As hell do throughout the season, showrunner Graham Yost takes us inside the writers room.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: When did you decide that Shelby (Jim Beaver) would be Drew Thompson?
GRAHAM YOST:We didnt know until we were finishing up breaking episode 405.
Credit: Prashant Gupta/FX
We had played with various other possibilities.
Initially, we were thinking Drew would be a Clover Hill person.
And then we thought, Eh, we dont really know them.
And then we thought maybe Josiah [guest star Gerald McRaney], who got his foot chopped off.
Yeah, but we were thinking we wanted Drew to go on the run, and that wouldnt work.
And then I got a call that Ben Cavell in the writers room had hit on an idea.
It might have come up before that, and we all just kind of pooh-poohed it.
But in that context, he said, What if Shelbys Drew?
So he tracked it back and found that it could fit with a few little nudges.
Is finding Shelby/Drew the focus of the rest of the season?
And so we had this idea of Raylan taking someone from prison and dragging him around.
But it became clear that was the right thing to do.
That became the impetus for the episode, with the notion that Duffy would be his first stop.
Its another great Raylan-Duffy scene with a different cast on it.
Not to compliment ourselves, but we really enjoy that scene.
I assume that wasnt just frustration on Raylans part that Hunter wouldnt give him Drews name.
Thats from Raylans side.
Raylan seemed almost proud of Arlo in that moment.
I think Raylan was proud of him in that moment.
And thats the central issue of Raylan Givens.
Hunter killed Arlo on his own initiative.
That wasnt something that Drew had asked for.
He was just doing it to protect him.
But Hunter seeing how things were going thought it would be.
It was just the depth of their bond.
We call that scene in the backseat [where Shelby said goodbye to Hunter] the love scene.
Its these two middle-aged, balding bearded men, and if theyd kissed, I wouldnt have been surprised.
That was just something that came out of the room.
Are we done seeing Constable Bob this season?
In the first draft, it was interesting: Raylan basically asked, Did Arlo say anything?
and Hunter said, Yes, he told me to tell you that he loved you and hes sorry.
Art was not happy about Raylan taking Hunter for a ride.
Its just always fun to see Nick [Searcy] play Art mad.
He just does it so well.
There will be ramifications.
I will say that taking Hunter on that Magical Mystery Tour will have consequences in Raylans career.
Nothing huge, but it does play a part in the rest of the season.
Boyd, having heard about Colt from Johnny, convinced Gutterson to let Colt leave with him.
Boyd took Colt back to the bar to question him.
Why didnt Boyd kill him?
There was nothing malicious about it.
He wasnt trying to hurt Boyd.
He wasnt betraying him the way Johnny is with Duffy.
So that was critical.
By that point, Boyd knows whats going on, soweknow the guns not loaded.
But Boyd was wondering if he was gonna hear a click.
Was Colt gonna try [to shoot him]?
In which case, Boyd wouldve killed him.
So what position does Colt have in Boyds army now?
Boyd needs man power, but he knows Colt isnt at the top of his game?
That becomes part of the story of ten, and then also into eleven and twelve as well.
I liked that scene between Gutterson and Cassie.
Youll have to see.
By which I mean there is another Cassie-Tim scene coming.
Its not super-romantic, but at least theres something.
She says, Its been a while since anyones shown me any kindness.
Its been a rough spell for her.
It sounded like Boyd wanted to buy that house for Ava.
We will see that house again.
That was scripted and something that dear Joelle did with relish.
We enjoy that class friction and that hypersensitivity they both have.
But I dont think anyone believes shed actually leave.
But the question is: How far does she go?
And where does she go?
You find out in episode 10.
And episode 10 will have the surprise return of a beloved character, and thats all Ill say.
An exchange we should remember?
Yes, that does mean something.
Did they arrest Boyd for breaking and entering?
At the start of ten, youll see that hes in custody but not in jail.
It was interesting that when Boyd arrived at Shelbys house, we didnt see Ellen May.
What happens to her now that Shelby/Drew is on the run?
It is interesting, isnt it?
One would wonder where Ellen May is now.
Very early on in episode 10, youll see.
But then theres other stuff that materializes, and Im willing to make that deal.
