Along with millions of other Justified fans longing for the TV return of Timothy Olyphant’s Raylan Givens, I jumped for joy when FX ordered up a new season in the form of Justified: City Primeval. The excitement was so palpable that nothing could tamp it down, not even the fact that the story ports the U.S. Marshal into a completely different adventure that won’t lean into tons of cameos and general fan service. (To note: Raylan Givens doesn’t factor into the Elmore Leonard source material.) The show has now arrived, and while I miss everything happening down in Kentucky, the changes made are successful ones, particularly the fact that Raylan doesn’t get to be quite the badass he was in Harlan County.
I know, I know. That goes completely against all expectations, logic, and TV mechanics. We’re supposed to want our heroes to keep striving towards perfection in deep strides, but Justified: City Primeval is a great exception to that traditional notion. It’s like replaying a video game you’ve beaten before, basically serving as a universe reset for Raylan, who is somewhat forced into investigating a case in Detroit while on a road trip with his daughter Willa (played by the actor's real-life daughter Vivan Olyphant). He’s got all the baggage and memories from pre-Detroit, but without being able to instantly rely on the strengths that make him stand out on his home turf, and that works on both a professional and a personal level.
