A lot of people have been writing us to know how they can catch up to FX’s Justified, which we covered in depth during it’s season 3 run. The thing about Justified is that it took them quite a while to find what it was about their show that was fantastic, so the first season is pretty hit and miss. It’s tempting to tell people to just skip season one and start out on the fantastic season 2, but you miss some really good backstory on Boyd Crowder and Raylan’s old man if you do. So, with that in mind, here is the official Bald Move recommended season one watch guide…

101: “Fire in the Hole” – Must see, obviously.

– Must see, obviously. 102: “Riverbrook” – most of this is skippable, but there are a few points addressing the overall story arc in the beginning that are pertinent.

104: “Long in the Tooth” – This does nothing to serve the main arc the show is establishing, but is my personal favorite of the “mobster of the week” story line.

105: “The Lord of War and Thunder” – Introduces Raylan’s old man, Arlo, and is a must see.

– Introduces Raylan’s old man, Arlo, and is a must see. 109: “Hatless” – Great episode, and introduces one of the best recurring characters, Wynn Duffy.

110: “The Hammer” – lots of good story arc in here, and it also establishes another memorable character, Judge Mike “The Hammer” Reardon.

– lots of good story arc in here, and it also establishes another memorable character, Judge Mike “The Hammer” Reardon. 111-113: “Veterns”, “Fathers and Sons”, “Bulletville” – Mandatory watching. The show really put the pedal to the metal with the season one story arc here.

If you want a bare bones experience, you can skip season one and jump right in to season 2. If you have five more hours to spend, take in 101, 105, and 110-113 and be very primed for the awesomeness that is season 2. Season 2, for it’s part, takes a bizarre detour in epsiodes 206 and 207, which I’d almost recommend you skipping except there is some vital plot points in 207. If you watch the three episode climax of season one and still don’t love Justified, I’d bail. While it gets even better in season two, I would still fear it just isn’t your cup of tea.

Season 3 is entertaining as hell from start to finish, and there is no small amount of debate to be had about whether season 3 is better than season 2 or vice versa. For my money, season 3 doesn’t have any missteps the way season 2 had in 206 and 207, but season 2 also had a singularly awesome villain with one of the all time great season finales.

So there you go! You have until about January 15th 2013 to catch up!