Watching the Detectives

"Watching the Detectives" is the eighth episode of the third season of the American Neo-Western television series Justified. It is the 34th overall episode of the series and was written by series developer Graham Yost and directed by Peter Werner. It originally aired on FX on March 6, 2012. The series is based on Elmore Leonard's stories about the character Raylan Givens, particularly "Fire in the Hole", which serves as the basis for the episode. The series follows Raylan Givens, a tough deputy U.S. Marshal enforcing his own brand of justice. The series revolves around the inhabitants and culture in the Appalachian Mountains area of eastern Kentucky, specifically Harlan County where many of the main characters grew up. In the episode, Quarles and Duffy work to incriminate Raylan so he can stop interfering with their interests. According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 2.16 million household viewers and gained a 0.8 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received near universal acclaim from critics, who praised the writing, pace, directing, character development and performances (with many highlighting Neal McDonough). Plot The FBI intercepts a call where Sammy Tonin (Max Perlich) falsely claims that Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) works for Boyd (Walton Goggins). Quarles (Neal McDonough) and Duffy (Jere Burns) take Gary (William Ragsdale) to Winona's (Natalie Zea) previous house and Quarles kills Gary and they leave the scene. Later, Quarles is approached by Limehouse (Mykelti Williamson), seeking to profit from both sides of the Quarles/Boyd feud but Quarles rebuffs Limehouse's offer