Clement Mansell has found yet another way to get out of trouble involving Sweety, and troubles with her ex-husband may lead Carolyn to side with Sweety and Mansell against Marshal Raylan Givens in “Justified: City Primeval.” After spending the night together, Raylan runs into Carolyn’s ex-husband. This leads to big issued for Carolyn and her ex-husband as well as the moves of a politician looking to take over the same judge’s seat Carolyn is eyeing. Meanwhile, Clement and Sweety have picked a target from Judge Guy’s little black book, and a broke and broken Carolyn may be willing to do the same to become a judge.

Despite being the star of the series, Timothy Olyphant’s Marshal Raylan Givens feels like a side character through much of this episode. He spends time with Carolyn. He gets into an argument with her ex-husband while he’s trying to enjoy dinner with her, and he and the Detroit Police Department are re-starting in their hunt for Judge Guy’s killer. The most interesting thing he does is finally find the officer who put Mansell away the first time. Raylan is hoping to learn some trick to catching Mansell a second time.

This episode goes a long way to set up potential falls from grace for Sweety and Carolyn. It also gives a nice look at a potential redemption for Sandy. All three characters have a choice. It’s clear the path Clement is going down will cause major issues for everyone connected to him. Sweety had a great chance to escape, but it appears he has made the wrong choice again. Carolyn is in a tough spot. She may make a bad choice, but she still has a chance to make a good choice. Sandy has already made bad choice after bad choice, but the scene of her with Mansell and Sweety hints that she may finally make a good choice that leads to his downfall.

There was also a great guest starring appearance from David Cross. I’ve been a huge fans of his from his “Arrested Development” days, so I love seeing him in anything. While he’s mostly known for his comedy, he can bust out some impressive dramatic chops while still being funny. It was perfect for this episode.

As this limited series enters it’s second half, it’s winding down and ramping up at the same time. While I hope to see more from Raylan Givens in the final three episodes than we got here, all of the other characters needed building up. This is far from the first series to spend an episode building up its side characters for either their falls or redemptions, and unlike some other series; “Lost” comes to mind; this series still focused on its main character in the episode. I’m still hooked to see how this story ends.

Rating: 3.5 stars

What did you think of this episode of “Justified: City Primeval?”

Jeremy Brown

Jeremy has been a big Disney fan since he was a kid growing up during the Disney Renaissance. One day he hopes to go to every Disney Park in the world.

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