If he had info that could put Arlo and Bo away for good, that would be all the more reason for Arlo and Bo to sell him out to Tonin.  Drew gets tortured and killed, and that info dies with him.

If it was Josiah who took Drew to the hill people, then he wouldn't have needed to talk to Hunter to find out who Drew is.

Another thing sticking in my craw:

Arlo had that information for some 30 years.  He wasn't holding onto it as a "fuck you" to Raylan, because Raylan was a kid who didn't care about Drew Thompson.

@avclub-d019eb089e65903455cc52308f00b997:disqus  But wasn't part of the Drew Thompson story that Arlo and Bo Crowder were the ones who brought Thompson to the hill people?

Though there is an alternative to Ava dying that fits all that foreboding and would still suck……Ellen Mae's still alive, and she can put Ava in jail for the rest of her life.

One thing I still don't like about "Shelby is Drew":

"all the happy homemaker shit with Boyd and Ava means Ava's done for (reeeeeeeeally hope I'm wrong)"

Five million viewers?  Dan Harmon would consider that a massive success!  (Runs and hides from the Harmon cult)

There were hints before this week.  Shelby looking up Thompson on his computer was a good one - it could mean he's making sure no one is on to him, or it could just be him doing his job.  Raylan's aunt's revelation was a good hint, because it made you try to think about all the people who would have any reason to be…

It's "on the nose" because the "clues" in this episode weren't just little hints.  They were practically shouting into a bull-horn "Look at how suspicious Shelby is all of a sudden!  He must be Drew Thompson!"  The writers of this show are generally a great deal subtler in their machinations.

"With all of the hints Shelby was dropping, ("I'd sure like to get my eye
on that widow) it would just be contrived deception for the sake of
deception on the part of writers."

"Or is it possible that Shelby is Ellen Mae's daddy?"

It seems like the people who know who Drew Thompson are genuinely scared of revealing his identity. And I don't see Shelby intimidating someone like Arlo or Sheriff Bobby.

"Raylan's aunt specifically said she saw Drew at a bluegrass festival rubbin' elbows with those guys."

Some things still don't add up with the whole "Shelby is Drew Thompson" story that makes me think they're trying to throw us off the trail.

I think Ava has to die at some point here.  Everything is going just a little too well for Boyd right now, and now he's getting in bed with Tonin?  Yeah, one of them has to die, and it won't be Boyd.  And her death would set Boyd on the warpath, which would be something I'm sure the writers are looking to do.

Well, when Johnny was telling Wynn that Boyd played him, he said it was possible that the first guy could have been Thompson, but it would be a hell of a coincidence that Thompson just happened to be the guy the rich assholes wanted dead.  And then he said it was impossible for the second guy to be Drew Thompson…

Only last line that could have been better……."WRONG KID DIED"

First season, he was the sheriff of Harlan.  The drug cartel, whose man Raylan killed in the opening scene of the pilot, had him in their pocket, and he was trying to deliver Raylan to them.