Burned (Justified)

In February 2015, it was reported that the ninth episode of the sixth season would be titled "Burned", and was to be directed by executive producer Don Kurt and written by executive producer Dave Andron, co-producer Leonard Chang and Jenny DeArmitt.[2]

Throughout the season, the writers were still working on uncovering who would be the snitch who caused Grady Hale's arrest before settling on Wynn Duffy. Series developer Graham Yost said, "in retrospect, it's hard to imagine any other possibility. He was just the right guy, and it fits with his character."[3]

The episode originally included Zachariah's death after he tried to kill Boyd in the mine but the writers decided to keep him alive for possible story purposes.[4] Yost said, "first of all, Jeff Fahey was fantastic, and was really fun to work with. He came into the whole story wanting to get Boyd for the Crowder sins against Ava, and it felt good he would be the one to at least help Ava try to get away."[5]

In January 2017, it was reported that Jonathan Tucker was joining the series in a recurring role for the final five episodes as Boon, "a hired gun of Katherine Hale's ex, Avery Markham."[6] Due to Garret Dillahunt only available for a certain amount of episodes, the writers decided to create Boon to accommodate. They contacted Tucker to try for the role, which was possible after a scheduling change in another project.[3] Yost described him, "we knew we wanted to create a character who really modeled himself after Raylan to one degree or another."[5]

In its original American broadcast, "Burned" was seen by an estimated 1.81 million household viewers and gained a 0.5 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research. This means that 0.5 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode.[7] This was a slight increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 1.80 million viewers with a 0.6 in the 18-49 demographics.[8]

"Burned" received very positive reviews from critics. Seth Amitin of IGN gave the episode a "good" 7.9 out of 10 and wrote in his verdict, "'Burned' was an entertaining episode that capstoned the end of an inconsistent, lackluster building period in Season 6. We know where they're headed: Loretta takes over the criminal empire of Harlan and Boyd goes for the money. Who knows if it actually goes that way, but at least there's something here. Let's hope they make the best of the opportunity and finish off Justified with a bang."[9]

Alasdair Wilkins of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A" grade and wrote, "'Burned' is another fantastic episode of Justified, and I still haven't mentioned the figure most crucial to its success: Kaitlyn Dever as Loretta McCready, a character who has only appeared five times total since the Mags Bennett season yet is instantly able to command respect as an equal of Raylan and Boyd, let alone of Markham and Hale."[10] Kevin Fitzpatrick of Screen Crush wrote, "An incredible, thread-tightening push toward Justified's inevitable end, and with four hours still to go, there's no telling how much greater one of FX's strongest dramas will get."[11]

Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote, "That Boyd failed at his heist only delays several inevitable confrontations this season. And I was enjoying every energetic, sharply-written minute of this hour too much to mind that it was ultimately one big stall tactic."[12] Jeff Stone of IndieWire gave the episode a "B" grade and wrote, "This is a well Justified has gone to repeatedly, but Harlan's denizens defending themselves from threatening outsiders is a running theme, so it's hardly a shock."[13]

Kyle Fowle of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "We're still a few episodes away from what's sure to be an explosive Justified series finale, but 'Burned' gives us a sense of everything that's to come. In a season full of great episodes, this is perhaps the best in terms of execution and engagement with the show's overarching themes. 'Burned' brings almost the entire cast of Harlan together in one way or another and that always makes for something combustible and memorable."[14] Matt Zoller Seitz of Vulture gave the episode a perfect 5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "This was one of the great Justified episodes, a banquet of action, quotable dialogue, character-enriching twists, and spotlight moments for the actors. It reminded me of watching a lineup of great bands full of brilliant musicians who all got a solo and nailed it."[15] Neely Tucker of The Washington Post wrote, "With four episodes remaining, we are not much closer to knowing who will (or won't) get out of Harlan alive, but we do know more about the prices that will be paid, and we finally meet a man with a gun who just may be quicker on the draw than Raylan."[16]

James Queally of Los Angeles Times wrote, "'Burned' is a tapestry of tension. From the insanely creepy debut of Markham's strongman Boon at Loretta's house, to the quick deterioration of Markham's party from political ploy to tinder box to Zachariah's insane vengeance play, this episode is meant to leave you breathless, and it accomplishes that mission."[17] Sean McKenna of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.6 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "This was an intense hour that kicked things into final gear bringing everything you love about Justified and readying viewers and its characters for the remaining, and hopefully exhilarating, episodes."[18] Jack McKinney of Paste gave the episode a 9 out of 10 and wrote, "Classic mysteries derived their tension from the knowledge that there was a single unknown killer in the room. Justified derives its tension from the knowledge that everyone in the room is a killer."[19]