The man in the hat is back! And, no, we're not talking about Indiana Jones. Timothy Olyphant makes his storied return as Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens in the upcoming Justified spinoff Justified: City Primeval, premiering July 18 on FX and Hulu. The new limited series is based on Justified author Elmore Leonard's 2009 best-seller City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit, which finds Givens back in the saddle, battling crime lords in Motor City.
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Justified: City Primeval picks up with an all-new cast (save for Olyphant's Stetson hat-wearing lawman) eight years after the events of the blowout Justified series finale, which aired in 2015. So let's run it back to the sixth and final season of the Emmy-winning original series and sort through the wreckage. Where did we last see Olyphant's Raylan Givens? What happened to Boyd Crowder? Don't fret. Much like one of Crowder's Commandos, we've done the dirty work for you. Here's how Justified ended, and who among Harlan County's most dangerous criminals is still alive and kicking.
Wynn Duffy Vanishes In a Dog Grooming Van
(FX Networks)
After his beloved henchman Mikey Cosmatopolis (Jonathan Kowalski) dies in his arms, slippery big-bad Wynn Duffy (Jere Burns) abandons the Dixie Mafia, Kentucky and his prize RV. He pays a handler to set him up with an inconspicuous dog grooming van, and he may or may not have aided Ava in her escape from Harlan with the $10 million she stole from Boyd (which Boyd stole from Sam Elliott's old-school crime boss Avery Markham). More on Ava's fate in a moment.
Four Years Later, Raylan Starts Fresh in Miami
(FX Networks)
After Boyd's arrest and Ava's escape, we jump forward four years to find Raylan working as a deputy U.S. marshal in the Miami office. As far as we know, Art Mullen (Nick Searcy) is still the chief in the Lexington office, and Deputies Gutterson (Jacob Pitts) and Brooks (Erica Tazel) are also still based there. In the Florida sunshine, Raylan is enjoying a vanilla cone (his favorite) at the playground with his adorable daughter, Willa, who's now a plucky preschooler. (Justified: City Primeval will pick up with a teenage Willa, played by Olyphant's daughter Vivian Olyphant.) It's everything he claimed he wanted, save for one thing: He still didn't get the girl. Winona (Natalie Zea) has remarried to a man named Richard, and she and Raylan are friends and co-parents, nothing more. Talk about unfinished business.
Ava Is Living in California with Her Son
(FX Networks)
While reading a California newspaper, Raylan spots a photo of what looks to be Ava Crowder (Joelle Carter) at a pumpkin patch. She's been a fugitive from justice for four years now. He tracks her down in Lebec, California, where she's living in a modest but homey guest house on the ranch where she works. She's reformed, she says: Her days are spent saddling horses for special-needs children and volunteering her time in the community.
Raylan figures Wynn Duffy, who vanished after Boyd's arrest four years ago, helped Ava escape Harlan undetected, and she doesn't confirm or deny it. But before he can dream of hauling her in to face justice, Ava introduces Raylan to her son, Zachariah (named after her late uncle). Turns out she was pregnant with Boyd's child while she was running from the marshals, which is part of the reason she managed to slip away — they weren't looking for a pregnant woman. She makes Raylan promise that he won't tell Boyd about her new home or the child, likely fearing that her son will grow up a criminal if Boyd is in his life. Raylan decides not to remand her into custody. He's probably the only one in the world who knows where Ava is.
Raylan Pays Boyd One Last Visit
(FX Networks)
Finally, we catch up with Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) in all his smooth-talking glory. He's been in prison for the last four years, and he's taken up preaching again. (Boyd makes a great criminal but an even better preacher.) Raylan visits him in jail, and the sworn enemies share a touching, deeply nostalgic exchange. Raylan lies to Boyd, telling him that Ava died in a car accident three years ago; she had assumed a new identity, so the Marshals Service didn't catch it at the time. Boyd tears up and asks why, after all that's gone on between them, Raylan had the decency to inform him in person. "We dug coal together," Boyd guesses, and the two smile at each other. It's an edifying callback to Season 1, when Raylan spared Boyd's life for the very same reason. Guess you can't take the Kentucky out of the man after all.
Justified: City Primeval premieres July 18 on FX and Hulu. All episodes of the original Justified are now streaming on Hulu.
