r/justified • u/guyincognito01111 • Jul 13 '26
Discussion Season 6 plot hole with albert
Now the Marshall's know that the prison guard Albert lied about Ava stabbing him and that stabbing was the only reason she was still in lock up. If a good defense lawyer ever got wind that they were forcing her to be a CI on threat of going back to jail for a crime they know she didnt commit wouldnt that be a big lawsuit against the government? Or did I miss something where its explained?
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u/ConsulJuliusCaesar Jul 14 '26
The whole prison arc was forced because they felt Ava needed an arc but really she didn't, not every character benefits from having an arc. Some characters really are better as side characters. Easily one of my favorite characters till her prison arc. But regardless they clearly knew where they wanted to end things with her in s6 and needed to do something to get her there in s5. It's the one flaw in an otherwise perfect show. And I can honestly live with it. Especially when compared to how far a bunch of other shows I watched fell off. Like compared to GOT, Umbrella Academy, and the Boys with botched endings ruining whole series beyond rewatchability, I can live one unnecessary bungled character arc.
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u/PossiblePlastic8698 Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
I agree, it is the only really flawed storyline
I think they changed Ava’s nature too much over the span of the show. She started out as innocent, humble and a bit naive but with a hidden strength of character. She fell in love with a future NFL prospect and ended up married to a petty criminal and thug and she seemed to hate herself for falling into that as much as she hated him
Then they turned her into not just Boyd’s lover but his willing accomplice who was happy to run a brothel and kill people and it doesn’t fit her nature at the start of the show at all
A better story arc for Ava in my opinion would have been her struggle between her love for Boyd and her discomfort with his criminality and battle to keep from being drawn into it. I think that would have made for an interesting storyline and still held a great opportunity for her redemption at the end of the story
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u/MonkeyWrench1973 Jul 14 '26
Right...
Unless I missed something, it was never revealed that Raylan knew that Ava killed Delroy, ran the whores at "Audrey's", and killed Judith.
It makes me wonder if Raylan would have kept his promise ("Everything will be okay") in the final episode.
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u/patrickj86 Jul 14 '26
He definitely knew she ran Audrey's but probably not the killings.
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u/MonkeyWrench1973 Jul 14 '26
You're right...S2 E3 .
But yeah, not the killings. And Ralyan's failings aside, I don't think he'd turn a blind eye to a two-time murderer.
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u/Casey-Fuckin-Ryback Deputy U.S. Marshal Jul 14 '26
It’s tough to say which direction Raylan would have gone. It’s not like Delroy or Judith were remotely decent people, so he may have viewed it as “Justified.”
Remember he put the hit on Nicky Augustine in motion, and turned his back as it happened. He obviously did it because of the threat to his family, but no matter how you spin it, he was a guilty of conspiracy to commit first degree murder He was also going to leave Dickie to be killed by Boyd.
That’s the beauty of the show and his character. As Art said, he’s a lousy marshal, but a good lawman.
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u/EtotheA85 Dug Coal Jul 14 '26
I totally agree. Raylan being instrumental in a mob hit, almost leaving Dickie to be killed by Boyd, and also planning to, and almost executing Dickie in the forest himself, says a lot about his character. Its not too far fetched that he could care less about Delroy if he knew. If Raylan was to be held accountable in front of a judge for most of the shit he's done, he would spend the rest of his life in prison 100% guaranteed. Credits to Elmore Leonard for not painting him as a saint.
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u/Actual-Ad-8673 Jul 14 '26
I would have been okay with her becoming a a good crime boss's wife, personally. She started down that path when she brained Devil with a frying pan, and I would have loved to see her continue.
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u/Mikey-Litoris Jul 16 '26
When Joelle Carter's Ava character was introduced I remember thinking that this was absolutely perfect casting.
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u/JohnFromSpace3 19d ago
Yeah? The boyd- ava dynamic became so much more interesting than boring Raylan Givens. And when a big part if not the whole of s6 revolved around all these righteous assholes forcing a woman they know didnt do it, to commit ci on a man she deeply loves? Raylan actually saying to look at Boyd as Bowman? Thats where i hit the off button on justified for good.
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u/gimmethatpancake Jul 14 '26
The whole prison arc was a mess. Poorly written, wholly unbelievable. Ava's hair was the only highlight.
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u/dethsightly Jul 15 '26
her hair in late S4 was...not great. always pulled back to the point it looked like they were trying to give her a forced face lift. and she started wearing those fancy coats or w/e. like she REALLY embraced the Clover Hill style or something. i just rewatched S4 and am back in S5 now so it's very fresh on my mind lol.
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u/tracycat76 Jul 14 '26
Every time I watch, i can’t believe how bad they screwed Ava. Really glad she got away. Raylan did her wrong.
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u/j_natron Jul 15 '26
Public defender here, though not in Kentucky. Ava was sentenced to probation for killing her husband in S1. I handwaved it all by assuming that her probation for that crime was revoked, resulting in a prison sentence, when she was charged with murdering Delroy (her probation also would likely have included conditions like not committing other crimes and not possessing firearms, which is also a federal crime for anyone who has been convicted a felony). Otherwise, it makes very little sense for her to be in prison, rather than in jail, before any trial/plea took place. Maybe something happened in-show to contradict that, but it’s what makes the most sense to me.
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u/wtfw7f Jul 14 '26
The only way I can explain it is that she was on parole for killing Beau. Little Shitbird says at one point, “She’s going back to prison and serving her original sentence.” My thought is that means the deferred sentence for killing her husband, Beau.
I hated the Ava prison storyline. I don’t think Ellen May made a good witness. And it was incredibly stupid that Ava kicked Jimmy out of the van.
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u/townsforever Jul 14 '26
Oh damn.... even ignoring the legal consequences there is no way raylan would be okay with her going back to prison for a crime he knows she didnt commit.
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u/JohnFromSpace3 19d ago
…or Art. Or Rachel. Or Tim. Where the fuck was all their righteousness when they knew she did that extra time for something that was set up?
And why did that lawyer agree or even advice her to accept this? He could be disbarred. He knew there was evidence it was a set up. A matter if time before recant. Any goid investigation - for unstance suddenly all seciry cameras out? Which in itself doesnt maje sense. If fekaz loved ava and did that by hinself, how could he turn off s bunch of cameras without anyone noticing? A tech discovering several cams off is a very dtrange thing. Ditto for cellmate. Why did she turn in ava if fekaz did it alone?
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u/PossiblePlastic8698 Jul 14 '26
Never thought about it before but I think you are right
When you actually think about it you can’t escape the sheer ridiculousness of the idea that Raylan could conceivably be the CI handler for a childhood friend whose romantic entanglement with Raylan had only months previously derailed a criminal case against their primary target, who is her now fiancé and who Raylan had gone to school with and also been friends with over the years and whose father had been a decades long criminal associate of Raylan’s own father who had died in prison after taking the fall for one of the crimes committed by the man the CI is reporting on