Justified’s sixth and final season is hitting the schedule this week, and FX has been busy promoting the last installation of the drama. We’ve known for a while that the antagonistic relationship between Deputy Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) and outlaw Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) would come to a head in the final episodes, but apparently even showrunner Graham Yost is unsure how the show’s ultimate standoff will actually end. At the Television Critics Association press tour, Yost explained that Justified doesn’t actually have an ending, yet.
“We don’t have the ending yet . We’ve shot 10, and have a script for 11… and we’re outlining 12, and then get to 13.”
Justified routinely shoots 13 episodes a season, meaning Yost is 100% admitting that the finale hasn’t been wholly written, yet. Which means that despite all of the setup FX has been doing for Justified Season 6, we still don’t know whether Ava Crowder, Boyd Crowder or Raylan Givens will make it out of the season alive. If I had to bet money, I’d put it on none of them, but since Raylon Givens is a hero written by Elmore Leonard who usually scrapes by in the end, we might get a version of Justified in which the hero does get to live happily ever after. Or not.
Regardless of how it ends up playing out, Justified is certainly ending after it plows through the next 13 episodes. In fact, according to Deadline, despite the fact the show was financially motivated to keep going, Yost feels like Justified is at the end of the line in terms of storytelling in Kentucky.
“Our biggest concern telling these stories is that we don’t run out of story and start repeating ourselves. Although there were financial incentives to keep it going, it really felt in terms of the story of Raylan Givens in Kentucky, that six years felt about right.”
It’s always tough for fans to realize a show is preparing to finish out its run. Over the course of the last several years, Justified has brought witty dialogue and fast-paced actions to FX, and the show doesn’t feel as if it has peaked, yet. Despite this, it is good to know that the show is going out on its own terms when it is ready to go, rather than sticking around for extra seasons while the quality falters. Justified should be able to go out on a high note, but whether that’s a note with hope, or a note highlighted by destruction and devastation has yet to be seen. In fact, it doesn’t seem like Yost even really knows.
If you are interested to know what other great shows are ending in 2015, check out our big list.
