It is the 10th overall episode of the series and was written by co-executive producer Fred Golan and executive story editor Chris Provenzano and directed by John Dahl.
The series is based on Elmore Leonard's stories about the character Raylan Givens, particularly "Fire in the Hole", which serves as the basis for the episode.
Following the shooting of a mob hitman, Raylan is sent to Lexington, Kentucky to investigate an old childhood friend Boyd Crowder, who is now part of a white supremacist gang.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 2.08 million household viewers and gained a 0.8/2 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.
Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) finds Boyd (Walton Goggins) in the woods, having formed a church to help drug addicts and other spiritually reformed criminals, threatening them to quit their habits.
He later finds that he is Virgil Corum, a convict charged with illegal possessions and whose background fits all of Reardon's recent events.
Not wanting to let the relationship cause destruction, Raylan breaks up with Ava (Joelle Carter) and Reardon made a deal with a judge to reduce her probation.
In its original American broadcast, "The Hammer" was seen by an estimated 2.08 million household viewers and gained a 0.8/2 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Seth Amitin of IGN gave the episode a "great" 8 out of 10 rating and wrote, "In the long run, it may be better for the show to ditch the serialized parts and take the Law & Order approach.
"[6] Luke Dwyer of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 3 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Redemption was the main theme of 'The Hammer'.