Family Sucks. Review: Justified – “Over the Mountain”

Season 5, Episode 04

Air date: Tuesday, January 28, 2014, 10PM E/P on FX

Rating: ★★★★★

“…25 words or less, tell me why I should give a shit.” – Johnny Crowder

After the revelations in “Good Intentions,” it seems things are aligned perfectly for catastrophe to strike. The events that occur in “Over the Mountain” may not all be dire, most are life altering, some even life stopping. Who knew Dewey Crowe (Damon Herriman) could pull off such a convincing bluff? He’s still a terrible shot but I never thought of Dewey as a killer. And since this season is supposedly about the Crowes, it is refreshing to see them take center stage in “Over the Mountain.”

Daryl is a bully but he’s a bit of wild card. I don’t think he’d hesitate killing Raylan for taking his baby brother Kendal into protective custody.

Sometimes, family sucks. Dewey is having a rough go of it with his kinfolk in town. To say that Daryl (Michael Rapaport), Danny (A.J. Buckley), Kendal (Jacob Lofland), and even the Haitian Jean-Baptiste (Edi Gathegi) have outstayed their uninvited welcome is an understatement. As much as I love Justified, I’m having a difficult time believing Rapaport’s southern accent. In a word, it’s terrible. That doesn’t mean Rapaport isn’t doing a great job of being a menacing bully, because he is, but listening to him fake a southern accent makes me cringe; it’s laughable. Herriman is Australian and pulls off a better southern accent! Dewey doesn’t seem to be able to stand up properly to Daryl, and his lack of balls, shall we say, is going to get him into a whole other world of hurt.

While the Crowe family deals with their own mess, Boyd (Walton Goggins) is dealing with the aftermath of his botched attempt at killing Lee Paxton (Sam Anderson) over his stolen drug shipment. Paxton having to deal with Boyd seems a bit farfetched but I knew Sheriff Nick Mooney (William Gregory Lee) would chomp at the bit. Too bad he has no idea who he’s messing with. Paxton’s wife Mara (Karolina Wydra) surprises me. In “Good Intentions,” it appeared she was trying to seduce Boyd, but as things progress in “Over the Mountain,” Mara and Boyd seem to have come to an understanding about how to make things work in each of them respectively. With all the problems Boyd has with his drug shipment being intercepted, how in the hell is he going to manage paying off Mara and getting Paxton to recant when Boyd is supposed to be dead now?

The Love Boat is sailing without Ava and Boyd…can they make it back aboard…together?

The rift between Ava (Joelle Carter) and Boyd is palpable. You can feel the tension when they sit in a room. Their little moments of hugs and kisses are non-existent at present. Boyd realizes his cousin Johnny (David Meunier) is involved with the stolen drugs. Johnny sure can hold a grudge and his torch for Ava. But despite the problems between Ava and Boyd, I doubt she’ll be desperate enough to hitch her wagon to his.

Johnny’s still jawing about being shot back in season one. Haven’t these two feuding cousins lashed out at each other enough so that they’re even? The crap Johnny pulled with Limehouse (Mykelti Williamson) in season four surely counts as retribution for his grievance. I guess that limp he has is a constant reminder that he’s not the same man anymore. But Johnny is getting himself into dangerous waters siding with Hot Rod Dunham (Mickey Jones) against Boyd. Johnny thinks Boyd doesn’t have resources but he is severely underestimating his cousin’s clout.

Raylan is confident but he needs to watch his back…probably his front too!

One curious story arc deals with Art (Nick Searcy) doing some sneaky sleuthing by going to Detroit to investigate the details surrounding Nicky Augustine’s (Mike O’Malley) airport massacre last season and subsequent fallout that led to Sammy Tonin’s (Max Perlich) tragic demise in “Murder of Crowes.” What is Art up to? Does he really think Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) is involved somehow? Who could the “law man” be that the Canadian guy (Will Sasso) talks about? It appears former Sheriff Shelby Parlow (Jim Beavers) might not have been working alone. I know it’s not Raylan but it could be someone in the U.S. Marshal’s office. I shudder to think who it could be. Maybe AUSA Vasquez (Rick Gomez)? He was keeping it secret from Raylan that Wade Messer (James Le Gros) was a CI (confidential informant).

Observations:

Tim (Jacob Pitts) and Rachel (Erica Tazel) are both vastly underutilized assets in Justified. Last season, we learned some juicy tidbits about Rachel’s personal life but I haven’t seen much of anything about her this season. At the end of season four, Tim stepped up and used his excellent military training as a sniper to take out Colton (Ron Eldard); yet, we only see him and Raylan jumping on cars to avoid being attacked by a pit bull in “Over the Mountain.” Seems like a huge waste of talent to me.

A laughable moment is when Dewey breaks down on top of the mountain praying to “Jesus” after his kerfuffle with Messer. I had to chuckle when Dewey says, “I haven’t asked you for shit…” promising he’ll attend church every Sunday if “Jesus” lets him finish taking out Messer before his cousin Daryl finds out.

I’m not sure about Allison (Amy Smart) is very trustworthy. She’s hiding something. I’m sure she sees many awful things being a social worker but she also has some major issues. She’s trying to kick Raylan out of bed. What? Yes, she had a horrible day but let this ruggedly handsome, naked man comfort you, damn it! But as to my concerns, you remember that the bartender chick Raylan messed around with swindled him. As Rachel said in “Good Intentions,” maybe Raylan’s too blind to see Allison may not be the good girl he thinks she is.

There are more than a few story lines in “Over the Mountain,” maybe a few too many, but the episode is well paced and pulls us forward. I enjoyed seeing the interactions between and progressions of certain characters, including Boyd and Ava, Boyd and Mara, and Raylan and the Crowes. I am anxious to see how Daryl and Danny bite back after Raylan takes young Kendall into protective custody. That’s going to be interesting.

Let me know what you thought of “Over the Mountain.” Leave a comment and/or tweet me @judybopp.

Check out the interviews with some of the cast at the season five red carpet premiere – some give insight into what may happen with their characters.

Tune in to Justified, Tuesdays at 10PM E/P only on FX.

For more on the show, go to http://www.fxnetworks.com/justified.

Follow Justified on Twitter and use hashtag #JustifiedFX.

Follow cast member Joelle Carter @Joelle_Carter on Twitter.

For fans of Walton Goggins, follow @WaltonGFan.

LIKE Justified on Facebook.

Biography of the Author(Read Below)..
Latest Posts (view them )..

Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.