I have never liked Boyd. He reminds me of my cousin.

Which cousin, Zen?

The nasty one.

Oh, that narrows it down.

I know I didn't retain a lot of the plot intricacies from last season, but I was left with a distaste for Aunt Helen. From what I remembered Raylan had a pretty miserable time of it growing up -- an abusive father and if I remember correctly, a mother who was dying while he was young. When he needed to get away he ran to Aunt Helen for sanctuary. It always seemed to me a betrayal of that young boy that she turned around and married the very man who had made his life such hell.

That being said, I did like learning that she and Mags had been working together to try and keep the bloodshed to a minimum over the years, and that when she had been telling Raylan to stay away from the Bennetts it wasn't just because she was afraid of them, but because she was trying to maintain the peace treaty.

My Dad's theory is that Aunt Helen is Raylan's biological mother. He was reading into her talk with Raylan about him being the only reason that she would come over to the house. My first thought is that she wouldn't have left him in the abusive relationship, but she said she was always over there or taking him to her house to protect him. Dad thinks Arlo got Helen preggers and she gave the baby to her sister for whatever reason. That's the reason that Helen went to Arlo when her sister died.

Dad's become a tin hat.

As far as Boyd, a big part of season one was that no one knew what he was really up to. Even cousin Johnny said, "I can't tell if you are full of shit." Boyd was preaching white supremacy but Raylan always thought he was up to something else. Then he dropped the white supremacy and was just preaching and still seemed to be up to something else. Boyd is never showing the audience all his cards.

But I do think he was sincere for most of this season in trying to be a better man.

In that shootout in the warehouse one episode back, was anyone else thinking, "Christ, Winona, take off your damn heels!"?

One of them (Goggins or Olyphant, I forget) was talking in the Fresh Air interview about Boyd's swastika tattoo, and how he was showing it when they were out to lunch during shooting at the beginning, to feel what that was like, getting reactions from real people. But only for a minute, because it was too much, really being seen like that out in the world.

That was Groggins. he's been on FA a couple of times lately.

In cross-thread news, Olyphant's character won an award on The Office.

AUGH HELEN

Ok,I am putting kids to bed but I'll be back in the am

A theory or impression about Raylan. We only have two examples of Raylan in relationships, so not really sufficient to extrapolate from. Still I sort of get the impression that Raylan really prefers being the pursued to persuer when it comes to sex. Ava had to ask several times before she got Raylan into bed. Winnona also had to make the first move, though she did not have to repeat herself. On the other hand, when she and Raylan go together the second time, even though Raylan asker her to his home, she had to push to turn it into an encounter and overcomes some reluctance on Raylans part. I'd call that evidence, though far from conclusive.

Now I've got a hunch that goes beyond even beyond that scanty evidence. In his life Raylan is very much an improvisational control freak. That he is he ultimately likes to get control of situations, but he is very much about establishing that control in situations that others have created. Those two things, a love for letting others make the first move in sex and a love for taking control of situations others have established could very easily translate into Raylan being a bottom who tops from the bottom, who lets others dominate in sex in one sense but very much controls how the sex play goes.

Now again, based on very slender evidence. Even the evidence for the premises are not all that solid. And even given those premises, "bottom who tops from the bottom" is only one of many places those premises could lead. But nonetheless my hunch for what it is worth. Counterevidence: we have seen him doing non D/S sex on occasion. But not saying he just into one thing - just that my hunch is that this is a strong component.

OK, my hunch for what it is worth. And again, evidence on this is weak.