I’m going to miss this show.
I loved almost everything about this episode, including the fact that there wasn’t too much that changed by the end. We did learn that Wynn Duffy is the vaunted snitch from years ago, which I really should have seen coming, and adds some intrigue to the final episodes. Loretta is being threatened by Avery Markham’s latest hired gun, Boone, who seems both dumber but also creepier and more dangerous than the last batch. (Speaking of which, the last of them got offed by Katherine Hale in a kind of lame ruse that worked anyway because he’s dumb.) But young as Loretta might be (how old is she, exactly?), the girl has more than a little Mags Bennett in her.
The scene in the pizza parlor was a real highlight, as Avery tries to persuade the Harlan townspeople to sell while being upstaged by Boyd and then Loretta. She’s in a vulnerable position, emphasized by Boone’s presence, but the actress pulls off a tough scene. Her sudden alliance with Boyd, who is planning to rob the safe that very evening, discomfits Raylan. There was a “gang’s all here” kick to the scene. Meanwhile, Ava realizes that Raylan knows that she’s not working with him anymore, and then she switches sides again, telling him the heist is planned that night. Ava sets a fire at the pizza parlor to clear everyone out, as planned, but Boyd’s plans go awry because Ava’s uncle – predictably – sabotages him and leaves him to die in the rubble of the imminent explosion. He’s rescued, barely.
I will choose to ignore the “Boyd’s being too dumb again” voice in my head, because I get it, he was in a hurry due to bad intelligence and he is an Elmore Leonard character. Still, I hope Boyd can be less dumb going forward, whatever his final fate (which doesn’t look good, given his increasing desperation for that money). Ava’s actions indicate that she realizes this, and she remains a wild card. And despite his boss’s frustration, Raylan feels satisfied that he’s pulling the strings, which certainly appears to be the case. He may be overconfident on that score, but it’s hard to argue with him.
The fact that the bomb blast didn’t work was somewhat predictable (hey, there are several episodes to go), as was Boyd’s survival, but that didn’t lessen the enjoyment. And it was funny that they spent all this time on the elaborate bomb plot only to have it not work – which was better for Boyd anyway, even if he doesn’t realize it.