"Justified" recap: As the Crowe lies...

Spoilers for this week's episode of "Justified" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.


"For a guy who's supposedly changed, you sound an awful lot like you always did."
-Dewey Crowe, to Boyd Crowder


That's a fairly perceptive comment from the profoundly dim-witted Dewey Crowe, who made his triumphant return to "Justified" this week. In fact, much of the episode centers on whether Boyd has, in fact, in changed. Both Dewey and Raylan suspect him of arranging the hit on the oxy-bus, and Raylan goes so far as to ask Boyd's new roommate, Ava Crowder, to toss Boyd out. Boyd, however, maintains that he's reformed. His sorrow at realizing that Dewey has stolen back the drugs seems to confirm that, as does his troubled phone call to Raylan.
Yet, as Raylan's suggested, Boyd is too deeply Boyd to change to a great degree. Yes, he's innocent of the bus robbery. But, by the episode's end, we have Boyd completely freaking out on his creepy co-worker from the mines and dragging him alongside his truck. It's a jaw-dropping sequence, right down to Walton Goggins's blood-curdling yell as Boyd abruptly stops, throwing Creepy Kyle to the road.
So does this mean Boyd is a hard-core criminal, incapable of change? I think that's the way the show is leaning (though, truth be told, it's hard to feel too much sympathy for the awful Kyle). I just hope they don't string that story out for too long. Yes, I love the thorny relationship between Boyd and Raylan (and love Goggins's performance as Boyd).
However, if Boyd's role remains ambiguous for too long, I worry his arc will become tedious. Complexity is good, and I don't expect Boyd to settle into being purely good or bad. I just am not sure if the show has made up its mind about what it wants to do with Boyd. I'm going to worry too much about that just yet, though.
Instead, I'm just going to take the show as it comes. And this week's episode "The I of the Storm," was a fine one. We had the return of mind-boggling goofball Dewey Crowe, who thought it might be wise to masquerade as Raylan while stealing the drugs. We also had our first really strong Raylan-Ava scene. And, given how unsteady things now seem between Raylan and Winona, I'm fairly certain our favorite lawman hasn't closed the book on Ava just yet.
And then, there's Art. Nick Searcy only gets about one or two scenes an episode as Raylan's wry, quick-witted boss, but they're almost always great ones. Here, we had the moment where Raylan accidentally lets Art know about his date the night before, and Art gleefully tries to figure out who Raylan was with. His unrestrained laughter upon figuring out that Raylan is seeing Winona is a delight.
Here are some more thoughts on "The I of the Storm."
* Dewey might be one of the all-time great dumb criminals in fiction. His reason for seeking out a ski mask (Or a catcher's mask. Or a hockey mask) is so patently obvious, it's a wonder that the weary shop-keeper doesn't call the police. Dewey's even dumb enough to re-use Raylan's line about hunting gators during the robbery. Of course, the line leads Raylan right to him.
* No Mags Bennett in this episode, though she is alluded to during Doyle's confrontation with his brothers. When Dickie says he's not afraid of the Frankfort gang, Doyle asks him what would happen if their mother found out about the robbery. Dickie looks terrified.
* Dickie's ring tone is "Dueling Banjos." Of course.
* Wonder if there will be any follow up on Art's concerns about Tim the sniper. If there's anyone in the Lexington crew who could be a soul mate to Raylan, it's Tim. But, so far, Tim has been a bit more controlled and businesslike in his killings. Still, it's unlikely that you could do that kind of work and not be affected by it.