After the first two episodes set the table, it looks like episode three of Tulsa King Season 2 finally brings “act 1” to a close, escalating the budding conflict between Manfredi’s growing Tulsa operation and the old-school Dunmire empire, while also introducing a new plotline about Agent Musso and his vendetta against a terrorist bombmaker, Deacon, as well as suggesting there’s something amiss regarding the absence, or should I say disappearance, of Armand this season.
The gang splits up this episode, with Dwight going on an adventure with Musso (Kevin Pollack), Mitch (Garrett Hedlund) going on a date with Cleo (Bella Heathcote), and Tyson (Jay Will), Grace (McKenna Quigley Harrington), Bodhi (Martin Starr) and Goodie (Chris Caldovino) going to play Bingo. Okay, they don’t set out to play Bingo, but it ends up happening, since they’re following Dunmire’s son, Cole (Beau Knapp). But we’ll get to that.
First, Dwight. gets summoned by Musso. He might be a tough gangster, but when a Federal agent calls, Dwight has no choice but to answer. After being taken for a ride in a self-driving car (and expressing his distaste for the musical stylings of Nas), Dwight is bright to Musso’s location, and they go on a road trip to Texas. On the way, they get stopped by a highway patrolman, but Dwight is able to talk him out of giving Musso a ticket, promising to set the cop up with courtside tickets to the local sports team. Anyway, Dwight’s mission in Texas is to set up a deal with Deacon, a terrorist played by Dallas Roberts (loved him in Insatiable!). Roberts only has a single scene in the episode, but it’s a sure bet we’ll see him more as the season goes on, especially since Musso has some kind of personal connection to the fiendish terrorist.
Elsewhere, Mitch and Cleo reignite their on-again, off-again romance. They go on a fun date, complete with shoplifting and drunk driving (TV Squad does not condone drunk driving!). However, things take a turn when Cleo drives them to Dunmire’s estate. Obviously, she’s still mad that Dunmire (Robert Patrick) and his goons murdered her father and burned down his house with the old man still inside. She drives onto his pristine lawn and does some donuts, and then throws a bottle of booze onto Dunmire’s porch. Mitch stops her from throwing her lighter after it. After some thinly-veiled threats from Dunmire, Mitch and Cleo are allowed to leave, but tensions have escalated, to say the least.
The third story follows Goodie, Tyson, Grace, and Bodhi as they follow Cole Dunmire across town. They’re traveling in Tyson’s Cybertruck, which Bodhi points out is a fugly-ass car, though Tyson did have it modified with bulletproof steel. Cole stops at a Bingo game, but it’s not an innocent sport. Like everything involved with these mobsters, it’s a scam, which Goodie notices almost immediately. Naturally, he forms a plan to undermine the scam and win the Bingo pot for themselves, much to Cole’s chagrin.
The gang celebrates at a local strip club (Grace’s face as she watches the stripper’s acrobatic dance moves is priceless!), where Tyson accepts a private dance from a lingerie-clad cutie pie, while his friends go back to the distillery. Separated from the group, Tyson is kidnapped at gunpoint by Cole, and gets taken away.
Despite getting beat up by Cole’s goons, Tyson refuses to tell Cole about the precious stash of 50-year-old whiskey, worth $150 million, if I’m remembering correctly. However, when the stripper who shared a private dance with Tyson is threatened, he caves. Smash cut to Cole standing over the dead bodies of two guards assigned to protect the stash (RIP, we hardly knew ye). I suspected that maybe the pretty stripper lady was part of Cole’s operation, but the show doesn’t reveal the truth. Maybe next week. I wouldn’t mind seeing her again. I’d love to see more of her, uh, characterization… All jokes about the objectification of women aside, her brief scene about wanting to get out of Tulsa was actually surprisingly touching)
Dunmire’s guys throw Tyson into the trunk of his Cybertruck and open fire with their handguns. Thankfully, as mentioned before, Tyson had the vehicle bulletproofed, so he survives. The episode ends with Dwight and Tyson, in the empty room which once held a fortune in booze. Dwight asks if Tyson is alright, and he replies, “I’ll live.” As the camera zooms in on a calmly furious Dwight, he says, “Dunmire won’t.”
The war is on!
I miss Armand. He’s my favorite paranoid drunk. But it seems the show still has a plan for him. His wife shows up and says he’s missing. Combined with Agent Musso being coy about his status, I wonder just what he’s up to. Plus, Max Casella is just a joy to watch as an actor, so I think it’s just a matter of time before he shows up.
Where’s Sam Jackson? I was promised Sam Jackson! I don’t want him to overpower the story or draw attention away from the matter at hand, but I still want to see how he shakes up the show. Or maybe I just want to see him and Stallone, back-to-back, punching out bad guys… Well, worse guys. Come to think of it, Frank Grillo wasn’t in this episode, either. He hasn’t done much this season other than yell at Manfredi on the phone before getting hung up on, so I hope he gets to kick some butt soon.
Between a driverless car surviving Dwight’s frustrated gunshot and Tyson’s Cybertruck, I wonder if there’s any backdoor shady deals with Elon Musk going on? Then again, Bodhi calls out the Cybertruck for being ugly, and the driverless car is actually pretty sinister, so maybe it’s a wash.
I won at Bingo once. I got, like, $50 bucks.
Overall, I feel like the season is finally shifting gear into overdrive, and I’m looking forward to Dunmire getting what all bullies deserve: a kick to the teeth (or a dozen bullets to the belly). I’m less hot on the story with Deacon the Terrorist, but I’m open to being won over. There’s also the case of the missing Armond and the political ambition of Cal Thresher, but those were just background dressing in this episode.
Related: Tulsa King Season 3 Continues Dwight’s Rise To The Top Of The Underworld