When I asked the stars of Mayor of Kingstown, Hugh Dillon and Nishi Munshi, what to expect this season, they both had a similar response: “Enjoy the ride.”
It was vague, but also telling. It meant that the upcoming season would be full of moments that were too intense to share, and that saying anything would spoil the show. After seeing episode 8 (titled "Belleville"), they weren’t exaggerating. All you can do is enjoy the ride.
WARNING! Spoilers for season 4, episode 8 of Mayor of Kingstown.
Dark shows like this always have heartbreaking moments. In The Shield, it was Lem being killed by Shane, and Breaking Bad had Walter White betraying Jesse. While there have been a lot of tragic moments in Mayor of Kingstown, Tracy’s death could be the saddest because she was innocent, and now, baby Mitch has to go without a mother.
One of Callahan’s drug-addicted lackies sets the McLusky family home on fire. When Mike asks him where Callahan is, he says, "He gonna reckon with you, Mike, but make it hurt first." Sadly, that wasn't an exaggeration. Later, Kyle gets a call from Tracy, and Callahan is with his wife and baby Mitch.
Tracy pleads for her life and says to kill Mike instead of her and Mitch. She’s told that what’s coming is part of their (Kyle and Mike’s) punishment. The camera pans to the outside of Tracy’s sister’s house, and viewers hear a gunshot and a baby crying. Callahan leaves the house with Tracy dead.
Dark shows like this always have heartbreaking moments. In The Shield, it was Lem being killed by Shane, and Breaking Bad had Walter White betraying Jesse. While there have been a lot of tragic moments in Mayor of Kingstown, Tracy’s death could be the saddest because she was innocent, and now, baby Mitch has to go without a mother.
Never assume anything in Mayor of Kingstown because things are never what they seem. For example, at first, it seemed Frank Moses was trying to help Bunny become a better and more profitable leader. Instead, we find out Frank was actively trying to take Bunny out and take his territory. That is confirmed when Mike confronts Bunny’s driver, Lamar. Mike tells Lamar that there’s only one way for him to make it up to Bunny. We find out what that means later.
Towards the end of the episode, Frank’s right-hand man, Lawrence 'LJ' James, says to Frank, “There’s got to be a finish line. There’s got to be a way out.” It seems as if he’s against the current plan to move into Kingstown and how they went after Bunny. We’ll never know because Lamar shoots and kills LJ, per Mike's order.
Frank may not be an idiot, but even he won’t know who murdered his friend. For him, the easy guess is that it was the Colombian Cartel’s retaliation for stealing their product and killing their guys in episode 7. How this leads to Frank possibly going to jail remains to be seen.
On top of the plan to put Frank in prison, Mike has to focus on Kyle. Kyle has already tried to hurt himself in his cell after Callahan's call. Because of that, he's been on a 24-hour watch. This distraction could disrupt everything Mike set in motion, but we won’t know what’s going to happen until it does. So, to quote Hugh Dillon and Nishi Munshi, enjoy the ride.