‘Duster’ Episode 6 Recap: Clean Up Woman

“Daphne and Genesis are true love! You fucks!” In the middle of a gunfight, and shouted as an act of defiance – he and Jim Ellis are already wounded, and Greek Sal’s henchmen are still shooting at them – Duster makes a point to establish the equality-minded inner life of Billy, Ezra Saxton’s chief enforcer. Billy’s kink is beating people up and getting them to thank him for it, and this current gunfight is charged with his personal suspicion that Sax’s translator isn’t who she says. He’d be right about that one. But it’s cool how Duster spends a few seconds on the notion that even a midlevel thug can appreciate love in all its forms. And the line might not even work if not for Evan Jones, an actor with a storied history of intensity that borders on the comedic. You loved him as Cheddar Bob in 8 Mile, shooting himself in the dick. And you loved him in Den of Thieves as Bosco, the first one of Merriman’s crew to get smoked. Good casting meeting good writing in the thick of a wild shootout set to “The Big Payback” by James Brown – even in the smaller moments, Duster’s doing it all with high-octane gas in the tank. 

The thing about rival gunmen crashing Saxton’s big meeting with the Russians is that it was going so well. Nina had her first FBI undercover dialed in like Mannix. She was looking fly as “Nina St. James,” in black leather pants with a matching top, and basically had Sax wrapped around her finger. “Translate what they sayin’,” he told her before they arrived at the meet. But, he added, also translate “what they ain’t saying.” Nina charmed Sax’s Russian kingpin counterpart, matching his “Bolshevik John Wayne” bravado with a version of the candor we know, and she did it all in fluent Russian. 

And when things got hairy, Nina even teamed with Jim for a little improvisation. Royce Saxton was also looking forward to the big meeting, to prove his value as heir apparent to his dad’s criminal empire. But when Royce’s heart medication didn’t mix with the Russian crew’s vodka toasts, Nina and Jim stepped up to smooth over his hysterics. Ezra Saxton didn’t lose any face, his Samsonite full of cash was exchanged for a sleek metal case – more on that in a minute – and the deal the boss called “The main event” was closed with handshakes. Until Sal’s henchmen barged in, looking for payback on Genesis busting up Daphne’s arranged marriage and hoping to score points by intercepting the mysterious underworld parcel. 

“You wanna be Newman or Redford?” Jim asked Nina. Remember, in Duster, it’s The ’70s: On TV. Which means that, when caught in a tight spot, a wheelman would certainly ask a federal agent which outlaw leading man she’d want to emulate from the 1969 Oscar winner Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The unlikely partners break from cover with guns blazing, just like Butch and Sundance, and for good measure, when Nina does a somersault, Duster even throws in a Six Million Dollar Man sound effect. Bwa-wa-ca-ca-CA-CHA-CA-CWA! Royce, utterly smitten with Nina, the translator-turned-gunslinger: “Pam Grier, eat your fucking heart out.”   

We still don’t know what’s in the case. We don’t know the nature of this commodity that Saxton has invested time and resources in procuring. At the meet, the sequence is carefully shot to show us everybody on both sides looking at whatever’s in there, but not sharing it with the audience. But whether it’s a byproduct of the Russian guy’s Bolshevik John Wayne shit, or a key piece of what Sax is building, he seemed happy with its reception. Even drove off in triumph before the gunfight even started. 

And that quick line from Billy – “Daphne and Genesis are true love!” – also further illustrates the familial nature of Saxton’s management structure. A structure Jim, in working ever more closely with Nina, is actively discounting. (Not to mention his belief, now shared with Wade, that Sax put the hit out on Joey.) The situation was already messy. But it seems like it’s about to get downright stinky, because after they escape the shootout, as Nina treats Jim’s minor bullet graze – they have a moment; he’s shirtless, they’re both attractive single people, this is the 70s on TV… – their reverie is disrupted by a news report chattering from the tube television in Nina’s motel room. 

During the meet with the Russians and the ensuing fracas, Duster was also showing us the escalation of Izzy’s picketing and protest for safe truck stop conditions and fair wages. Iz, with Young Luna by her side, was even interviewed on the local news. The report Jim and Nina see is the same one Bob Temple saw from his office window, which spurred a phone call to Ezra Saxton. Izzy’s public advocacy is making Snowbird’s trucks too visible. And Sax can’t have more scrutiny on his operation, especially now that he’s aggressively expanding. Back at his mansion, the boss’s word to Billy on Izzy is all business, no family. She is a problem to be fixed.   

Duster: 8-Tracks for Episode 6

James Brown during the shootout, and The Stooges “No Fun” heard cranking out of the Duster’s dash, matching its roar: these tracks are avowed classics. But there are some absolute deep cut rippers in this Episode 6 of Duster, too! Imagine the links below as 8-track tapes scattered on the back seat of Jim’s ride:  

• Roy Head, “She’s About a Mover” 
• Two Tons of Love, “It’s a Bad Situation in a Beautiful Place” 
• Sweet Linda Divine, “I’ll Say It Again” 
• Renaldo Domino, “Not Too Cool to Cry” 
• James & Bobby Purify, “I’m Your Puppet”

Johnny Loftus (@johnnyloftus.bsky.social) is a Chicago-based writer. A veteran of the alternative weekly trenches, his work has also appeared in Entertainment Weekly, Pitchfork, The All Music Guide, and The Village Voice.