I made it through the 2nd season of Justified which waded through a veritable swamp of Shakespearean tragedy.
Helen, Raylan Given's aunt and defacto mother, was murdered and the cause of her violent death can be directly linked to Arlo, Raylan's father.
He didn't pull the trigger or nothing but Arlo's involvement with Boyd Crowder's raid on Dickie Bennett's weed growing operation put Helen in the cross hairs of Dickie's shotgun.
And that is only 1 strand in the tangled web being woven in the mountains of Kentucky.
At the center of this web of deceit and betrayal is Mags Bennett, a hard woman who oversees a family criminal enterprise. She is ruthless to her enemies and to her own family in her quest for wealth and power. Portrayed with amazing power and nuance by Margo Martindale, Mags is a formidable woman, shrewd and calculating, ferociously devoted to her sons even when they frequently piss her off.
Mags poisons Walt McCready who had the temerity to grow his own weed in defiance of the Bennett's own weed growing operation. As he lay dying, Mags informs him of her intention to raise his daughter Loretta as her own child.
A recurring theme for season 2 is how nobody will just let anything go. Every harm, every insult no matter how slight or justified must be answered with retribution. So many lives are lost in a cycle of revenge without end.
In the end, even Mags Bennett is lost to the cycle of retribution although true to form it is on her terms.
The main draw for Justified is Marshall Givens his own damn self, Timothy Olyphant. Givens is stretched thin during season 2 with one damned thing leading into another including a really bone headed impetuous play by his ex-wife Winona to steal a crap ton of money from the evidence room. I have to admit this sub plot didn't do a lot for me as it left the otherwise intelligent Raylan and Winona holding on tight to the idiot ball. Their simple plan for returning the money to the evidence room runs into every single thing that could go wrong. The money is returned but Raylan know his boss Art knows but Art ain't telling what he knows.
Art's a good guy who's looking out for a good marshall but I can't help but think this whole debacle is a sword of Damocles hanging over Raylan's head.
Well, that's 2 seasons down and I've got four more to go.
Next week on the Tuesday TV Touchbase, what's up with WandaVision and Snowpiercer.
Until next time, remember to be good to one another and try to keep it down, would ya? I'm trying to watch TV in here.
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