The Smoking Gun (Justified: City Primeval)
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- Dave Andron
- Michael Dinner
| "The Smoking Gun" | |
|---|---|
| Justified: City Primeval episode | |
| Episode no. | Episode 7 |
| Directed by | Katrelle Kindred |
| Teleplay by |
|
| Cinematography by | Jeffrey Greeley |
| Editing by | Marta Evry |
| Original air date | August 22, 2023 |
| Running time | 42 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"The Smoking Gun" is the seventh episode of the American television miniseries Justified: City Primeval, a continuation of the series Justified. The episode was written by series developers Dave Andron and Michael Dinner, and directed by Katrelle Kindred. It originally aired on FX on August 22, 2023.
The series is set 15 years after the original series finale, and follows Raylan Givens, who now resides in Miami. He continues working as a U.S. Marshal while helping raise his daughter, Willa. However, he soon finds himself in Detroit when a criminal, Clement Mansell, starts wreaking havoc. In the episode, Raylan and Carolyn plan their next move against Mansell, while Sandy questions her relationship with him.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.590 million household viewers and gained a 0.06 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances and set-up for the finale, although some still felt unconvinced about the season's narrative choices.
In 1988, Sweety (Vondie Curtis-Hall) plays with his band at a nightclub. Sweety is also revealed to be taking care of a young Carolyn, after promising her dying father to do so. He takes her to a dilapidated bar, planning to reconstruct it and turn into a new tavern for him.
In present day, Carolyn (Aunjanue Ellis) sees an ambulance take Sweety's body away from the destroyed tavern. She and Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) visit a grieving Trennell (Joseph Anthony Byrd), who confesses to having taken Sweety's gun out of the jukebox. Raylan then visits Sandy (Adelaide Clemens), who refuses to testify against Mansell (Boyd Holbrook). However, she is shocked when Raylan informs her that they found the gun that Mansell used to kill the Judge, Rose, and Sweety, with Sandy unaware of the latter's death. Sandy decides to visit Skender (Alexander Pobutsky) at the hospital to reconcile, but panics once he calls her "a dead woman."
Carolyn arrives home to find Mansell waiting for her. He starts talking about his childhood in Oklahoma, partly on how his mother had sex with many men from the Glenn Pool Oil Reserve. Angry, he waited until a man left and killed his mother. He also points out that his story may be false, suggesting his mother actually died in a tornado. She threatens to back off as his lawyer, but he holds her at gunpoint. The following day, Raylan finds that Downey (Marin Ireland) is actually in Mansell's book, which explains why she allowed him to go. Bryl (Norbert Leo Butz) also admits to Raylan that he has framed criminals due to insufficient evidence, but he also provides him with Mansell's murder weapon.
Under pressure, Sandy steals Mansell's money and flees to the airport, intending to leave for Nassau, Bahamas. However, she is called by Mansell, who has taken the arriving Del Weems (Andy Carey) hostage. He tells her to come back with the money, or he will kill him and chase her. She calls back to state that she will meet him at a bar to secure Del's release. Unaware to Mansell, Sandy gave him away to Raylan, intending to live an honest life. Despite promising Sandy to release him, Mansell kills Del. Raylan informs Carolyn about the meeting, but Carolyn is revealed to have informed the Albanians about the meeting. At a hotel bar, Raylan and Mansell meet, with Mansell noting that Raylan brought the weapon so he can put his fingerprints on it. As Raylan taunts him, the meeting is interrupted by the Albanians, who force them to accompany them. The Albanians make a stop at a bridge, where they drop the murder weapon into the water below.
Production
Development
In July 2023, FX announced that the seventh episode of the series would be titled "The Smoking Gun", and was to be written by series developers Dave Andron and Michael Dinner, and directed by Katrelle Kindred. This was Andron's third writing credit, Dinner's third writing credit, and Kindred's first directing credit.[1]
