FX's Justified continues its second season this week with "Where's Waldo?" Art (Nick Searcy) is drawn into the mystery of Waldo Truth, whose name and bag are found in Arlo's (Raymond J. Barr) wall. When Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) realizes that Arlo killed a man in prison just because he overheard Raylan talking about the bag, the Marshalls decide that they need to pay Waldo's family a visit.
The tale of Waldo Truth, and his connection to Justified's characters, seems to be the main storyline this season. By the end of "Where's Waldo?" we know that Arlo probably helped cover up a fake death, and, for some reason, Art is interested in the case, which he seems to already know a little about. This is a deeper plot that first realized, with connections to the past of main players. It is a ripe fruit to pick.
Justified is sort of a cop series, but it's much more about people than action. The show has always taken the time to let the actors really dig into their characters, and present complicated individuals with convoluted relationships. While law enforcement types will probably figure out what crimes have been committed and who has committed them in the end, that's not really the point of the episode.
A great example of this is when Raylan, Art, and Tim (Jacob Pitts) go to confront Waldo's family. At first, they meet up with punk kid Milo (Ethan Jamieson, The Hunger Games), who just deserves to be smacked so hard! Then, they talk to the matriarch of the family (Beth Grant, No Country for Old Men, Jericho). Instead of getting the information that they need and leaving, the scene lingers, letting the personalities clash in delicious ways.
The reason Justified can get away with this is because they are able to cast such fantastic guest stars. No one who saw it has forgotten what Margo Martindale did in season two. I don't know if Beth Grant is being set up for a similar run, but she will most definitely be back, probably multiple times, and her bits this week are intriguing.
Besides the guests, though, watching Raylan, Art, and Tim is fun in and of itself. They aren't often working as a team on the show, but when they do, it's always superb. When one of the Truths tells them to get off their property in 10 seconds, and then five, Tim ribs Raylan that his line is being stolen. When Milo calls the Marshalls perverts, and then Raylan has to relieve the kid of his gun, the reactions among the various feds are great. These details are what keep viewers tuning in week after week.
Article comments
1 - Kat
Beth Grant will be back? I thought Graham Yost confirmed we wouldn't see the Truth family in the near future.
2 - Jerome Wetzel
Kat - I apologize in my statement misled you. I do reviews and try to stay away from spoilers when possible, so I don't have any actual information on if Beth Grant will return or not. I meant it as a prediction, given the actress, the part, and the track record of the series. If she is, indeed, not returning, that is quite a shame.
3 - Costello
Isn't it the 4th season?
4 - Jerome Wetzel
Yes, this was the second episode of the fourth season.