The FX original,Justified, ran for six seasons in its initial run from 2010-2015.It’s received critical acclaim as one of television’s best modern Westerns.The story follows U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) as he navigates crimes within his hometown of Harlan, Kentucky. Over the course of the series, Raylan faces criminals of varying caliber from small-time crooks to even the highest rankings of the Dixie Mafia. Many of them are formidable, such as recurring characters like Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) and Avery Markham (Sam Elliott), but none compare to Maggie “Mags” Bennett (Margo Martindale).
Mags Bennett is a complex character that viewers can absolutely relate to. Outside the Bennetts' marijuana empire, Mags is a humble general store owner who is beloved within her small town community. Once you pull away the veil though, Mags is a cunning, ruthless drug lord as her family controls the majority of Harlan’s marijuana distribution. She also has ties with Raylan’s family as the Givens and Bennetts hold a long-standing feud. As history within the story caters to a more deeply rooted villain, this makes Mag and her family some of the most embedded characters in the series as they share history both residing in Harlan and directly with the series' main character. However, this isn’t the only thing that makes her the best villain inJustifiedas there’s so much more in her character.
Mags Bennett Is a Cunning and Ruthless Villain
Mags maintains a hidden, steeled nature. She’s all at once motherly, humble, and menacing. While not always in that order, Mags will, at times, use the community’s warm perception of her to throw off the scent of what she’s actually capable of. Turning our gaze toward this, Mags knows how to use the respect from her community and her roots in Harlan to her advantage which can be seen in Season 2, Episode 8 of the series. During a town hall meeting, Mags speaks against Boyd and Black Pike’s proposed land deal, promising not to sell out in spite of Black Pike’s offers of large payouts and future employment. In doing so, she successfully riles up the citizens, providing her leverage and time to team up with Boyd to propose a counteroffer of their own to the oil company.
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Additionally, Mags is known to be ruthless, if needed as well. She’s no stranger to killing and her method of choice, poison, plays into her crafty nature. While most may suspect that she delivers it via her homemade “apple pie” moonshine she’s known for, it’s actually implemented by lining the jar she serves it in. This makes her all the more threatening, as many won’t be aware until it’s already in their system.
Mags Bennett Maintains a Sense of Humanity
In contrast to her cold traits, Mags' humanity remains at the forefront of the character. From the moment we meet her, she evokes viewers with the familiarity of someone they may have known. This makes sense asMartindale based her portrayal of Magson her own time spent in Texas and Kentucky.Although Mags may have sold out the community she loves, her decision to do so was made to ensure her family had a financially solid future, which is shown in Episode 9 of Martindale’s season with the series. Near the end of Martindale’s run on the show, we see Mags' humanity and compassion shine through her lowest moments as even after learning that Raylan killed her youngest son, Coover Bennett (Brad William Henke), she still upholds the temporary truce on the Bennett-Givens family war as she’d promised to Helen Givens (Linda Gehringer).
It’s arguable that we witness Mags' most truly human moments when it comes to her ties with Loretta McCready (Kaitlyn Dever). Fans are introduced to Loretta and Mags around the same time and while Mags is responsible for the death of Loretta’s father, Walt (Chris Mulkey), she did so only because he’d alerted the authorities to another farmhand, James “Jimmy” Earl Dean (Billy Miller): a registered sex offender that made advances towards Loretta. After killing Walt, Mags raises Loretta as the daughter she never had. The scenes that follow between Martindale and Dever allow viewers to see Mags' duality as a mother and crime lord not to be trifled with.
Margo Martindale’s Role as Mags Bennett Opens the Door For Other Women
It’s an unfortunate fact that agiesm is a known obstacle in Hollywood. Once someone hits a certain age, their roles become limited and this shouldn’t be the case. Men have a glaringly easier time overcoming this andJustifiedis no exception as Sam Elliot’s time in the role of Avery Markham proves. The 70-year-old gangster is shown to be very powerful and intimidating (especially since Elliot is playing the character sans his infamous mustache.) for his age and stature, but we shouldn’t limit this train of thought to solely men. Martindale’s delivery of such a complex character should convince anyone that no one should type-casted.In an interview with the Daily Beast,she said, “Mags Bennett didn’t put on any airs. Mags Bennett didn’t care that she was fat. I care that I’m fat, but I could let that part of it go. I didn’t wear [any] makeup except for the spots on my face. My hair had to be the worst it’s ever been; I just made it as bad as it could be. There was great freedom in that.”
“That honesty was something that people really connected with,” she added. “And the fury, rage, horror, and power.”
The long-time character actor wants these doors to open, and this writer wholly agrees that age shouldn’t pigeonhole an actor or actress to roles akin to those on theLifetime Network.Fortunately, Margo Martindale is getting the proper recognition as she proves she’s more than just a character actor and the character of Mags Bennett should open the paths to more complex older characters.
The original run ofJustifiedis streaming in its entirety on Hulu. It’s spin-off:Justified: City Primevalis currently airing on the FX Network and streaming next day on Hulu.
