History Headscratchers / Justified

* What exactly happened to Dewey in "Thick as Mud" (the kidney episode)? He wakes up in a bathtub full of his own blood with incisions where kidneys would have been removed, but he discovers later that he still has them. Did the nurse who cut him up make it look like he had performed a kidney removal without actually doing it? Why wouldn't he just do it for real, considering he and his girlfriend had a successful organ selling business already?

** Word of God says that Quarles survived season 3, sans an arm. They just never found a way to bring him back organically.

** Boyd is ruthless. If he thinks someone needs to be killed, he will kill that person. Boyd's 'cunning' is more a case of GenreSavvy and RefugeInAudicity. He is willing to take risks and he survives the consequences. He took on his father and survived. He took on the Miami cartel and survived. He took on the Bennetts and Dickie is the only Bennett of significance left. The criminals in Harlan do not know the details and how lucky Boyd was. They see someone who took on the toughest criminals in the area and came out on top. They do not know that he does not actually have the new sheriff in his pocket. [[spoiler: Devil and Johny]] know the reality of the situation which is why they choose to go against Boyd. Right now he is essentially bluffing everyone else and only Limehouse is smart enough to realize that.

* Was Robert Quarles ever specified alive or dead? I keep reviewing "Slaughterhouse", and the first few episodes of the next season, but I never find any indication. If he lives, is he left forever with a stump or is the arm reattached or does te state give him a cheap prosthetic?

* Before winning his $300,000 settlement and purchasing Audrey's brothel, where did Dewey live? How did he support himself? We see him make some small change by committing minor crimes, but he had no stable source of legal or illegal income. He couldn't have afforded a place to live by making chump change from minor crimes.

** Rowena had her own source for heroin, it wasn't going to come from Boyd. Boyd's entire role in the equation was to get revenge on the man who killed her partner.

* In "Weight", Ava breaks up with Boyd so that he won't be impacted by the aftermath of Judith's assassination. In doing so, Ava cut off her heroin pipeline, which she was relying on to stay safe in prison. Ava agreed to assassinate Judith in the first place so that Rowena would smuggle Boyd's heroin into the prison for her. Why did Ava cut off Boyd and his heroin supply, the whole reason why she agreed to kill Judith for Rowena in the first place? For all purposes, she just shot herself in the foot!

** Corruption. Harlan County as it is portrayed in the show is massively corrupt. Someone, somewhere along the line is getting a cut.

** Also, Winona and Rachel are attractive, sure, but on this troper`s opinion and most of his male friends, Ava is clearly much hotter.

** Corruption. Harlan County as it is portrayed in the show is massively corrupt. Someone, somewhere is getting a cut.

* How can Audrey's brothel operate openly in Harlan county? Not only does it engage in the sex trade and sell alcohol in a dry county, but all kinds of other criminal activities take place under its roof. Why doesn't state or local law enforcement shut it down?

** The deal was already completed by the time she died. She specifically waited till all the paperwork was done before getting Dickie out of jail. One would assume that the money went into a trust for Doyle's children.