Mayor of Kingstown (Season 2), Episode 1: Created by Taylor Sheridan and Hugh Dillon, ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ is a crime thriller that follows the McLusky family in Kingstown, Michigan. While dealing with the contemporary issue of the American prison system, this series touches upon the themes of racism and power relations.
The first season ended with an explosive event of a mass prison riot while also building intrigue about its implications in several aspects. Be it the impact on the prison guards or the change in perception toward this incarcerated population, the episode opened up several threads of introspection.
The tension that preceded Mitch’s gruesome murder was brewing under the surface throughout that season. And the eventual eruption is bound to have an impact on all those who are involved, from the police and the inmates to the liaisons like Mike.
Mayor of Kingstown (Season 2) Episode 1 Recap:
Episode 1: Never Missed a Pigeon
Directed by Stephen Kay, the new episode titled ‘Never Missed a Pigeon’ follows the aftermath of the Kingstown prison riot. While it caused several deaths, the impact on mental health was detrimental, which we witnessed through one of the prison guards – Kareem (Michael Beach).
Kareem’s wife anxiously searches for him throughout their house when she finally locates him after he’s locked himself inside a cabinet, curled up in a fetal position, and obviously suffering from PTSD. He even screams upon her arrival, still not being able to get over the trauma of the horrifying tragedy he had to bear witness to, besides the death of Ed (James Jordan).
While Mike (Jeremy Renner) earlier takes Iris (Emma Laird) to his house from the jungle, he now brings her to his private boat, trying to ensure her safety from Milo (Aidan Gillen). Meanwhile, the interpersonal relationships inside the jail worsen, creating messy fights where the guards refuse to take any responsibility because of the violence they were subjected to during the riot.
Everyone struggles to make peace with this new reality. On the other hand, a swat team led by Robert (Hamish Allan-Headley) raids a drug dealer’s cook house, infuriating crip boss Bunny (Tobi Bambtefa). To keep things amicable with him, Mike heads over to meet him.
The riot, combined with the murder of a male guard by one of the inmates, causes the system to tighten security at the women’s prison. When Miriam (Dianne Wiest) arrives to teach, she finds it difficult to do her job amidst the armed men. The security then decides to deny the inmates education since their preference is for security.
Meanwhile, Kareem is being questioned by a medical professional about his current mental state. While some other guards claimed that inmates raped him, he denies these claims and hopes to return to work as soon as possible.
Kareem’s intentions are unknown, but it’s possible that he’ll come back to exact revenge. When he finally enters the prison, Kareem takes out his anger on a prisoner by recklessly hitting him to death. Meanwhile, Mike witnesses a crime scene, and knowing there is no clear gang leader, he understands that these anarchic acts will continue until the inmates do not find someone to follow. He goes to meet Bunny, who now hides on the rooftop of one of his businesses for being scared of being killed on his usual spot. He is clearly not happy that his cook house was raided.
In response to Bunny’s outrage over the deaths of several prisoners, Mike points out that over 33 guards were also killed in the massacre. The prison guard stops the lack of a steady flow of phones or drugs in or out of prison, making him even more frustrated. Mike advises him to stop cooking or dealing drugs until the dust settles, which Bunny refuses to abide by. He then goes to meet his friends and discusses a strategy to tone down the number of deaths on the streets and inside the prison.
Since all of the previous leaders have died, he wishes to create an amicable situation in which a new leader can be anointed to help keep the ruckus under control. He then meets Evelyn (Necar Zadegan), who deals with the numerous deaths and individual crime investigations. By then, he suspects Milo of having escaped the prison during the riot since no one has heard from him. He does not believe that Milo is a part of the 300 bodies they found, which are non-identifiable. He goes into a panic mode seeing the Russian mob is likely out in the open.
Meanwhile, Miriam is mugged but refuses to press charges because he sees the level of crime they are making him pay for, despite the fact that it is only a minor misdemeanor. We can tell she cares about the prisoners and the impact of incarceration from the lessons she gives them.
So, she does not want to ruin the future of a naïve thief and urges not to press any charges against the kid. Kyle (Taylor Handley) leaves the Kingstown PD job and heads to his new one in the open waters. But he struggles to adjust to the new working routine.
Mayor of Kingstown (Season 2), Episode 1, Ending, Explained
Did Milo escape the prison during the riot?
Since Milo’s likely prison break petrifies Mike, he decides to move Iris to a safe house. Over there, she overhears the officers speaking about Milo probably having escaped the prison. So, she decides to head out in a panic, saying she wants to go for a walk. She manages to get out of the safe house despite the officers’ attempts to stop her and warn of a threat to her safety.
After leaving that place, she ultimately goes to Mike’s office to meet and speak with him. She asks whether it is true that Milo is out. Mike says that he does not know. Since he has no clear answer to her query, they spend a few moments together in solemn quiet. However, it is his gut feeling that the Russian mobster has certainly managed to escape the prison.
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