Justified, Season 3 & 4

Justified is the kind of show I like to watch entire seasons in one, rather than follow weekly. I did the same with seasons 1 and 2 back in the day, and somehow I never got around to season 3 before even the fourth season had passed by. It's a strange beast. The simple 19th century lawman procedural in the modern world is a bizarre mash-up that makes me think of The Wire done light in a Winter's Bone world, with characters that rarely make the same kind of impact those important ones did in the before mentioned show and movie. All in all it makes it better than most procedurals, but nowhere near the greatness of The Wire.

Season three spends a lot of time with a mafia local wannabe going at it with the Crowders, and with the Limehouse-crowd at arms length taking up a lot of time as a stripped Bennett-family kind of influence (see season 2). It makes for a less interesting season all together, with lesser obstacles, lesser intriguing characters and less charm than both this show have done before and others have done in the same vein.

Season four takes the old-secret angle, chasing down an old fugitive with unknown new identity as its main gear. Good old Boyd Crowder becomes a poor-man's Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or a poor-man's 'Stringer' Bell (The Wire). However you choose to see it, it's less appealing than it once used to be. Heck, by the time season four has ended I'm confused whether or not this actually is just another guilty pleasure of mine.

Thankfully there's a few things that works really well as we take our steps around in Raylan's world, and much of it is thanks to a certain kind of humor that works built on the world itself. Not quite enough to make the entertainment value outshine the lesser interest I feel for these seasons compared to earlier ones (or greater show's...), but enough I'll still probably tune in for season five once its done. At least by now I know it's with lesser expectations and a more guilty pleasure mind.

It also makes me ponder whether or not I shouldn't take a look at revisiting The Wire sooner rather than later...

Season 3 ★★★☆☆
Season 4 ★★★☆☆