It takes a special kind of badass to leave Boyd Crowder speechless. In Justifiedâs season five finale last night, Deputy U.S. Marshal Rachel Brooks confirmed what the hit FX seriesâ fans have long known, but havenât been given many chances to reiterate: Raylan Givensâ petite, no-bullshit-taken colleague is a serious badass. One who doesn't play. Not for a second.
The moment comes after Rachel (played by Erica Tazel) and Marshal Gutterson (Jacob Pitts) save the charming criminal mastermind Boydâs (Walton Goggins) ass from an almost certain death at the hands of the Mexican gangsters. With his hands cuffed behind his back, inside his ex-flame Avaâs house, Boyd is in dire straits, but the text heâd sent earlier to Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) leads to Rachel and Guttersonâs arrival and a shootout that leaves Boydâs enemies dead on Avaâs front porch.
Inside the house, Rachel lets Boyd know that she doesnât appreciate how he basically led she and Gutterson straight into an ambush to rescue him. And then comes the ether. âYouâre gonna walk away from all this, and weâre gonna have to live with that,â says Rachel, after removing Boydâs cuffs. âBut Iâm gonna go back to Lexington, take that file Raylan has on you, and make it my sole purpose on this Earth to ensure you receive every ounce of punishment you have coming your wayâŠand then some.â And, in closing, âHave a nice day, Boyd.â
The usually quick-witted and eloquent Boyd just stands there, either unexpectedly intimidated or spinning those internal wheels to figure out how to get Rachel first. Itâs probably a little bit of both. But, at least for now, Rachel has the upper hand.
For Tazel, the scene was a long time comingâfive seasons, to be exact. âThatâs the scene Iâm most excited about in the finale,â says Tazel, âbecause thatâs the first time Walton and I have gotten to play like that. Itâs an actorâs dream, when you see someone elseâin this case, Waltonâhave so much fun all the time, playing such a dynamic character. Youâre like, âWhat does that feel like on set?â Weâve sort of passed each other in scenes in past seasons. There was one during the Drew Thompson season where I told him to shut up, but it was nice to have a real one-on-one interaction with him. Finally, Rachel versus Boydâon camera!â
As Justifiedâs fans know, much to their chagrin, next yearâs sixth season will be the showâs final one. In regards to Rachel, sheâs currently the Harlan County Sheriff Departmentâs de facto Chief Deputy, now that Art (Nick Searcy) is bed-ridden in the hospital recovering from nearly fatal gunshot wounds. So will Rachel Brooks be Justifiedâs Queen Bee during its last go-round?
âI honestly donât know how thatâs going to play out at this point, because, keep in mind, Art isnât dead,â says Tazel. âThe chief is still there. So itâs a question of, where in time will season six start? It seems that, the way this season finale ends, the current story thread will keep going, but I donât know what that means for the actor, Nick, and the character, Art. Heâs obviously seriously injured, and itâs not something heâs going to bounce back from quickly and head right back into the office. Iâm not sure how the writers will navigate and negotiate that, and Rachel certainly didnât see this as the way she would get a promotion. Itâs a mixed bag, and I think there are a lot of great opportunities in there, to play with that messiness of the situation.â
Whether Rachel maintains her sudden position of power or not wonât change the fact that sheâs an important figure in Justified hero Raylanâs tumultuous world. Unlike most people in Harlan County, she isnât easily impressed by Raylanâs icy-cool confidence. âSheâs all business, and she can see through bullshit,â says Tazel. âShe doesnât always handle it well, though sheâs doing better with that, in terms of the finesse. Thatâs something that sheâs picked up from Raylan: his charm, his finesse. Heâs not bulldozing people unless itâs a life-or-death situation. I love the fact that she thought he was initially there to steal her thunder, and now theyâve forged this wonderful relationship.â
Their camaraderie was best exemplified earlier in season five when Raylan and Rachel were given the chance to have a nice heart-to-heart. âI love that the writers gave that scene to us,â says Tazel. âRachel had the opportunity to tell Raylan, âLook, youâre not alone. You have a team here.â It speaks to the larger issues that are happening to Raylan, as a character. No pun intended, heâs kind of the lone ranger. His sense of being detached and nomadicâRachel, in her way, and as much as he will allow, sort of grounds him in a reality.â
Written by Matt Barone (@MBarone)