JUSTIFIED Season 3 “Thick as Mud” airs February 14, 2012
JUSTIFIED
Season 3, Episode 5 Advance Review
“Thick as Mud” airs February 14, 2012
Watch Justified Tuesday Nights at 10 ET on FX
February 14, 2012
By Lena Lamoray
Justified has a Valentine’s Day episode for you that you will never forget. It has all of the key elements that are needed to make this a very special day full of love letters, organs wrapped tightly in a protective layer (safety first), warm baths, beautiful women, a lot of poking, handsome men, a game of show me yours and I’ll show you mine, and more bathtub play. This is by far my favorite episode of the season, and the beautiful Maggie Lawson from Psych guest stars as nurse Layla. “Thick as Mud”– Raylan races to save Dewey Crowe from a gang of vicious organ harvesters. Boyd faces off with a new adversary. The teleplay and story is by one of my favorite writers from Terriers, Jon Worley. Benjamin Cavell also worked on the teleplay with Jon. Story by: Elmore Leonard and Jon Worley. Directed by Adam Arkin.
Last week Devil (Kevin Rankin) forgot exactly whom he was dealing with and underestimated the all-knowing Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins). You know what happens when you do that, don’t you? Well, Devil had a good run and at least he was able to leave a parting gift. Devil is put to rest.
Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) trots in late and he is expecting to get a tongue lashing courtesy of Winona (Natalie Zea) but she approaches the situation in a different light. Winona finally understands Raylan.
Dewey Crowe (Damon Herriman) awakes to his own Chev Chelios Crank moment. Nurse Lance (Clayne Crawford) explains to him what he needs to do to stay in the game of life. The story isn’t the same as Crank but the anxious Dewey film reel was spectacular. I really loved how this episode was filmed. It made me nervous, itchy, and very untrusting of others. You can feel Dewey’s clock ticking in your head.
One of my favorite parts of this episode is when Raylan tries to get recognized for his stand up skills as a comedian and Rachel (Erica Tazel) dismisses his hilarity. I love it when she deflects him; it keeps him in line. If you need to explain your joke and are met with a snappy, “Yeah, I got it,” well I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you, as a comedian, do not have it.
Raylan works well with others but the others really want to smash things, as he finds out on several occasions. Luckily, it never needs to come to that because Raylan is always prepared. Their quest for Dewey continues but even Raylan wasn’t prepared for the weirdness that was to come.
Dewey’s unfortunate circumstance clashes with the way we do business in today’s market. Perhaps someday there will be an app for that. Dewey does find it in his heart to be generous with his rating system. Who knew Dewey had standards?
Ava (Joelle Carter) and Boyd have an oddly erotic moment of realization that unites them in more ways than one. I adore those two together. Ava is beautiful and no one messes with her and lives to tell about it. Boyd is charming, handsome, and powerful so they compliment each other perfectly.
Raylan stops by the hospital to check in on a patient and that is where we meet our “cute as a pail full of kittens” nurse, Layla (Maggie Lawson). We find out that Raylan has 99 problems but Bigfoot isn’t one of them, “men’s organs” however are. Are urban legends really legends at all? I loved seeing Maggie in Justified. Other than Psych, I’ve only seen her in Gamer. It’s a very different role from Psych for her and I can’t wait to see how many Psych people tune it to see Maggie. I’m dying to know what they think about the show. I didn’t miss the Psych reference from my favorite episode, “American Duos.”
Dewey learns a very hard lesson in anatomy and religion. Raylan finds out exactly how much Dewey likes him. It’s an interesting moment for all the parties involved.
Boyd and Johnny (David Meunier) work together brilliantly. I like how Boyd’s mind works. He always has a solid plan that may not seem like much at first glace but it grows into something that will solidify his presence. Boyd never lets things slip by him.
Do not miss tonight’s Valentine’s Day episode of Justified on FX. It’s my favorite so far and the perfect episode to watch with your significant other. I promise that they will want to hold you close.
