The End Draws Nigh

"Raylan Givens, Boyd Crowder, and Avery Markham are soon to converge, Mr. Vasquez. Like the aligning of the planets, if those planets carried guns and hated my guts." — Wynn Duffy, "Justified"

After six seasons, "Justified" is coming to an end on Tuesday. This week's penultimate episode set the stage for an epic conclusion. All the characters are coming together, and some kind of violent showdown looms.

How will it end? That's been the question since the season began. Of course, the series has already vastly outpaced the source material. The series is based on the Elmore Leonard short story, "Fire in the Hole." In that short story — the bulk of which is contained in the series pilot — the action ends with Raylan Givens killing Boyd Crowder.

It didn't go that way in the series, thanks in large part to the way Walton Goggins popped on the screen as Boyd. And for six seasons, Boyd and Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) have been at odds, played off each other, and gotten in each other's way. It was all leading to something, so it seems fitting that the series finale will come down to the two of them.

The question is how?

I read an interesting take on the final season that suggests the series will end the same way as the short story — with Raylan killing Boyd — it was just taking its time getting there. I can see that as a possibility. It's hard to imagine both Raylan and Boyd making it out of the series finale alive, and it's also hard to imagine them both dying, though I wouldn't put anything past the producers here.

But I can't help but wonder if it's finally time for Boyd to go. This season has seem him hit his lowest point, and his most brutal. In the past, Boyd's been a criminal and done some bad things, but he's always had a few redeeming qualities. In the past few episodes, he's become isolated and hard. He killed his most trusted advisor and, in Tuesday's penultimate episode, he executed a man who dared to speak the truth. It was a cold, detached act that feels like the set up for him hitting the end of the road.

On Tuesday night, we'll find out how this wild ride through the hills of Kentucky will finally end. One thing's for sure, there will be blood.