Justified Prepares for a Showdown in Harlan County

Season 1 of Justified ended with blazing gunfire and a staggeringly large body count. So the big question is: Can this season's finale — promisingly titled "Bloody Harlan" — provide the same nail-biting action, shoot 'em ups and who's-hurt aftermath? "It matches it in terms of drama and shock," says Joelle Carter, who plays plucky widow Ava on the gripping neo-Western. "While I was reading the script, I was screaming."  
According to Carter, little Loretta McCready (Kaitlyn Dever) — the only real soft spot for cold-blooded Mags (Margo Martindale) — will make an appearance, and just as Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) decides to bid Harlan County adieu and grab a slice of domesticity with Winona (Natalie Zea), "there will be a big reveal for them that is life-altering." And what's in store for Ava, who now calls brother-in-law Boyd (Walton Goggins) her bad-boy squeeze? "She will hold another gun," says Carter. "She will defend herself in the finale."
If this all sounds a little hazy, it's partly because Justified is so collaborative that, even in the season closer, scenario-changing input from everyone — producers, cast members, crew — is welcome. "You kind of never know what's going to happen," says Carter. "I heard that there's a final scene — not mine — where someone gets shot and there were different opinions about who should shoot the person or how someone should die. There's a lot going on and a few real cliff-hangers, I'll tell you that." Sounds like a bloody good time.
Justified airs Wednesday at 10/9c on FX.
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