The Oklahoma Wildman

Last updated
"The Oklahoma Wildman"
Justified: City Primeval episode
Episode no.Episode 2
Directed by Michael Dinner
Written by
  • Dave Andron
  • Michael Dinner
Featured music
Cinematography by John Lindley
Editing byHunter M. Via
Original release dateJuly 18, 2023 (2023-07-18)
Running time51 minutes
Guest appearances
  • Paul Calderón as Detective Raymond Cruz (special guest star)
  • Ravi V. Patel as Rick Newley
  • Joseph Anthony Byrd as Trennell
  • Vivian Olyphant as Willa Givens
Episode chronology
← Previous
"City Primeval"		Next →
"Backstabbers"

"The Oklahoma Wildman" is the second 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 Dinner. It originally aired on FX on July 18, 2023, airing back-to-back with the previous episode "City Primeval".

Contents

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 wrecking havoc. In the episode, Raylan investigates the Judge's death, while Mansell asks Sandy for a favor.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.848 million household viewers and gained a 0.13 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received mostly positive reviews, with critics praising the performances (particularly Boyd Holbrook), character development and writing.

Plot

In 2017, Mansell (Boyd Holbrook) robs a crew of drug dealers at their house, with the help of Sweety (Vondie Curtis-Hall). After retrieving the money, Mansell kills the dealers and flees with Sweety. Three days later, Mansell is arrested when one of the dealers survives and identifies him. In prison, Mansell is visited by Carolyn (Aunjanue Ellis), who says she will represent him as his lawyer.

In present day, Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) and Wendell (Victor Williams) visit Sandy (Adelaide Clemens) at her penthouse. The penthouse belongs to a person known as Del Weems, and Weems' car was the one that Mansell drove the previous night. Sandy claims to have driven the car and having an incident. As she asks them to leave, Wendell recognizes her as the person who was with Mansell on the night of his arrest. After they leave, Mansell asks Sandy to drop the incriminating gun into the River Rouge. She leaves, unaware that she is being followed by Raylan and Wendell. At the River Rouge, she cannot bring herself to throw it in, so she hides it in the ceiling of Sweety's bar's restroom.

Raylan is summoned to Carolyn's office, where he is introduced to Mansell. She warns him to stop investigating any further, although Raylan notes something is off about her behavior when Mansell leaves her office. He and Wendell go to see Sandy at the casino, with Raylan warning her that he knows she ran around the city for Mansell. As they leave, Sandy calls Mansell to tell him about the events. Raylan and Wendell visit Sweety's bar to question him about the weapon. Sweety then shows them three registered firearms he has on the counter, and calls Carolyn to confront them over harassing him. Raylan returns to the hotel, finding Willa dining with Mansell. He takes Mansell outside and brutally attacks him, warning him that he will kill him if he gets near Willa again. A terrified Willa is shown to have witnessed the event.

Production

Development

In June 2023, FX announced that the second episode of the series would be titled "The Oklahoma Wildman", and was to be written by series developers Dave Andron and Michael Dinner and directed by Dinner. This was Andron's second writing credit, Dinner's second writing credit, and Dinner's second directing credit. [1]

Writing

Adelaide Clemens described Mansell's and Sandy's relationship as depicted in the episode as "I think she tells herself that she's in love with him, and I think she believes she's in love with him. It's also clear she doesn't have many people in the world. She grew up in the underbelly of Detroit, and so loyalty is very important in that world. And I think she made the decision at some point that she was going to be loyal to Clement. And what happens is the more afraid she becomes of him, the more she starts convincing herself that she's in love with him, and that it's true love." [2]

Reception

Viewers

In its original American broadcast, "The Oklahoma Wildman" was seen by an estimated 0.848 million household viewers and gained a 0.13 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research. This means that 0.13 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode. [3] This was a massive 72% increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 0.493 million viewers with a 0.05 in the 18-49 demographics. [3]

Critical reviews

"The Oklahoma Wildman" received mostly positive reviews from critics. Ben Travers of IndieWire wrote, "The first two episodes dole out critical (and plentiful) exposition without sacrificing forward momentum. There’s so much action in these initial hours that the car bomb plot is barely an afterthought by the time the final credits roll." [4]

Roxana Hadadi of Vulture gave the episode a 3 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "A lot of questions are raised by this episode, but this is what we know: Clement has pissed Raylan off. In that first meeting between the two, Olyphant does a great job making Raylan seem reassured by, almost gleeful about, what a jerk Clement turns out to be; this is a man he can hate, a man who deserves to, after years of getting away with crime and violence and destruction, get taken down." [5]

Cameron Crain of TV Obsessive wrote, "The stakes of Justified: City Primeval thus seem to be set coming out of Episode 2. The question is going to be how Raylan can get the upper hand on Clement, and how (or if) he can manage the legal fallout. Dollars to doughnuts, he's going to shoot that man dead at some point." [6] Diana Keng of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 3.5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "We're a long way and a long time from Harlan County, folks. Justified: City Primeval sets up our favorite U.S. Marshall for an intense new case, but it's not just the criminal who's new and different. The fifteen years that have elapsed have mellowed Raylan Givens, and fatherhood has clearly taught him some anger management strategies that hunting criminals never drove home." [7]

Related Research Articles

<i>Justified</i> (TV series) American neo-Western crime drama television series

Justified is an American neo-Western crime drama television series that premiered on March 16, 2010, on the FX network. Developed by Graham Yost, it is based on Elmore Leonard's stories about the character Raylan Givens, particularly "Fire in the Hole". Timothy Olyphant portrays Raylan Givens, a tough deputy U.S. Marshal enforcing his own brand of justice. The series revolves around the inhabitants and culture in the Appalachian mountains area of eastern Kentucky, specifically Harlan County where many of the main characters grew up. It also features Lexington, Kentucky, where the local U.S. Marshals office is situated. The series, comprising 78 episodes, was aired over six seasons and concluded on April 14, 2015.

<i>City Primeval</i> 1980 crime novel by Elmore Leonard

City Primeval is a crime novel written by Elmore Leonard.

"Hatless" is the ninth episode of the first season of the American Neo-Western television series Justified. It is the 9th overall episode of the series and was written by Dave Andron and directed by Peter Werner. It originally aired on FX on May 11, 2010.

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"Reckoning" is the twelfth episode of the second season of the American Neo-Western television series Justified. It is the 25th overall episode of the series and was written by supervising producer Dave Andron and directed by Adam Arkin. It originally aired on FX on April 27, 2011.

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<i>Justified: City Primeval</i> American Western television miniseries

Justified: City Primeval is an American neo-Western crime drama television miniseries developed by showrunners Dave Andron and Michael Dinner. The series continues the story from Justified taking inspiration from the Elmore Leonard novel City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit and short story "Fire in the Hole". Timothy Olyphant returns to star as Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, with Paul Calderón also reprising his role as Detective Raymond Cruz from the 1998 crime comedy film Out of Sight, a film adaptation of Leonard's 1996 novel of the same name. A world premiere was held on June 1, 2023, at the 12th ATX Television Festival, and the series premiered on FX on July 18, 2023, with back-to-back episodes. It received generally positive reviews from critics.

"City Primeval" is the first 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 Dinner. It originally aired on FX on July 18, 2023, airing back-to-back with the follow-up episode "The Oklahoma Wildman".

"Backstabbers" is the third episode of the American television miniseries Justified: City Primeval, a continuation of the series Justified. The episode was written by producer Eisa Davis and executive producer Chris Provenzano, and directed by Jon Avnet. It originally aired on FX on July 25, 2023.

"Kokomo" is the fourth episode of the American television miniseries Justified: City Primeval, a continuation of the series Justified. The episode was written by executive producer Taylor Elmore, and directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton. It originally aired on FX on August 1, 2023.

"You Good?" is the fifth episode of the American television miniseries Justified: City Primeval, a continuation of the series Justified. The episode was written by producer Eisa Davis and executive producer Chris Provenzano, and directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan. It originally aired on FX on August 8, 2023.

"Adios" is the sixth episode of the American television miniseries Justified: City Primeval, a continuation of the series Justified. The episode was written by executive producers Taylor Elmore and V.J. Boyd, and directed by Sylvain White. It originally aired on FX on August 15, 2023.

"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 Question" is the eighth and final 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 Dinner. It originally aired on FX on August 29, 2023.

References

  1. ↑ "(#101/102) "City Primeval / The Oklahoma Wildman"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  2. ↑ Davids, Brian (July 19, 2023). "'Justified: City Primeval' Star Adelaide Clemens on Two-Episode Premiere and Taking Inspiration From Quentin Tarantino". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Justified: City Primeval: Season One Ratings". TV Series Finale. July 19, 2023. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  4. ↑ Travers, Ben (July 18, 2023). "'Justified: City Primeval' Review: Eps. 1 & 2 Pull Raylan Back to Chaos — Spoilers". IndieWire . Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  5. ↑ Hadadi, Roxana (July 19, 2023). "Justified: City Primeval Recap: Take a Seat, Cowboy". Vulture . Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  6. ↑ Crain, Cameron (July 19, 2023). "Justified: City Primeval Episode 2 Recap — These Guys Did Not Dig Coal Together". TV Obsessive. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  7. ↑ Keng, Diana (July 18, 2023). "Justified: City Primeval Series Premiere Review: How They Do Things in Detroit". TV Fanatic. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
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