It’s been 10 years since Timothy Olyphant’sJustifiedended, andWalton Gogginshas finally found the perfect replacement in this show with 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.Justifiedis easily one ofWalton Goggins' best shows. His character, Boyd Crowder, was one of the show’s best and most memorable personalities, but Goggins hadn’t been able to find a perfect replacement for it.
Walton Goggins has certainly had some TV hits -from comedies likeThe Righteous Gemstonesto dramas likeThe White Lotus- but nothing has really been able to recaptureJustified’s magic. Even theJustifiedsequel series,Justified: City Primeval, couldn’t live up to the original show. It has just 46% with audiences onRotten Tomatoes, whileJustifiedhad 95%.
It seemed like nothing could truly replaceJustified.That is, until Walton Goggins' 2024 show, which will soon be returning for a second season. In fact, Goggins played the best character in that show, and it’s perfect for fans ofJustifiedwho want to see Goggins play another morally gray gunslinger.
Fallout Is Walton Goggins' Proper Replacement For Justified
Like Justified, Fallout Is A Tense Western Where Goggins Plays A Hardened Gunslinger
Prime Video’sFallout, which sees Walton Goggins star as Cooper Howard, is his single best replacement forJustified.WhileFalloutis much sillier and more of a sci-fi show, it’s still a Western likeJustified, just not with as much grit. BothFalloutandJustifiedare filled with action and shootouts, and they basically transport the golden age of Westerns to new settings.
Goggins' other shows, likeThe UnicornorVice Principals, just aren’t as similar toJustifiedasFalloutis. They either don’t use Goggins' uncanny ability to be both scary and charming simultaneously, or they don’t have the same thrilling action that madeJustifiedsuch a hit.Fallout, however, has both, and thereviews forFalloutshow it uses them well.
Even Walton Goggins' characters are similar.Boyd Crowder is almost exclusively on the wrong side of the law, and Cooper Howard worked as a bounty hunter. While that would make him more like Raylan than Boyd, Cooper also had a mean streak and would kill almost everyone who got in his way. He even tortured Lucy (Ella Purnell) just for the fun of it, which makes him quite similar to Boyd.
Fallout Gives Walton Goggins A Very Different “Villain” Character From Boyd Crowder
Boyd Is Clearly Villainous In Justified, But Cooper Is Much More Of An Anti-Hero In Fallout
While Boyd Crowder and Cooper Howard have some obvious similarities, they’re also different in one key aspect.Unlike Boyd inJustified, Cooper is much less of a villain and much more of an anti-hero inFallout. Cooper was insane and brilliant to watch inJustified, butFallouthas given Walton Goggins a much more nuanced and complicated character to work with in a Western setting.
Much ofFalloutseason 1 features flashbacks to who Cooper was before the war, and we got a sense of how good a man he used to be. It’s clear that the war changed him, and he leaned into the scary bounty hunter persona others gave to him. He’s initially outright evil to Lucy, but as he softens up thanks to her kindness, they form a really compelling friendship.
Boyd never got that treatment inJustified. He did have his brief turn to religion, and his relationship with Ava made him better, but Boyd was rotten to the core and constantly chose to be a criminal.There was never much hope of Boyd being redeemed, but Cooper’s continuing redemption is one of the most exciting aspects ofFalloutseason 2.
Walton Goggins' Cooper Is Fallout’s Best Character
Cooper Has So Much Tragedy, Personality, & Potential For Growth That He’s The Best Character In Fallout
Part of the reason Boyd Crowder is one of Walton Goggins' most iconic characters is because he was arguably the best character inJustified. It’s close between him and Raylan, but many fans of the show will highligh Boyd as the best part. Likewise, while the entirecast ofFalloutis impressive in their own right,Walton Goggins' Cooper Howard is the best character in the show.
There’s a strong case for several characters inFalloutto be considered the best.Maximus (Aaron Moten), for example, is hilariously naive to the ways of the world, and his backstory as a survivor of the destruction of Shady Sands is incredibly compelling. Norm (Moisés Arias) is also a strong contender because of his investigation in Vault 31.
Lucy is probably the other top contender for best character inFallout, but even she isn’t quite as good as Cooper. Lucy’s can-do attitude and the way the Wasteland is slowly changing her are endlessly interesting, and Purnell does a great job of diving into the character.Lucy, however, just doesn’t have the same potential Cooper does asFalloutcontinues.
Meanwhile, Cooper has easily the most interesting backstory of all ofFallout’s characters. He was a famous actor and he spied on Vault-Tec before the war. Even after he became a ghoul, though, Cooper still has the most personality of the entire show.From sick moments like his fight with the Brotherhood of Steel to genuine emotion in his search for his family, Cooper has it all.
Cooper is just as - if not more - fascinating as Boyd, which makes Fallout the best replacement Walton Goggins has for Justified.
Cooper also has an unfair advantage: he’s played by Walton Goggins in a genre he was born to star in. That’s what really made Boyd such an unforgettable character inJustified, and it’s clear that Goggins still has that magic 10 years later inFallout. Cooper is just as - if not more - fascinating as Boyd, which makesFalloutthe best replacementWalton Gogginshas forJustified.
Justified
Cast
Justified: Justified is a character drama series based on Elmore Leonard’s 2001 short story “Fire in the Hole.” Premiering in 2010, it follows U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens in Kentucky, as he navigates his high-stakes job and tumultuous relationships with his ex-wife and father.
Fallout
Set 200 years after an apocalypse, Fallout follows residents of luxury shelters as they re-enter a post-nuclear world. Confronted with a bizarre and violent landscape, the series explores the stark contrasts between their sheltered existence and the harsh realities of the outside universe.
