Mike must deal with two new criminals – Detroit gangster Frank and Cortez, a cold-blooded young killer with dangerous plans.
Photo: Dennis P. Mong Jr./Paramount +
Last week Mayor of Kingstown resume, I mentioned new famous actors of the show: Lennie James! Laura Benanti! Eddie damn Falco! But it seems like I'm missing someone important—someone who may not be as significant as an actor, but is, at this point, very important as a character in season four. Say hi to Derek Rivera everyone.
Rivera's character in the series has not yet been officially named, but judging by the end credits, he plays the hitman Cortez. We met Cortez on Round the Mountain last week when he fired on Bunny's caravan and was pursued by the KPD. At the time, I wondered if he might work with newcomer Frank Moses, who only appeared in one scene and had not stated any intentions. By the end of this week's Promises to Keep, it becomes abundantly clear that this cold-blooded young killer has ties to the Colombians. But we don't know anything else about him because he refuses to say a word to the police. We just know that he is dangerous and that he has plans. None of our permanent Kingstown residents are safe.
By the way, this does not mean that Cortez is completely No I work for Frank. We get a few scenes with Mr. Moses this week, and while he explains his plans in Kingstown very seriously, he remains a mystery. He charming a mystery, however, thanks to how commanding Lennie James is, he is on screen every minute.
Here's what we know about Frank Moses: He's part of the Detroit Mafia, and while anyone who knows anything about organized crime knows that Frank is one of the baddest bad guys, he still walks freely because he has legitimate business interests and keeps his distance from what his employees are doing. His crew had always been friendly with Bunny's crew, but now that Bunny – with the help of “Mayor” Mike McLuskey – had driven the Russians out of Kingstown and marginalized the Aryans, the area had become an attractive target for out-of-towners. Frank wants to help Bunny maintain control over him.
The nature of this arrangement remains rather vague, but it involves train yards that Frank owns and uses to transport drugs. And that goes for Mike, whether he likes it or not.
The scene where Frank meets Mike is the highlight of this episode (and overall a very good episode). Mike tries to break the initial tension with a joke: “Coffee? Water? They're both flammable.” He then plays coy, asking if Frank has anyone in prison, insisting that it is the only place in this town where he has any real attraction, which is in many ways a lie. So Frank simplifies his demands by telling Mike that all he really wants is for Mike to tell his lackey cops to look the other way when the Detroit guys start taking out Bunny's rivals.
I liked the general tone of the conversation in this scene, where Frank compares himself to a baseball player finishing what Mike started with the Russians. But I have to be honest: one of the things I like most about the Mayor of Kingstown (even though I don't think I should) is seeing as Mike is a total loser. his unofficial, unpaid work. And after the first meeting with Frank, I think our main character will lose again.
I do think Mike is right to be wary of Frank, who almost certainly has secrets he's not sharing with his new partners in Kingstown. This very much It is suspicious, for example, that Frank so quickly reduces his proposed share in Bunny's business from 30 to 20 percent. But I also think Frank has a better understanding of business than Mike. If I had to trust one of these two to keep the peace in the city, I would choose Detroiter. So I can't wait to see Mike ruin everything by trying to take back control.
In the meantime, we can continue to enjoy the ongoing fallout from Mike's latest failure. It's funny to hear Mike give Bunny tentative permission to work with Frank while reminding him that protecting his own people takes priority. (“It all matters,” Mike says.) Meanwhile, Kyle McLuskey is battered and battered in the Administrative Segregation cell block, where he is served and groomed by racist gang leader Merle, the man Mike most wants his brother to avoid.
As you might expect, Mike responds to Kyle's beating with further intervention. And, as expected, his intervention only makes the situation worse. In exchange for Frank allowing him to justify his work in Kingstown, Mike asks Bunny to take revenge on the prisoner who beat up Kyle. So Raphael shuts the man up in the shower, which has two effects:
1. Merle is impressed by how the criminals go out of their way to protect the ex-cop, which likely only makes Merle more determined to lure Kyle to the Aryan side.
2. This infuriates Nina Hobbs, who tells her right-hand man David Torres (Clayton Cardenas), “McLuskey doesn't pull any strings in my prison.”
The new warden is as prominently present in this episode as Frank Moses; and just as Lennie James brings entertaining pop to his scenes, Edie Falco makes every moment count. She, too, has a compelling scene with Jeremy Renner in which Mike actively threatens Nina by saying, “I will make sure that whatever happened to my brother in your prison happens to you.” She seems completely… frighteningly – calmly. When Mike reminds her that she promised to keep Kyle safe, she retorts, “I told you I would let him live. Isn't that right?
Nina decides her best move here is to “reassign” Carney. (“Should have done this on day one. Little man doesn’t know where his bread is buttered.”) What does “repurpose” mean? Well, after Nina gives this order to Torres, we see Torres talking in Spanish to one of the Colombian prisoners, which irritates Carney so much that he feels the need to warn Nina. It turns out he's warning the wrong person. Later that evening, after preparing dinner for his disabled father, Carney heads out when he is greeted by Cortez (hello again, Cortez!) and executed.
Does this mean that Torres is allied with the Colombians? Does this mean Nina is? I should have found out after years of watching Mayor of Kingstownwithout assuming anything about who actually works for whom or why. But I will note this: when Nina checks her cell phone earlier in the episode, she has a lot of messages from Switzerland…possibly from some bank. Once again, Mike has no idea who his enemies really are.
• I was happy to see Laura Benanti (a longtime favorite of mine) on the show last week, but after her scenes this week as Kingstown's new prison matron Cindy Stevens, I'm a little concerned Mayor of Kingstownplans for the character. First, we see how overwhelmed she is by her assignment at Ad Seg, and she needs a wounded and confused Kyle to tell her to radio for backup when a prisoner stabs himself in the neck. We then see her having drinks with Mike, who gets her to stay in touch with him all too easily while she's working. I hope Cindy doesn't turn out to be some kind of fool.
• Mayor of Kingstown The female characters aren't as bad as some of the other shows created by Taylor Sheridan. (Yellowstone? Ugh. Landman? Ugh.) But women tend to be a little one-dimensional and often don't play as much of a role in the story as they could. I thought about this during this week's obligatory scene with Mike's secretary Rebecca (Nicole Galicia), who is very upset to find out that Frank Moses is hanging around. (Rebecca: “You don't pay me enough for Motor City… This man is murderous.” Mike: “Who isn't in this damn city?”) Mike gives her a raise and calls her “priceless.” Amazing! So maybe she has her own storyline?
• Kyle's wife, Tracy McLuskey, does remain a relatively complex character, thank goodness. I appreciate that she is the voice of reason when it comes to her husband's predicament, urging him to go public with what he knows about Robert (and also, for goodness' sake, go to the prison infirmary). But I also appreciate that she understands Kyle's (and Mike's) reasoning for keeping quiet: if he spills the water, Kingstown as a whole will fall into chaos. She just doesn't buy it. When Mike says Kyle is doing the right thing and adds, “I need you to believe it,” she replies, “I don’t.” (Mike: “Can you fake it?”)
• As I speak to the ladies of Kingstown State, I must mention ADA Evelyn Foley, who may no longer be around. Last week, Ian seemed to be pushing Robert to take her off the board. This week we see Ian hiding on a bridge and secretly keeping track of Evelyn's daily commute. Oops.
