It’s never a “Justified” story without crooks double-crossing each other, without even Rylan’s influence. In the case of this week’s episode, just such an altercation occurred between Clement and Sweet after the former revealed he’d put out a hit on his criminal colleague. The situation quickly turned sour, with the hired hitter getting immediately taken out and Clement turning on Sweet and shooting up his jukebox. Too far, Mansell. Too far.
Unfortunately, this also led to Clement pressing play on a cover of “The Seventh Nation Army” that, while clearly highlighting just how unhinged this tighty-whitey-wearing antagonist is, sucked all the tension out of the moment. Without question, both film and television have homed horrifying instances that have been all the more gripping when the villain at the center of it has a love for music. In Clement’s case, though, it feels like an unbalanced element that makes moments like this jarring in the wrong ways.
Hopefully, in the show’s final two episodes, it manages to find a balance, or Mansell keeps his music interests at a low volume when he and Givens have the showdown “Justified: City Primeval” should go out on.