Slaughterhouse (Justified)

The series is based on Elmore Leonard's stories about the character Raylan Givens, particularly "Fire in the Hole", which serves as the basis for the episode.

The series revolves around the inhabitants and culture in the Appalachian Mountains area of eastern Kentucky, specifically Harlan County where many of the main characters grew up.

In the episode, Quarles is trying to escape from the police and Theo Tonin's hitmen while Boyd faces problems when his past comes back to haunt him.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 2.66 million household viewers and gained a 1.1 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.

[2] In the aftermath of the car bombing, Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) is told that Trooper Tom Bergen has died from his wounds, angering him.

Boyd and Johnny (David Meunier) also confront Arlo (Raymond J. Barry) for locking Ava (Joelle Carter) in the basement, which he defends as "Helen" had him do it.

After the arrest, they are notified that Quarles has dropped off the mother, Sally Jenson (Cathy Cahlin Ryan) and is now with her children Pete and Mitch somewhere else.

Raylan is called by Quarles, who is forcing the elder son Pete (Tyler Neitzel) to drive the vehicle while he threatens his brother Mitch (Uriah Shelton).

In March 2012, it was reported that the thirteenth episode of the third season would be titled "Slaughterhouse", and was to be directed by Dean Parisot and written by executive producer Fred Golan from a story by series developer Graham Yost.

"[4] The final scene was an idea from Fred Golan while he wrote the episode, having consulted with series developer Graham Yost about it.

[6] Quarles' death was discussed by the writers, as many struggled in integrating his confession as they feared it would overshadow the scene where his character's arm was chopped off.

"[8] Walton Goggins revealed on a 2015 interview that he pitched an idea to Yost where Boyd would die in the episode, saying "it was this beautiful trajectory, and I thought it was a fitting way to end this journey that I had hoped to continue on.

[12] Originally, Zea planned to leave the series after the second season but executive producer Sarah Timberman convinced her to renew her contract while she could look for other projects.

[14] In its original American broadcast, "Slaughterhouse" was seen by an estimated 2.66 million household viewers and gained a 1.1 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Club gave the episode an "A" grade and wrote, "For the most part, season three's best hours have been the most streamlined, like 'Thick As Mud' and 'Watching The Detectives', which attached themselves to really strong A-plots and relegated bits of the larger narrative to the periphery.

Yet the series of payoffs in 'Slaughterhouse' are clean and immensely satisfying, both in terms of tension and suspense and servicing the many characters with skin in the game.

But then we come to the end, to Raylan with the woman he loves but can never be with for long, to the room where his unborn child will soon sleep, pondering the fact that his own father was once again willing to kill him, and some of that grandeur and pathos came back, big time.

"[20] Luke de Smet of Slant Magazine wrote, "The major criticism of Justified's third season is that it's included a few too many plot elements.

The death of Trooper Tom causes the authorities to execute a manhunt against Quarles while Raylan's father Arlo reveals where his loyalties really lie.

"[22] Joe Reid of Vulture wrote, "I guess the question after 'Slaughterhouse' becomes: Can a loosey-goosey season like this be redeemed (for lack of a better word) by one righteously severed limb?

"[23] Todd VanDerWerff of Los Angeles Times wrote, "'Slaughterhouse' can't redeem everything leading up to it, but it does its best to try, and it's helped immeasurably by the way that last week's episode cleared out a bunch of plot to give it some breathing room.

"[24] Dan Forcella of TV Fanatic gave the episode a perfect 5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "It was an exciting yet emotional end to Justified's third season.

"[25] Jack McKinney of Paste gave the episode a 9.3 out of 10 rating and wrote, "Since this will be the last closing thoughts of the season, I'm making it an all dialogue celebration.