Justified: oh why do I love thee?

Kzach · Feb 9, 2012

I don't get it. I just can't pin down why it is I enjoy this show so much and why I look forward to it more than House or even Dexter. Whatever it is though, Justified has it in spades.

Maybe it's Timothy Olyphant? I'm not gay, but he's definitely sexy. It could just be that it kicks ass? I think it's more the whole 'western in a modern setting' thing, though; I just can't wait to see who he'll shoot, and how he'll shoot them, each week

Hand of Evil · Feb 9, 2012

It is the characters, even the NPCs - there is a lot going on. On top of that, great character actors and writing.

One of my favorite NPCs is Dewy, he is a little rat, funny as hell but he is so damn endearing.

Radiating Gnome · Feb 9, 2012

It's all in the details -- especially the dialog. The down-home-good-old-boy politeness that's just a veneer over malice is positively delicious.

Think about it -- it's actually incredibly rare nowadays -- how many other shows are there out there where the characters regularly say one thing but mean something else entirely? And that trust the viewer to understand that without spoonfeeding an explanation to you? Not too damn many.

There's a lot more about the show that's also very good -- the stories, the characters, the very real, complex relationships, etc. But many other shows do some of those well. I can't think of many, though, that have this sort of verbal complexity.

-rg

Kzach · Feb 9, 2012

Radiating Gnome said:
It's all in the details -- especially the dialog. The down-home-good-old-boy politeness that's just a veneer over malice is positively delicious.

Yeah, I love this and there was a great example in the latest episode where he goes in to talk to his good friend and pal Boyd and relates a story to him about his father getting beat up.

I think I also love that there are so many awesome scenes. As an example there was the moment where the psycho had the gun on him and was playing that game and as the knife comes down, he pulls the table cloth to bring the gun to his hand. Another was in the latest episode where the person he's chasing after crosses the street right in front of him, stops in the middle of the road, turns slowly and looks directly at him and you just know there's going to be a showdown.

And then there's the acting and writing, like others have said. Margo Martindale from last season who played Mags Bennett was simply amazing and that last scene of last season was just perfect. She absolutely deserved her Emmy for that role.

Hand of Evil · Feb 9, 2012

The other part of what makes this show great is that it deals in the greys.

Yes, these are bad people but yet they are providers and have good quailities, well at least some of them. They could be people you know and would say good things about, while shaking your head about all they are into.

El Mahdi · Feb 9, 2012

There are a lot of things that make this show awesome, and all of the points above are good ones, but let's face it, there's really only one main reason why people love this show...

Timothy Olyphant's Raylan Givens. Woment want him, Men want to be him.

It's as simple as that.

Sutekh · Feb 10, 2012

I think its the collection of Characters that make this show so good. From Dewy to Boyd to Arlo to Dickie (one character that often gets overlooked but I think goes between wetting his pants when he gets intimidated to cocky sob very well.)

One of my favourite scenes dosnt even have Raylan in it. His long suffering boss Art who physically isnt in great shape has a discussion with a 'crim' at a small airport. Then he is 'running' after said crim who has an oxygen tank while Art and his own physical limitation kick in. That was just a classic scene for me.

and of course Dewy Crowe flapping around inside a body bag was just great too.