Justified Review: "Full Commitment"

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The first season of Justified was really about how terrific Timothy Olyphant was as Deputy Marshal Raylan Givens. Conversely, this second season really has been about how great everyone around Olyphant has been.

Whether it was Margo Martindale's Mags, Walton Goggins' Boyd, or even Nick Searcy's Art in that one episode, the supporting cast has been fantastic this year.

In "Full Commitment" it was Jeremy Davies turn to shine, as his Dickie Bennett truly did fully commit to his goal of being in charge in Harlan County, and Davies himself fully committed to the role of an absolute sociopath.

Timothy Olyphant on Justified

Dickie really is his mother's son, in that he possesses that same ability to turn from extremely nice to extremely evil with a snap of the finger. Whether it was cheering up his new henchman Bass when he missed the target every time in shooting practice, or hobnobbing with Rodney the Memphis weed man, Dickie can be as fun as they come.

But then he can also be so cold.  I understand there must have been so many things going through his head after he was made to look like a fool during Boyd's stick up, but there's no way I was expecting him to just up and shoot Bass and the other henchman in the head for wanting to get out. It makes my stomach turn how cruel this guy really is.  

And that was BEFORE we got to the Aunt Helen scene!

Whether he shot Helen to kill or just injure, Justified has proven once again that this show is not afraid to mix things up. They kill off Coover two episodes ago, and now they're going to have Dickie murder the maternal figure of our protagonist?  That takes guts, my friends.

Back to the stick up by Boyd, Devil, and the Arlo Givens, has anyone ever been so pleasant during a hijacking? It's so great that he's not just there to steal the weed, but to steal the business, so he has to make sure that he is more than cordial to the mountain man from Tool Time.

After Dickie made Arlo at the stick up because of his limp, it occurred to me that there should be better criminals in the area for Boyd to recruit. An elderly man with a gunshot wound? Another dude in a wheelchair?  And Dickie getting a big man that can't shoot or fight?

What kind of criminals are they growing down there in Harlan County?

Over on the other side of the law, Deputy Tim Gutterson once again graced us with his presence. In an exclusive interview with TV Fanatic a couple of weeks ago, Jacob Pitts referenced his increased screen time stating, "I had a lot of fun doing that particular episode."  It was easy to see why.

The dynamic between Tim and Raylan is always great, but watching Tim get disgruntled about babysitting his co-worker, having to buy ice cream in the morning, and reciting lines from The Bodyguard, made it that much more fun to watch. The only thing that would have made it better is if he actually had started singing the Dolly Parton version of "I Will Always Love You."

And finally there was the Raylan plot line. After watching the Previously On before this episode, it seemed much more obvious than I originally thought that it was indeed Gary behind the hit from last week. And until Raylan found out that the lawn urinator worked for a company owned by Duffy's wife, he also couldn't figure out who had called for the hit.

So what is Gary actually going to do?  Will he leave town?  Or the country as Raylan suggested? If he does indeed get out of dodge, I commend Raylan for taking care of this without putting Winona through more turmoil.  If he sticks around and makes things difficult for her, I think Raylan would have been better off just killing everyone in the trailer. Just kidding!

"Full Commitment" once again impressed me. What did y'all think of the episode? Do you have any predictions for how the final two episodes of the season will play out?

Full Commitment Review

Editor Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
  • 4.5 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.8 / 5.0 (68 Votes)

Dan Forcella is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow him on Twitter.

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Justified Season 2 Episode 11 Quotes

Ava: You gotta promise me one thing, no whores.
Boyd: Oh Ava I haven't been to a whore since I was 14 years old.

You can either accept protection or quit the Marshal Service. I'm not gonna tell you which I'd rather.

Art