Duster season 1 episode 4 ending explained: Did Enrique The Blade kill Jim? What’s a bottle of Kentucky Bourbon got to do with it?

Animal Kingdom star Rigo Sanchez joins Josh Holloway in Duster season 1 episode 4. Titled Crimunalus Velocitus Super-Sonicus, the latest episode in the HBO Max series delivers action, comedy, and fast cars, including the titular cherry red Plymouth Duster.

In Duster season 1 episode 4, while trying to get close to Saxton's business dealings, Jim also deals with the aftermath of ditching Mad Raoul, who is sending an assassin to kill him. He meets the knife-wielding Enrique, better known as "The Blade," who is eager to end his life, no questions asked.

However, after a vicious fighting sequence that includes a bottle of bourbon and a Russian sociologist, Enrique decides to spare Jim's life after they make a deal. They team up at the end of the episode in a mad car chase, with Jim on the wheel and Enrique using his accurate knife-throwing skills to retrieve the stolen car that could save Jim from Mad Raoul's wrath.

Meanwhile, Agent Nina Hayes gets the news that Agent Breen has killed himself after her visit. But she finally makes sense of the former agent's last words, which could be a breakthrough in her investigation into Saxton.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers for Duster season 1 episode 4. Reader's discretion is advised.

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Duster season 1 episode 4 ends with Jim and Enrique The Blade making a deal, sparing Jim's life

Jim Ellis in Duster season 1 episode 4 (Image via Max)

As a tradition in the last few episodes of Duster, episodes kick off with a teaser of something big going down. In Duster season 1 episode 4, Jim gets a phone call about Mad Raoul sending an assassin after him, someone called "The Blade," and he should skip town before the man kills him.

However, at the end of the episode, Enrique The Blade spares Jim's life, and instead of killing him, they team up in a case chase where they shine through each of their skill. Enrique finds Jim in the bathroom of an auto body shop in the middle of the desert while he is waiting for Howard Hughes' car, which Royce had overheated with his reckless driving.

After showing off his blades, Jim instantly knows that the man is Enrique The Blade, whom Mad Raoul has sent after him. In Duster season 1 episode 1, Jim has signed in blood to work for Mad Raoul in Mexico, but with him turning back on his word, the Mexican mob boss wants to collect what is owed.

Jim and Enrique get into a fight, with Enrique using his roster of blades while Jim is left to fend for his life with whatever he can get his hands on, like a fire extinguisher. It proves successful because he distracts Enrique enough with the fire extinguisher to body-slam him into the ground.

Jim and Enrique during the car chase (Image via Max)

However, they stop mid-fight, become drinking buddies, and reflect on how their bosses think of them—Jim as just a driver and Enrique as nothing but an assassin. In a bid to keep Enrique from killing him, Jim offers a deal. He can give Enrique Elvis suede shoes that he stole in Duster season 1 episode 2 for Sunglasses, but the assassin isn't a huge Elvis fan.

Jim, however, has another offer, something better: his life in exchange for Howard Hughes' car. Mad Raoul likes cars, so Enrique takes the deal. Unfortunately for them, two young men have stolen the car while they were fighting, so the former enemies work together to chase after the two car thieves in Jim's Plymouth Duster.

They manage to retrieve the car in one piece, and Jim sends Enrique The Blade on his way with the luxury car. At the end of Duster season 1 episode 4, he doesn't have an assassin after him anymore, but he has one problem left: what to tell Saxton about the missing car.

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What makes Enrique The Blade hesitate in killing Jim in Duster season 1 episode 4 in the first place?

Throughout Duster season 1 episode 4, Enrique The Blade is depicted as a stone-cold killer working for Mad Raoul. He doesn't need to know why he needs to kill Jim or whether the hit is justified—he's just doing what his boss tells him. However, he hesitates mid-fight after seeing the bottle of Kentucky Bourbon in Jim's hand.

Enrique The Blade (Image via Max)

Jim, who sees Enrique hesitate whilst looking at the bottle, offers a truce. He offers to pause their fighting and drink instead, an offer that Enrique, who is eager to taste the bourbon, quickly takes. While drinking the bourbon, their conversation becomes oddly philosophical, with Enrique talking about a Russian sociologist named Pitirim Sorokin and his different types of social mobility.

They two get to talking about how each of their bosses only sees them for the job that they do for them. Jim is nothing but a driver for Saxton, while Enrique is nothing but a killer for Mad Raoul. Jim reckons that to change the system, they have to make themselves visible to their bosses—make them notice what they are worth.

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Nina Hayes gets a lead from Agent Breen's last words in Duster season 1 episode 4

While Jim is fighting for his life in Duster season 1 episode 4, Agent Nina Hayes receives the somber news that Agent Leland Breen, whom she visited in Duster season 1 episode 3, has died. He killed himself, and Nina is experiencing some sort of guilt. However, her investigation into Saxton continues.

While talking with Awan about her encounter with Breen in the sanitarium, she mentions something that Breen has told her. Breen has told her before to "follow the numbers." Their digging leads them to a VHS tape made by Breen when he was still working in the agency. Although damaged by heat and time, Nina and Awan still manage to extract a message from Breen from the tape.

He mentions the name "Xavier" and addresses the camera, saying to expose Xavier and his network. But, "until then, trust no one." It doesn't appear that Agent Nina Hayes or Awan knows who this Xavier person is, but he's likely to appear in the next episodes of the series. Ironically, Duster season 1 episode 4 still didn't reveal the identity of the man from Washington, D.C., referred to as Cowboy.

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Catch Duster season 1 episode 4, along with the previous episodes of the series, streaming on Max.