Ever since it was announced that FX was bringing Justified back from its dust-covered grave to bring Raylan Givens into another hard-boiled Elmore Leonard classic, I have to imagine a good-sized chunk of the fandom has been holding out hope for Walton Goggins to return as Harlan County’s endlessly re-quotable rabble-rouser Boyd Crowder. A hope that remained despite the fact that Justified: City Primeval was clearly moving the action away from backwoods Kentucky and up to the concrete jungle of Detroit. And one that will likely carry on still, even though Goggins has addressed the basic reasoning behind the new show’s lack of all things Crowder.
Justified: City Primeval kicked things off by debuting its first two episodes on FX, and while Timothy Olyphant’s Raylan Givens was an obviously familiar face, he was essentially the only one who returned from the drawl-heavy flagship drama. Speaking with TheWrap about the new season, the Righteous Gemstones star predictably had a unique way of pinpointing why he’s not around to give Raylan hell this time around. In his words:
There’s a season, kind of, for everything. . . . This isn’t the right place and time.
Now, Walton Goggins could very easily have flat-out addressed his absence by saying it wouldn’t make any sense for his character to show up out of the blue in Raylan’s life hundreds of miles from where they last crossed paths. Or he could have said he was busy filming other projects and the stars didn’t align. But by answering the way he did, doesn’t it kinda sound like he’s saying there IS a right place and time for Boyd Crowder to re-emerge, stronger and smarter than ever?
Not that there have been any publicized plans for where this franchise might go after City Primeval if all involved are interested in keeping it going. But surely if there’s another season, that’s when we’d see Boyd again.
Walton Goggins does sound like he’s excited to check the new show out, and shared some love for his former co-star Timothy Olyphant, as well as the actor behind the new show’s main antagonist, Narcos and The Sandman vet Boyd Holbrook. (Something about that first name just screams Justified villain, I guess.) Here’s how Goggins put it:
But I can’t wait to see it, and I can’t wait to see Raylan Givens again. Tim is such a wonderful actor and Boyd Holbrook — I love him.
The ep also gave a shout-out to the sex appeal of Yellowstone’s Kevin Costner, and I’m now low-key obsessed with the idea of Boyd Crowder getting out of jail in Kentucky and going up to Montana to work as one of John Dutton’s ranch hands. Granted, I don’t think there’s a chance in Taylor Sheridan’s Hell or High Water that Boyd could possibly remain disciplined enough to last an afternoon on the ranch without things turning chaotic, but I still want to see what would happen. Especially if he gets flirty with Beth, or Lynelle, or Laramie, or anyone whose romantic partner might try to start some shit.
Even without Boyd Crowder blowing shit up from here to kingdom come with his explosive talents, Justified: City Primeval is absolutely still worthy of embracing when new episodes air on FX every Tuesday night at 10:00 p.m. Those with a Hulu subscription can watch new eps the next day, and are also able to stream the entirety of Justified’s initial seven-season run to get a Goggins fix.