Characters / Justified Nobles Holler

Noble's Holler

Limehouse

Ellstin Limehouse

"I likes to back the winning side."

Played By: Mykelti Williamson

"There was a time I thought that, uh, pain was the only thing a dog remembers. But it was your daddy who taught me a dog also remembers when you elect not to hurt him. And if you can get your dog to not just remember, but to learn from the not hurting, then he's yours for life. But some dogs, though, they take you not giving them the hurt that they deserve as weakness. And after that first pass, well, they can't ever be taught. You got no choice but to put that dog down."

A criminal and butcher — not necessarily in that order — who runs a diner in Noble's Holler, a sanctuary of sorts for his family and associates. He rarely leaves Noble's Holler so folks with an interest in Limehouse's shadier dealings, including U.S. Deputy Marshal Raylan Givens, must meet him in his own surroundings and on his own terms. Various criminals "invest" with Limehouse and, as a result, he has a wide ranging and often encyclopedic knowledge of "who's who" in the criminal underworld. Initially, Limehouse's closest ties are to the Bennett family, especially matriarch Mags.

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• Affably Evil: While he's Faux Affably Evil to everyone else, he's sincerely kind to his men and the women he protects.
• An Offer You Can't Refuse: If you screw things up for him, he might give you one of these rather than having you hurt or killed.
• Absurdly Sharp Blade: Limehouse chops off Quarles' left arm with a meat cleaver in "Slaughterhouse."
• Ambiguous Situation: In the final episode, Raylan speculates on who helped Ava escape Harlan County. One of his theories is Limehouse, but he immediately dismisses this, saying, "We looked at Limehouse, but found he'd left Nobles the day before." This is the last time Limehouse is mentioned, and it's never explained what this means.
• Anti-Villain: All Limehouse wants is to protect his community, but he's quite ruthless about doing this. His actor even described him as such in an interview.
  Mykelti Williamson: He's not really a bad guy, but not really a good guy. He's whatever he has to be, which means that he’s all of the above, if necessary.
• Bad Boss: Downplayed, especially in comparison to some of the other villains in the series. Limehouse treats his men well, but he won't tolerate failure and the first time his men screw up, he offers them a choice: they can stick their hand in lye and scar their hands, making them "square", or get off without a punishment with the threat Limehouse won't be so merciful next time.
• Beard of Evil: He sports a beard, and while he's not evil, he's certainly one of the show's most morally grey characters.
• Benevolent Boss: Outside of his rather harsh punishments, he treats the people working for him quite well and is deeply loyal to them.
• Briefcase Full of Money: He likes to transport large quantities of cash in coolers.
• The Butcher: Well, it's his job.
• But for Me, It Was Tuesday: He gave once gave Arlo the beating of a lifetime, but when Raylan refers to the event Limehouse does not seem to remember it. Turns out, Limehouse lied. He later admits to remembering the entire incident to Raylan, and earlier alluded to it when talking with Boyd.
• Chekhov's Meat Cleaver: And what an Act Three usage THAT turned out to be...
• The Chessmaster: The best one in the series, as demonstrated in the last part of Season 3, where he uses a series of complex schemes to set Raylan, Boyd, Quarles, and Dickie on a collision course.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Despite the highly contentious circumstances that led to it, Ellstin is nonetheless visibly upset when forcing himself to exile Errol from Noble’s Holler, and is near tears when the man is shot trying to defend his boss from Quarles.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • Part of his obvious disgust for Boyd comes from his past as a white supremacist, and the fact he still employs the ardent Neo-Nazi Devil.
  • He hates wife-beaters, and shows sincere disgust at seeing Arlo among Boyd's men.
• Family Business: He is just the latest of his family to act as protector of Noble's Holler.
• A Father to His Men: Limehouse sees the people of Noble's Holler as his family and his responsibility, not just his henchmen. He might be greedy, but his greatest motivation is to protect Noble's Holler.
• Faux Affably Evil: Limehouse is quite folksy and affects a demeanor of amiability, but it's clearly an act for anyone who isn't part of Noble's Holler, and he views most people from outside it with contempt.
• Heel–Face Revolving Door: There is simply no way to tell what side Limehouse is on at any given time.
• Heel Realization: In Season 4.
• Hidden Agenda Villain: Subverted. He's kept quite a mysterious character at first and he's certainly a Wild Card, but ultimately what Limehouse wants is exactly what he says it is: for Noble's Holler to be left alone. Everything he does is in service of that goal.
• Humble Goal: Limehouse just wants Noble's Holler to be left alone, and really doesn't want to be involved in criminal activity. But if he's pushed, he'll push back hard to protect his home.
• I Gave My Word: He might actually be in the process of backstabbing you but if he made you a promise, he will keep it.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's not really evil, but Limehouse is quite ruthless and can be quite a jerk to anyone he doesn't like. He also sincerely cares about the people of Noble's Holler, always keeps his promises, and is quite prone to petting the dog.
• Knowledge Broker: He has informants all over the area and always knows what is going on. If you are a client of his unofficial bank he will share this information with you.
• Let's You and Him Fight: He did not want to get involved in the Boyd-Quarles conflict but now that he is part of it, he will play both sides against each other to make sure that they wipe each other out.
• Manipulative Bastard: Limehouse understands what people want, and is very effective at preying on it. He capitalizes on Boyd's greed, Dickie's desperation, Quarles' drive for control, and Raylan's desire to see them all behind bars, in order to set most of the latter half of Season 3 in motion.
• Man of the City: His biggest concern is the welfare of Nobles Holler and its people. He will do anything to ensure his community's well-being.
• Morally Bankrupt Banker: He was Mags's banker, though according to Word of God he refused to be involved in her business any more than that, and hates being involved with gangland activity.
• Noble Demon: Limehouse dabbles in crime and is very willing to string people along, even those he protects, but it's fairly clear that they are only means to securing Noble's Holler's neutral ground and that he doesn't want to harm anyone.
• Pet the Dog: He has quite a bit of these moments.
  • He's angry at Errol especially because he got Trixie killed, who was one of their loyal informants. Limehouse forces him to donate money to Trixie's family as penance.
  • He hates Dickie, but goes out of his way to rescue him from Ash and Lance's thugs when he didn't have to, because he promised Mags he'd keep him alive.
• Playing Both Sides: He messes with everyone's shit, since other people generally need his help much more than he does theirs. In season 4, he takes in Shelby and Ellen May, then arranges a trade with Boyd, but stalls them, allows only for one hostage exchange and lets Ellen May go after a little while. This way, he has his small revenge against Shelby, robs Crowder out of a lot of money and helps defuse the Drew Thompson and Ellen May drama without compromising his neutrality.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: He is quite willing to give a subordinate a second chance but if the subordinate screws up again, he will treat it as a personal betrayal and act accordingly.
• Refuge in Audacity: His plan to take down Boyd, Quarles and Dickie Bennett all at once relies on the fact the setup is so crazy that no one will suspect it was all pre-planned. Boyd and Raylan see right through it.
• Scary Black Man: Boyd was not afraid of his father, Bo, or the Bennetts, but Limehouse is an entirely different matter. Even as a young man he was able to give Arlo a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown that neither Arlo or Raylan have forgotten.
• Soft-Spoken Sadist: He's quite calm and rarely raises his voice, but it's because Limehouse doesn't have to because everyone is terrified of him and wisely quite wary around him,
• Stop Being Stereotypical: Gives a rather impresssive verion of this speech to Errol when he attempts to get Nobles' Holler involved in the Oxy trade.
• Simpleton Voice: He uses a 'country bumpkin' accent when talking to outsiders. It is most noticable when he is talking to Quarles and he does not use it when talking to Boyd. When he tries to pull the routine on Raylan, Raylan tells him to knock it off.
• Social Services Does Not Exist: In the absence of regional domestic violence shelters, he takes in battered women who are fleeing their abusive husbands and boyfriends.
• Team Switzerland: His base is in a remote mountain community, he maintains neutrality in the various gang wars and acts as a banker for many of the criminals in the area. He believes that the only way for his community to survive is not to take sides in the disputes of the white gangs in the area.
• Throwing Your Meat Cleaver Always Works: In "Measures," he hurls his meat cleaver across the room, lodging it into the wall and narrowly missing Quarles' head.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: He's the descendant of a community of sharecroppers and former slaves, and he's had to protect his community from Harlan County's bigots for years. This has left him quite ruthless and willing to do anything to protect Noble's Holler, no matter how amoral.
• Wife-Basher Basher: He provided a refuge for battered wives, and when their husbands (like Arlo) came for them, Limehouse reacted in a less-then-peaceful manner.

Errol

Errol Butler

"You gonna have to do what you gonna have to do, then, 'cause I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees."

Played By: Demetrius Grosse

Limehouse's ambitious right-hand man, Errol dreams of being a bonafide gangster, rather than hiding out in Noble's Holler. Aiming to convince Limehouse to take over the county, Errol does his best to start a gang war between Boyd Crowder and Robert Quarles, hoping that Limehouse will pick up the pieces afterwards.

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• Affably Evil: He's quite friendly with everyone, despite being considerably less scrupulous than Limehouse.
• Ambition Is Evil: His desire to expand Noble's Holler into a criminal empire causes a heap of problems for both him and his boss.
• Beard of Evil: He sports a beard and he's quite amoral.
• Defiant to the End: He's quite willing to accept death from Limehouse as punishment for his betrayal, but makes it clear he won't take it like a coward.
• Dragon with an Agenda: Errol is Limehouse's main henchman, but he goes against Limehouse's wishes to involve Noble's Holler in the Quarles-Boyd conflict because he feels it is their time to take over crime in Harlan County.
• The Exile: His foolish and greedy ambition places Noble's Holler in jeopardy, so after the dust settles Limehouse makes it abundantly clear his employment is terminated. He's banished from Noble's Holler, but he does return for one last stand against Quarles resulting in a Redemption Equals Death moment. It's later revealed he survived, and Limehouse has reversed his exile. Being shot for your employer tends to earn you a second chance.
• Gangbangers: Limehouse accuses him of wanting to be one.
  Limehouse: Oh. So that's what you want. Be a gangster. Gold chains and champagne and the hos and shit.
• Hidden Depths: Errol isn't just muscle for Limehouse; he's an ambitious man with aspirations of taking over Harlan County.
• Redemption Equals Death: After Limehouse banishes him, Errol returns at the last minute to shoot Quarles, thereby saving Raylan and Limehouse. Unfortunately, Quarles gets off a shot in response. Averted when he's revealed to have survived and is still in Limehouse's employ.
• Red Right Hand: His left hand is badly mutilated. It is all but stated that this was Limehouse's way of punishing him for failure (Errol is introduced in a scene where Limehouse is threatening to burn Bernard's hand with lye, and the camera lingers on Errol's scars), meaning that the scarring is a literal sign of his villainy.
• Scars Are Forever: He has a nasty chemical burn scar on his left hand.
• Scary Black Man: He is Limehouse's main enforcer and cuts a rather intimidating figure due to his height, his scar and his general ruthlessness.
• Stop Being Stereotypical: He is given this speech by Limehouse after getting him involved in drug trading.
• The Starscream: Seems at first, though he's either thwarted by circumstances or simply realizes he's not that good.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Limehouse's pork tongue, marinated in mustard seeds, cider, and a little vinegar. Limehouse reminisced about Errol's father bringing him pork tongue after slaughterings pigs when Errol was a little boy.
• Villainous Valour: He respects Tanner Dodd's last request.

Bernard

Bernard

Played By: Cleavon McClendon

• You Have Failed Me: He falls asleep on watch, incurring Limehouse's wrath. He gives him a chilling choice, but doesn't actually kill him.
  Limehouse: Now, I'm gonna give you a choice, Bernard. I can pour some of this here on the back of your hand, see, turn the heat on the pressure hose up near boiling, and then we'll take this hand, and we stick it in under the stream till I decide we square. Then we take your hand out, pour on some vinegar, and hope that lye hasn't eaten down to the bone. Or you promise me that you will never fail me again in any capacity, and we can all go on back about our evening. Now, before you choose, I'm gonna tell you what. That first way hurt like nothing that you ain't ever felt, but it'll square us. Second way doesn't hurt, but it'll mean next time you screw up, I'll have to take that as a sign that you don't respect me anymore. Now, can I assume from your face that you're choosing door number two?