No Answers, Only More Questions

I spent the Memorial Day weekend catching up on the second episode of HBO Max’s retro-themed crime thriller, Duster.

The story is set in the early 1970s. The show doesn’t clarify what year it is beyond snippets of historical references to Watergate and the death of J Edger Hoover. This episode mentions Elvis Presley’s live satellite show Ahola from Hawaii as an upcoming event. So, I assume Duster is set during the fall months of 1972.

Trying to guess the year through context clues is the most entertaining aspect of the show. We’re only in episode two and already dealing with filler episodes where nothing gets resolved and used as a literary device to set up more questions to create mystery and anticipation.

The Worst Wheelman

In the first episode, we saw Duster’s lead character, Jim Ellis, wake up, check his watch, and realize he’s running late. The second episode opens with Jim Ellis waking up next to a woman we still haven’t been introduced to; he checks his watch and realizes he’s running late – again. This is a professional getaway driver?

People drop zero-star ratings on Uber drivers if they are five minutes late. This veteran wheelman who could be called for a job at all hours, day and night, doesn’t use an alarm clock?

I’ve invested the equivalent of a full-length movie into this TV show, and I still don’t know anything about his driving skills.

He hasn’t done anything worth wild besides some handbrake turns and low-speed power slides – stuff I can do in my old truck. How did he learn to drive? Where did he learn how to drive? Did he race?  What makes him the “best” wheelman in the West?

The show is called Duster, and you see plenty of gorgeous shots of the car in action. But why is the show named after this car? Is there a special condition Ellis has with the Duster? Why does he prefer to use this car over the others?

It’s a hero car, a leading character of the show, and I still don’t know a damn thing about it other than it’s “a cherry red 1970 Duster” they don’t even say Plymouth.

HBO Duster Season 1 Episode 2

We’ve Seen It Done Better

I’m hard on this series because there are many great examples of the wheelmen character trope: The Driver (1978), Drive (2011), White Lightning (1973), Faster (2010), The Transporter trilogy, Baby Driver (2017), and even John Wick – technically.

The Jim Ellis character comes off as just a guy with a cool car. We don’t know anything about him other than that he’s been driving for a crime boss for 15 years, presuming by the age on his face that he still lives like a broke teenager. How old is Jim supposed to be, if its anything younger than 30 I’ll laugh.

Hazy Timeline

The timeline is confusing on this show. For example, Jim’s niece Luna appears around 10 years old, or at least old enough to drop F-bombs in the proper context.

She questions Jim about his brother, her father, to make it seem like she never knew him. But, according to the show, Jim’s brother died in a questionable accident only a “couple” of years ago.

Patrick Warburton as Sunglasses

Patrick Warburton, yeah that’s right, plays Sunglasses in Duster episode two. I won’t spoil too much about his character, but it was the most entertaining part of the episode. Sunglasses agrees to do Jim a favor in exchange for Elvis Presley’s blue suede shoes, which he can verify due to a secret message written inside the shoe.

Spoiler Alert – we never learn what the shoe said.

Jim gets the shoes by going to Elvis’ Palm Springs, California house. He crashes a party where he ends up conversing with the Colonel, but we don’t see Elvis? In his own home? Not even as a blurred background cameo.

A wasted opportunity to have fun with the setting since the concept is already ridiculous – stealing Elvis’s blue suede shoes? Imagine if someone asked you to steal Beyonce’s shoes from her house during a party – tonight.

I loathe JJ Abrams’ writing style, because makes it a chore to watch and wait for the plot questions to be answered.

Duster Needs to Kick It into Gear

It all rests on the shoulders of episode three. It has to be the charm. People are willing to invest in two episodes to see if they like a show, but they will switch to something else if the third one doesn’t tantalize the mind.