So I’m sitting before the computer in a near daze.  Being in the early stages of a cold can do that to you.

Last night, while completely out of energy and dealing with a throat that’s on fire, I tried to watch some of the TV shows I’ve been DVRing for the past few weeks (in some cases, months!).  And I find there are 10 episodes of Justified waiting patiently to be watched.  This represents the whole of the sixth season of the show aired to date minus the season’s very first episode.

Seeing this, I couldn’t help but be somewhat surprised.  Used to be that I couldn’t wait to see the latest episode of Justified.  Season Two of the series, which featured Mags Bennett, was a stunner.  In retrospect, that may well have been the series’ high point and one could argue that, while still good, the show hasn’t reached those dizzying heights again.

This was certainly the case, in my humble opinion, with the show’s fifth season.  That season featured a relatively weak menace in the form of Daryl Crowe Jr.  When the season ended and it was announced the show’s sixth season would be its final one, I felt this was, well, justified (blame the pun on the cold!).

Mind you, I have a great deal of sympathy for those who toil behind the scenes on successful shows.  The fact is its difficult to sustain a show for four years, much less six.  Plot lines inevitably get repeated and the surprises that may have drawn you into the show in the first place become fewer and fewer.  With Justified, there was always a sense of menace and absurdity presented in equal measures.  Characters could -and did!- die violent, sometimes very unexpected deaths.  After a while, though, you have a core of characters you almost have to maintain, fan favorites whose unexpected end might lead to audiences revolting against the show.

Ah, you say, but what about Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead?  They’ve had some very big characters die and yet people still watch them, don’t they?

Both shows most certainly have turned heads with the deaths of “big” characters, but there are still certain characters who haven’t been offed and who remain “central” to the story.  With the passage of time it appears clear they’re going to hang on for quite a while.  If you think about it, I suspect you’ll know who they are.

Anyway, just offering some fevered musings.  I’ll catch up to Justified.  I’ve invested enough time in it so far that skipping out the final season would be silly.  Yet I’d be lying if I were to say I’m not ready for the show to be over.