As hell do throughout the season, showrunner Graham Yost takes us inside the writers room.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So Arlo might actually get out of jail if he gives up Drew Thompson?
GRAHAM YOST:Yeah, I wouldnt bet money on that.
Credit: Prashant Gupta/FX
I will say that.
We just liked the idea in episode 5 of kicking the Drew Thompson mystery up another notch.
Tell me about Nick Augustine.
And when the idea of Mike OMalley came up, it was, Ohmygod, thats fantastic.
I liked that he and FBI Agent Barkley were old friends.
There was a friendliness that then takes an ugly turn.
The blood on the blinds.
[Laughs] The blood on the blinds.
I remember you telling me last year that Theos milky eye wassomething Adam suggestedwhen he was cast.
It was just, Okay, he did that.
Was that just so you could have Patton Oswalt talk about getting offered a blowjob?
It wasnt that specifically.
So we wanted to reintroduce Bob.
Gerald McRaney made his first appearance as Rozs stepfather, Josiah.
Its anotherDeadwoodalum, theres the fun of that.
Just to get someone like Gerald on the show, we figured was a nice little coup.
He was willing to play along.
He basically worked one day on episode 5 and one day on episode 6.
Whose idea was it for Raylan to handcuff Josiah to his car and run him?
That was all Tims.
It was just the idea of dragging someone beyond their tether line.
Okay, you dont want to tell me where Drew Thompson is?
Im gonna drag you down your tether line.
The reality is, he could tell the sheriff, He dragged me beyond my tether line.
It wasnt my fault.
But we thought it was a fun scene.
The episode ends with Raylan discovering Josiahs foot has been chopped off.
We originally were gonna have an episode in between there.
Then Raylan was gonna get called back down to find Josiah, and wed find the foot.
We just thought that was a fun way to end the episode.
I think Tim improvd a few lines.
[Well, my goodness] just kinda tickled us all.
Josiah had told Raylan that Drew was still with the hill people.
There are people of the backwoods calledMelungeons.
No one is entirely sure what their genetic line is, but theyre a very different kind of culture.
So we were interested in that, but we didnt want to make them specifically Melungeons.
We just played with it: Well, what if theres some history with Raylans family?
What if Frances, his mother, was descended from the hill people?
Because Raylans so annoyed by him and Boyds kind of had it with Raylans bad treatment.
And Raylan handcuffing Boyd to the tree, whose idea was that?
That was Tims idea.
That was Jacobs idea.
Its the notion that often people with PTSD will regress.
So the idea that hes reading books not unlikeHarry Potterseemed right.
You keep coming back to that notion in different, interesting ways.
And its true to an extent, because that will happen.
Is Wynn trying to pull a Limehouse and have the Crowders take care of each other in the end?
I will say this about Wynn Duffy: He is a survivor.
He will play every angle.
While were playing Checkers, hes playing three-dimensional Chess.
He is much happier being the kings hand, as it were.
I think the signage in Johnnys bar changes at the whim of whoevers directing the episode.
Someone could do an in-depth analysis of whatever the hells on Johnnys wall.
Why go with Shelby?
We went with Shelby because he had been kind of bristling at being under Boyds control.
Time after time, he tells Boyd, Okay, were done, and Boyd says, Absolutely.
And then the next week, Boyds saying, Okay, I need you to do this for me.
Boyd, this has to stop, were done.
Of course, Shelby.
Okay, one more thing.
He knows theres a secret having to do with Boyd and Ava, and Ellen May has it.
He figures he might get some way to put them away.
That plays out over the next bunch of episodes.
Colton not telling Boyd that he lost Ellen May does he think Boyd will kill him?
Is he not thinking clearly because of his addiction?
I think all of the above.
And I think hes also just embarrassed.
He was given a job, and hes supposed to be a professional, and hes screwed up.
He just wants to take care of it himself.
When we will next see Ellen May?
Thats a good question.
Im trying to remember.
I believe shes in episode 8.
I think Ive already told you she plays a critical role for the whole series.
Winona made a brief appearance this episode, and we learned Raylans been missing appointments.
Why have us see her now, and when might we see her again?
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