A busy week has kept my screen time to a minimum, but I have had a chance to rewatch “Justified” with my youngest. She has never seen it before, and we only own the first season on DVD (the best, IMHO) and I’m pleased to see it is just as good as I remembered it.
The contrast between it and modern product is striking. Well-drawn characters, interesting plots, crackling dialog, incredible cast.
The setting is also great, and of particular interest to my family. Much of the action takes place in Lexington and Harlan County, as well as various other locations in Kentucky. My wife is from Bell County, just north of Harlan, and we’ve driven through it. The writers do a great job of getting into the Appalachian mentality and some of the show was filmed on location to capture the landscape.
Of course, most was filmed in California, but we can let that pass.
The character of Raylan Givens is of particular interest. He’s wonderfully complicated, and very much of his area. Indeed, we know Givens’ from the area, so even that detail is correct. My daughter is loving it.
I’m not sure if we will purchase the following seasons, because why they were good, the plot did wear thin over time. There’s also no particular story arc that needs to be fulfilled. Each season is pretty self-contained.
I think that’s how shows should be – a set of short stories rather than a magnum opus. The fate of so many other grandiose shows that work at first but then crash on final approach is that the whole product is tainted. I’m trying to sell the first six seasons of Game of Thrones and I’m basically giving it away. Justified avoids that trap.
Chateau Lloyd 
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