Justified - final season

What has been your take on this season?

I think it's been a bit hit and miss. The military types working for Markham ended up being something of a red herring.

Most of the very best scenes have involved Wynn Duffy.

It was nice to see Loretta again, though they might be pushing the boundaries of believability with making her Markham's main rival.

Still not got round to watching S3. Not sure why. Maybe I miss Margo Martindale.

I recall you saying a number of Deadwood actors had guested in Justified. Same thing is going on in House of Cards, where both Molly Parker and Kim Dickens are regulars. Unfortunately, they're not given much to do.

With Gareth Dillahunt, there was another one this season. But there have been too many to count. Some for just a single episode (e.g. Gerald McRaney, Pruitt Taylor Vince), but others with proper, lengthy story arcs of their own (e.g. Jim Beaver).

Garret Dillahunt, eh? Maybe I should take another look at Justified.

Dillahunt was outstanding in Deadwood. His two characters were so different both in mannerisms and appearance that at first I didn't realise they were played by the same actor.

Season 3 is probably the weakest.

I would rank them such: 2, 4, 1, 5, 3

I like the show well enough. Probably mostly for Olyphant to be honest. But it's also solid entertainment in its own right, some intriguing writing there, characters you really want to learn more about.

Why is it then I can't seem to get Elmore Leonard? I tried his first story with Givens. It was a chore, really didn't grip me at all.

The series finale was imperfect, but I do feel they got the conclusion to the Raylan-Boyd dynamic right.

I also liked the resolution to the Winona situation, a "happy ending" would not have been true to what they have told us about their relationship these past six seasons.

Sad to see the show go, now where will all the "Deadwood" alumni go to guest star? :)

Always thought Deadwood's reputation would rise and eventually become the world's fast growing religion. How wrong I was. If anything, it's in danger of being forgotten.

Not enough superheroes or teenagers.

When I re-watched it a few years ago, I was struck with how some characters now appear almost too sympathetic. I feel like "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad" steered TV drama to an even darker place, where even the Doctors humanism and Jane's inherent decency would stand out too "positively", for lack of a better word?

Is Mad Men so dark? It's not what I'd call an optimistic show, but that's about it. As for Breaking Bad, I thought it was very funny. Maybe that's just me though.

There's plenty of sympathetic characters in Deadwood. That doesn't mean its take on life is any less harsh.

Breaking Bad is very funny. I was more referring to the underlying morality of its characters.

Obviously life in a largely lawless frontier town would be portrayed as harsh. But the altruism and humanism displayed by the doctor and Jane stands out positively compared to more recent dramas.