In Duster, Josh Holloway finally gets to go full Sawyer again

Sawyer wasn’t always a winning hero who was easy to root for, though. Lost‘s writers had the advantage of a lengthy first season and overall run to carefully take him from a morally fickle con man who pissed off his fellow plane crash survivors to, ultimately, a protective savior who fought for their safety. (Remember the LaFleur persona in season five?) Holloway took what was on the page and churned out a believable take on Sawyer’s development, imbuing the character with both tenacity and heart. (This early-ish Lost conversation where he admits to Jack about meeting his father is a turning point for Sawyer—and for Holloway—and a sign of the growth to come.) 

In the case of Duster, only four of its first season’s eight episodes have aired so far, so Holloway hasn’t had as much time to flesh out his character. Still, he’s already tapped into what worked for him in Lost, whether it’s in a well-timed delivery of a one-liner, cool handling of an action sequence, a potent display of agony, and that aforementioned fantastic Southern drawl. Just look at the fourth episode, “Criminalus Velocitus Super-Sonicus,” when Jim proves his Sawyer-esque ability to wriggle his way out of a chaotic situation. After facing off against a hitman in a urinal—and with blood still smeared over his face—Jim wisely stops beating him up. He instead proposes that the two men take a break and bond over a beverage. The hour ends with them expressing anti-establishment sentiments, admitting they want more from life, and hunting down the two idiots who stole an expensive vehicle owned by Howard Hughes. 

This scene reinforces Duster‘s entertaining yet lightly serious tone and allows Holloway to expressively bring out more layers to his flawed character. He reminds the viewers that, even if Jim is loyal to the nefarious Ezra Saxton (Keith David) right now, there is good and a desire for change underneath that hard exterior. This characteristic is highlighted in the premiere, too, when Jim meets determined rookie FBI agent Nina (an equally powerful Rachel Hilson). She urges him to become her spy in Ezra’s organization so they can bring him down together, revealing to Jim that his beloved boss is likely responsible for his brother’s death. And as we know from Lost, Holloway is excellent whenever his character has grief as a driving force. 

But again, Duster is not all doom and gloom. Despite the simmering tension, the show can be very lighthearted, a vibe reflected in Holloway’s performance whenever Jim shares time with his young niece (who is actually his daughter), flirts with Izzy (Camille Guaty), and cracks jokes with Ezra’s adult children. It’s clear that Abrams and Morgan know how to utilize the actor’s strengths in a way that shows after Lost failed to do, like the far-too-brief Intelligence, Yellowstone, and the niche Colony. (Heck, Community was better at tapping into Holloway’s hunky cowboy appeal than those series.) And whether Max renews Duster or not, for now it’s just a delight to see the guy playing in this sandbox once more.