| “ | You know, I may not own a private plane or a fancy car, and when you look at me, you probably just see some dumb redneck who likes to eat roadkill for breakfast and have sex with his cousins. I don't eat roadkill, I don't screw my relatives, and I didn't just get off of no short bus. So for you to bring me all the way down here to threaten me, as if I didn't already fully understand the stakes of our business agreement? Hoss, that's just downright insulting. | „ |
| ~ Bo Crowder to Gio Reyes |
Bo Crowder is one of the main antagonists of Season 1 of the TV show Justified. He is the meth kingpin of Harlan, the father of Boyd Crowder and Bowman Crowder, the father-in-law of Ava Crowder and the uncle of Johnny Crowder. He is portrayed by M.C. Gainey, who also played John Brittle in Django Unchained.
Biography
Backstory
Bo was the meth kingpin of Harlan County with ties to the Miami Drug Cartel, a group trying to kill US marshal Raylan Givens as revenge for the death of Cartel member Tommy Bucks. However, he made the mistake of demanding more money, and the Cartel retaliated by offering corrupt Harlan sheriff Hunter Mosley a deal; arrest Bo and they would allow him to kill his relative Henry Crowder in revenge for the death of Mosley's niece. Mosley accepted, and Bo was imprisoned on drug trafficking charges, leaving his son Bowman and associate Arlo Givens in charge of his protection racket.
Season 1
Bo appears briefly in the episode "Blind Spot", in which his son Boyd, who was imprisoned after being shot by Raylan, gets beaten up by several other prisoners who accuse him of being a snitch, only for Bo to intervene and save him.
In the following episode, "Blowback", Bo is released from prison after Mosley is arrested for corruption, resulting in all the criminals he jailed being amnestied, including Bo. He is seen eating in a diner with Bowman's wife Ava, who he harasses until Raylan shows up and kicks him out. He later appears again at the end when Boyd is released and Bo is waiting outside the jail to pick him up.
He has a bigger role in the episode "Veterans", in which he is seen in a bar with his nephew Johnny, talking to two meth cooks whose lab was blown up by Boyd and are now begging him for protection as a result, meaning they now pay him protection money. Bo, thinking this was Boyd's intention, finds him and offers him a cut of the money, but Boyd refuses, claiming it's against his religion, which is also what motivated him to destroy the lab. An infuriated Bo throws the money down and storms off, before ordering Johnny and Hestler Jones to kill some meth distributors to make way for the ones paying him protection money. He then talks to Arlo, demanding he give him the money he made from the protection racket while he was in jail, which Arlo denies having. Bo gives him until the next day to come up with the money, then calls out a failed hit on him when he doesn't produce it. He also begins trying to have Ava killed after realising she has murdered Bowman.
In "Fathers And Sons", Bo flies Miami to meet with his associate Gio Reyes, who introduces him to his niece Pilar and nephew Ernesto and gives him an ultimatum: work tirelessly to pay back the $2 million dollars he owes him (due to Arlo failing to pay up) in six months or be killed. Bo accepts this and they shake on it, as well as making plans to kill Raylan. Soon after, he sets up a meth lab in a warehouse, before going to a sermon by Boyd about how evil the meth business is. He attempts to intimidate Boyd, but he simply rejects him. Bo is later accosted by Ava while organising his prostitution ring, with Ava threatening to kill him like Bowman if he doesn't leave her alone. Arlo later visits him, and warns him that the marshals are onto them.
In the season finale "Bulletville", Bo informs Arlo, Hestler, Johnny and his henchmen Heckle & Jeckle that Boyd blew up a meth shipment headed for the warehouse, and has Pilar and Ernesto, who are also present, locked in a cupboard to stop them telling Gio. Afterwards, they all go to round up Boyd and his men. Bo has Johnny beat up Boyd, before releasing him and slaughtering all his men before escaping. He then orders Heckle and Jeckle to kill Raylan and has Arlo go after Boyd, before releasing Pilar and Ernesto. However, he then realises that Raylan survived the hit, having killed Heckle & Jeckle in self defence, and both Raylan and Boyd soon arrive at Bo's cabin. Raylan gives himself up to Bo and his bodyguard Rufus, who disarm him and prepare to kill him, only to be distracted when Boyd kills Hestler, allowing Raylan to grab Rufus's gun and kill him before disarming Bo. Boyd then holds a gun on Bo and prepares to kill him, only for Pilar to shoot Bo in the back with a sniper rifle, killing him.
