I posted my review of NOS4A2 by Joe Hill yesterday. I finished the book a couple of months ago but held off releasing my review until it was closer to publication day. Just one more review to polish off and I can cross that off my checklist.
It’s spring break around here this week. Seems to be that way for TV, too, as a lot of shows are on hiatus. As Nathan Fillion tweeted recently when asked why there was no Castle episode that week: it takes longer for us to make them than for you to watch them. Oh, well—at least there’ve been a couple of Angry Birds updates.
Tonight’s episode of Survivor promises to be exciting, what with Brendan going off the reservation and apparently an ad hoc Tribal Council called before? during? after? a challenge.
A boring, talky episode of The Walking Dead this week. What did any of it accomplish? Andrea had a chance to make a break with the governor but passed it up. They showed the Governor’s gun in the first act and it didn’t go off in the third act. The seconds-in-command got to hang out and bond, at least. Maybe they’ll all start to realize how nuts their leaders are and stage a couple of parallel coups.
So, Drew Thompson is finally in the custody of the U.S. Marshals, but there’s still a challenge left for Raylan & Co. (Cue You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive.) The episode had insufficient Raylan vs. Boyd for my liking. The show really sizzles when they’re in the room together. They did have their moment, though, and Raylan got one over on Boyd when he told him he’d like to send him to visit Arlo—Boyd didn’t find out what had happened to the elder Givens until nearly the end of the episode. I wonder if he thought back to that conversation.
New Justified game: take a drink every time someone says “asshole.” Boyd’s little speech about Raylan’s path not taken would have been a two-fer. If Raylan had chosen the same path as Arlo he’d “still be able to shoot people and be an asshole. Your two favorite activities. Except you’d be a rich asshole.”
Not that I recall Arlo ever being rich, and every time Boyd stacks away some cash someone relieves him of it. He thought he was making a good investment by paying $300K for Ellen May and Drew, only to turn around and sell Drew to the Detroit mob for $500K. That was before Limehouse decided to throw a spanner in the works. Leave it to Ellen May to have an idea that took her and Drew to a place that everyone knew she would use as a last resort. It was an interesting touch to have Drew see a stray dog on the side of the road, which reminded him of Ellen May, I guess.
It was an episode of strong speeches. First there was Art’s in which he expressed appreciation for all that Drew Thompson accomplished over the years. “That’s some bad ass shit,” he said. Rachel got to poke some holes in Raylan’s aloof veneer and Johnny got to lament to Raylan about his sorry lot in life vis-a-vis Boyd. He didn’t get a lot of sympathy. “That the shit that happens when you choose to live the life of a small-time asshole.” (Drink!) Finally, Limehouse related his dream of flying a jumbo jet filled with people from the “holler.”
There were some unexpected developments. Force to choose between Ellen May and Drew, Boyd was in favor of the former because she posed a greater risk to Ava. (Awwww.) But then he turns around and gives Drew to Colt to deliver. I guess that makes sense, as it keeps Boyd at arm’s length if things go south, but Colt’s track record hasn’t been all that great and if Ellen May could give him the slip, what about clever old Drew? Not that things would have turned out any differently if Boyd had taken him.
My favorite little moment was Rachel responding to Raylan’s description of the women’s underwear they found in Drew’s house that gave him the clue that Ellen May was with him. They weren’t a lady’s panties, he said. They were a whore’s panties. “By the way, I have that same pair of panties…” Is she still flirting with him? After all, she’d just told him that he was “easy on the eyes.” And Raylan seemed to want her to start singing show tunes.
Another funny moment: Wynn Duffy and his friend react to the summons to Harlan. “Have you got a passport?” Wynn asks. “You need a passport to get into Harlan?” I also liked it when Boyd asked the conspiracy nut if he had another battery for his drill before blowing dust off the terminals.
Finally, it seems like Mexico is missing out on a prime ad campaign. They should be marketing to fugitives. It’s the place to go when you’re on the run from the law. If the U.S. Marshals went on a sweep up the coast, I’m sure they’d clear their “most wanted” list in no time.
