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Thick as Mud

Thick as Mud
Season 3, Episode 5

Air date	February 14, 2012
Written by	Elmore Leonard and Jon Worley
Directed by	Adam Arkin
Episode Guide
← previous "The Devil You Know"	next → "When the Guns Come Out"

"Thick as Mud" is the 5th episode of the 3rd season, and the 31st episode in the series overall. It was written by executive producer Elmore Leonard and story editor Jon Worley and directed by Adam Arkin. It first aired on February 14, 2012.

1 Plot
- 1.1 Synopsis
- 1.2 Recap
2 Production
- 2.1 Cast
3 Screenshot Gallery

PlotEdit

SynopsisEdit

RecapEdit

Limehouse and one of his underlings discuss the Bennett money situation. Basically, Limehouse lied to Dickie about Mags' missing money. In fact, Limehouse is kindly watching over the millions in cash. Having Dickie killed as soon as he returns to prison is briefly discussed, but Limehouse says that is not the deal he made with mama Bennett.

Meanwhile, Boyd and Arlo dig a grave for Devil. Arlo tries to take the money out of Devil's wallet, but Boyd stops him, and then takes Devil's cell phone, calling it the man's "last gift."

Later that night, Givens returns to Winona's house. The Marshal is worried that the mother-to-be will be angry, but Winona explains that she is done trying to change her ex-husband and future father of her child.

The next morning, Lance wakes up Dewey, who his laying in a bathtub full of bloody water. Dewey has a pair of freshly stitched-up incisions on his abdomen. Lance then holds up a plastic bag filled with bloody organs, and tells Dewey they're his kidneys, and what will happen to the hapless donor without them. "Poisons will begin to build up in your blood," Lance explains. "You're body is going to go into convulsions." Lance then poses an alternative: Dewey can buy back his kidneys for $20,000. He'll have to go find the money or Lance will sell the kidneys to somebody else for even more money.

Givens and Rachel then pull up outside Lance's hotel. Seems Dewey was spotted fleeing the joint and stealing a car. The Marshals enter Lance's room and find the bloody bathtub. Uh oh.

Dewey, in the meantime, storms into an appliance store and demands money from the register. It's only a little over $200, and Dewey becomes crazed, wanting to know where the cash is from the store's expensive items. The clerk explains that everyone uses credit cards now, and shows the desperate man a fistful of receipts.

Dewey panics and heads to a strip club... and, again, finds almost no cash. "It's 10 in the morning!" a pole dancer explains. A bouncer then tries to disarm Dewey, who savagely beats the big guy with the butt of his gun.

Later, Givens shows up and the strippers explain that Dewey was bleeding from sutures on his abdomen. One notes that it looks as if the man had been involved in a kidney transplant because her aunt who'd gotten a pair of kidneys had identical scars. Givens frowns.

Ava visits Boyd at Johnny's bar. Boyd regrets that he was basically forced to kill Devil -- and Ava comforts her man. Ava then shows the scar on her chest. "Dickie Bennett is going to pay for that," Boyd growls. Boyd then shows his own scar. The message is clear: the two are in this life together.

Givens, meanwhile, visits Ash in the hospital where he is cuffed in his bed with a morphine drip control in hand. The corrections officer is not pleased to see him, and tells Givens that with his two accomplices dead, he knows that he's looking at a life sentence. "What do you know about kidneys?" Givens persists. "They're the Cadillac of beans," the uncooperative Ash responds, but when Givens takes his drip control away and sits on one of his broken legs, Ash admits that Lance has grand designs of stripping Dewey's body for "parts" -- parts that will sell for tens of thousands. Afterward, Givens has a flirtatious conversation with a nurse named Layla, who has come to look in on the patient. He asks her about doctors who might be involved in organ transplants, and she volunteers that he might be interested in a certain Dr. Boisineau.

Back at Johnny's bar, Boyd has a sit down with Ava's Dr. Stern (Randolph Adams). But Boyd doesn't to talk about Ava's rehabilitation after being shot. Instead, Boyd knows the doc has been writing prescriptions in exchange for protection and Oxy. Boyd gently suggests that the man sell the Oxy and give Boyd the money, but the man panics and says "They'll kill me." Boyd extracts the information that he means certain people in Frankfort, and turns up the pressure on the doctor to cooperate with him by not-so-subtly threatening the doctor's elderly mother if he refuses.

Dewey, meanwhile, wanders into a convenience store and demands cash. The clerk, however, doesn't like Dewey's blasphemous language -- and fires a shotgun from under the counter. After a brief firefight inside the store, Dewey scrambles into a storage room.

Sometime later, Givens and Rachel arrive at the store where the local police are trying to get Dewey to surrender. Givens talks with Dewey through the closed storage door, and explains that if Dewey's kidneys really were removed, he wouldn't be able to urinate. "Why don't you try taking a piss and, if you can do it, we know you still have your kidneys," Givens says. Dewey, who has been shot in the leg, hobbles to the sink... and successfully urinates. "I must have four kidneys," the greatly relieved escaped criminal shouts.

As Dewey is removed to an ambulance, Rachel informs Givens that corrections officer Ash has died in the hospital.

Later, Boyd and Johnny enter a bar where Tanner and a young woman, Trixie, sit near the jukebox. Boyd takes out Devil's cell phone and dials the last number called. Suddenly, the cell phone resting in front of Tanner begins to buzz. Bingo! Boyd takes a seat at Tanner's table and wonders what business the man had with Devil. "I want you to take a message to the man you work for. Do you understand?" When Tanner doesn't answer, Johnny cracks him. "You tell your boss that if he has anything to say in reply, I'll be at my cousin Johnny's bar," Boyd says, as the brothers exit with Johnny cracking him with the butt of his shotgun again for good measure. "Stop on in," Johnny says as he wheels his way out, doing a little guerilla marketing, "we have two-for-one Wednesdays and Thursdays."

Givens, in the meantime, has gone to the hospital to discover that Ash died of a post-surgery stroke. He inquires after the nurse, who he describes as being "Cute as a pailful of kittens," and gets a puzzled look in return.

Hours later, Givens shows up at the woman's house, and she invites him in for a drink. Turns out that she works at a nearby transplant center -- and had her first shift as a hospital nurse shortly after Ash checked in. "A person with a suspicious mind might think you had something to do with something," Givens says. Suddenly, Lance appears from around the corner and sticks Givens with a hypodermic needle. The Marshal immediately falls to the ground. Uh oh.

As Givens lies on the floor, Layla and Lance argue over what to do with the Deputy Marshal. They ultimately decide to take his kidneys before killing him. Lance removed Givens' pistol and sticks in his rear waistband, then drags the unconscious man into the bathtub. As he starts setting up for the surgical procedure Layla appears with a gun. She shoots her lover and Lance falls into the tub on top of Givens who is slowly regaining consciousness. A cocky and confident Layla is about to shoot Givens when there's a "BANG!" A hole appears dead center in Layla's chest. Given had retrieved his pistol from her dead accomplice's waistband and shot the woman through right her boyfriend/criminal cohort's body. "I didn't think you'd do that," the dying young woman says with astonishment. "I didn't either," Given groggily responds.

Afterward, Givens recovers on a stretcher and confesses to Art that he has never shot a woman before. It is having a strange effect on him (regret).

Quarles, brimming with his usual bonhomie shows up at Johnny's bar to meet Boyd, and has a pat-down performed on his body, but not his arms. "Bottom line, Boyd: You and I make a lot more money as partners rather than enemies," Quarles proposes. Boyd then explains the term "carpetbagger" to Quarles, who doesn't seem to like the comparison. Quarles quickly finishes his bourbon and excuses himself. For now, there will be no partnership.

Limehouse, meanwhile, meets with Tanner's girlfriend Trixie who tells Limehouse all about Boyd's meeting with Tanner -- and how Boyd and Johnny sent a message to Quarles. Limehouse hands the woman some cash for the information. "Keep your ear to the ground," Limehouse advises.

Once again, Givens returns home to Winona's house at a very late hour. He finds a note on the counter. Givens head falls. The message is apparently not good.

(Recap taken from Thick as Mud IMDb page)