With all due respect to Kid Rock (which is to say: none), “Justified’s” Raylan Givens is the original American Badass. Played to smarmy, smart, and sexy perfection by Timothy Olyphant, Givens is a U.S. Marshall who’s forced to return to his hometown in Kentucky as punishment for killing someone in the line of duty in Miami. That’s more or less all you need to know (for more information on season, please consult your local Netflix) to get you ready for Season 2, which begins tonight at 10 p.m. on FX.
Here are the ten most badass moments on TV’s most badass show.
#10. The Bludgeon
There are a lot of crappy-but-cool ways to die. For instance, props to the guy who passes away while playing an electric guitar on top of a flaming car that drives into a building that’s about to explode. But one of the worst has to be getting bludgeoned to death by a rock in the middle of the desert, a.k.a. The Ángel Maturino Reséndiz.
#9. The Suck
This scene isn’t awesome for the reason it initially looks. Stephen Root may have been getting a blowjob from that poor girl at some point, but at this particular moment, she’s actually just sucking…the poison out of Root’s upper leg from a snake that just bit him. To recap: attractive woman, poisonous snakes, nearly naked Stephen Root. No wonder Ufford likes this show so much.
#8. The Grenade
Obviously, America is badass, and this scene is about as American as they come. You’ve got two former soldiers talking to each other in a VFW Hall, one holding a grenade and the other a bottle of whiskey, while a SWAT team waits to either kill or apprehend the camouflage-wearing grenade holder.
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Never thought “Nazi windchimes” could be funny, but damned it you didn’t pull it off.
The scene from last season when Raylan was in the desert and the 2 two guys from Miami roll up and get out of the car and Raylan tells the one guy “right there is good” then tells him he’s going to shoot him if he takes another step, then the guy takes a step and Raylan shoots him and says “one down”. That was bad ass.
Great list.
as much as I love Justified and the Walking Dead, I just can’t stand that all the explosions look like they are straight out of a SyFy movie. Hate to be nitpicking but it takes me out of both shows.
Scruffy looking, Nerf “Heder”? What did Napoleon Dynamite do to deserve that?
Nazi windchimes?
INSERT OBVIOUS MEL GIBSON JOKE HERE.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that he takes his shirt off as often in season 2 as he did in season 1. It might not qualify as badass, but it certainly is a glorious sight. (And the promos for season 2 actually include Raylan asking a guy if he’s seen that scene in Star Wars.)
Ack – I haven’t been able to see my avatar in a long time. I completely forgot it was a picture of Fatty McSucksalot.
Fire in the hole!
I’ve been really looking forward to the return of Justified. One thing about this list is that the scene where Natalie Zea takes off her wedding ring in front of Raylan is much hotter than Ava’s scenes.
Ava sounds retarded. I know they have accents down there but she does it too heavily.
How about when Raylen gets his ass kicked in the bar fight and the guy takes his hat. He goes back and when the guys try and start something he’s like “I’m not leaving without the hat, and I’d be sober this time…” Bad ass. I’m so glad this show took off.
Also, the Jewish art dealer who buys all of Hitler’s paintings and then burns them and puts them in urns. That guy was pretty bad ass himself.
Ava > Winona
@John
Fixed, but you’re Bantha Fodder to me.
@Danny, nice call on the Jewish art dealer. Truly a bad ass fuck you.
Since FX decided not to put season 1 up on OnDemand or Netflix Streaming, can I jump into S2 without seeing S1 or will I be ruining it all?
It’s always better to get the backstory, especially with a show as badass as this. However, you could jump into S2 without seeing S1 and would mostly be lacking in some of the nitty gritty details of the character relationships like Raylan and his ex, Raylan and his father, etc.
can it be 10pm already?
@Mel, I would try to catch up by watching season 1 first. The back story is too good.
My favorite moments from S1, during the finale, either when Raylan shoots his dad without warning, or when he’s trapped in the cabin and hides under the window and waits for the killer to enter. Both highly bad-ass.
Joelle Carter is easily the hottest white girl on tv.
I’d like to nominate the scene where he disarms and beats the shit out of Dewey Crowe.
Or the gunfight between him and Boyd in Ava’s house.
Or when Ava kills her shitbag husband.
Or the whole series, really.
I like the part where he nails the chicks.
Winona >> Ava
Not sure if anybody caught last night’s show but it looks like this show is gonna be even better this season
Raylen vs. The Hillbilly Mafia?
Yes please.
Raylan Givens – Today’s Everyman
[grizzlybomb.com]