Justified “For Blood or Money” 

As Kara excellently covered, it’s relationship a-go-go in Harlan as all the key players mix and mingle. “For Blood or Money” is a bit of a misnomer title for this episode, because money comes into play as an afterthought while more seeds are planted for the bigger picture.

On the job front, Rachel is drawn into retrieving her brother-in-law, Clinton (Larenz Tate), who’s on parole for killing her sister because he was driving while high and she didn’t survive their accident. He’s desperately clinging to the right path–pressed shirt, tie, gift-in-hand, as he goes to visit his son on his 12th birthday, but everything goes to hell on a dime when his (blatantly redneck racist) halfway house manager cancels his day pass and he responds by laying a beating on the man and bolting. Raylan and company are assigned to peaceably retrieve him, with Rachel in a DNK (do not kill) capacity. We follow Clinton as he makes increasingly bad decisions that culminate in a pizza shack shootout that he survives and a custodial meeting with his son (where he gifts him with a blood-soaked wannabe Furby).

On the Kentucky Mafia front, Raylan plays a courtesy visit, complete with apple pie and U.S. Marshall trinkets for the kids, on Mags and the Bennetts, to warn her that her idiot sons have put themselves on the radar of a very dangerous outfit. Mags promptly loses her sh-t all over the boys and hints at the diversion being a kink in “bigger plans.”Raylan goes one step further and visits his Kentucky Mafia contact from last season’s debacle with Gary’s real estate schemes, to make the additional point that he really doesn’t want them in Harlan County.

Over at Casa Crowder, either out of boredom or genuine concern, Ava’s making nice with Boyd on the small talk when last week’s misguided miner boys descend on her front lawn to seek reparations and resell Boyd on the idea of falling into their scheme. He’s still “thanks, but no” until the dangled $40K payout gives him pause.

On the adultery homefront, Gary entices Winona to divorce him so he can carry the load of their oversized home and Raylan suggests he can counter but the conversation devolves to a tease and isn’t really resolved.

The denouement is the Marsahlls commiserating their family angst–Rachel thought her family was the Cosbys until her dad fell ill but she knew later her, and her mother confirmed, that they weren’t as idealistic as she thought and her sister was already into drugs; Tim grieves that his dad kicked before he could kill him, and Raylan says shooting Arlo wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

So we’re set with many balls in the air and a little more homefire intel on our Marshalls. Capital Hee! that Art called Raylan a dick and that Raylan was a bit hurt that Art considered Rachel his best agent. It’s interesting that Winona seems to be open to her men throwing down to win her hand–like she’s not terribly invested in who wins, or even who the best man is–she’s just bored with where her life has gotten her so far. I feel like we’re laying groundwork here that’s going to converge fast and furious as the season moves forward, and that’s’ OK.

Still LOVE the insouciant way that Raylan can just wander through things. If this cast isn’t Emmy nominated in June, for shame!