Thoughts on "Justified" Season 1

“Justified” is not really my kind of show. It is more of a mixture of crime drama with soap opera for guys. There is a lot of “serious” action and “grown up” words and themes, but not a lot of mystery or subtlety of story. It is a character piece with a bunch of highly flawed characters. Pretty standard for television these days.


The main antagonist in the pilot of the show is presumably dead by the time credits roll, but he was such a well received character they brought him back. As far as I know he is still on the show. This was a genius move. Because in spite of the fascination we have for the main character, Deputy Marshall Raylan Givens, it is Boyd Crowder that has us scratching our heads. He starts out as a white supremacist criminal, but by the time we see him in prison, he has found Jesus. Or has he?

We spend the majority of the season agreeing with Givens that Boyd is pulling some sort of con, but he sounds to sincere. He certainly is reading a lot of his Bible. By the end of the season, we see his true colors. It is not what we had expected. It almost makes me want to go back and rewatch the season and Boyd’s scenes in particular. He is truly one of the more interesting religious figures in popular culture these days.

I don’t know if I will continue to watch this show, but if I do Boyd Crowder will be a big reason why.