Season five of "Justified" returned Jan. 7 to its regularly scheduled programming every Tuesday on FX. I, for one, have never seen a full episode, let alone a whole season. However, people with very similar tastes in television to mine are constantly raving about "Justified."
Many FX shows are known for their attention-grabbing eccentric plots, sky-high production costs and stellar casting. Some examples of FX original series are "Sons of Anarchy" and "American Horror Story."
So going in with high hopes, I was not disappointed. Due to a lack of any firsthand knowledge, I was puzzled, although my boyfriend tried to fill in the blanks. After watching the show, I now yearn to watch the four previous seasons.
"Justified" centers on U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant). Olyphant is known for his work on "Deadwood" and "I Am Number Four." Givens is reassigned from the sunny streets of Miami back to his home territory in rural eastern Kentucky. Givens is a soft-spoken man, but don't let that fool you. Givens is a force to be reckoned with -- he knows the ins and outs of the law especially through his experiences with his outlaw father.
It was clear each season of "Justified" follows the same formula: A main villain comes into Kentucky, he/she tries to become the next kingpin in one of the corruption rings, and Givens must stop them. Each villain tries to become the head of the prostitution, drug or protection ring. This season follows the same formula with concerns over control of the dope, or heroin, ring. From the previous season, main troublemaker Boyd Crowder is still trying to get his fiance?© out of prison as he struggles to remain on top of the drug empire within Kentucky.
The first episode takes Crowder to the streets of Detroit after an everyday drug trade turns sour, while Givens goes to the boondocks of Florida in pursuit of a lead on a missing Coast guard. Throughout the first episode, Givens quickly learns the disappearance of the Coast Guard wasn't out of the blue as he investigates of the illegal sugar trading business the Coast Guard was involved in.
I, for one, will have to come back to this season five of "Justified," once I'm able to catch up on the four previous seasons on Netflix. However, I highly encourage everyone to check this out!
Gloryeanne Lindenmuth can be reached at gloryeanne.lindenmuth@student.shu.edu
