"Justified: City Primeval" Season Finale

OG Justified enthusiasts got what they asked for, but was it too little, too late?

Warning: Spoilers everywhere / Grade: C-

The final episode of a season’s long meandering story that lacked purpose, grit and a plausible anything culminated in a jumpy timeline of bloodshed, stupid people doing stupid stuff, and this season’s villains getting their comeuppance.

Go here for all BEVP Justified: City Primeval reviews.

You’ll recall from the outset of Primeval that I had high hopes for crime novelist Elmore Leonard’s adaptation having been a big Justified fan back in its heyday in the 2010s. See evidence here.

So where did this season go wrong?

Source: Reel Mockery / “Gone fishin’” for retirement Verizon Detective, Wendell (Victor Williams) and the toxic cop Norbert (Norbert Leo Butz) who exhibits cop oath-worthy behavior in the final two episodes.

Did They Pick the Wrong Bad Guy?

Much of the cat-and-mouse serial success hinges on the likability of the cat. I know this sounds bizarre but stick with me here. We spend a great deal of viewing time observing the bad guy, getting to know what makes him tick and shining a light on all his eccentricities. We feel his edges. We’re here for the ride and the moral ambiguity in rooting for him to win the smaller battles - as long as at the end of the day, justice is doled out and we get a decent backstory on the villain.

Sylvester is the original cat and of course, Tweety is the annoying bird. Sylvester is relatable. It’s just his nature after all. Tweety tortures him.

With Clement Mansell, he was all psychopath. What else did we know about him?

• He had a strange aversion to audio technology advancements in cars that was tiresome.

• He carried in his pocket a cassette of his bad cover of Jack Black’s “Seven Nation Army” like it was Linus’ blanket or at least a millennials’ childhood tamagotchi?

"Why did you sting me, Mr. Scorpion? For now we both will drown!"

Scorpion replies, "I can't help it. It's in my nature!"

Apart from wearing another man’s robe (incidentally, the man whose fancy pad he’s squatting at) and walking around like some entitled 80s Karate Kid cliche bad guy, there was no real substance in Clement. He’s all just dumb luck and bloodlust. And oh yeah, maybe he was obsessed with the Stanley Garlick farm painting because maybe it reminded him of his traumatic childhood in which maybe he killed his mama, but again, it’s all pieces of a fragmented puzzle. One that we’d be here for, but never really got enough of to do much with.

Source: Etsy / Handmade Embroidery Hoop of Clement in his leisure wear with his standard whiskey

I don’t fault actor Boyd Holbrook. He’s a tremendous talent. Somewhere though a director or producer advised him to perform this role like he’s Negan (The Walking Dead and spin offs), Boyd Crowder, the original Justified Sylvester, and Raylan all at once. And he got confused.

His performance in the anthology The Premise in “Moment of Silence” recuses him of any intentional poor acting. (See review below. You need to watch the episodes I recommend. Skip the others.)

The true shining bad guy talent in this series IMO is Maureen Downey and we needed to see more of Marin Ireland’s portrayal of her. Her face alone and the expressions she can convey without saying a word reveal so many layers of Joker-esque depth and I mean that in a completely complimentary way. At the very least, it would have made her cartoony facial expressions in the police interrogation room in the finale when she’s “caught” feel less forced. What’s certain is that Maureen’s chilling, scare factor qualities were spot on in that scene and rival anything we’ve seen from Clement in all his tighty whities predictable unpredictability all season.

Source: FX / Raylan gives the smoking gun to Maureen thinking he can trust her

Or Was it Just Lackluster Plot?

From the beginning, the plot was missing something. The season starts in Florida many years after we left off in the Justified original series’ timeline. Raylan is divorced from Winona and his teenage daughter, Willa played by real-life daughter, Vivian Olyphant is riding shotgun. He’s still a U.S. Marshal consumed by the thrill of bad guy chase-thirst coursing through his veins. A highway capture of criminals takes him and Willa up to Detroit, where one of the criminals is being convicted and defended by DA Carolyn Wilder played by Aunjanue Ellis, an ambitious attorney looking to be judge, but compromised by ties to her ex and the lien on their home.

There are some sparks between Carolyn and Raylan early on even as Carolyn goes on to defend Clement Mansell. I can get behind the mid-life romance that develops between the show’s good guys. It’s complicated, nuanced and heavier but I wasn’t sensing the chemistry here, even as the ending leads us to believe that there may be a future for these two as more than friends because they understand one another. This seemed like it was stretching it a bit. Yes, they’ve both seen their share of crazy crap working in law enforcement and had to make difficult decisions, but it’s not convincing that Raylan and Carolyn really get one another on a deeper level.

The season’s other weak moments came by way of the Albanians’ subplot - so much so that when they finally all got shot up, thanks to Skender’s idiotic move in attempting to avenge his injury which leads to his brutal murder, it was a blip on the radar. Same sentiment when Raylan finally shoots Clement in front of Carolyn’s gorgeous relatively unscathed fridge because he thinks Clement’s going to kill him, but was only reaching for the Billy Ray Cyrus, White Stripes’ cover cassette.

And look I’m not really comparing Cyrus to Jack and Meg White. Only stating that this musical taste would have been more fitting for Mansell, even with his admission that his absentee dad was a musician who played with Waylon (That’s Waylon Jennings for music outlaw, genre breaking ignorant folks).

Memorable Finale Quotes

What this show lacks in compelling storytelling, it makes up for in cringey quotes and I’m loving each one of them.

Here are a few for the books from the finale:

Carolyn to Lt. Governor as she takes the driver seat in steering her career destiny by way of trash talking her opponent:

Diane Rogers, for example, who turns out to be dirtier than the Playboy mansion jacuzzi.

Detroit cop Norbert to Wendall and Raylan:

So what’s the move? How are we gonna nail this jerk-off Jack White wannabe asshole?

Now it’s Your Turn

• Why did Toma throw the gun that killed the judge in the river? Ok, fine, he didn’t want to leave any evidence out there, but I feel like this was short-sighted. Anyone else?

• Was Raylan apart of the Carolyn-Albanian alliance decision? If not, were they just not gonna talk about that elephant during the bathtub scene?

• So back to the dumb luck Mansell attribute. Did he purposely go after the judge in the first place?

• How did you feel about seeing OG Justified veterans Boyd Crowder and Winona Hawkins reprise their roles in the finale?

• Is anyone wanting to see another season of this show, even with the spoiler of Boyd Crowder back as the bad guy or has Walton Goggin's infectious bad guy role jumped the shark? I’ve relished his roles in recent years in Vice Principals and The Righteous Gemstones opposite Danny McBride.

• Will Ahna O'Reilly’s prison guard love interest for Boyd Crowder replace Joelle Carter’s Ava Crowder if there is another season? I hope we get to see both of these actresses. It may not be enough for me to commit to watching another season though.

• Calling all Sneakerheads: Anyone else catch Willa’s boat shoes in the finale? I had to look them up. Here they are and you’re welcome. Thanks Willa for finally showing up for us and being the Zoomer we were searching for.

  

• Will Raylan leave the comforts of a beautiful boat and snoozy, boozy retirement making small talk with his squeaky-voiced daughter to apprehend his greatest nemesis who has now escaped from jail? Um, survey says. HECK YA.

Source: TV Line / The Layton bridge Easter egg is prominently featured in the finale as Boyd is hauled off in a prison van from which he escapes. The bridge is also shown in the original series. Also, for truth hounds: This bridge is in Pennsylvania and not in Kentucky, as the show suggests.