Justified: Raylan Given’s Most Intimidating Lines

Justified remains one of the most thrilling and entertaining series in recent memory, and a lot of that is due to its iconic hero, Raylan Givens. Played to perfection by Timothy Olyphant, Raylan is a U.S. Marshal known for his quick draw with a gun and deadly accuracy.

Raylan is one of the most badass television characters of all time and was endlessly entertaining to watch. He could stand up to any criminals and remain cool, calm and collected. Not only was he intimidating with his firearm, but he had plenty of awesome one-liners to put the bad guys in their place. Here are Raylan Givens’ most intimidating quotes from Justified.

10 Too Slow

Can you rack in a load before I put a whole through you?

Raylan racks up a pretty impressive body count throughout the series, but he always takes a matter-of-fact approach to killing. When he first meets Dewey Crowe, a low-level criminal with an even lower IQ, Raylan feels the need to lay things out in no uncertain terms.

As Dewey aims a large shotgun at Raylan, the Marshal doesn’t blink. He remains totally in control of the situation as he calmly helps Dewey realize that he does not want this situation to escalate any further. That one question puts enough doubt in Dewey’s mind about his own survival.

9 Small Talk

The next time we have a conversation, it won’t be a conversation.

Part of what makes Raylan such an interesting character is that he is an incredibly angry man and someone who maybe shouldn’t be wearing a lawman’s badge. He is good at his job, but he is also impatient and uninterested in playing by the rules.

Raylan isn’t the kind of person who is keen on talking things through. After several run-ins with the villainous Wynn Duffy, Raylan makes a pointed threat that he doesn’t want to cross paths with him again.

8 Promises

You take one more step, I’ll shoot you. That’s all I’m going to say.

The title of the show refers to the fine line Raylan walks between being Justified in his questionable actions and just being an outlaw with a gun. He blurs that line on several occasions. One of his most shocking shootings is when facing down with two thugs.

Raylan gives one of the men a warning, ” You take one more step, I’ll shoot you.” The thug obviously takes it as a bluff but as he moves his foot ever so slightly. Raylan puts a bullet in his chest. He is a man of his word.

7 That’s Not A Knife

Shit. I didn’t bring a knife.

Though Raylan comes up against a number of formidable villains throughout the series, he also runs into a lot of really dumb criminals. Raylan hates criminals and seems to have a lot of fun pushing around the more dim-witted ones.

When one such moron is trying to give Raylan a hard time, Raylan is his usual cool self and dismisses him. The goon pushes his luck and flashes a knife in an effort to scare him. Raylan simply flashes his gun and lets the moron know he’s out of his league.

6 Body Count

I shot people I like more for less.

Raylan lives a dangerous life and finds himself in plenty of dangerous situations. He seems to have gotten used to these kinds of scenarios as he treats them like they are no big deal at all. That kind of laidback attitude only makes him all the more intimidating.

When Raylan is facing off with Wynn Duffy for the first time, Raylan calmly lets it be known that he’s not shy about shooting people. Getting on Raylan’s bad side is not somewhere you want to be.

5 Losing Patience

Alright, look, I’ve tried to be reasonable. You give me your word in ten seconds or I shoot you in the head.

Subtlety and patience are not things that Raylan excels at. For most people, that can cause some slight problems. In Raylan’s case, it could mean that someone is going to die.

After being repeatedly targeted by the Miami cartel for killing a member of their team, Raylan decides to visit the head of the cartel to talk things through. After asking that the price on his head be lifted, Raylan takes another, angrier approach to negotiating.

4 Dark Comedy

You know what they’re saying at the office? I dis-armed him.

One of the most memorable villains Raylan goes up against is Robert Quarles, a Detroit gangster with a psychotic personality. Quarles has a gun hidden up his sleeve like in Taxi Driver and attempts to use it on Raylan in their final stand-off. But in a shocking moment, Quarles has his arm chopped clean off and that’s the end of him.

As he details the bizarre story to his ex-wife Winona, Raylan includes the amusing and inappropriate jokes about the situation. Few people could find the humor in a dismembered arm.

3 Simple As That

You make me pull, I’ll put you down.

Raylan is a confident man and that confidence seems to come from the fact that he has never faced down with someone that he couldn’t out-draw. He knows that when it comes to the showdown, he’s going to win. But like the old westerns the series is inspired by, someone always wants to challenge the fastest gunslinger.

In the very first episode, Raylan finds himself sitting across the table from Boyd Crowder in the classic standoff situation. Despite the tension, Raylan lets it be known, that there is only one way this thing is going to turn out.

2 In The Back

If you wanted me to shoot you in the front you should’ve run towards me.

Though his tactics might push the boundaries a bit, more often than not, Raylan gives his opponents fair warning. He won’t shoot someone who is unaware, but as a result, he feels no remorse or sympathy when he does have to shoot someone.

While chasing down a suspect, Raylan gives a warning call to the man and when he continues to run, Raylan shoots him. As the dying man expresses disbelief that Raylan would shoot him in the back, Raylan simply replies, “If you wanted me to shoot you in the front you should’ve run towards me.”

1 Fast One

Next one’s coming faster.

No one can deliver a threat quite as effectively as Raylan Givens. He throws down the gauntlet with man bad guys and lets them know how deadly things will get if they continue to make him mad.

The most iconic moment comes as Raylan pays another visit to Wynn Duffy. Fed up with having to deal with this man, again and again, Raylan delivers a definitive message. He throws Duffy to the ground then takes out a bullet and drops it on Duffy’s chest. He then says, “Next one’s coming faster.” Total badass.

About The Author

Colin McCormick
(2030 Articles Published)

Colin McCormick is a Senior Writer with Screen Rant and has been a proud member of the team since 2019. In addition to his work as Screen Rant, Colin is also a writer of News, Feature and Review pieces at Game Rant. Colin has had a long passion and obsession with movies going back to the first time he saw The Lion King in theaters. Along with movies, Colin stays up-to-date on the latest must-see TV shows. While he loves to find interesting projects in any kind of genre, he has a special movie of crime stories that are infused with a little dark humor much like the work of his favorite author, Elmore Leonard.

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