The following contains spoilers for Justified: City Primeval Episode 5, “You Good?”, which debuted Tuesday, Aug. 8 on FX.
Justified viewers won’t be shocked that Raylan Givens and his frenemy Carolyn Wilder end up in bed together after their heart-to-heart in the front seat of his car. Carolyn quickly lays some “ground rules” and tells him the tryst was “about what I expected,” while Raylan literally walks out the door and into her ex-husband Jamal. The two have an icy first meeting, but no colder than Sandy Stanton is being toward her partner Clement Mansell as they meet Sweety to discuss who to target in Judge Alvin Guy’s incriminating black book. They agree on an ex-con turned real estate mogul nicknamed “Bulldozer Burt” Dickey.
Raylan arrives at the Detroit Police Department to find the police being lambasted for their lack of results — and Maureen Downey being made the sole lead on the case. After a conversation in which Carolyn plots to get Mansell’s murder weapon away from Sweety, Raylan and Wendell Robinson discuss their next moves, and Justified introduces Bulldozer Burt, who’s played by Arrested Development fan-favorite David Cross. He is not pleased when Sweety forces him into an afternoon meeting.
Carolyn discovers that her friend Diane (portrayed by CSI: Vegas standout Regina Taylor) is now her competition for the vacant judgeship, as Raylan contemplates the merits of shooting Mansell. Then he decides it’d be easier to go home and see his daughter instead. Robinson is not a fan of either option. After a failed attempt to find Raymond Cruz at his ex-wife’s home, Raylan returns to DPD to discover that Mansell has sent him flowers. The killer known as “The Oklahoma Wildman” comes with Sweety to meet Bulldozer Burt, passing himself off as Sweety’s “half-brother.” Mansell wants $50,000 to take Burt out of the book, but Sweety settles for $10,000… not a wise move in Mansell’s eyes.
Raylan waits for Carolyn with the flowers Mansell sent him and the two leave the courthouse together (albeit in separate cars). But Raylan doesn’t notice that Jamal is watching them, in a moment not that far off from Amin Joseph’s work as Franklin Saint in Snowfall. Jamal crashes Carolyn and Raylan’s dinner to explain their shared history. Carolyn is not impressed with either Jamal’s assertion that they have things to work out or Raylan’s willingness to show his firearm in an attempt to get Jamal to leave. She leaves them both in the Chinese restaurant before Mansell admires the money he got from extorting Bulldozer Burt. Sandy tells him that if they’re going to stay in Detroit, he should take care of “the situation,” which needs no explanation.
Carolyn pays Jamal a visit at his new residence so he can remind her that the U.S. Marshals used to catch runaway slaves. “What are you trying to do?” she laughs. “Defend my honor?” But just as Jamal tries to put a move on her, Carolyn notices a woman’s purse across the room, and it only gets worse from there. Furthermore, she points out that if he’s living with another woman, then she no longer has to pay him alimony. Carolyn makes clear she doesn’t want Jamal asking her for any money — because there isn’t any money left after she paid off his IRS lien. He has broken her, financially and emotionally, and she storms out after saying she wants him to be “nothing more than a memory.”
Mansell returns to Burt’s house to add the expensive painting he admired earlier to his haul. His partner in crime (literally) Sweety is shocked to see a distraught Carolyn show up at the bar, asking for a glimpse of Judge Guy’s book. “I take care of everybody. I’m done,” she sobs. She’s willing to do anything to get herself on the bench. But she’s shocked by just how many names are in the ledger — and it seems like she knows at least one. Raylan finally connects with Cruz (Paul Calderón, reprising his character from the movie Out of Sight). Cruz recounts a story of another shooting that disturbs Raylan, giving him food for thought. How far is Raylan willing to go to stop Mansell?
Justified: City Primeval airs Tuesdays at 10:00 p.m. on FX.