Set in 1970s Phoenix, the HBO Max Original series Duster promises to be an intriguing and entertaining crime thriller. When the first Black female agent in the FBI was persistent about a case she believed she could crack, she was told she had no idea what she was dealing with. But Nina Hayes never listened to naysayers and bullies; she just had a lot to do and a lot to prove to the world, so she kept pushing boundaries to reach her goal. She was hellbent on apprehending Ezra Saxton, a gangster suspected of firearms trafficking, murder, and assault. Her colleagues at the Phoenix office scoffed at her determination; they were convinced she would try and fail. But that didn’t stop Nina from taking radical steps to ensure that the case was solved.
Spoiler Alert
Who was Jim Ellis?
The first time we see Jim Ellis he is speeding through the arid desert in his red duster. We gradually discover that Jim worked closely with Eza Saxton. He had been Saxton’s driver since he was sixteen, and Saxton often called him ‘Magic on Wheels.’ Despite being on duty, Jim made sure that he got to spend enough time with his daughter, Luna. She didn’t know Jim was her birth father; perhaps his involvement with the gangster was the reason his partner preferred it that way. She didn’t want her daughter to be scarred if he disappeared some day. Jim was trying his best to prove that he could be present in his daughter’s life and take on all responsibilities. While chatting with Luna and teaching her basic manners, Jim arrived at a fast food drive-through and accepted a delivery in a duffle bag with a side of cinnamon chips for Luna.
We found out later Duster episode 1 that the bag carried a human heart that was needed for a transplant. The operation was conducted illegally, and as it turned out, Ezra’s son, Royce, was the patient. He suffered from a genetic heart condition, and he needed to undergo surgery. Ezra was impressed with Jim’s commitment. He drove smoothly and brought the organ on time, which resulted in a successful surgery. Jim never knew that one day an FBI agent would dare to contact him, completely altering the trajectory of his life.
Why did Jim reject Nina’s proposal?
Nina learned about Jim when she went through a report filed by the Phoenix Police Department, according to which a cherry red Duster car registered to one of Saxton’s employees was involved in a crash in Ripley. While he’d managed to escape, two men were hospitalized. Nina met Todd, the employee who had handed Jim the duffle bag at the ‘Nachos Con Dios’ drive-through. He explained that he was paid twenty dollars to deliver the bag to a man who would repeat a code (twenty-four sloppy joses). Todd remembered the little girl who was accompanying Jim and the loving relationship they shared. He also managed to recall her name. Upon paying Todd twenty dollars, Nina discovered that the bag consisted of a human heart. She figured out that the surgery was not conducted in any hospital, but after contacting a few medical instrument rental houses, she learned that they had delivered everything that would have been required for a heart surgery to a house in Arcadia that belonged to Saxton. Nina was told by her colleagues that there was no point going after Jim Ellis because he’d grown up in that family, his father had served with Saxton in the Second World War, and there was no way he would go against him. But Nina thought she was ready to strike.
She had enough proof to establish that Jim was involved in the interstate transport of stolen property, in violation of federal law, and since he was dealing with a human organ, he would end up facing fifteen years in prison. Jim was surprised to see a random woman waiting for him in his car. He soon discovered that she was an FBI agent. Nina explained the situation to him and suggested that he become an informant to escape a prison sentence. But Jim refused to snitch on his boss. Nina reminded him that Luna would be in her twenties by the time he got out if he didn’t accept her proposal. Jim didn’t seem to be bothered by that, and Nina didn’t have an option but to get out of his car, defeated.
The minute he learned that an agent knew about his involvement with Ezra Saxton, he knew he had to shift base. It was obvious that Saxton was under scrutiny, and before things got any worse, Jim decided he had to get out of town. He planned on shifting to Mexico, and he had already made a blood pact with a heinous Mexican gangster, Mad Raoul. It was not easy for him to bid Luna farewell, but he didn’t have an option. He knew she would be safer if he distanced himself from her. He promised her mother that he would return soon after the dust settled, and he left her some money for the time being.
How Did Nina Convince Jim To Become An Informant?
Just when Nina thought she had reached a dead end and that she would have to reevaluate her plans, she was suddenly reminded of the name on the dog tag she’d seen in Jim’s car. She decided to dig deep and find out who Joseph Ellis was. While she and her team were busy gathering information on Joseph, the male detectives in her new office were not happy with the way Nina was handling the case. Her squad supervisor handed her a transfer letter and informed her that the agency had decided to shift her to Butte, Montana. For a moment, Nina had no choice but to accept that she had failed to put Saxton behind bars, but then Awan, her first well-wisher at the Phoenix office, came to her rescue and handed her an old video cassette. Joseph had been working for Saxton at the time his death was caught on camera. His van blew up, and it was deduced that he’d died in an accident, but after Nina repeatedly watched the footage, she was convinced it was a planned murder.
Joseph didn’t die in an accident but was killed by Saxton. Nina soon received a call from Jim’s stepmother, Charlotte, informing her that Jim was planning on escaping to Mexico, and she told Nina where she could find Jim. Nina tracked down Jim, pointed her gun at him, and advised him to come along with her. She showed Jim the video footage over and over again. He didn’t get what Nina was trying to prove, so she went on to explain that Joseph didn’t die in an accident. According to the police report, there were leaky propane tanks in the van, and when Joseph lit a cigarette, his van blew up. But Nina was convinced he was murdered.
According to the video footage, the fire started from the bottom of the car, indicating that there was a charge fixed under the van, which triggered the explosion. Nina was convinced that Joseph and Saxton might have gotten into some conflict; perhaps Joseph wanted to leave the gang, so he was killed. Jim was not entirely sure if he could trust Nina’s theory, but after he carefully took note of the way Saxton dealt with all his threats, he couldn’t completely dismiss her. Nina confidently stepped into her squad supervisor, Nathan Abbott’s office at the end of episode 1. He didn’t expect to see her again after he’d handed her the transfer notice, but he had no idea Nina had done the impossible.
During Duster episode 1’s ending, we discover that Nina convinced Jim to sign the informant’s contract, and that essentially meant the most difficult part of her job was done in just a couple of days. She would get timely updates on Saxton’s movements, making it easier for her team to catch him in action and have enough evidence to ensure that he stayed in prison for good. For Nina, it was all too personal. Her father used to work for Saxton, and eventually he got tired of all the killing, and he tried to leave the gang, and that was when he was murdered by the gangster. Nina always knew that she would seek revenge, and she was finally so close to her target. Considering that both Nina and Jim had lost their loved ones to Saxton, perhaps they will bond over their shared grief. Jim had signed a blood pact with a dangerous man, so it will be interesting to see how he deals with the Mexican gangster while trying to bring down his boss with the help of the FBI.
