Justified: City Primeval episode 2 recap — things get personal for Raylan (2024)

NOTE: this post contains spoilers for Justified: City Primeval episode 2 "Oklahoma Wildman."

"Oklahoma Wildman" opens with a flashback to 2017. Sweetie (Vondie Curtis-Hall) hangs with a crew of drug dealers when Mansell (Boyd Holbrook) bursts in to rob them. The dealers offer him some pot and a small amount of cash, but Mansell knows there's more. He ends up shooting the dealers, but leaves Sweetie untouched. After Sweetie and Mansell get away with a huge bag of cash and drugs, we realize they've been partners in crime for a while.

Three days after the killings, Sweetie gets a call from Mansell. There are cops gathering outside the hotel where he and Sandy (Adelaide Clemens) are staying. Sweetie tells Mansell he's had no contact with the police. The police swarm Mansell's room and arrest him.

One of the dealers survived the shooting and was able to name Mansell as the killer. Mansell demands Sweetie get him a lawyer, which ends up being Caroline Wilder (Aunjanue Ellis).

Teenagers

Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) is getting ready to go into the office. He tells Willa (Vivian Olyphant) she is to stay on the hotel grounds. Willa, of course, doesn't stay at the hotel. She goes off on her own for a walking tour of the sketchiest places she can find around Detroit.

When She calls Raylan in the afternoon he knows she didn't stay at the hotel, so he tells her to get back to the room. She returns to the hotel and plugs in her nearly dead phone. As it's charging she gets a call on the hotel room phone. A man who says he works with her father tells her to come downstairs. The caller isn't a cop though, it's Mansell.

Robinson remembers Sandy

Sandy finds Mansell at the condo watching a news story about Judge Guy's murder. Mansell talks about the murder but doesn't mention he did it. Still, Sandy immediately suspects he was involved.

Raylan and Robinson (Victor Williams) arrive at the condo looking for Mr. Weems, the man who actually owns the condo. He also owns the Range Rover Mansell was driving when he killed Judge Guy. The Range Rover is what brought Raylan and Robinson to the condo. They ask Sandy a lot of questions about the car. Sandy answers their questions but they know she's lying. However they don't know that Mansell is in the hidden bedroom listening.

Robinson mentions to Raylan that Sandy's name seems familiar. By the end of their questioning he's remembered why he knows it. Robinson was one of the officers that arrested Mansell. He remembers Sandy being there. He asks Sandy if she's heard from Mansell lately. She says no and rushes them out the door.

Raylan and Robinson check out the car in the parking garage, then wait to see if Sandy goes anywhere. Sandy gets in the damaged car and drives out. Raylan and Robinson follow her.

Mansell sent her to get rid of the gun, so she goes to the river and is about to throw it in, but decides against it. She drives to Sweetie's and hides the gun in his bathroom. Raylan and Robinson see all of this.

The Oklahoma Wildman and the US Marshal

Robinson tells Raylan Mansell's history and pulls up his case files. Mansell has an extensive list of murders and other crimes attached to him, but nothing ever stuck in court. Robinson tells Raylan that Wilder was able to get the case against Mansell kicked out on a technicality. While Raylan and Robinson are watching Sandy, Wilder calls Raylan and tells him she needs to see him in her office.

When Raylan shows up at Wilder's office, Mansell is there. He wanted to meet Raylan. The two have an intense verbal sparring match as they're sizing each other up. Wilder warns Raylan not to speak to Mansell without her present or without any evidence tying him to Judge Guy's murder.

Mansell leaves the office while Raylan is on a call with Willa. Raylan goes back into the office to ask Wilder if she's OK, suspecting she is not happy about having to represent Mansell. But Wilder isn't about to say or do anything that could implicate Mansell in anything, even if she is afraid of him.

All roads stop with Wilder

Robinson and Raylan stop at Sweetie's on the way to the hotel. They question him about Sandy and the gun. Sweetie calls Wilder, who represents him as well as Mansell. Wilder comes to the bar to confront Robinson and Raylan. She tells them to get a search warrant if they want to search the bar for the gun.

Lines are crossed

When Raylan gets to the hotel room, Willa isn't there. He finds her in the restaurant eating with Mansell. Mansell makes some sexual insinuation about Willa and puts his arm around her. Raylan manages to keep his cool until he physically removes Mansell. Then his anger takes over. Raylan tells Mansell if he goes near Willa again he'll kill him.

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.

More on Justified: City Primeval

• Justified: City Primeval episode 1 recap
• Meet the Justified: City Primeval cast
• Justified: City Primeval is an Elmore Leonard 'mash-up'