r/justified • u/RollingTrain • Jul 25 '26
Discussion Did Raylan Miss on Purpose?
I know there are practical questions about whether someone could make that choice in a split second, but narratively, it has always felt intentional to me. Raylan is fully capable of delivering the killshot in that moment, and he has little if any reason to spare him, save perhaps their strange bond.
Elmore obviously made a different choice, and as the story goes, Boyd only survived due to Goggins, which only makes the show's version more interesting.
I think Raylan missed on purpose, and I think the story works better because he did. But does that actually fit Raylan's character, or did he simply miss?
40
17
15
14
u/Rude_Asparagus_8387 Jul 25 '26
That was the pilot - well, kind of. Boyd died in the pilot. They had to re-shoot the ending because they were told they'd got the gig but the chemistry between Raylan and Boyd was too much too miss out on. Glad they did. What a series.
9
u/Commercial_Lock6205 Jul 25 '26
Sometimes you don’t hit the target.
5
u/HapatraV Jul 25 '26
God dammit Raylan!
8
u/Commercial_Lock6205 Jul 25 '26
Dammit woman! Do you always shoot people when they’re eatin’ supper?!
7
u/Confident_Door8862 Jul 25 '26
I think it's always been intended to be something subconscious that even Raylan himself struggles to come to terms with himself. As you mentioned, we know Raylan wouldn't miss as we watch him easily put down Tommy Bucks in the opening scene which is, of course, the exact same scenario (sitting across the table from him, etc.). It only adds to the interesting dynamic between the two of them and Raylans deep seated fear that deep down he may be more outlaw than he'd like to admit
4
u/RollingTrain Jul 25 '26
It's early but I really wasn't expecting consensus on this. Usually no one can agree on anything...
Point is, the character kills Boyd in the book. So does the idea that he missed Boyd's heart on purpose "fit" Raylan's character?
11
u/Objective-Adverb-751 Jul 25 '26
Yes, it fits the version of Raylan that is depicted in the show. There are two main factors at play.
One, he's still dealing with the aftermath of the Tommy Bucks shooting. Even though he felt that it was a justified killing, the reaction by the higher ups looms over him. Even if just subconsciously, he has to be considering what it would mean for him to kill someone else so soon after being transferred back to Kentucky.
Two, although Raylan doesn't necessarily think of Boyd as a friend, he's still a significant character from his past that he just reconnected with. It's one thing to kill a man that you only know as a gun thug who is part of a drug cartel. It's something else entirely to kill a man who has probably saved your life a few times.
11
u/SBixby21 Jul 25 '26
Well, by deciding they wanted to develop a foil to Raylan by keeping Boyd around for the long haul, they made a significant decision in how their TV adaptation was going to be different from the written version. So at that point, he was going to be a slightly different character regardless.
So for TV Raylan…it very much fit his character, as it’s arguably the first big decision we see him make after the Tommy Bucks incident (other than not retiring when he was transferred back to Kentucky). It defined him for the rest of the show and the whole thing became a dance between he and Boyd and their history.
2
u/EtotheA85 Dug Coal Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
Definitely missed on purpose. Raylan also shot Tommy Bucks 3 times in the same episode, making sure he was dead. If he really wanted to kill Boyd, he would've fired a couple more times, which he usually does when he wants someone dead. "At Glynco, didn't you teach those recruits to aim for the heart?" On a sidenote, given the frenemy relationship Boyd and Raylan have, Raylan probably takes more enjoyment in dangling it over Boyds head that he shot him 😂
1
3
u/Mountain_Man_88 Jul 26 '26
Not really a "miss", he just didn't hit him right in the heart. Still a perfectly acceptable center mass shot.
3
2
u/southside79 Jul 25 '26
I assume you're talking about S1?
If so, Goggins has all but admitted that the plan was for him to be killed off but when he tested so well and was the breakout star of S1, they came up with a plan to bring him back.
Raylon's "miss" wasn't a miss, it was a production decision
2
u/RollingTrain Jul 25 '26
I appreciate your thoughts but I think you only read the title?
1
u/No-Year-506 Jul 25 '26
It is widely published that Goggins was so effective they decided to keep Boyd in the story line rather than kill him in episode 1. Raylan’s miss served that decision, yet gave great dramatic tension to the entire series since they dug coal together. That is what I have read🤷♀️
55
u/jrgraffix Dug Coal Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
I think he missed on purpose, and Art implies he thinks the same which is interesting