Justified: City Primeval Just Ended On The Perfect Cliff-Hanger

Contains spoilers for "Justified: City Primeval" Season 1, Episode 8

Well, shoot. After eight episodes, a new foe to face and bring down, and Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) finally handing in his badge, it really seemed like the end for everyone's favorite deputy U.S. Marshal. Content with calling it a day and spending time with his daughter Willa (Vivian Olyphant) to catch up on lost time, "Justified: City Primeval" gave the impression that no one could get him back on the road and what he does best. Well, almost no one. It was the show's best-kept secret, but somehow, "City Primeval" ended with the unthinkable throwing the good book into shot and reuniting us with a character as beloved as Raylan himself. Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) is back, and within minutes of being reunited, he busts loose while on the way to a new prison he was never going to get to.

If only there was someone who has a history as thick as Boyd's rap sheet. Well, thankfully, there is, but all he needs to do now is pick up the phone and answer the call to go another round with his long-lasting frenemy. The question is, just what kind of chaos could it create should Raylan take the job and bring Boyd to the authorities one last time? Both are a little older and a smidgen wiser and more importantly, have family obligations that go beyond the strategic relationship between Raylan and Boyd. The exception is that at this moment in time, Boyd doesn't know about his.

While there's no confirmation that another season of "Justified" is imminent, they're certainly acting like it has, given how things have been set up. Boyd out of the slammer establishes an inevitable and eagerly anticipated new case for Raylan to bring in his old friend. The difference is that Raylan has much more at risk than he did the last time he put Boyd behind bars, and in doing so, could set up a far more interesting encounter. Sure, Boyd might be out on the lam, but the second he learns that Raylan has a daughter, it could cause serious issues for the lawman that he could do without.

Willa may have been put out of harm's way halfway through "Justified: City Primeval," but it might not be so simple for whatever future plans are in place for the next chapter of "Justified." Boyd always had a tendency to get under Raylan's skin when he needed to, and what better way to do so than by introducing himself to Willa as a forgotten friend of her dad's from way back when. Things might seem friendly initially, but there's a chance that could all change if Boyd uncovers something that's been kept secret from him. This could see the return of another character from Raylan's past, someone who is holding something very dear to Boyd he didn't know he had; his ex-wife Ava (Joelle Carter) hiding out with his estranged son, Zachariah.

The last time we saw Raylan and Boyd together, our legendary lawman was lying to him behind a sheet of perspex glass. Boyd was left to believe that his ex-wife Ava had died when, in fact, she was living a quiet life off the radar bringing up their son, Zachariah, who Boyd didn't know he had. It's this important detail that could really throw a wrench in the works for Raylan and put him in Boyd's firing line as much as his treacherous former flame. It would also certainly mark the return of Ava and Zachariah, who would now be around the same age as Willa, if you do the math.

A secret this sensitive and a lie this big will certainly create more tension between Raylan and Boyd than there has ever been. The only question is when we'll see it come to the surface. Given that Walton Goggins' return as the beloved antagonist was kept hush-hush, details about another "Justified" series are just as nonexistent. Of course, now that the cat is well and truly out of the bag and Boyd Crowder is out of handcuffs, we can only cross our fingers and keep our ten-gallon hats on that we'll find out sooner rather than later. The rematch of the century has just been teased, and we can't wait to see it come to pass.