You couldn't have Ava ratting on Boyd without it. If it were a never ending show, then the prison storyline would have been a waste. Since the show is ending, it makes complete sense with the story they are telling now.

Excellent episode. This story arc has been fantastic, enjoy the Duffy and Hale trying to steal the money from Sam Elliot arc. Ty Walker and Choo Choo are both great characters. I'm going to miss this show.

But the prison story line ruined Ava for the viewer. I mean, I used to love Ava, but during the whole prison story line, I was wishing she'd get shanked so that miserable story could be over. Imo the plot device was a pretty big fail if it takes one of the beloved characters and makes you root for her to get shanked just so you don't have to watch some plodding, contrived, bull$#!%.

Also, it was a fail on the matter of I don't see how the crap she went through in prison suddenly made her quit loving Boyd. If it was that easy, then she must not have loved him too much in the first place. If their love wasn't some grand thing, then why should we care if it's over?

Took a character who was built up to be kind of a bad ass and turned her into a mouse. Now we're supposed to root for a mouse? Took a relationship that was built up to be till death do we part and turned it into, ima use you to get myself out of a jam. If you gotta ruin your characters in order to tell a story, is the story really worth it?

Soncy, I don't disagree with you. I think there wasn't much point to the whole prison story other than getting us to the conflict in this season.

I think a lot of what gets lost in their relationship is that it started out with Boyd basically wanting to kill her. No matter what, there are going to be trust issues on her part, since she killed his brother who was beating her (and she knows Boyd is a killer who at his best is very dangerous to be around). Ava's always been a which ever way the wind blows type character, so to say she was one way and now is another isn't really fair to her. She wanted to be with whoever would protect her (Raylan, who spurned her, Boyd who didn't). When she realized that Boyd was powerless to protect her in the prison system, she decided she didn't want him anymore (not dissimilar to how she changed on a dime about Raylan). So, what they did was all there in the original development, but I don't think they would have bothered with the prison route if the show had a few more seasons in it.

They must have had some kind of arc in mind post season 4 that would get them to the end of the show, and I'm sure the prison storyline was the only way they felt they could believably get Ava to turn on Boyd. What other ways would you suggest turning her character? It's clear the show wants a resolution on the Raylan/Boyd conflict, and there are only so many believable ways to go about it. Turning the Ava character very undesirable is obviously the easiest and lowest cost way from a character standpoint to go about it, in my opinion.

Second season is as good as it gets.

"I'm rehydrating."

Spill is ok, the point is Boyd/Ava underestimated these guys, and it doesn't take long for them to see that. Bigger question is why would Avery not just kill them in this ep, but of course that'd be less fun. I guess he figures he'd rather not draw more heat than he has to at the moment.

It's also possible we have underestimated Choo-Choo.

This is shaping up to be a GOAT season

This season is starting out as good as season two. The writers and actors are just killing it. They superbly casted this season.

I like ava again, she was acting superb this ep. Contrary to completely unlikeable skylar.

Boyd sure knows how to gravel when he needs to.

YES. Dickie and Lorett back in this episode, and Limehouse and Constable Bob up next time.

I'm giddy.

Loving this season every week its great.

DAT 'SPLOSION!!!!

Can't think of a better 4-episode beginning to a season for any show...Loved seeing Dickie. Markham better keep his hands off of Loretta.

sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss (lit fuse)

So worried about so many things, but can't wait til next week.

I wasn't caring for the safecracker character, felt like he belonged in a 1 - off ep from season 1, or on a worse TV show altogether, and just as I was starting to agonize over how much longer he'd be around... BOOM! Blow em up along with the whole smalltime caper. Good work writers. Wondering whether they intentionally wrote him so broad (the big laugh, "oh you think some blah-tex is gonna bust open an Excelsior 5000????"). Nice knowing ya safecracker guy.

man garret n elliot are killing it.
also loving how much more tim we get.

is it just me or has ava's accent gotten way more overdone?

I don't remember noticing it quite so much in previous seasons.

Hah thought that guy looks amazingly like Gary Busey but it cant be him, hes old as hell right, so google it and its his son

All I could think in those scenes was how amazing it would have been for them to get Gary Busey. Just the looks from Boyd alone would have been priceless.

I am confused why that took place.

Because Boyd didn't like him?

think it was just comic tragedy.
it was his own phone that rang n set off the explosives.

I just loved that it happened, and that was that. No episode to clean it up, no crazy reactions. Just BOOM, blood splatter, next scene.