This week’s “Justified” has us wondering if maybe Raylan slept with Ava at her house, maybe he didn’t. I say it never happened. I think he simply wanted to wait around on Boyd to get home. The good Marshal got his wish as Boyd Crowder came home to find Raylan alone with Ava. Boyd got in a jab about Givens’ car looking like an airport rental, but was not in a joking mood over the fact that Raylan was there at all.

Seeing the two adversaries at the same supper table brought back an ugly memory of the last time that happened and Boyd wound up shot. Raylan made a show out of asking pointed questions about Dewey Crowe….spoiler alert, he’s dead and Raylan really doesn’t care anyway. The two alpha males have a good exchange where neither directly threatens the life of the other, but their messages are loud and clear.

The brain trust or lack thereof consisting of Choo-Choo, Seabass, and Walker is discussing what to do about the Calhoun situation. His lifeless body has to be moved clearly. This scene sets the stage for the rest of the episode when Seabass calls out Choo for “being a dumbass.” He is in fact a dumbass, but he may have been pretty sharp before his wartime brain damage. They decide that Calhoun’s whore needs to be killed too and they agree on a good dumping spot for his body.

Ava’s uncle Zachariah comes to her house to head out to the mine shaft with Boyd and crew. He takes time to talk to her about how she’s doing and also how her daddy died in the mines. Zachariah hated her former husband Bo Crowder, and asks her if Boyd has the same demons her deceased hubby had. Boyd has placed a watchdog to keep tabs on Ava as he and Zachariah head out to the mine shaft.

If ever there have been two snakes more deserving of each other on ‘Justified’, I can’t remember them. Avery Markham decides to pop the question to Katherine Hale with a gigantic engagement ring. He drops a bombshell when he says he got over the fact that she ratted out her husband. She is floored by this assertion by her lover as she assumed he was the rat. This could be a trick by the smooth operator as Duffy tells Hale later on.

Markham’s goons did a poor job of hiding the body of Calhoun. He was found rather fast by the authorities and Raylan along with Tim wind up on the scene. The man was killed apparently with a single blow and looks like he was run over by a truck “or a train,” inputs Raylan. I hope the Marshals show more concern when and if they find Ava dead than they did for Calhoun. He gave them helpful info that cost him his life. Raylan and Tim take the news of the dead real estate mogul to the pizza place and Markham acts like he doesn’t have a clue. That’s because he doesn’t! His men acted on his orders, but killing the man was not in the initial game plan as I recall.

Choo-Choo is charged with the ugly duty of killing the friendly prostitute that looks a lot like Carrie Underwood. It would be hard to live with killing an innocent looking blond resembling a wholesome country singer. He meets up with her and seems pretty hesitant about the entire deal.

Boyd, Zachariah, and some goons check out the mine shaft. Carl is shaky at best and is not meant for mining clearly. While this ragtag crew is deep under ground, Rachel gets some advice from Art, who is tired of sitting around the house. She suspects Ava and Raylan have something going on besides an informant relationship. Art suggests letting it go to keep the case intact.

Choo-Choo went from a punchline to a sympathetic figure in this hour long episode. That’s not easy to do, so kudos to Duke Davis Roberts, who plays the role of Choo. Ty Walker is highly opposed to Markham’s suggestion that Choo has to be eliminated, not because he will give them up easily, but because he is not bright enough to hide the truth about their activities. Walker tells the story of how Choo-Choo got his brain trauma in war time during an ugly scene. Ty Walker softens his position when his big associate calls to tell him they don’t have to kill the whore since she is nice and promised to keep quiet. This was the beginning of the end of Mundo Choo-Choo.

Ava plays her watchdog like a fiddle and gets him to tell her the name of the shaft Boyd and Zachariah are working on. He gives up the info easily to the lovely lady.

Boyd was very nervous while working in the mine. He was certainly not the confident cat we had seen in seasons past. Our silver tongued villain falls through some boards as he reaches for an oil can. He is saved by a wedged board beneath him as it separates him from certain death. Zachariah moves slowly but urgently to save the man. He gets a rope set up with a Boyd goon, then creeps close enough to get his hand down to Boyd. This is some scary shit. Imagine being in a freaking hole that could swallow you completely into darkness for a slow, lonely death. Zachariah’s expertise proves very valuable as he is able to save Boyd from the depths of mining hell.

Walker and a small crew meet up with Choo-Choo as he has the hooker tied up next to a tree. Choo is going to be killed, but Raylan and Tim had followed Walker to the meet up. Raylan makes it clear to Choo that his buddies are there to kill him. It matters not. Choo-Choo is loyal to the end. He draws on the Marshals and is shot. The four on two gunfight was too much for even Tim and Raylan. They were out gunned and lucky not to be hit. Choo-Choo and Walker got away although separately. I kind of hated to think of the big man going away after this episode. What if Choo-Choo had shot Raylan in the head and the rest of the season was spent without Timothy Olyphant? Insane I know, but the writers would have shocked the world.

Back in the mine, Boyd goes up for some fresh air. That’s when old Zachariah has to push one of Boyd’s goons into the hole meant for Crowder after he noticed a board over the hole had been sawed. Zachariah had set up Boyd to be killed. That is crazy since he is the one who saved him ultimately. If he truly wanted him dead, he could have let him slip from his grip as he rescued him. This was pretty hard to swallow.

As the Marshals clean up the mess from Tim and Raylan’s shootout with Walker and co., Tim is sent to get his sniper rifle. Shit bout to get real! Then we get to see Choo-Choo die the most appropriate death ever on screen. Well almost. Maybe even better than getting smashed by a real train, the poor bastard dies from his gunshot wounds on the tracks as the locomotive came to a safe stop a few feet from his tiny car. He chose to fall on his own sword and never turned on his former military pals. This guy had character.

When Boyd finally made it back to Ava, he finds her listening to some thrash music with the watchdog. She could have any guy wrapped around her finger. She just set her sights too low, only snagging the little fish of the Crowder bros. Limehouse gives Boyd a surprise call to give him the 411 on what Ava was up to the previous day. I don’t know Limehouse’s angle, but he is likely pissed that she tried to play him for a fool. This is a weak point in the plot as Raylan went to a lot of trouble to conceal the fact that Ava was his CI. He put Constable Bob in a tight spot having to tase Errol and all. Limehouse may not know what Ava has been up to with the Marshals, but just telling Boyd that she was running away is enough to end his trust in her. The countdown on Justified being minus one hot blond just sped up.