During the filming of the finale of FX’s series The Lowdown, Ethan Hawke struggled to contain his laughter while shooting a particularly funny scene. The moment involved Hawke’s character, Lee Raybon, breaking into a local feed store to administer bovine muscle relaxants to his injured friend Marty, played by Keith David, resulting in an unintentionally hilarious sequence.
Hawke, who also serves as an executive producer on the show, admitted to Entertainment Weekly that he was unable to maintain a serious demeanor.
“I mean, I gotta tell you, that’s the most angry I’ve been at myself as an actor in probably 20 years,”
Hawke said.
“I could not keep a straight face. I kept laughing. I could not stop laughing.”
Improvised Comedy Amid Intense Drama
The funny scene was largely improvised, with series creator Sterlin Harjo encouraging Hawke and David to play off each other and embrace the silliness. The aftermath of the feed store escapade shows a noticeably stoned Marty voicing complaints about his dosage while doodling and making animal noises in the car, which pushed Hawke to further bouts of uncontrollable laughter.
“Something about Keith and that medicine and him getting high off that medicine, I could not stop,”
Hawke revealed.
“I went home and was cursing at myself because I could not stop laughing.”
Despite such lighthearted moments, the season finale contains deeply dramatic events that test Lee Raybon on personal and professional levels. The episode follows Lee’s investigation into Dale Washberg’s murder, which has dire real-life repercussions, including the death of Arthur, portrayed by Graham Greene. Hawke reflected on the weight of Lee’s mistakes:
“He made a bunch of mistakes. It was an accident, but he got somebody killed. The stakes are huge for him, and I think there’s a little bit of humility he learns by the end.”
Confronting Nemesis and the Complex Nature of Truth
One of the pivotal moments in the finale is Lee’s confrontation with Donald Washberg, played by Kyle MacLachlan, who is revealed not to be involved in the murder plot crafted by his sister-in-law Betty Jo Washberg (Jeanne Tripplehorn). This interaction highlights how truth can vary depending on perspective. Hawke explained,
“Any one of the characters you could pick out from the show… to use [Donald] specifically, in Lee’s narrative, he is the bad guy. But from Donald’s point of view, he’s trying to make the best of a hard situation and he’s doing what he thinks is the right thing. They’re just intersecting in a violent way.”
Yet, Lee does not fully disclose all information during their exchange; he lies about never meeting Donald’s deceased brother, despite encountering him at a bookstore. Hawke elaborated on Lee’s paradoxical relationship with honesty:
“Lee’s obsessed with the truth, and yet he doesn’t always tell the truth. It’s part of his problem. And part of what makes him such an interesting character to play, in my interpretation, is that I don’t think Lee remembered that he’d met him until that moment. In that we all tell ourselves half truths, I think Lee means everything he says, it’s just always through trying to manipulate somebody else that the truth gets shaded.”
A Bittersweet Community Ceremony and Lessons in Compromise
The finale includes a community ceremony where Donald honors his late brother’s wishes by returning family land to Arthur’s grandson Chutto (Mato Wayuhi), who then gives it back to the Osage Nation. This moment carries both pride and sorrow for Lee.
“It’s one of those the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away moments,”
Hawke said.
“I think he has immense pride for actually doing something good in his life and knowing that, in doing it, he really screwed up. I mean, he got a man killed. Nothing is simple. What’s that [saying] — wisdom is holding two opposing truths in your hand at the same time? It’s the heartbreak that comes along with true wisdom.”
Lee’s experience during this event teaches him the importance of compromise, reflected in his decision to write a different story for the Heartland Press. Instead of going after Donald with a scathing exposé, Lee crafts a more nuanced cover story about Dale Washberg. Hawke commented,
“He really wants to take Donald down, but he realizes that he’d do more good by not writing that and writing a different piece. I love that, at the end, the article that he writes is titled ‘The Sensitive Kind’ — which is really as much about himself as it is about [Dale] — but about how sometimes we get mad at ourselves for our sensitivity, and we see our vulnerabilities as weaknesses, and we don’t understand that through those vulnerable spots comes enlightenment, comes an opportunity for us to grow and be better.”
Personal Growth Amidst Professional Trials
Apart from Lee’s professional struggles, the finale also explores his personal growth. He attends his ex-wife Sam’s (Kaniehtiio Horn) wedding and suggests that his daughter Francis (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) live full-time with her mother, marking a significant emotional step for him. Hawke emphasized this change, saying,
“I think the heart of the show is actually learning how to be a good man and surviving his many mistakes and showing up for his daughter at the wedding. And I think that’s the emotional journey of the whole show. The man Lee is at the beginning of the show would not be able to go to that wedding and show up for his daughter. The man he is at the end is able to, and that’s something that I found really moving.”
The Potential for Future Seasons and Broader Storytelling
Hawke expressed enthusiasm for continuing the story of Lee Raybon should FX and the creative team decide to renew The Lowdown for another season. He is particularly drawn to the rich, multicultural history of Tulsa and how it informs the show’s setting.
“The whole world-building of the show is something that really appeals to me,”
Hawke noted.
“Tulsa’s history is right there on the surface, and it’s so multicultural and it’s so exciting to see all these different groups of people. And what is journalism today? What is the truth today? How do you tell multiple points of view, multiple truths, and hold them as one? It’s so difficult, and that’s what Lee’s trying to do. I would love the chance to see the continued adventures of Lee Raybon.”
Even if the series ends after this season, Hawke appreciates that the story stands on its own merits without a cliffhanger.
“What’s beautiful about The Lowdown for me is that, if we don’t get to make another one, it does function as a limited series,”
he said.
“I get really frustrated with a lot of shows where you watch the end of the season and it’s just a cliffhanger. It doesn’t leave you with the completed story at all, and you have to wait a year and a half before you get to see the next chapter. I find it so frustrating, and I feel like Sterlin did a great job of both tying up this story so it feels like a novel, and also kicking it out so that we could see more of Lee.”
Availability of The Lowdown Finale
The finale of The Lowdown aired on November 4 and is available for streaming the following day on Hulu.
