Review: Justified, Season 3, Episode 312 – “Coalition” (This Coalition Blows!)
Air date: Tuesday, April 3, 2012, 10PM E/P on FX
Rating:
Co-a-li-tion [koh-uh–lish–uhn] – noun. 1. A combination or alliance, especially a temporary one between persons, factions, states, etc.
If you were hoping for a stupendous coalition to ignite the slow simmering war, well you’re shit out of luck. After eagerly anticipating a climatic penultimate episode prior to the season finale, I am disappointed. All we get are too many people double crossing one another with a whole lot of stupidity running rampant. And I didn’t think Earl (Demetrius Grosse) was fool enough to backstab Limehouse (Mykelti Williamson) especially to align himself with the likes of that great calamity Dickie (Jeremy Davies).
Quarles seeks refuge with Limehouse
Boyd (Walton Goggins) should have heeded Duffy’s (Jere Burns) warning about taking care of Quarles (Neal McDonough). To put an educated and desperate man under the “watchful” eyes of two junkie whores is a recipe for disaster. Seriously, if they show Quarles naked again in the season finale, I may gouge my eyes out. That much pasty white skin is hazardous to everyone’s health. Despite his alabaster skin, McDonough does an excellent job portraying a man who has fallen less than gracefully from the ranks of the Tonin family since the beginning of the season. McDonough exudes a persona that cannot be duplicated – he is Quarles. The creep factor rises exponentially every time McDonough narrows his ice blue eyes. It gives me the heebie-jeebies just thinking about it.
After receiving a tip from Limehouse, Raylan (R) gets the drop on Dickie (L) who has come looking for Loretta
Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) gets an unexpected tip from an unlikely source. When Limehouse divulges some pertinent information regarding the Bennett’s money, Raylan gets the jump on Dickie. What surprises me is seeing Loretta (Kaitlyn Dever) again. When Raylan last visited her in “The Devil You Know,” Loretta professed having no knowledge as to the whereabouts of the Bennett millions. Obviously she knew more than she let on. Of course, who can blame her for keeping mum on the subject? Had she said anything, it would have been like painting a bullseye on her forehead. My question is – why does Limehouse want to help Raylan? With all the scheming he has Earl doing on his behalf, the “competition” will most likely wipe themselves out. Such backstabbing usually lends itself to someone actually getting a knife (or bullet) in the back.
L-R: Ava (Joelle Carter) holds an angry Arlo (Raymond J. Barry) after Boyd (Walton Goggins) tells him he can't tag along
The whole scenario with Arlo (Raymond J. Barry) going off his meds again and speaking to his dead wife Helen (Linda Gehringer) makes absolutely no sense to me. I don’t understand why this is an integral part of the central plot. Is Arlo going to go completely mental and shoot Limehouse? That would be interesting to see. We know they have history. I know Arlo wants to kill Dickie because he shot and killed Helen, but I think Raylan may have beaten Arlo to the punch.
Now we are left with more questions and very few answers. Will Dickie survive his wounds? I’m guessing he will, but if it’s to keep chasing the Bennett millions, I may have to write to FX. And where is Boyd? After the car explosion, I saw him fall but I don’t know if he’s wounded. I saw Quarles on fire but that crafty bastard just rises up like nothing happened. Will State Trooper Tom Bergen (Peter Murnik) survive? I hope so. I really enjoy the banter between Tom and Raylan. They balance each other out and their relationship gives another dynamic to law enforcement on the show.
Overall, I was expecting so much more and feel totally gypped. If this is any indication of what the season finale will bring, I can only hope the writers will put their thinking caps on before writing season four. Hint – burn the Bennett fortune or better yet, have Loretta take it all and run away to the Caribbean. I’m so done with the hillbilly treasure chasing.
And finally, we haven’t seen Winona (Natalie Zea) in a while. I’m not saying I miss her but she is preggers and I’d like to see how that’s progressing…for Raylan’s sake.
Tune in to Justified, Tuesdays at 10PM E/P only on FX.
For more on the show, go to http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/justified/.
Follow FX on Twitter and use hashtag #JustifiedFX.
Follow cast member Joelle Carter on Twitter: @Joelle_Carter.
For fans of Walton Goggins, follow @WaltonGFan.
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Photos © 2011 FX Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Judy Manning
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