FXWell that was surprising: everybody lived.
Well, OK, not everybody. Everybody we cared about, at least.
There was a moment where it looked like Raylan was dead when it was actually just a clever fake-out thanks to the sacrifice of his hat, but we'll get to that in a minute.
The Markham business was wrapped up relatively quickly, with the hostage Ava managing to call Boyd under the guise of calling the poor deceased Uncle Zachariah. He arrived, guns out, and took out Markham and all his men. He even pulled the trigger on Ava, but it was empty. Raylan showed up for a showdown, but eventually just decided to pull out the handcuffs, sending Boyd and Ava off in custody.
Or Ava would have been sent off in custody, if it hadn't been Raylan driving her, and if Boon hadn't shown up to nearly run them off the road. Raylan and Boon then engaged in a little classic quickdraw in which they both got their shots, though Boon's was just off enough that it only grazed the top of Raylan's head and put a hole in his hat. Raylan, however, wisely decided to lie motionless until Boon was dead and the coast was clear.
Unfortunately, this gave Ava the perfect opportunity get away, and get away she did— to California, for 4 years.
Yep, there was a time jump, and it was sort of perfect. Raylan was working in Florida where he seemed to have a perfectly adorable relationship with both his daughter and his ex. He was sent on assignment to find a blonde who showed up in the background of a newspaper picture of a pumpkin patch, who happened to look a lot like Ava.
Turns out, running away to California for a year does a body good. She looked fantastic and happy, and seemed to be doing well while raising Boyd's secret son! Yep, it apparently helped that the feds didn't know they were looking for a pregnant fugitive, and while we're a little worried about any kid of Boyd's, little Zachariah was extremely cute and very well-dressed.
Ava was determined to raise the kid right and never tell Boyd he existed (not really for the kid's sake, but for Boyd's), and Raylan was willing to help her. He also told her he wasn't going to turn her in.
Then, it was time for Raylan to pay Boyd a little visit. During his past four years in prison, the outlaw had apparently found religion and was giving eccentric sermons to the other inmates. He didn't seem too thrilled to see Raylan, and he was especially not thrilled to hear Raylan tell him that Ava had died in a car crash three years ago.
It was a clever tale that Boyd seemed to believe, and now it appears that Ava's safe from Boyd forever. Boyd's only question was why Raylan would bother even telling him this in person, and Raylan's response was weirdly sweet: "We dug coal together."
Once a coal miner bro, always a coal miner bro, apparently.
All in all, a strangely comforting end to a fantastic series.
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