"City Primeval" is the premiere episode of Justified: City Primeval, a limited series followup to the series Justified. It was written by Dave Andron & Michael Dinner and directed by Michael Dinner. It first aired on July 18, 2023 alongside its followup, "The Oklahoma Wildman."
Plot[]
Summary[]
Fifteen years after Raylan Givens left the hollers of Kentucky, a chance encounter in the Florida swamps sends him to Detroit and places him on a collision course with a violent sociopath and a formidable defense attorney.
Recap[]
Raylan Givens is out at the Everglades with his daughter, Willa. Her hands her an ice cream cone, telling her that time is ticking. She asks if she can finish the cone first, but he tells her she can finish it in the car. She asks if they aren't on time, and he tells her that there's no such thing. They head to the car and, inside, Willa asks to hit the rest stop. He tells her that she sounds like every fugitive he ever transported. She is upset about him taking her to summer camp. She tells him she doesn't want to do it and he tells her she'll consider that the next time she considers punching a girl in the face. She tells him the girl deserved it and he agrees, but grinning, says it isn't the point. Willa complains that her mom is off with "the Stache" and she gets "conversion therapy." She asks why she can't just stay with him.
A truck crashes into the back of them. A couple of teens get out, one of them pulling a gun. The teen with the gun tells Raylan that he can trade his car for the pickup. Raylan pulls a shotgun from the trunk of his car, telling the teen to drop the pistol. The teen drops it and kicks it over as instructed. Raylan presents his badge, telling them to stay frosty, telling them that they don't want to wait hours for jail. He tells him he has his word, but the teen formerly with the gun tells him that this doesn't mean anything where he's from.
The scene changes. It is 37 miles outside Detroit, Michigan and a man, Clement Mansell, pulls into a gas station. He pulls up behind a guy with a deer tied to his hood. The guy tells him there's plenty of other spots, but he says he's good. When the guy goes inside to pay, he gets out, inspects his car, and decides he likes what he sees. He cuts away the deer and drives off with the car, popping a cassette into the tape deck and playing a song of his own creation, "Seven-Nation Army," singing along. He drives into Detroit.
A woman, Rose, reviews a schedule with Judge Alvin Guy. They discuss his new car and the remote app used for it. "Just push the button, it goes vroom," he comments. He pushes, and gets no result. When he tries a second time, the car explodes. He curses. Later, Rose leads him inside the Third Circuit Judicial Court of Wayne County. He dismisses the prosecution's request for a "continuance in light of recent events," telling those there that it will take more than a car bomb to keep him from meting out justice. They then call Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens. Sitting next to him in the courtroom is his daughter, listening to music on earbuds, which he makes her pull out.
The prosecutor asks him when he realized the carjacker was a fugitive with Michigan warrants. He tells him that he called it in and was told there was a BOLO on him. The prosecutor asks for bail to be denied. The judge asks the teen's attorney, Carolyn Wilder, if she has anything to add. She ends up picking apart Raylan's story, getting him to admit that he didn't actually drive the teen straight to the courthouse, but actually tried to take his daughter to camp first and later stopped at a restaurant, leaving her client in a hot car. She also gets Raylan to admit that he threatened to put the suspect in the trunk of his car. When Willa starts giggling at the proceedings and later cat videos on her phone, Judge Guy ends up having her sent to a holding cell and Raylan as well when he asks what's more surprising to him: that someone made an attempt on his life or that it hasn't happened more often. He drops the charges related to the Florida incident, ordering $100,000 bail for the existing charges in the state of Michigan.
A marshall chief arrives, Lou Whitman, freeing Raylan and Willa from the cell. Raylan asks to be on his way, but the chief tosses back his keys, saying he's going to need them. He introduces him to Wendell Robinson of the Detroit Police Department, telling him that they'll be working together. He says that he has a task force with the Detroit PD, and he wants him to serve as the lead for the marshals. "I promised my kid," protests Raylan, saying that Dan won't okay, but Lou replies that Dan's words were "Take him, I don't need him." He tells him there's political pressure and that he was specially requested by the judge. "Sometimes I guess it takes an angry white guy to catch an angry white guy," comments Wendell. Lou tells him that they already have a lead and if he can just work with them, he'll be on his way in 24 hours.
Clement Mansell pulls up in the parking lot of large casino, tossing away the keys of his stolen car. He enters and meets with a woman, Sandy Stanton. He tells her that he wanted to get eyes on her new friend. She tells him she gets off an in hour and he tells her that he doesn't think she can wait that long. She says her boss has had it with her. He tells her she doesn't need it, that he's back, but she says the job is the reason they have the Albanian mark and the crash pad. He tells her to tell her boss she's sick and needs to go home early. Following this, they are back at his place, having passionate sex. After, he tells her he's writing a song about her. He asks her about the mark, Del Weems. She tells him that she found him in the high roller room. They discuss modern economics, Sandy telling him that she recalls what he told her, that foreigners make better marks because they don't trust banks and keep cash lying around. She tells him she's almost out of dope.
Raylan and his team arrive at a house in the woods in Armada, Michigan. He talks with Norbert Bryl, another Detroit Police Department detective, about their police dog. Bryl says it's a Belgian Malinois, describing the dog as being like a "German Shepherd on steroids." Raylan asks how many they brought and he says they only need one. Raylan asks what they do if three run in separate directions. He meets another detective, Maureen Downey, and Bryl tells him that they got their tip from a group calling themselves the "Wolverine Militia." They enter the house, finding a huge amount of bomb-making paraphernalia, but no suspects. Downey finds a kettle that is still warm and Bryl orders another search of the house. He asks Raylan if he's coming, but Raylan spots a rug on the ground.
Raylan kicks aside the rug, finding and opening a hatch. "Things that occur to you when you grow up in a mining town," he tells them. They head down, their footsteps and flashlights attracting the attention of two men. They head up and into a barn and try to take off on motorcycles. One of them gets away, but the other's motorcycle stalls. He takes off on foot and they send the dog after him. The man, Jim, climbs a tree, shouting at them to call off the dog. Bryl replies that they will once he tells them about the plot to kill the judge. He shouts that he wants the dog gone and his lawyer there. Bryl asks Raylan if he has kids, telling him to get out his phone and record the next bit. They release the dog, who gets Jim down from the tree. Bryl asks him how many other targets there. Jim replies that there are no other targets, that it's just the judge, and it's personal.
Carolyn Wilder, the defense attorney from before, enters the bar of Marcus "Sweety" Sweeton. She sits with another man, Jamal, and he asks it's possible that she's more beautiful every day. "How's it possible there's a time when I fell for that?" she retorts. She tells him she's been busy cleaning up his mess. He tells her he's trying to restart his life, that he lost everything. She tells him that he threw them away when he defrauded her and his community. He tells her that if he doesn't pay back his creditors, they'll start digging into his financials and it could hurt her. She asks if he's threatening her. He tells her he's being honest, that this was what she wanted. She suggests he start by selling his cute shoes if he wants money. "Bye, Jamal," she tells him. He leaves and Sweety asks why she still gives Jamal the time of day. She replies that she's a sucker for a pretty face. He slips her an envelope and she tells him that the "cowboy marshal" did most of the work. He says it's less than they talked about. She tells him she owes him for a lifetime of watching out for her. He asks if she wants to talk about it and she asks why people just can't do the right thing. He says that it's too early for the big questions. As Carolyn leaves, he takes a call. It turns out to be from Clement, who asks her how she's doing.
Raylan and his team meet with Judge Alvin Guy, who asks how they can only have questions for him after two days of hunting. He suggests that he might have the wrong white boy doing his hunting. As his assistant, Rose, shows up, Raylan suggests that they might have a few minutes alone. Guy replies that they can say it there and Raylan tells him that the guy they caught told him his friend didn't try to kill him because he put him away or out of patriotism, but because "he says you banged his mother." "Let's talk in my study," replies Guy. In the study, Guy tells them that he gave the woman's son the maximum and yet she still wanted a piece of him. He asks what that says and Bryl tells him that it raises a lot of questions, Downey agreeing that these are questions about intent that could land a man in his position in a lot of trouble before a judicial review board. Guy tells them to be careful, that in 20 years on the bench he's seen things they wouldn't want to come to light. Raylan tells him they just want to catch the guy who blew up his car, that any information on the mother could help them.
Clement Mansell and Sandy Stanton enter Sweety's bar. They sit down and Clement asks if he missed him. "Though you had it with the Motor City," replies Sweety and Clement tells him he wanted to see Sandy and that he's been working on something. He asks him if he's been gigging and he says that he just did some stuff in Austin. He tells him to hook up Sandy while he uses the restroom. "You know, weed is legal now," Sweety points out and Clement tells him he wouldn't get to see his old pal. Sweety asks Sandy if she's heard Clement's tape, but she tells him he never plays anything of his for her. In the restroom, Clement climbs atop a dirty toilet and opens a ceiling panel, retrieving a bundle with a handgun. He tucks it in his pocket, then returns to the bar, telling Sandy it's time to go. He takes the weed from Sweety and they exit. Back in his car, he reveals the gun, telling Sandy he might need it when he follows her to the Albanian's place. She asks if he's going to hurt him and he says it depends on him.
The man who rigged Judge Guy's car to explode, Barry Tenderbock enters his mother's house. She tells him to wash up for dinner and he asks why she asked him to come by. She tells him it's just dinner, that she made him pot roast. They sit down and he digs in, then she asks him if he had anything to do with the bombing. He tells her it was a message, that he dishonored their family. She asks if this is feudal Japan, saying he's messed up everything with every man who has come into her life. He says the judge messed up everything, but she tells him she loved every minute of it. The chandelier above them starts shaking from a helicopter overhead. He asks what she did and Raylan and the DPD detectives enter the house. Barry pulls a knife, holding his mother and pointing it at them. He warns them not to approach. He heads to the basement, warning them he's not messing around and closing the door. Raylan tells him that nobody is coming through the door. "Damn right, you're not," replies Barry and Raylan tells him he's only trying to help. "Jesus himself couldn't help him" quips his mother. Raylan tells him to just talk to him face to face. Barry asks why he should do anything he says and Raylan tells him that nobody has been hurt up until now. He says that some of the agents there are hungry and irritable. He says if he wants to save himself, he should open the door and talk things out. "Better the SUV out front instead of the afterlife?" he suggests. Barry opens the door, telling them stand down. He says that he'll need a few things. Norbert Bryl then kicks the door, sending him flying back. His mother shouts at them, asking what's wrong them and telling them to get out of her house. "Not sure that was entirely necessary, but okay." Norbert tells him it's how they do things in Detroit.
As Raylan and Willa sit together at a restaurant, he tells her that the problem with a nose ring is that it leaves a hole in your nose for the rest of your life. She reveals it's a clip-on and he asks if her mother knows this. "No," she admits. He tells her that he was thinking they might head back by way of Memphis and see Graceland. "Elvis's house," he tells her when she seems dubious, but she tells him she knows this and she's not interested. He suggests they go east instead and maybe hit a few ballparks. She holds up her phone, telling him she wants to visit Harlan, that she wants to see where he's from. He tells her that there's nothing to see there and she'd be bored after five minutes. She, however, tells him it's a direct shot from a Detroit. Meanwhile, at another table, Carolyn Wilder sits discussing a plea deal with a woman named Diane, one she says she can't take for her client. Willa points out Wilder's presence, calling her the woman Raylan isn't staring at and suggesting he go talk to her. He tells her he already has plenty of people in her life. She gets up and goes to the bar, while Diane comments to Wilder that Raylan is staring at her. Willa returns to the table, telling Raylan that she told the waiter to bring Wilder the dumbest drink on the menu. The waiter brings Wilder a flaming beverage and Raylan gets up. "We're leaving?" asks Willa and he tells her it's bedtime for her.
At the casino where she works, Sandy Stanton is chastised for being there in a uniform that isn't approved. She tells him she's not working tonight, that she's the clientele. As she walks off, Judge Guy sits at a table she passes with Rose, her asking him just how many defendants' mothers he's banged. He replies that man cannot live by bread alone. As Sandy joins a craps table, Clement plays blackjack at another. He later trails Judge Guy and Rose out of the casino, leading them on a car chase. Damaging their car, he allows them to think they've gotten away, only to return to finish the job. When he does, Judge Guy pulls a gun from the glove compartment and attempts to shoot him, but Clement shoots him first, killing him. He then goes over the car and removes a notebook from his person full of figures. He goes to the other side to Rose, who tells him that she can walk away right now, that she never saw a thing. He, however, tells her to get out and show him where her boyfriend lives.
Clement asks Rose if Judge Guy was legit, saying he never met a black man with this kind of money who was. She tells him he might need to meet more. He tells her he can't say too much for her taste and she asks what he's going to do with her. He tells her he won't do anything if she shows him where he lives. He tells her he always dreamed about living in a big house. As he pulls up at a red light, she unfastens her seatbelt, opens the door and starts running away. Clement curses and pursues her. He finds her and shoots her. He walks up to her, then shoots her point blank in the head, making sure she's dead. Late at night, Raylan gets a phone call. He joins the crime scene of Judge Guy's car, Maureen Downey telling someone that they're still looking for the brown notebook that should have been on him. As Raylan studies the car and Judge Guy's dead body, Bryl asks what they missed. Raylan asks who found him and he tells him someone reported the gunshot around 1:30. Wendell says that they need a witness. Bryl says that they need to start knocking on doors, that they can't have any suspects out of a file.
Maureen tells them they found Rose Doyle four miles away in Palmer Park. They head over. "What did we do?" wonders Maureen, shaking her head. "She was working with you?" asks Raylan and she tells him that she was as a confidential informant on Judge Guy. She tells him that she put her in the car and she didn't deserve this. Raylan asks Lou Whitman to keep him in the loop on the Detroit Police Department investigation, saying that he'll take a shift that morning. "Sorry about your father-daughter plans," Lou tells him. He returns to the hotel, where the death of Judge Guy is the headline on the newspapers on the floor. He sits on his bed, takes off his hat, and stares at the sleeping Willa.
Production[]
Cast[]
Starring cast
- Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens
- Aunjanue Ellis as Carolyn Wilder
- Vondie Curtis Hall as Marcus "Sweety" Sweeton
- Adelaide Clemens as Sandy Stanton
- Marin Ireland as Maureen Downey
- Victor Williams as Wendell Robinson
with
and
Special guest star
- Keith David as Judge Alvin Guy
Guest stars
- Amin Joseph as Jamal Wilder
- Ravi V. Patel as Rick
- Kenn E. Head as Lou Whitman
- Vivian Olyphant as Willa Givens
- Alexander Pobutsky as Skender Lulgjuraj
- Regina Taylor as Diane
- Ian Bratschie as Barry Tenderbock
- Rae Gray as Rose Doyle
- Jalen Gilbert as Tyrone Power
- Marc Grapey as Prosecutor
- Jeanette O'Connor as Becky Tenderbock
Co-starring
- Scott Anderson as Bailiff
- Adam Wesley Brown as Jim Welling
- Jessie Camacho as Female Employee
- Isaiah Gordon as Sheriff Sharp
- Daniel Vaughn Manasia as Guard
- Justin Melnick as Tactical Leader
- Daniel E. Pfeiffer as Hunter Dude
- Michael James Thomas as Maxfield