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FX's latest crime thriller, The Lowdown, premiered on September 23, 2025. It follows the story of Ethan Hawke's Lee Raybon, a journalist and a bookstore owner from Tulsa, who gets entangled in a bigger corruption scheme involving the popular historical family, the Washbergs.
In the first two episodes of the series, it is seen that the death of Dale Washberg, just after Lee published an article about the corruption involving the Washberg family, made him one of the not-so-welcome residents of the community. However, he did not give up on investigating the death of Dale and found some clues that pointed toward the deceased's family.
Furthermore, with his articles about others, such as white supremacists Berta and Blackie, Lee found his life in more danger.
Here's what happened in Episodes 1 and 2 of The Lowdown.
Disclaimer: The article contains spoilers. Reader discretion is advised.
The Lowdown Episode 1 and 2 recap: Lee investigates Dale's murder
At the beginning of The Lowdown Episode 1, Lee is unconvinced about Dale's death as a suicide, and wants to find out more about it. This results in him attending Dale's estate sale.
However, he encounters Dale's widow, Betty Jo, who is not pleased with him being there and has to leave. But before leaving, he takes a first edition of Jim Thompson's novel with a note inside it. As he checks the note, he is surprised to see a message from Dale himself. The note was about how Dale's family hated him, especially his wife, who is full of secrets.
Later, he sells the stolen painting from the supper club and uses the money to buy all of the Thompson novels owned by Dale, thinking that he might find more clues regarding his death. Furthermore, he also learns about Betty and Dale's brother Donald's affair by trailing the Washberg family.
The Lowdown Episode 1 and 2 recap: Lee is attacked
Apart from delving deeper into Dale's death, the first two episodes of The Lowdown also show Lee getting in more trouble due to his articles. Just after Dale's death, Berta and Blackie, former convicts, break into Lee's house and beat him up for writing an article about them.
However, the attack does not scare him, as the next morning, he plans to publish more about them in Tulsa Beat, owned by Cyrus. He again encounters the duo, and now they end up kidnapping him and taking him to Allen Murphy, the contractor of the Akron company. They visit the questionable figure near a secluded bridge, with Lee stuffed in the truck of their car.
Lee, from the trunk of their car, witnesses Allen killing Berta and Blackie, leaving Lee shocked.
The Lowdown Episode 1 and 2 recap: Lee finds out more about Allen and meets Donald Washberg
In Episodes 1 and 2 of The Lowdown, Lee has experienced his fair share of unfavorable events, but it does not deter him from his goal. After he sees the duo getting killed, he flees from there in the former convicts' car, which he later finds out was filled with cash.
He then goes undercover and meets Blackie's mother, who tells him about Allen's past. Like Berta and Blackie, Allen was also a convict and made friends with Nazi gangs in prison. Although he transformed his reputation, he is said to have maintained those relationships with the gangs.
She also tells him about Allen hiring the duo for jobs and that recently they failed to take care of an assigned job in Skaitook. Lee finds another clue linking to Dale's death, as he lived in the city and died there as well. Furthermore, he also confronts Donald Washberg at Dale's memorial service.
He accuses him of being involved in Dale's death, which Donald refuses, and the confrontation turns heated. Lee is stopped by Marty, a private investigator who saved Lee's life on the bridge, and it is revealed that Marty is hired to trail Lee. At the end of Episode 2 of The Lowdown, Lee gets into an argument with Marty, who calls him out on his hypocrisy.
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