Justified: City Primeval Ending Sets Up Surprising Return to Original Series

Justified: City Primeval is a continuation of Raylan Givens' story, sending him to Detroit on the trail of a dangerous killer, far away from the hills of Harlan, Kentucky. For nearly all of the limited series, Raylan is the only connective tissue to the original Justified series. That changes in the final moments of City Primeval's finale, as Raylan's past pops up once again, potentially setting up another series for Timothy Olyphant's U.S. Marshal. 

WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the final episode of Justified: City Primeval! Continue reading at your own risk...

Justified fans wondered if Boyd Crowder would show up at any point in City Primeval, and he waited until the very last minute to do so. Walton Goggins' beloved character, who has quite a lot of history with Raylan, is shown in City Primeval's epilogue. At the very end of the finale, Boyd is shown in prison, right where Raylan left him at the end of the original series. He tells some fellow inmates that he's being transported because of a terminal illness, but we soon learn that it's all part of an elaborate escape plan. With the help of an accomplice he has seduced, Boyd breaks out and heads for Mexico. 

The series ends with Raylan, who has just retired from the Marshals service in order to spend more time with his daughter, getting a call from Lexington. We know that the call is about Boyd's escape, but the show ends before Raylan decides whether or not to pick it up.

Boyd Crowder's Return in Justified: City Primeval

The return and escape of Boyd Crowder definitely set up the possibility of more Justified in the future, though nothing has been made official just yet. 

Justified: City Primeval creators Michael Dinner and Dave Andron recently spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about Boyd's highly anticipated return, and how they were worried about finding the right time to bring him back into the fold.

"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," Dinner explained. "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."

"It feels like an Elmore Leonard ending," added Andron. "I think people will have a big smile on their face. 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."

What did you think of Justified: City Primeval? Are you hoping to see another Justified series in the future? Let us know in the comments!