WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Duster season 1, episode 1.
The ending ofDusterseason 1, episode 1, “Baltimore Changes Everything,” findsJosh Holloway’s Jim Ellisgoing against his word to become Nina Hayes' FBI informant. Jim makes a jaw-dropping impression at the start of theDusterseries premiere, answering a phone call from a payphone in the middle of the desert and delivering a heart from a fast food joint to save the life of a young Royce Saxon. Stunts like these appear to be all in a day’s work for Jim, the effortlessly cool (but somehow still not as cool as his brother Joey once was) mafia getaway driver out of Phoenix, Arizona.
Jim’s low-key world of crimeflips upside down, however, when he encounters Nina from Baltimore, who is motivated to take down Jim’s boss, Ezra Saxon.Nina, inspired in part by the FBI’s first black woman agent, Sylvia Mathis, plans to extort Jim to get him to rat on Saxon, which initially doesn’t go over well. Jim tells Nina, who appears in the passenger seat of his 1970 cherry red Plymouth Duster on her second night in Phoenix, that he will never sign her informant form. Instead, he makes arrangements to skip town and drive for a dangerous gang leader named Mad Raul until some compelling buried evidence rears its head.
Jim Agrees To Become Nina’s Informant To Prove Her Wrong About Saxon
Nina Suspects That Jim’s Brother Joey Was Assassinated By One Of Saxon’s Guys
At the end of theDusterseries premiere, Jim saves and signs Nina’s FBI informant form. He makes a point to tell her that he’s only doing this to prove Nina wrong about her suspicions about Saxon putting a hit out on Jim’s brother, Joey. Through some digging in the FBI offices with the help of her partner, Awan, Nina shows Jim the video of Joey’s van explosion, which reveals that the source of the spark came from underneath the van. When Jim returns to give Saxon the compromising photos of Bob Temple,Saxon says it would have been easier to kill him, which raises Jim’s suspicions.
Jim clearly takes pride in his work and his character, but it’s evident that he’s willing to bend the rules when it comes to family. Jim hangs Joey’s dog tags on the rearview mirror in his Duster, just one of the indications of how close he was to his brother before his death. Through Nina’s research, she discovers that when Joey joined the military, Jim followed him two days later.Jim’s everlasting bond to his brother, Joey, is the main reasonwhy he’s willing to risk Saxon’s trust and potentially his life. If Nina didn’t imply that Joey’s “accidental” death wasn’t so accidental. Jim would have kept his word and would never have signed that form.
Who Spotted Jim Speaking With Nina At The End Of Duster Episode 1
Sergeant Groomes Is A Creepy Local Phoenix Cop On Saxon’s Payroll
As shown in the finale scene ofDusterseason 1, episode 1, Jim’s secret arrangement with Nina was blown before it even started.A local police officer named Sergeant Groomes caught Jim with Ninaas he signed the informant form, which will surely stir up some trouble for Jim in Duster season 1, episode 2.
Sergeant Groomes doesn’t work with Nina or the FBI but is insteada local Phoenix police officer who was seen taking a blank envelope, likely full of cash, from Jim earlier in the episode. Groomes was eerily parked outside a school as a group of female high school track athletes were at practice. If Groomes is truly on Saxon’s payroll, Jim is already in hot water.
What Agent Leland Breen’s Missing FBI Case Files Mean For Nina & Awan
The Missing Files Suggest That Someone At The FBI Is Protecting Saxon
As soon as Nina steps into Phoenix from Quantico, she requests the case files on Ezra Saxon, which take longer than expected to get to her desk inDusterseason 1, episode 1. Agent Leland Breen was on the Saxon case before Nina took over, but has since retired. After Nina is nearly transferred on the second day on the job, she secures Jim as her informant, which keeps her around a bit longer. Awan finally delivers what appears to be Breen’s case files on Saxon, but, to Nina’s surprise, she instead receives a report indicating that all the files are mysteriously missing,hinting at a potential cover-up or conspiracy within the FBI.
What Saxon Plans To Do With Those Photos Of Bob Temple & Cassidy
Saxon Wanted To Have A Way To Blackmail Bob In His Back Pocket
One of Jim’s odd jobs for Saxon, apart from being a getaway driver, is framing certain people for blackmail and extortion. Jim enlists the help of a local diner waitress named Cassidy to seduce, distract, and drug a man named Bob Temple. Soon after Cassidy pours a substance into Bob’s drink, he becomes so inebriated that Jim and Cassidy have to carry him out.
They go to his hotel room and stage multiple photos to make it seem like Bob is having an affair with Cassidy. Once they get the pictures, Jim and Cassidy head out, leaving Bob naked and confused. Saxon doesn’t have a direct reason to use the photos against Bob, butplans to save them for a rainy day.
His Arrangement With Nina Should Keep Him In Arizona For A While
After his first meeting with Nina, Jim arranges to head south to Mexico and get work from a mysterious yet dangerous gang leader named Mad Raul, who is feared by reputation. Jim goes to Wade, his father’s, house to pack things up and grab his passport before he hits the road. Jim even went so far as to sign his name in blood to work for Mad Raul, not wanting to be the one who rats Saxon out after all these years. Ultimately,Nina’s video evidence of Joey’s van explosion is enough to keep Jim around in Phoenixfor a while as her informant. However, this may not sit well with Mad Raul.
What Jim’s New Partnership With Nina Means For Duster Episode 2
Jim Reluctantly Places Himself In A Very Delicate Situation With Saxon
TheDusterseason 1 premiere dives deep into Jim’s world as well as Saxon and Nina’s roles within it.Jim will have to walk a very fine linebetween being eager to help Saxon and playing it cool, since he’ll need to now report intel back to Nina so that the FBI can finally build a case that can take Saxon off the streets.
That said, Jim is also unsure of Nina’s suspicions of Saxon despite her video evidence of Joey’s car explosion. While Jim is very reluctant to play the role of a rat, he’s well-equipped to do it since he’s pretty inconspicuous.He’ll need to be careful about bringing up Joey around Saxon, but that may be the only way he can get to the truth inDusterseason 1.
