NOTE: this post contains spoilers for Justified: City Primeval episode 1, "City Primeval."
Eight years after the conclusion of the original Justified series, the new eight-episode limited series Justified: City Primeval sees Rayland Givens (Timothy Olyphant) return, Stetson and all. Let's find out what he's been up to and what dangers lie in store in this new story as we recap Justified: City Primeval episode 1.
Like father, like daughter
It looks like Florida living has been good for Raylan Givens. When Justified: City Primeval begins, the grayer but otherwise not noticeably changed US Marshal is on a road trip with his daughter.
He's driving Willa (Vivian Olyphant) through the Everglades to a disciplinary camp after getting into a fight and breaking another girl's nose. Raylan is determined to get there on time but Willa keeps trying to stall. Raylan tells her she's acting like every fugitive he's ever transported; pleading, whining and looking for any chance to give him the slip.
They're deliberately rear-ended by two men who try to carjack Raylan. He pulls a shotgun from this trunk and shoots out their tire. They picked the wrong person to carjack.
Despite now having to transport the two men, Raylan is determined to get Willa to the camp on time and drop her off. However, the camp won't take her because they still are late. Raylan is stuck driving the two men to Detroit with Willa along for the ride.
Meet Clement Mansell
A man in a convertible pulls into a gas station 37 miles outside of Detroit. He parks behind a car with a dead deer tied to the back. When the owner of that car goes in to pay, the man cuts the deer loose and steals the car. Clement Mansell (Boyd Holbrook) has entered the chat.
When Mansell gets to Detroit, he heads to a casino to find his girlfriend and longtime partner in crime, Sandy Stanton (Adelaide Clemens). She's working as a cocktail waitress at the casino and conning men for money. She takes Mansell back to the condo of a man she's conning.
Later in the episode, Mansell heads to Sweetie's (Vondie Curtis-Hall) bar to retrieve a gun he's left there. Sweetie's another old business partner of Mansell.
Hello, Detroit
Judge Alvin Guy (Keith David) walks out of his house to head to work when he remote starts his car and it bursts into a fireball. It appears someone has beef with Judge Guy.
Later, Judge Guy is on the bench when Tyrone Power (Jalen Gilbert), the driver who hit Raylan's car, is brought before him. The prosecution calls Raylan to the stand. Defense attorney Carolyn Wilder (Aunjanue Ellis) starts picking at Raylan's story. His detour to the camp and some other activities on the trip to deliver Tyrone Power to Detroit aren't sitting well with either Wilder or Judge Guy.
Willa causes a disruption and Judge Guy orders her put into a cell for contempt. Raylan ends up there too thanks to his inability to shut his mouth. The case against Tyrone Power gets thrown out.
The Givens spend a few hours in a cell until Lou Whitman (Kenn E. Head), the Marshal chief for Detroit, gets them out. He introduces Raylan to Detroit detective Wendell Robinson (Victor Williams). Whitman tells Raylan he's going to be on a joint task force investigating the attempted murder of the judge. Raylan doesn't want to do it, but Judge Guy told them he specifically wanted him on the case.
Detroit justice
The next day the task force is chasing down a suspect. Raylan meets Detroit police officers Maureen Downey (Marin Ireland) and Norbert (Norbert Leo Butz). Norbert got a tip that the suspect was holed up in the cabin they're staking out.
When they storm the cabin the suspect and another man go through a trap door that leads to an escape tunnel in the basement. One suspect escapes, but the other is brought down by a police dog.
The man explains his buddy planted the bomb because the judge slept with his mother. Judge Guy confirms he did have a brief affair with the woman.
The judge tells them where to find the guy's mother, who agrees to lure her son to her house for dinner. When he arrives, the task force arrests him, with a little excessive force, courtesy of Norbert.
Judge Guy's luck runs out
That night, Sandy is at the casino with her latest mark while Mansell lurks in the background. Judge Guy and his assistant are there too. The plan is for Mansell to follow Sandy when she leaves with the mark so he can rob him. But while leaving the casino, Mansell gets cut off by Judge Guy and his assistant, who is leaving at the same time. After some cat and mouse chasing, Mansell kills the judge. Then he hunts down and kills the assistant.
Judge Guy's assistant was working as a confidential informant for Detroit PD. They were investigating the judge for some shady deals. This case is much bigger than just a disgruntled man trying to blow up the judge for sleeping with his mother.
At dinner that night, Raylan and Willa are planning their drive back to Florida. Willa tells him she wants to drive through Harlan County to see where he's from, but Raylan says no. The father-daughter road trip is going to have to wait anyway. Raylan is not going to be leaving Detroit until this case is closed.
New episodes of Justified: City Primeval air Tuesdays on FX at 10 pm ET/PT. They become available to stream on Hulu the next day.
