Posted in: FX, Hulu, TV, YouTube | Tagged: boyd crowder, fx, justified, raylan givens, Timothy Olyphant, walton goggins

Justified: Why Goggins, Olyphant "Needed to Separate" After Series

Justified star Walton Goggins explains why he and Timothy Olyphant "needed to take a break in order to come back together" after the series.

Viewers of Dave Andron & Michael Dinner's Justified: City Primeval remember the finale like it was yesterday. Pulling a con involving a fake terminal illness with his prison guard accomplice, Walton Goggins' Boyd Crowder turned a prison transfer into a successful bid for freedom. And it didn't take long for Timothy Olyphant's Raylan Givens to learn what went down, with the news coming on over his phone – just before the end credits kicked in. Since then, both Goggins and Olyphant have gone on record saying they hope they get a chance to follow through on that cliffhanger. But for this go-around, Goggins discusses his and Olyphant's original run – specifically, why the two "weren't talking" (according to Peter Biskind's book Pandora's Box) by the end of it.

"We had a tough time towards the end of 'Justified.' We were so deep into these people we were playing, and they were so polar opposites at this point in the story… I think we were both obsessed with our own points of view, just carrying the weight of this conflict," Goggins shared with The Independent during a recent interview. As Goggins sees it, that much intensity needed some time to level off – and that meant the two spend some time apart to be able to maintain their friendship. "I think we just needed to separate, like brothers," he explained – adding that they were both better off for it. "I respect and love him greatly, and I feel respected and loved by him greatly. We just needed to take a break in order to come back together."

Speaking with The Daily Beast last month, Goggins makes it clear that there is "another chapter to this story" and that they're interested in telling it. "I think everyone wants to do another lap [of 'Justified'], and, again, this is not a money grab [laughs]. Our motivations are pure because there was no reason for me to go back. When I say I needed to be talked into it, they made a very compelling argument that there is another chapter to this story, and they're right," Goggins shared. "I think everyone wants to do it, and we hope we get the opportunity to do it. It's a matter of it making sense for FX, and I know in their hearts they want to do it, and it's also about timing. Hopefully, that will happen."

Boyd Crowder Return a "Big Swing"; Olyphant "Super Excited"

In a pre-SAG-AFTRA strike with Rolling Stone, Olyphant discusses hearing about Andron & Dinner's plans to end the season's run with Boyd on the loose – and the word of caution Olyphant had for the two if they were going to go down that road.

Olyphant on Learning About THAT Phone Call: "I heard that idea from [showrunners Dave Andron and Michael Dinner] before we started shooting. In fact, that idea of the phone call at the very end, is he gonna pick up? None of this was my idea. The only thing I can pat myself on the back for was knowing it was a good idea when I heard it. 'That's a good ending. We can work toward that.'"

Olyphant to Andron & Dinner: Make It Worth It: "I was also cautioning Dave and Michael, 'Guys, if you bring Walt back at the very end of this story, you better fucking deliver on the first seven.' Because the worst thing that can happen is the audience feels, when they see Walt, 'Man, you guys put us through all this just to get to that?' So it was such a big swing, such a bold idea. I was super excited about it, and I knew Walt [Walton Goggins] was interested. So I was thrilled by it. And it just made us dig deeper on every episode prior. I said, 'You can't end it like it feels like a layup, like we're apologizing for something, right?' Having now seen it all, I feel like if we were so lucky to come back in some way, I am just as excited to bring back characters from the original show as I am characters from this incarnation. I feel like the writers did an amazing job of making everybody feel like they're part of the same world."

Justified: City Primeval Creators on Boyd Crowder Return & More

"The Joker is out there," Dinner shared regarding Boyd's escape during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "It creates danger in the world because somewhere in California, he has a kid he doesn't know about" – with Ava and the child sure to be a focal point of Boyd's "return." In the following highlights, the series creators discuss bringing Boyd back at the right time – and for the right reason – and how they wanted to be respectful to the original's classic "final" exchange between Raylan and Boyd.

Dinner: Boyd's Return Discussed From Start of "Justified: City Primeval": "When we first started talking, a lot of the talk was about, 'Let's not feel compelled to bring anybody back,' because we didn't want to do an adaptation that leaned too much on the past. But from the very beginning, Dave said, 'What about Walton?' My first instinct was: We can't do the cheesy version, which is episode five, when Raylan's having a tough time with Clement, he goes into the prison and says to Hannibal Lecter, 'I don't understand this guy.' But it was the elephant in the room. Fans of the show who want to consider this Justified are going to be asking, 'Where's Boyd Crowder?' It was a dangerous idea of bringing him in at the end."

Andron Believes Author Elmore Leonard Would Approve: "It feels like an Elmore Leonard ending. I think people will have a big smile on their faces. You get to go on this journey with Raylan, then you get to have this moment in time with Boyd. It did feel to me that if you were going to go into the world and you don't want to be cheesy about bringing people back, this is how you do it. Where is Boyd? What's he like now? Did he change at all, or is he the same? It felt okay to go and pick him up a little bit."

Andron on Respecting "We Dug Coal Together" Raylan/Boyd Moment: "We were very cognizant of ending it well and taking the plane back up. For me, it was thinking about Elmore and thinking about the dance, the connection between these guys, [and] the satisfying feeling of Raylan and Boyd. 'We dug coal together' felt very satisfying. It encapsulated everything we had done. I hope that even though this leaves a lot on the table, it still feels satisfying. Even if Raylan doesn't chase him, even if he feels like it's someone else's problem — and part of that is maybe the connection they have, and he doesn't want to have to gun him down — that maybe there's still a connection there and Boyd gets to have his life, too. He doesn't have to die in his cell as an old man. He gets to go back out there and try to right some wrongs."

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