Beware of spoilers! Only spoilers from the current season are whited out.
- Adaptation Displacement:
- The series is much more well-known than both the novels featuring Raylan and of the poorly received adaptation of Leonard's novel Pronto, which featured the Raylan Givens character.
- The pilot episode, "Fire in the Hole," takes both its name and plot from a short story from Leonard's When the Women Come Out to Dance. Printings post-Justified are now retitled Fire in the Hole and feature a big sticker letting you know that, yes, Raylan shows up in a story here.
- Adorkable: Amazingly, despite being a sleazy Neo-Nazi, Dewey Crowe falls into this because of his child-like naïveté and earnestly friendly personality.
- Alternative Character Interpretation:
- Is Boyd reformed? Or was it all a scam? Is it still a scam or did he actually reform in the middle of it? Or did he actually reform first and then lose his way? We could keep going...
- It's a small, relatively insignifcant thing, but in the finale, a decent amount of time passes between the end of the last gunfight and Ava taking off in Raylan's car. Did it merely take her that long to get free and behind the wheel, or did she linger to see if Raylan was alive or not.
- Awesome Music: "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive", which is used at the end of all but one of the season finales. The version that plays at the end of Season 5
deserves a special mention. - Base-Breaking Character:
- Winona. Some fans dislike her for being very whiny, hypocritical at times, and for putting Raylan under unnecessary stress due to her idiotic actions (the money incident from season 2 stands out). Others enjoy her for her banter with Raylan, her contributions to the plot, and proving herself more than once to be a fierce opponent to those who cross her.
- Boon. Fans are torn on if he is just a vile guy who comes out nowhere in the last few episodes as a new henchman for Avery Markham, replacing the far more interesting Tigerhawk trio who were just killed off, or if he's an Evil Is Cool, proper callback to old Westerns by giving Raylan an opponent who can match his gunfighting prowess.
- Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: When Roscoe delivers a profanity-laced exposition on King Lear in the middle of a standoff in "Wrong Roads".
- Broken Base: The show's fanbase has quickly broken into those who watch it for Raylan/Olyphant and those who watch it for Boyd/Goggins. In particular, there are those Olyphant fans who hate how Goggins has stolen the spotlight from Olyphant and want him gone from the series.
- Cargo Ship: It might be prudent to say that both people in the show and those who watch it ship Raylan and his hat. But hell, who wouldn't?
- Catharsis Factor: Mansell’s death, after all the hell he put everyone through and his numerous baffling escapes from being arrested. It is very satisfying to watch him bleed out on Carolyn’s kitchen floor like the piece of trash he is.
- Arlo Givens' demise is also quite satisfying considering he spent entire decades emotionally and physically abusing Raylan and his mother before she died, and he dies violently, no less, not a nice peaceful death that would have been too good for him.
- There is also a serious catharsis factor for Danny Crowe killing himself in a wannabe badass showdown with Raylan. Timothy Olyphant said in an interview that he was giggling the entire time they filmed it because it was such a satisfying black comedy death for such a wretched character.
- Complete Monster:
- Season 4: Nick "Nicky" Augustine is a snarky yet sociopathic crime lord who is dispatched to Harlan County by Detroit Mob boss Theo Tonin to handle the Drew Thompson situation. Immediately executing his childhood friend Jerry Barkley for failure upon arriving in Harlan, Augustine arranges for a hitman to target a variety of men on the small chance they could be Drew Thompson, an old enemy of Theo's who Augustine plans to capture and have tortured to death to gain Theo's approval. Using Boyd Crowder and Wynn Duffy as pawns who he threatens with torture and death should they fail him, Augustine has Constable Bob tortured for information; tries to bomb a federal convoy; and plans to murder a hooker, all in various attempts to take out Drew. When Raylan Givens consistently thwarts Augustine's schemes, Augustine targets the man's pregnant ex-wife Winona, sending his goons to try to torture the woman to death and rip her baby out of her, and even after Raylan saves Winona, Augustine just brags that he'll keep trying until Raylan's entire family is dead, cementing himself as such a heartless bastard that Raylan broke his moral code to arrange for Augustine's death.
- "The Moonshine War": James "Jimmy" Earl Dean is an despicable sexual predator of young teenage girls, with a rap sheet of violent attacks. Immediately trying to attack another girl upon release from prison, Jimmy hides out in Harlan as a member of the Bennett gang just to cover up that he is stalking a young Loretta McReady as his next victim. Taking advantage of Loretta's father crossing the Bennetts, Jimmy kidnaps Loretta and threatens to murder her father to force her compliance, planning to keep her for his depraved purposes for a long time to come, before threatening to kill her when law enforcement finds them.
- "The Life Inside": Jess Timmons is a greedy crook who is hired by prison guard Glenn Cosgrove to stage a breakout of his imprisoned, pregnant mistress Jamie. Ordered by Cosgrove to kill Jamie to cover up the infidelity, Jess comes up with an idea to make further cash by taking Jamie's baby and selling it to Human Traffickers. Jess sadistically tries to cut the baby out of Jamie without anesthesia and murders his partner when the man gets cold feet on their crime. When he's tracked down by the Marshals, Jess holds Jamie hostage with his gun against her belly, threatening that if he isn't allowed to escape, there will be "baby guts all over".
- Crazy Is Cool: According to Art:Art: First thing we're gonna do is we're gonna acknowledge that this guy is awesome.Rachel: What?Art: I mean, he shoots Theo Tonin, fakes his own death in spectacular fashion, pushes a guy out of an airplane while he's flying it, parachutes into Harlan county with enough coke and cash to jumpstart the economy of small country, and then he has the balls to get a job in law enforcement, not once, but two times! He spends a couple days riding around with you while you're looking for him, and now he's run off with a hooker half his age. That's some badass shit.Raylan: It's pretty badass.Art: Yes, it is. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. You wanna let those guys be the ones, or are we gonna be the ones to take that badass?
- Robert Quarles was basically as dangerous as he was because of his insanity and (later) Oxycontin addiction.
- Creator's Pet: Ava fucking Crowder. It would be one thing if the show set up a redemption arc before allowing her to get away with literally every slimy thing she did over the course of the show, but they don't. Every other character in the entire series has to live with the consequences of their actions—and some of them don't live to deal with all the consequences of their actions—and yet she gets off scotfree in the end for no reason. The only explanation is the writers room adores her for an unexplained reason.
- Crosses the Line Twice: A US Marshal playing a very real, potentially lethal game of Russian Roulette with a criminal? Not funny, potentially a troubling sign that he's approaching He Who Fights Monsters territory. A US Marshal playing Russian Roulette with a usual cool and controlled criminal who is screaming "JESUS CHRIST! YOU'RE A COP!" at the top of his lungs? Hilarious.
- Raylan running over the crooked prison guard in front of the hotel. Twice. It's later commented on as not okay, but absolutely hilarious by another cop.
- Diabolus ex Machina: Arrives in the form of Albert Fekus, the prison guard that stabs himself to keep Ava in prison, the night before she was set to be released. This is all despite how obviously he did it to himself, how unlikely it would be for Ava to stab a guard for no reason the night before she was set to leave prison, and the sheer incredulity-straining conceit that he was willing to stab himself out of petty vengeance for her mouthing off to him earlier. In addition, Ava's bunkmate backs up his story for no reason. This all happens so Ava and Boyd could fall out while she's in state prison, setting up the plot for the final season.
- Evil Is Cool: Boyd Crowder is a fan-favorite for a reason. He's charming, Wicked Cultured, and extremely smart, and that's on top of his penchant for using rocket launchers and BFGs for the sake of Stuff Blowing Up.
- Ensemble Dark Horse: There are plenty, due to the snarky writing and fun character actors the show often gets.
- Boyd Crowder started out this way. Now he shares the lead billing.
- Rachel and Tim, Raylan's fellow marshals, have their own devoted followers.
- Wynn Duffy was so popular that he avoided death twice and was made a regular for season 5.
- Ethan Picker has gained some popularity.
- Dewey Crowe is beloved by the fanbase due to being a hilariously stupid Harmless Villain.
- Despite being one of the most loathsome characters, Dickie Bennett is quite popular thanks to being a fascinating character regardless, who effortlessly alternates between being humorously incompetent and genuinely menacing and dangerous.
- Tom Bergen is one of the most popular minor characters for his friendly demeanor and being one of Raylan's few friends.
- One-shot character Elias Marcos was very fun, due to Alan Tudyk's intense, terrifying performance. Many fans wanted to see more of him.
- Jean Baptiste was popular with fans, especially after he threatens Danny Crowe for bullying Kendal. Unfortunately, he's killed off immediately after, due to Edi Gathegi not enjoying his time on the show..
- Fan Nickname: There are some people that call Winona "Whine-o-na".
- Genius Bonus:
- Anyone with a decent knowledge of anatomy would realize immediately that Dewey Crowe did not actually have his kidneys removed - the incisions are on the front of his abdomen while a real kidney extraction incision would be on his side. Also, as Raylan points out later, the symptoms the evil nurse tries to intimidate Dewey with are not actually symptoms of kidney failure.
- In the season 6 premier, Ava tells Raylan that she was in a seventh-grade production of Brigadoon, which is a play about a love triangle in a rural community that is out-of-touch with modern times, not unlike Harlan County. Brigadoon also has a major character who is trying to get out of town but is forced to stay due to the needs and actions of other people, not unlike Raylan and Ava throughout season 6.
- Harsher in Hindsight: Early on in Season 4, Billy St. Cyr dies after a rattlesnake abruptly turns on him and bites him. About a year later, the same thing happens to Jamie Coots, who was also a snake-handling pastor.
- Hilarious in Hindsight:
- Raymond J. Barry also has a deeply troubled relationship with his son in The 100...because he's mostly a stand-up guy while his son is evil.
- In Arrow Neal McDonough makes a wisecrack when another villain gets their hand cut off.
- After playing the Swastika-tattooed Dewey, Damon Herriman twice played Charles Manson in 2019, who famously had his "X" forehead tattoo expanded to a Swastika in prison.
- Raylan's "is it real-a-tor or real-a-ter" question in "The Collection" becomes hilarious after Olyphant plays a pronunciation-challenged realtor in Santa Clarita Diet.
- Olyphant would later play the role of another Marshal IN SPACE!
- Ho Yay: Raylan and Boyd "dug coal" together.Raylan: There's nothing like the bond between two men when they work a deep shaft together.
- Walton Goggins supposes that Boyd is pretty much gonna sleep with every girl that Raylan has slept with.
- All of the courtroom scene in Save My Love. All of it.
Raylan: I like the suit.- The invoking mentioned on the main page may be a subtle Take That! at the shippers, though, because Raylan immediately rolls his eyes and walks away with an annoyed expression.
- During their confrontation in Watching the Detectives Wynn Duffy threatens to ride Raylan "like a circus pony". Ugh.
- In "Measures," Boyd subdues Quarles and orders him to be stripped naked and Chained to a Bed. Ooooookay...
- In "Coalition," Quarles opens his robe in front of Jimmy while humming a tune. Jimmy is not amused.
- In "Restitution", Daryl sarcastically invites Tim to cuddle with him. Later, Boyd offers to teach Tim to shoot with his hands handcuffed behind his back.
- In season 6, Raylan admits that he will miss bickering with Boyd when he leaves Harlan County. Boyd asks Raylan if he's going to kiss him.
- In the same scene, Boyd shouts the line "Damn, Raylan, you in love with my balls!" There is a lot of talk about male genitals in that scene.
- Every few minutes on the show, some character says a line that just screams gay subtext.
Art: Asshole first, girlfriend later. - Tim Guttersons. Just...Tim Gutterson. First and most memorably (to the point it was the scene that launched a thousand fan fics) from season 1's Veterans; 'You try flirtin'? You show him your ass wound?...Evenin' soldier' *with a very flirtatious smile*
- Iron Woobie: Boyd Crowder is a villainous example, especially in the first season. When his flock is slaughtered by Bo, he's clearly devastated, but keeps his grief in check and goes off on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge to avenge their deaths,
- Jerkass Woobie:
- Dewey is a scummy Neo-Nazi, but the sheer amount of humiliation he goes through and his general haplessness make him oddly sympathetic.
- Kendal Crowe. He might be a smart-mouthed brat, but it's painful to watch the Crowes expose him to age-inappropriate vices, Danny bully him, and Raylan use him as a pawn to anger Daryl.
- Ava in season 5. Even though Ava exploited women in the sex trade, abused Ellen May, and tried to have Ellen May killed, it's painful to watch Ava endure violence, humiliation, and framing in prison.
- Karma Houdini: For all the trouble he was behind, and all the things he did, Wynn Duffy never spends a day in jail, and survives the series without a scratch. He (presumably) helps Ava escape, receives a large chunk of her stolen money, and according to Raylan is last seen surfing in Fiji.
- Ava gets away with it all. Yes, all of it. And God knows why.
- Like You Would Really Do It: In the series finale, the supposed death of Raylan. If he'd killed Boyd it could have held some tension, but there's no way he would end up gunned down by a nobody like Boon just after he'd finally proven himself a better man than both Boyd and his father.
- Magnificent Bastard: In amidst all the white supremacists, drug addicts, stupid crooks, and other human wreckage that comprised the gangsters of rural Harlan County, there was the occasional villain with some charisma and flair, and the according ability to run rings about series' protagonists Raylan Givens and Boyd Crowder:
- Wynn Duffy is an ever-adapting opportunist who proves himself one of the greatest survivors of Harlan's crime scene. Introduced working for Emmitt Arnett, Wynn plays things to his advantage as Robert Quarles kills Arnett and takes over, becoming Quarles' lieutenant. Ingratiating himself with Detroit mob boss Theo Tonin, Wynn takes over operations in Harlan after betraying Quarles, and continues to serve under Tonin and rise in the ranks. Using Boyd as an ally and pawn all at once, Wynn becomes the new kingpin of crime "east of the Mississippi" and joins forces with Katherine Hale and Avery Markham's operation to spread his influence. Having been a mole in Markham's outfit years ago and skillfully covered up his involvement, Wynn continues to play all sides to his advantage, and though betrayed by his bodyguard Mikey, Wynn convinces Mikey to rescind the treachery and reaffirms their friendship when it costs Mikey his life, holding him as he dies. Wynn then uses his contacts to duck out of Harlan forever, helping Ava escape as well in exchange for millions of dollars with which he flees to Fiji, safe from justice. Wynn consistently avoids the fallout of the various warring factions throughout the series through guile and tact, and is one of the few characters to escape Kentucky practically unscathed.
- Drew Thompson was once a Detroit mobster with a unique penchant for taking Refuge in Audacity. After witnessing Theo Tonin commit a murder, Drew realizes that he must get out of town before Theo killed him to cover it up. Shooting Theo in the eye, Drew stole an airplane and faked his own death, shoving his accomplice, Waldo Truth, out of the plane, then parachuting into Harlan County where he exchanged his cocaine and drug money for a new identity, helping Bo Crowder and Arlo Givens become rural mafiosi while he himself became Shelby Parlow of the Harlan Sheriff's Department. Eventually elected Sheriff himself, Shelby used his position to undermine Boyd's control over Harlan and the office of Sheriff alike, while also joining the recently revitalized search for "Drew Thompson" whose survival, but not identity, had been discovered. Found out in the end and arrested by Raylan, Drew Thompson nevertheless enjoyed a decades long career in law enforcement, and his machinations set in motion the eventual collapse of Boyd's criminal enterprises—the very same enterprises Drew had helped Boyd's father Bo—assemble in the first place.
- Loretta McCready was the foster daughter and understudy of Mags Bennett, and while she might have sided with Raylan against Mags, the passage of time proves that it was Mags' influence that lasted. Aspiring to become a marijuana kingpin in the same vein as her foster mother, Loretta spent Season 6 buying up agricultural land throughout Harlan County under both her real name and various aliases, and putting herself in direct competition with Avery Markham and the various gun thugs in his employ. Allying herself with Boyd, Loretta turns the entire town against Markham with a single speech at a party that Markham himself was hosting, and bought up most of the land in the county. Even the implosion of Boyd's empire and the loss of his protection could not stop Loretta; when Markham cornered her she persuaded him that she should become his new partner, thus surviving until Raylan and Boyd killed off Markham and his enforcer, Boon. Only a teenager when the series ended, Loretta demonstrated that she was more capable than most of the adult criminals on the show, and was left in a perfect position to pick up where Mags and Boyd left off, as the reigning queen of the Harlan underworld.
- Charlie Weaver is the helpful security guard of the US Marshal's evidence locker. A friendly face who regularly assists Raylan and the Marshals in finding the right evidence for cases, Charlie catches on to Raylan and Winona's frequent tampering with money that is evidence from a decades-old bank robbery. Deciding to play it to his advantage, Charlie swipes the money for himself and plays innocent, fooling Raylan and Art Mullen long enough for him to call out sick and flee the country to Mexico, using his newfound wealth to fund his "early retirement."
- Season 2: Mags Bennett is the matriarch of the Bennett family, a Bandit Clan of hillbilly moonshiners and marijuana farmers whose influence was felt throughout Harlan County. Ruling her namesake township of Bennett as not just a Small-Town Tyrant but an uncrowned Feudal Overlord, Mags controlled the Bennett Police Department through her son, Doyle, and the marijuana trade through his brothers, Dickie and Coover, making her the final arbiter on near everything that happened in town. Rallying the people of Harlan at large and Bennett in particular against Black Pike Mining's attempts to buy up the county, Mags secretly cut a deal with Black Pike behind the backs of her fellow townsfolk, selling most of the county to Black Pike in exchange for extensive personal profits that she plans to use to get her grandchildren out of crime. Staying her hand when her son Coover is killed by Raylan, Mags returned to action when Dickie started a war with Boyd and proved capable of matching him trick for trick. In the end, only the unexpected return of Mags' foster daughter, Loretta, to Bennett, and the ensuing intervention by the Marshal Service proved able to bring the Bennett township tyrant down.
- "Blaze of Glory": Frank Reasoner is an elderly, sickly criminal seemingly reformed after his past of being one of the most successful bank robbers in America. Truthfully using his health condition to get himself an early parole, Reasoner jumps right back into the crime game, recruiting two young crooks to help him rob a bank with the least amount of violence possible. More dangerous than his apparently weakly state implies, which he demonstrates by threatening one of his partners for unnecessarily injuring hostages during one of their heists, Reasoner exaggerates his sickness to trick his partners into carrying out another bank heist without him, only to then swipe the cash from the previous robbery all for himself and rat the two crooks out to the police as a distraction. Using both this trickery and a deception that he's willing to turn himself in to throw everyone off his scent, Reasoner comes very close to using a private plane to escape the country a millionaire, even offering long-time enemy Deputy Marshal Art Mullen the opportunity to join him before Reasoner accepts his ultimate capture with a shrug.
- "Long in the Tooth": Roland Pike was a mob accountant who stole a fortune from his employers, evaded the US Marshals, and fled the country to craft a new identity for himself. Becoming a dentist who helps the less fortunate while falling in love with his secretary, Mindy, Roland avoided the searching eyes of law enforcement and the mob for years, and is only exposed when he willingly ousts himself by attacking a rude bully. Roland plans various methods to flee into Mexico, using his old connections and his grateful clientele to arrange a smuggler, and though the coyote betrays the couple, Roland murders him in response. Realizing that the mob has found them, Roland purposefully sacrifices himself to save Mindy and Raylan, maintaining an affable rivalry with Raylan and swearing his love for Mindy to the very end.
- Moral Event Horizon:
- Bo Crowder passes with flying colors, first when he gets Johnny to beat the crap out of Boyd and executes his entire band of merry ex-cons, and later when he shoots Johnny for working with Boyd behind his back. Arlo doesn't quite win father of the year either, agreeing to sell out his son to the cartel.
- Mags Bennett crosses it by the end of the first episode of season two when she poisons a man at his own kitchen table in punishment for bringing in the police.
- Boyd and Ava arguably get theirs when they arrange to have Ellen May murdered.
- Mob hitman Fletcher Nix goes from cool to asshole in ten seconds flat, when he cheats his way to victory in the "fair duel" he promised one of his victims, then kills a witness after promising to let him go—completely unncessesarily, as the police instantly recognise his very distinctive MO.
- Robert Quarles crosses the line when he's outed as a kidnapper and Serial Killer of male prostitutes.
- Daryl Crowe Jr. manipulating his teenage nephew into taking the fall for shooting Art.
- Boyd Crowder. Although he murders many people over the course of the series, it could be argued that they were all criminals who deserved it in some way. In Season 6 the deaths of Dewey Crowe and Boyd's loyal lieutenant Carl both come out of the blue and leave a nasty taste in the mouth but the totally unnecessary, and petulant, killing of Hagen, the innocent citizen Boyd kidnaps so he can be driven around, really crosses the line.
- Dickie Bennett is a slimy Jerkass from the start, but he crosses the line into being irredeemable when he murders Helen out of spite.
- Nightmare Fuel: Maggs, fueling our nightmares with poisoned moonshine and mutilated hands by way of ball peen hammer.
- Limehouse's slaughterhouse, where he can be found slicing up hog carcasses and the limbs of evil blond men as he intimidates his foes.
- Quarles, who brutally killed two drug dealers in "Measures" and regularly tortures male hustlers.
- One-Scene Wonder: Due to the sharp writing of even the most minor characters, there are a few.
- Fletcher Nix the Ice Pick, a hitman for the Dixie Mafia and dark counterpart to Raylan. With his slow speech, sadistic games, nifty hat and terrifyingly cool demeanour, many want him back.
- Sarno, another Dixie Mafia hitman, who has the virtue of being played by treasured character actor Michael Ironside. He's badass, very affable and practical.
- The hilariously trashy Truth family, a group of redneck criminals who are an appealing mix of Too Dumb to Live and The Family That Slays Together.
- Other one scene wonders tend to crop up again until they become recurring characters. Wynn Duffy, Shelby Parlow, Dewey Crowe and Ellen May were all somewhat minor characters that might have stayed that way, except for the impact they made in their first appearances.
- It looks as though Detroit mobster Elias Marcos will also be added to the list, courtesy of a brief, but terrifying performance from Alan Tudyk.
- The Wiz, a wacky safe-cracker played by Jake Busey. Only around for a few minutes, before he's blown to smithereens.
- Mr. Ferguson, a Jerkass patient of Roland Pike's played by Brandon Keener (Yes, THAT Brandon Keener), who pisses off Roland enough to get two of his teeth yanked out without anesthetic and kicks off the events that result in Roland's death.
- The same episode features Clarence Williams III as Mr. Jones, a hilariously foul-mouthed elderly Vietnam veteran clearly enjoying being able to troll the police.
Police Officer: I need you to step out of the car, sir.
Mr. Jones: And I need you to kiss my taint!- Hanselman, the creepy art collector who is Mistaken for Racist in his one episode but is actually buying Hitler's old paintings for something that made a lot of fans cheer: to burn them.
- Jackie Nevada, a Brainy Brunette poker player with Nerves of Steel and an entertaining backstory who interacts with Raylan (and has some UST with him) during a case unrelated to the big story arcs.
- Retroactive Recognition: Alba from The Mick appears as a minor one-shot character in a first season episode.
- Chadwick Boseman, now famous for Black Panther (2018), as a one-off gangster working with Rachel's brother-in-law in a second season episode.
- Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: In season 2, Ava's role was reduced and she hooked up with Boyd allowing her to lose some of the ire she drew. Of course, now all of that is being directed at Winona...
- Seasonal Rot: As with any show, there will be disputes as to if and when this happened. If internet reviews are anything to go by though, Season 5, with its numerous bridge droppings, uneven pacing, unclear villains, and tendency towards forgetting that Raylan possesses actual human emotions, has some problems. It's probably notable that Elmore Leonard passed away shortly before production began on Season 5, leaving the crew unable to consult with him.
- Ava's prison storyline is particularly poorly regarded. It isolates one of the main characters from the rest of the cast, it exists primarily due to a series of fairly ridiculous Diabolus ex Machina, and clashes badly with the rest of the show. While the rest of Season 5 features Justified's usual bizarre, often humorous characters, Ava's plot is a grim, humorless "Shaggy Dog" Story that subjects Ava to a nasty Trauma Conga Line and the only real outcome is hardening Ava enough to flip on Boyd.
- So Okay, It's Average: The general consensus from fans of the original seems to be that City Primeval is just an okay series and isn’t much better than the final season, if only because Raylan does no police work and only shoots a single person after eight episodes. It also doesn’t help that the show decided to keep the anticlimax the same as the book, so for those who thought they’d get a showdown with Mansell vs. Raylan, they were sorely disappointed.
- Squick: In season 5, we learn than Teri/"Candy" has a bed trick involving Pop Rocks you-know-where.
- Grube's decomposing corpse in "Fugitive Number One" was a nauseating sight.
- Star Trek Movie Curse: The show suffers this to some extent: Seasons 2, 4 and 6 are considered all time great seasons of television. Season 1 has all the signs of a series in the process of finding its voice, season 3, although widely beloved, was seen as a step down from the superlative second, and season 5 is almost universally considered the worst the show ever had.
- Take That, Scrappy!: In "Weight", Danny Crowe ends up stabbing himself in the chin because he tripped down a hole while sprinting towards Raylan with a knife in hand.
- Tear Jerker: The beginning of "Reckoning" when Raylan walks into his former home where Aunt Helen's body lay and the end scene where he is unable to kill Dicky because of what she taught him as a child.Raylan: (hushed voice) Goddamn you, Dicky.
- Let's not forget that Arlo Givens' last words to his son were "kiss my ass." Raylan has done an excellent job of hiding how torn up he is over the fact that even in death, Arlo was still a rotten piece of shit and wouldn't show him anything resembling affection.
- They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Jean-Baptiste, Daryl Crowe's cool and collected Haitian right-hand man. He's given a neat persona, a couple of good scenes, and is then randomly bridge-dropped by Danny Crowe, a far less interesting character. Apparently the actor wanted out, but there had to be a better way to handle it.
- Tough Act to Follow: Season 2 is considered a high (if not the high) point of the series and also ranked amongst some of the best dramatic story arcs in TV history. The subsequent seasons can seem to be a bit of a step down as follow-up antagonists don't seem as compelling as Mags and the Bennett clan. Even creator Graham Yost has acknowledged that it's unlikely they'll have another season as great as Season 2, let alone another villain as great as Mags Bennett.
