I appreciate that, knowing next season is the end, they are shrinking the longterm cast down to the inevitable Boyd vs. Raylan showdown, while finally giving Boyd foot soldiers of a competence level equal to his stature in the crime scene (and capable of not getting taken down instantly by the US Marshals).
I just wish that setup for next season was done more elegantly, or at least entertaingly.
If I squint, I can see what the writers were going for with Raylan on the fatherhood angle, giving him surrogate children (Loretta and Kendal) and a surrogate father in Art he's disappointed; I'm just notentertainedby any of it.
Boyd is less clear - the whole Paxton/funeral home arc just seems like time killer from a distance, and unless dealing with the Crowes pushes him into full on Monster for the final season, it too just seems like a time killer.
And I have no idea whatsoever what is going on with Ava - the setup was preposterously inelegant, the proceedings have been disjointed and disconnected to the rest of the show, and I literally cannot see what the endgame is. (I guess she becomes Prison Queen, is shanked by the cute prisoner, and dies, pushing Boyd into full Monster in his kingdom? That'd be disappointingly standard.)