"I love how these guys are so calm while you're coughing up blood."
"Fixer" is one of those episodes that doesn't necessarily tie in to the series as a whole. What I mean is, this episode could be seen on its own, without the demands of being fully versed into the ongoing stories and characters that did and would populate Justified over its tenure. This episode focuses on a regular, dependable snitch named Pinter (David Eigenberg), who makes his living as a bookie professionally (working primarily from a Lexington "bar/restaurant"). As a constant source of information for the Federal US Marshalls office, Pinter is to be awarded by them, stashing away a "rescue fund" so that he can get out of Lexington, Kentucky, with plans to retire to Tahiti or someplace that doesn't have "toothless, backwoods hillbillies". Basically, Pinter HATES it in Kentucky. Raylen knows this all too well, having left and returned (just for a little while he says), with few (if any) reasons to stay besides a local honey named Ava (Joelle Carter). It is funny—isn't it?—looking back at the early part of the series when it was Ava and Raylen hooked up, instead of Ava and Boyd. Anyway, how Raylen becomes involved is intuition and "that feeling" that something's not right when a slimy, insidious, pot-growing, irresponsible client of Pinter's, Travis Travers (Greg Cromer)—who owes him $15 grand for a basketball game he tried to gain through three separate identities—seems to be involved in a scheme with Pinter's "legs breaking" money-collector, Curtis Mims (Page Kennedy). A funny line from Raylen is apt—it seems all the characters in this plot are from other places instead of Lexington. Like Curtis from Detroit and Pinter from New York; it seems Lexington is where you go to get away from the past
and hope to get out of once the prospects of a better future become available. What happens is that Travis (his first/last name similarities are the product of much humor) talks Curtis into helping him find Pinter's rescue fund, with help from Samantha (Erin Cardillo)
Samantha is a love interest of Pinter's and could be of use in perhaps persuading him to give up the rescue stash's location. A development is that Pinter shared with Samantha that he had a rescue stash. Samantha is in a sexual relationship with Travis, and it all kind of arises from that point forward. So Raylen must avoid a gunfight with Curtis, and try to survive a shootout with Travis. I love Raylen's dynamic with his boss, Art. Art just wants Raylen to be open with him about what he is investigating, but Raylen doesn't like revealing anything unless he's sure his hunches, assumptions, and theories are correct. It is just fun to watch them dance with each other while in the marshal's office headquarters, Raylen holding onto a lot of what he investigates, sometimes leaving Art intrigued, frustrated, and suspicious. In this episode, since the office considers him a "rookie" (even though he's been a cop for a while) still, Raylen is handed Pinter, becoming involved when the informant just abandons routine, not at his spot at the restaurant. Again, Raylen follows his nose, and the fact that he meets Travis at Pinter's house (and is lied to about Pinter's whereabouts), with, supposedly, no sign of the informant (Travis says he's on vacation, and has been for a week, although Raylen had just met him like the previous day), he knows something's amiss. Pinter's abduction and potential torture are a product of Travis' own plans to get the money all for himself. He's a rat, and Raylen's damn good at smelling a rat. Cool as always, there's a sweet scene where Raylen schools Curtis on handling a gun during a draw.
7 out of 9 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
