tragic finales involving the death of major characters, I gotta say it was a really nice feeling to see Raylan, Ava and Boyd all survive to the end, and to see the different ways they had changed and evolved after four years.

And yeah, it was always obvious Boone only existed to provide for one last showdown with Raylan, but their final scene on the road still managed to be gripping as hell.

The only thing that did kind of bug me though was seeing Raylan in Boone's hat at the end. I realize they needed another way to show how time had passed and he had changed, but it still just seemed really wrong not to see him in the Stetson.

 

[3chordboy]

Dexter and Sons of Anarchy take note... THAT'S how you do a series finale! tense, funny, moving. aaah, a may have cried slightly at that final scene. great stuff and a worthy sendoff for this wonderful set of characters!

 

[slappy]

I would very much suggest Jonathan Tucker (Boon) to play Bulleye in the second or third season of the Netflix Daredevil show. He was born for that part.

 

[J.T.B.]

Pretty satisfying finale. The fake-out with the turns-out-to-be-minor head wound, well, maybe a little cheap, but they've earned it. I wouldn't have guessed that mercy and forbearance would be a dominant factor, but it really worked nicely, from Raylan to Boyd and Ava, and from Art to Raylan.

It turned out that Boon's empty chamber didn't factor in the shootout, but his admitted propensity to shoot high did. It was great how Loretta was involved.

Wynn Duffy slithers free once again. That was almost inevitable!

I was a little disappointed that Tim the super-shot couldn't hit Boyd scurrying up the hill. But his last scene with Raylan was good. I've never read The Friends of Eddie Coyle but it's a great movie. I figure that was a tip of the hat to Elmore Leonard, who had praised it.

I will miss the show. It was slightly stylized reality: Real people don't talk that way, or dress that way, or shoot that many people and go right back to work as Deputy US Marshals. But it worked, and it was fun.

The only thing that did kind of bug me though was seeing Raylan in Boone's hat at the end. I realize they needed another way to show how time had passed and he had changed, but it still just seemed really wrong not to see him in the Stetson.

It didn't think it looked good on him, either; made him look like a hobo. Plus why would you want to risk Boon's cooties on your head?

 

[Chaos Descending]

I actually get the idea that Boone was very fast, but not a very good shot.

He missed the kid's head and hit his shoulder, and he only grazed Raylan's head.

 

[J.T.B.]

^ Yep, he said as much, that his quick-draw tended to make him shoot high.

ETA: I have to correct myself, he said that was a risk he ran going for head shots, on the assumption his targets wear vests.

 

[Chaos Descending]

Man. So. Now it's over.

Wow. I'm gonna miss it.

 

[auntiehill]

Me, too. The Raylan-Boyd Banter was a thing of beauty.