Justified (TV Series) Blind Spot (2010) User Reviews

Season 1 starts to heat up

[Mr-Fusion · 9/10 · 23 November 2016]

It's the misdirection that makes 'Blind Spot' such an engrossing episode (and a season high point). Raylan has blood in his eyes after an attack on Ava (feels typical of this guy) but it's Boyd that points out that she might not have been the target. More evidence of the playful chemistry between Goggins and Olyphant. Surprises of all sorts crop up when Raylan's Miami past comes calling for his head. At first, I didn't like the twist with Mosley - after all, we'd just gotten to know the guy. But story-wise, it's appropriate all the same.

Excellent episode.

9/10

Justified - Blind Spot

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 2 September 2013]

Ava is in a department store, receiving what seems like "veiled" threats by Boyd's brother, Johnny (David Meunier), regarding a pickup of particular goods for "deer hunting" when his relatives get out of prison. Raylen visits Ava while she's cutting away garments from Boyd's pants, the two eventually "bedding down for the night" when a "spotter" (that was what he was supposed to do, but he got the itch to do the killing instead, fumbling the ball badly) attempts to shoot (we are led at first to believe) Ava. It turns out to be a bit different; through jail visits with Boyd, Raylen learns that perhaps he was the one meant for the sawed-off shotgun blast! The "Cartel out of Miami" had sent an actual hit-man to take Raylen out for his actions while stationed in the US Marshals dept in Miami. Art is incensed with Raylen for putting himself in that position (continuing to have sexual relations with Ava), because of the investigation into his actions in Miami; concerned that Raylen will provide further evidence needed for Vasquez to take his badge, Art is furious that one of his marshals would be caught shooting at somebody in the yard of a woman he's having sex (herself once married to a drug "conduit" in Lexington, Harlen, and surrounding areas in Kentucky where the marshals are stationed). County Sheriff Hunter Mosley (Brent Sexton) was responsible for putting Boyd away and is on the trail of the person who tried to kill Ava, but his intentions may not be as they seem.

This episode includes Raylen wanting to waylay Boyd for his sermonizing, Bo (MC Gainey; Boyd's father) coming to his son's rescue in the prison (cons aren't happy with Boyd being a snitch to Raylen, with Bo intervening before his boy took a scalpel to the throat), Ava and Winona having a conversation about Raylen (Winona obviously still has deep feelings for Raylen, while her talk with Ava seems awkward, as it should), and Mosley telling Raylen about one of the Crowders (a supposed bible-selling man of God, considered one of the only good Crowders of the family) he wanted to capture so badly for the rape and suffocation of a little girl. The little girl's death has haunted Mosley, and you can see when he and Raylen make a special trip to see if Johnny (because of his comments in the store "to" Ava; or about her through the exact descriptions of goods needed for the deer hunting trip) has a bullet hole (perhaps as he was hurled out of the window of Ava's bedroom by Raylen and shot once in the shoulder, a mark placing him at the scene could lead to his arrest; however, Raylen never suspects Johnny would pull a stunt like that; Johnny mentions he doesn't want Ava to come to harm, and all that talk was to get her out of town), the sheriff bullies him a bit, with demands that he strip, later socking him in the crotch. I was happy with this episode because it seems like the show was starting to develop an ongoing story arc that builds characters throughout its cast instead of just featuring one-off investigations that start and finish. I think once Boyd is out of jail, and Arlo becomes more involved, the show really takes off, but at this point the show was still not totally devoted fully to its characters, giving them little dialogue scenes before eventually allowing the cast to get all (or most) of the attention.

Really starting to settle into its groove...

[amsterdam-92719 · 9/10 · 20 February 2022]

Raylean goes about avenging an attack on Ava, but are his assumptions correct?

Am new Crowder.is introduced and shows (to a degree anyway) why the family has survived so long and with such a reputation.

And, the professional conundrum of Art Mullen grows as Raylan continues to make his life more difficult by the day.

As a side note, I'd like to give a big KUDOS to Nick Searcy (Art Mullens) for the job he does in keeping the show grounded. Without Art's professionalism, this show would likely devolve into farce, or simply a collection of smarta**es making smart-a**ed comments - funny as they may be. Olyphant and Goggins would likely have made for a pretty funny anti-buddy dramedy team when combined with all the oddball local yokels that populate the fringes of Justified, but Art Mullen keeps the show from reaching the realms of farce. A genuinely funny straight man, his seemingly true portrayal of a man frustrated by the juvenile antics of his subordinate keeps the show much more realistic - and therefore makes us care about the characters and the plot.

In a show with good/great acting (Goggins, Olyphant especially) and some larger-than-life secondary parts (Dewey Crow comes first to mind), Nick Searcy/Art Mullen is (too) often overlooked. In my opinion, that is a real shame!