Duster Episode 2 Recap: Jim Gets in And Out of Trouble

In episode 2 of HBO’s ”Duster,” a thrilling buddy cop show set in the 70s, the driver of the titular car drives himself down a slippery slope. After Groomes witnesses the late-night rendezvous between Jim Ellis and FBI Agent Hayes, the dirty cop doesn’t wait long to use it as blackmail material. However, it seems his newfound partnership with the feds can’t save him from this predicament, which compels him to look for help elsewhere, in Phoenix’s shadier corners. Meanwhile, Hayes and Awan continue investigating the case from other angles. While some of these avenues, namely digging into Joseph Ellis’ mysterious death, yield some results, the same cannot be said for the Agent’s decision to defy protocol and probe Agent Breen’s personal life. SPOILERS AHEAD!

Jim Carries Out a Heist to Save His Skin

Groomes proves himself to be nothing, if not an opportunist, as he tries to make a quick buck off Jim in the morning after stumbling upon his meeting with Agent Hayes. Nonetheless, the price for his silence remains too steep, and his word is entirely too unreliable. Still, unwilling to let the news of his alliance with the feds reach Saxton, the driver ends up looking for a more permanent way to buy Groomes’ silence. Consequently, he arrives at the lair of a dangerous man, Sunglasses, known for solving problems through blackmail or worse. Jim convinces him to use his methods to dig out the pedophile cop’s secrets and use them to keep him off his back.

In exchange, Jim makes an offer Sunglasses can’t refuse. The latter is a huge Elvis Presley fan and is known for collecting and displaying his artefacts. As such, the driver promises to bring him the King’s authentic blue suede shoes, stolen from his mansion in Palm Springs. With a deal struck between the two, Jim hurries to pull off the eccentric heist. He ends up having to babysit Luna in exchange for information about the singer’s mansion from Izzy, who is caught up in a possibly concerning doctor’s visit. Regardless, with the layout of the target down, Jim swiftly jumps into stealing the most high-stakes footwear of his life.

Sunglasses’ Confrontation With Groomes Ends in a Tragedy

While Jim drives down to Palm Springs to break into Elvis Presley’s house and steal his shoes, Sunglasses works toward holding up his end of the bargain. He and his right-hand man, Charlie, snoop around Groomes’ house and easily get their hands on his abhorrent stash of pedophilic photographs. With their evidence secured, they go out to confront him in a remote barn, making it clear that incriminating evidence against him will be aired out if he continues targeting Jim. Not only will this be a threat to his career in law enforcement, but it will likely also cement a criminal record. Still, Groomes isn’t one to take a punch lying down.

Therefore, the cop decides to take his chances and pulls his gun on the two men. Naturally, this ends with Sunglasses and Charlie emptying their own guns into Groomes. Even so, after sustaining many gunshot wounds and nearing death by the second, the cop uses the last of his energy to gun down Charlie before receiving another bullet from his partner. Thus, the problem Sunglasses had come to solve becomes infinitely more complicated and ends up costing him his brother-in-arms. While this will develop into a complication of its own, Groomes’ story doesn’t quite end here. As it turns out, he managed to survive his many bullet wounds long enough to call for help after his attackers left. Therefore, as it stands, the cop seems to still have a fighting chance, which can only bring more trouble for Jim.

Jim Gets Into an Unexpected Showdown at the Bowling Alley

As absurd as Jim’s heist is, the driver manages to pull off the job. In the end, he doesn’t even need to use his glass cutters, since he can simply blend into the crowds that have already amassed at Elvis’ house on account of a private party. From there, all it takes is one distracted manager before he’s walking out of the place with the revered blue suede shoes on his feet. However, when he returns to Sunglasses Bowling Alley, he isn’t met with the enthusiasm he was expecting.

Sunglasses is freshly mourning the death of his close friend, Charlie. Thus, since the job has ended up costing him so much, he raises the price for his services. He wants the shoes as well as a few grand worth of cash that Jim decidedly does not have. Naturally, this devolves into a charged fight between the duo. Unfortunately for Sunglasses, this altercation ends with him getting his head smashed under the crushing weight of the pinsetters down the bowling alley lanes. Yet, even though Jim comes out of this tussle alive, the murder os such a prominent crime boss will hardly go over easily for him. For now, all he can do is bury the body deep in the desert, with the unexpected help of his father.

Hayes Pries Into Agent Breen’s Life

While Hayes stays out of Jim’s business, leaving him to deal with Groomes on his own, she puts her own energy toward progressing her investigation. Even though securing the driver as an informant had been huge, she needs to show tangible results to keep her hostile superiors pleased. This becomes difficult when her boss continues to prohibit every profitable avenue of investigation. Case in point, when Hayes attempts to look into Breen, the previous Agent in charge of the case, whose files are inexplicably missing from the archives, her boss forbids her from pursuing that angle.

Nonetheless, Hayes and Awan continue to blaze their own path, ignoring nonsensical rules to find worthwhile evidence. For instance, sneaking into the car’s impound lot helps them collect evidence to investigate the forensics behind Joseph’s car explosion. Yet, it seems not every rule has been beneficial for the Agent. Earlier in the day, she seeks out Evelyn, Agent Breen’s wife, in hopes of having a conversation about her husband. Nevertheless, the latter swiftly shuts her out. Worse yet, in the aftermath, she reaches out to some high-powered mystery man about Hayes’ involvement with Breen’s case. Therefore, it seems the Agent has inadvertently earned herself a new adversary.