‘Justified: City Primeval’ is not just bad, it’s painfully dull.

Spoilers and ⁣venting‌ below

I’m now six episodes into the “Justified: City Primeval,” an eight-episode sequel to ​perhaps the⁤ greatest neo-Western ever made. ⁤And the⁣ critical acclaim ‌ it’s received is increasingly incomprehensible. The drab series completely misses the point and strips the show ⁢of all the charisma, interpersonal drama, sense of ‍place, ⁣humor — even ⁤the colors — that made the original⁢ so engrossing.

“Justified” brought a reluctant Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens back to his hometown⁣ of​ Harlan, Kentucky, to ‌the poverty-ridden hollers, farms, and abandoned coal ⁣mines, where he was fluent in the‌ customs and language ​of⁢ the locals. “Justified: City Primeval” ⁤inverts that formula,⁤ dropping Raylan in the alien world of Detroit, like some contemporary Walt Coogan.

Yet, other than a couple of perfunctory street scenes, the viewer is‍ denied any⁤ real sense of ⁢that city (and yes,‌ I know ⁣the original was shot in California) or its inhabitants or, really, why Raylan is in town at⁤ all. “Justified: City Primeval” could have been set⁤ in Dayton or ⁢Jacksonville. Not even the homicidal “Oklahoma Wildman” — played with spirit by Boyd Holbrook ⁤— is from⁤ the city.

The ​plot revolves around a ​psychopath, a murdered judge, a notebook filled with the names of⁢ crooked officials, a defense lawyer, and the⁣ Albanian mob (the less consequential​ the country, the ⁢more menacing its gangsters, apparently.) The bad guy resembles‌ one of those Dixie Mafia thugs Raylan⁤ so easily dispensed with in the first series. But ‌honestly, that makes the‍ show sound far ⁢more⁢ riveting than it ‍deserves. ⁣“Justified: City Primeval” is basically a “very⁢ special” multi-episode ⁤“Law & Order:​ Detroit.”

The real mystery is why ⁤Raylan is in the show at all. Though he’s far too sophisticated to act like a⁤ clueless hick, it ‍doesn’t mean he‌ isn’t in the wrong place. He’s definitely in ⁤the⁣ wrong place. Raylan is superfluous to the plot of the show, shoehorned in as if he were making a string of cameos. Sure, the writers try ginning up some tension by creating a personal grudge between⁢ Raylan and “Oklahoma Wildman,”⁤ who briefly menaces‌ the deputy marshal’s daughter — played by Timothy Olyphant’s real daughter Vivian. ⁤Then⁣ there is an affair between Raylan and the ambitious defense lawyer (played ‌by⁢ Aunjanue Ellis, who does as well as ⁢can be‌ expected.) ‌It is all really​ a tendentious effort to make​ you care.

Gone, though, are Art, Ava, Arlo, Dickie, Dewey, ‍Duffy, Ellen ⁣May, Limehouse, Mags, Mike …⁤ and you get the ⁣point. Most ⁣noticeably⁢ gone is Boyd. Recall that ⁣Walton Goggins’ Boyd Crowder played so well with test audiences of the ⁣pilot, “Fire ‌in the Hole,” that ‍producers felt compelled to bring him back even after Raylan, a ​friend he’d once saved from sure death in a mine shaft,​ shot him in the chest.

The writers should have sprung Boyd ‌from⁤ federal prison and ⁤driven ⁣him to Detroit. Then again, ‌a ⁢spinoff featuring Boyd⁢ holding court in⁢ prison would⁣ have been immeasurably ⁢more entertaining than watching Raylan moping​ around with his wings clipped like some bean-counting consultant.

Now, the‍ original series⁢ wasn’t perfect television — it‍ took a couple of seasons to⁢ find its footing, not uncoincidentally when Boyd began getting a larger role. From the opening scene, the ultimatum and shooting of Tommy Bucks,⁣ the audience is introduced ‌to the earnest, deadly confidence of​ Raylan, who functions ⁤ nearly outside ⁤the law but always on solid moral high ground. You couldn’t stop watching.

But it was ‌“Justified’s” finale that was perfect, and what I think makes this sequel especially infuriating. ‍After years of deadly entanglements —‍ and ‌occasional friendship — a contemporary⁣ Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid sit​ across​ from each​ other, ⁣speaking through ‌the glass⁢ of a jailhouse visiting⁢ room, just as you knew they would. Raylan is there to deliver some (fake) news:

Raylan: You ‌asking why I came? I⁣ thought it was news that should be delivered in person.

Boyd: That ​the only reason? After all these long years, Raylan Givens, that’s the only reason.

Raylan: Well, I suppose ​if I allow myself to be sentimental, despite all that has⁤ occurred, ⁣there is ‍one thing that I ⁤wander⁤ back to.

Boyd: We‍ dug coal together.

Raylan: That’s right.

If you’re going to keep the story going after that ending, it better be ‍great. Either of those scenes is infinitely more compelling than the whole of “Justified: City Primeval.” And yet, I keep watching because surely by episode eight’s finale, Raylan will do something worth watching. Right?