Well, they mystery of Drew Thompson has been solved. The one Sheriff that looks like the other Sheriff, is not actually the Sheriff at all, but instead is the one and only Drew Thompson. (I couldn't get over how much Shelby and Hunter looked alike when sitting in the back of the car together.) In last night's episode of Justified, the identity of the criminal that everyone has been searching for has been found out, but I think the storyline is far from over. Once he was found out, Shelby is now off and on the run. However, I think we can expect some Raylan Givens marshaling hijinks as he goes after the most wanted fugitive in all of Harlan County. I must say, maybe I was slow on this one, but I really did not expect the reveal of Shelby being Drew Thompson. In fact, in last week's recap I admitted I didn't really know who it was, but I just hoped it would be somebody that we would actually know. I got what I wanted, although I'm not very invested in Shelby's character and would have liked it better if it had turned out to be Art or somebody that we know and love. (Alright, I know that would be an unrealistic stretch, but it would have been kind of cool, huh?) On the other hand, Shelby did do a great job of covering his tracks as he tried to convince Boyd (and the viewers) that he was a bad guy turned good when really he was likely fine with being involved with Boyd Crowder, as long as it helped uphold his cover.
The biggest cliffhanger of the week is what happened to Ellen May? Shelby has been hiding the young lady and we have no idea what he has actually done with her. Is she going on the run with him? Is she actually safe? Is she hiding out somewhere just waiting to be found by Boyd? I had tired a bit of the drawn out storyline of Colt hiding what he didn't do to Ellen May, so was happy to see this come to a head. It also feels like there is a lot of great tension to be explored with the fact that right now, the audience doesn't even know where Ellen May is at this point.
By now, you know my love for Art and what a bright light i believe he puts into every episode. Although, I'm not sure that this week it was exactly "light" that he was spreading around. In fact, it was more a full on Raylan Givens induced yelling and anger breakdown. Lucky for Art, Raylan actually didn't take Hunter on his little joyride in order to kill or hurt him for killing Arlo. He really just wanted some help in his search for Drew Thompson. The whole hunt with Hunter (no pun intended) felt like a little bit of a pointless wild goose chase and while I always appreciate the appearance of Constable Bob, it didn't really feel necessary beyond filler for the episode.
My favorite scene might have been between Boyd and Ava as they looked for a new house to buy. I have always loved Boyd and appreciated their relationship, but the way they have been putting these hard core criminals through just normal day to day activities is so brilliant I can't even take it. I mean, Boyd Crowder has to own a big screen TV too, right?!
We are on the countdown to the end with 4 episodes left. This is my closing question – did you know that Shelby was Drew Thompson? Were there clues I missed and it was very obvious or was it as much of a mystery until the end as for you as well? Discuss.
in the last episode "lawless" when he sheriff ask for drew widow in the marshal office was the clue that i got, still its been a great season.
shelby talking to ellen may about putting on costumes and growing into a new person was the biggest hint they gave last episode
Shelby discussing his ex wife with Ellen May was also a very minor clue, but overall it came out of nowhere and I loved it.
Again, just shows the faith the writers have in the characters they have already established throughout the series, no matter how small a part they may have seemed to play in the past and I'm all for it. It honestly reminds me of The Wire in it's commitments to any and all it's characters. No past character is forgotten unless they've actually bit the bullet. I think that must be very difficult to incorporate in a show and I really admire it.