Mayor of Kingstown (Season 2) Episode 8: There hasn’t been a single episode of ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ where its protagonist, Mike McLusky, was not stressed. He was always worried about one thing or the other. Be it about Bunny or Iris, he always took any responsibility that came along his way for the sake of Kingstown’s peace and well-being.
In the latest episode, he seems surprisingly calm, which appears in itself a significant shift in his attitude. Earlier, he was seen taking care of the drone issue in prison, besides figuring out how to rescue Bunny after the DA’s death. In the end, he also learns from Kyle about Iris being in the town.
The new episode, streaming on Paramount+, sheds light on these aspects in a great mix of different pacing patterns. If you are reading further, be aware that there are spoilers ahead.
Mayor of Kingstown (Season 2), Episode 8 Recap:
Episode 8: Santa Jesus
At the end of the previous episode, Mike McLusky (Jeremy Renner) found out that Gunner was behind the drones supplying drugs to the inmates. While one would assume that he would try to get to the bottom of this matter, the new episode shows him in a chilled-out state. Like any other workday, Rebecca (Nicole Galicia) opens Mike’s office and starts her job while he is AWOL. She calls him repeatedly to ask about his whereabouts. But she has no idea that he kept his phone in his office drawer.
Instead, he goes to a remote bar and gulps down his sorrows with a couple of shots of drink. The bartender warns him that he is drinking too much alcohol. After a friendly argument with her, he asks her to keep his car keys and his gun inside her locker. He wants her not to return the keys, no matter how badly he asks for them later. Then he leaves to take a leisurely walk around the place.
Back in prison, Bunny Washington (Dianne Wiest) brings a piano as a gift for Raphael (D Smoke). He says that since he is about to leave, he wants Raphael to have some company. Apparently, the DA got recovered from the shooting incident and now helped Bunny get out by signing his release papers. So he leaves the prison the very same day. Right outside, he gets a warm welcome from one of his gang members, making him feel like Kingstown’s king.
Meanwhile, Mariam (Dianne Wiest) keeps calling Mike’s phone, but it goes straight to voicemail. She wants to alert him to help Jacob from the juvenile facility at the earliest. During one of her attempts, Kyle (Taylor Handley) comes home, who is just as unaware of where his brother is. Since Mariam has no idea either, he decides to look for him around the town. He goes to Bunny’s hideout place to check with him.
Bunny, by that time, reaches his rooftop and celebrates his freedom. He calls Mike to ask him to join but fails to reach him. Kyle arrives at his doorstep, where a Crisp member frisks him. Once he says that he is Mike’s brother, he is taken to Bunny, who realizes that he is the police officer Mike often spoke about. The two go away from the party to speak in private. Kyle believes that one of the gang leaders put a target on him. Bunny assures that he will check on it for the sake of Mike. He also gives Kyle a reality check about the omnipresent danger that he may not sense due to his white identity.
Ian (Hugh Dillon) gets a call from the prison about the serial killer Charlie eating pebbles and hurting his teeth. So, Ian decides to take him to a dentist. He picks Charlie up from the prison and stops by Ben Morrissey’s place (the officer who snitched on Robert Sawyer about the prison riot). He locks Charlie in handcuffs and threatens Ben to loosen them if he does not take the case back. He scares Ben by talking about Charlie’s horrific crimes.
So, Ben sees no other option but to call the DA’s office and takes back his complaint. But he gets so angry to have been manipulated that he takes out his anger on Charlie. It upsets the killer, who ends up attacking Ben to death. As a result, Ian is left with covering up this murder by the felon. On his way back to the prison, he contemplates killing Charlie. He even puts a gun on his head but decides not to shoot at the last moment.
Ian then meets Kyle, Robert, and Stevie in their regular bar to celebrate the reversal of the case. Robert seems happy now that this weight has been lifted off of his shoulders. He assumes this happened because of Mike’s interference, but none of them has heard from him. That’s when Kyle gets a call from Bunny to assure him that there is no target on Mike.
By that time, Myriam learns that Jacob has been transferred to a new section. The prison guard tells her she can meet him only after a few days. Meanwhile, Joseph takes Iris (Emma Laird) to meet Milo (Aidan Gillen) at a church. He furthers his manipulative command over her mind through his monologue, telling her that she is wasting her talent.
Mayor of Kingstown (Season 2), Episode 8 Ending Explained:
Whom does Allison call in the morning?
Mike reaches a pub to meet Allison – the wife of Terry, who died during the prison riots. He drinks along with her when they share their sorrows about that horrific incident. They connect on a deeper level. He even ends up in her house, spending the night with her. While he recovers from his hangover by the morning, she speaks with someone on the phone and cuts the call the moment she hears him calling. It isn’t still certain who she spoke with or why she did either. But it looked like she was giving someone details about his present location.
Who follows Mike in a car?
By then, Ian and Kyle returned to Mike’s office to learn that he had left his phone in his drawer. Mike returns to the bar where he kept his gun and his wallet to take them back. She stops him from retrieving the gun. So, he begrudgingly comes out to be followed by a car, where the driver seems hell-bent on killing him. Mike tries to evade the attack and, in the end, shoots the driver in the head. While it isn’t clear who attacked him, it seems most likely to be someone from the gang of Gunner (because Mike threatened him related to the drone issue). It may also be some other gang leader, who is angry that only Bunny is out, but they are not.
What does Milo want from Mike?
Disturbed by this sudden attack, Mike sits on a nearby bench, where Milo suddenly appears in front of him. He says that someone told him that Mike was looking for him. Since the episode ends on this cliffhanger note, only the next episode can confirm what this Russian mobster wants from Mike. Considering his recent visit with Iris, it may also have to do something with Mike’s association with her.
