Reckoning

Season 2, Episode 12, Aired
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7.6
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When Helen is murdered Raylen hunts for the killer.

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Fan Episode Reviews (4)

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  • First Justified Episode I Ever Saw

    10
    "Perfect"
    By DolphinWoman, Jan 11, 2012
    While catching up on Kyle Chandler's Emmy competition in the Best Actor category (before the 2011 Emmys), I came across this episode which was Timothy Olyphant's Emmy submission episode. I had never even heard of Olyphant or Justified.

    First of all, after watching this episode, I could see why Olyphant garnered an Emmy nomination in the Best Drama, Lead Actor category. And second of all, I really liked the show and wanted to know more.

    Without knowing the characters, the background, all the stories that led up to this episode ... I could still tell that Olyphant's Raylan Givens was the heart of the show. I could tell the show was extremely well written, well cast, and well acted. It was a show about relationships ... between cops and bad guys ... between families and enemies (often within the same family). The story was steeped in the local culture of Harlan County Kentucky. It was dramatic and funny, intense and quick-witted.

    I absolutely loved the lead character, Deputy Marshall Givens, superbly played by Olyphant. Loved the twisted relationship between Raylan and his father, Arlo. The strained and fragile truce between the Bennett and Givens clans that had been broken with the shooting of Helen. The sorrow of the loss and the vengeful intent of both Raylan (for wantng an arrest) and Arlo (for wanting revenge) in catching Dickie Bennett.

    And what more can I say about Margo Martindale's Mags Bennett? Martindale is the only actor whose work I was familiar with. However, I would have never guessed she could or would play such a crafty, strong, and on the wrong side of the law matriarch as she played in this role. She played it to unbelievable perfection.

    After checking out this one episode, I later went back and watched all of seasons 1 and 2. I am now a bona fide Justified fan. And now that my favorite show, Friday Night Lights is no longer on the air, I will be rooting for Justified and its cast for awards in 2012. See what checking out the competition can do?moreless

  • Heaven help me but - I would like to see Raylan and Boyd "throw down", and Boyd win.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By DebraMcClure, Sep 10, 2011
    I don't want to say Raylan has become full of himself this season - wait, I do want to say that. The show is still perfect, and I still love watching Raylan, but several things have changed, now that we're at the end of the season. 1) When Coover beat Raylan up, I was oddly pleased. 2) As Boyd said yesterday, Raylan has disrespected Ava (at least) twice; she doesn't deserve that from him. This woman saved his life..., which brings me to 3) Raylan admits Aunt Helen saved his life but he didn't visit with her, ask how she was feeling, run a few errands for her - you get the point. Instead he was all "stone faced" during last nights episode - and only "almost choked up", while talking about Helen with Dickie.

    I think I just realized how "badly behaved" Raylan has been this season - he deserves a spanking, or a beat down - which will then, hopefully, get him back on the straight and narrow. Oh, and he owes Ava a big apology.moreless

  • Wherein Raylan shows that he can bargain, lie and cheat with the best of them - but remains a good man.

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By GreyMinerva, May 02, 2011
    This is another awesome episode from what is, right now, my favourite TV-show. While we didn't know for sure, the ending of last episode made it pretty clear that Raylan's aunt Helen was likely dead, and the murder scene opening is no surprise.
    The whole episode has a lot of strong emotional moments, and lots of undercurrents strong enough to drown you.
    The opening, which has Raylan arriving at the house, is nicely done - occasional slo-mo, the dialogue so muted (as in Raylan doesn't hear anything that's said to him) that the slow, calm music (with a slightly disturbing "pulse"-beat)washes over everything.
    From there on out, it's a race to see who can get to Dickie first - Arlo, Raylan, or Boyd and his boys.
    After a few early missteps, Raylan takes Boyd's advice and enlists (with the help of his fists and a whole lot of barely leashed fury) his father's help - the lucrative deal that Mags is making with the mining company is their bargaining chip and it turns out Boyd is right; she WILL sell out her son to ensure the future of her grandchildren.
    There's a brilliant scene where Doyle has to arrest his own brother - only to be knocked out by Raylan, who has something else in mind...
    While Dickie blubbers and begs, Raylan puts into words just what Helen was to him - how she saved his life, saved him from turning into his father - and just as he winds himself up to put a bullet through Dickie's thick skull... he realizes that it would go against who Helen taught him to be.
    So Dickie gets arrested, they've got an eyewitness who'll testify, and everybody's happy: Mags signs the deal with the mining company, Raylan smiles and leaves the funeral as soon as he can, Boyd and Ava pay their respects.
    And then it turns out that Mags still had an ace up her sleeve - enter little old lady who has a chat with the eyewitness, and hey presto! Poor idiot Jeb takes the blame and Dickie is free to go, getting picked up outside prison by his not-so-loving family who nevertheless promises that "We'll take care of everything"...

    There WILL be a reckoning, but there's no telling who will be doing the dirtywork - and who will fall by the roadside.moreless

  • The Other Side (Spoilers Ahead)

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By Neksmater, Apr 30, 2011
    Raylan seeks out justice for Helen's brutal murder by Dickie's hand. Arlo, waiting in hiding for Dickie to murder him for his deed gets arrested by Raylan until he can sort it all out. Jed, Dickie's compatriot in the murder, is found by Raylan after Dickie enlists Doyle to kill Jed "resisting arrest." In the end Dickie is found by Raylan and he knocks Doyle out and takes Dickie out into the middle of the woods and tells him all about what Helen did for him when he was younger and how good a surrogate mother she was. He knocks out Dickie and throws him in jail while Mags closes the deal with Black Pike. But a stranger comes into the mix and may have Mags break her truce that she made with Helen, promising Dickie that she'll take care of everything. Well that pretty much sets that all up for the season finale, should be fairly explosive. I like seeing a bit of a softer side to Raylan when he speaks of Helen, it adds a lot of dynamic to his otherwise impenetrable cowboy type swagger.moreless
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