Episode Grade: (8.4/10)
Mike goes on the offensive after losing patience with the process. Just as it seems like he’s finally moving things along, Bunny makes a shocking move that will severely alter the landscape.
Plot (45/50)
This was the best-written episode of the season thus far, and it needed to be in order to inject life into the show. Things generally moved in the same direction as the many subplots start to come together under a common theme: the system in Kingstown is being put under pressure, and rightly so. Indeed, it was the actions of individuals in said system that ultimately led to the prison riot. It’s nice to see that continuity carry over from the first season. The prison riot constitutes an undeniable failure on the part of those in charge of maintaining the law in Kingstown, so it absolutely warranted scrutiny from higher powers such as the justice department. And this is all without the knowledge that officers of the law made a deal with the prisoners to have an inmate murdered before reneging on said deal after the murder had occurred. In other worse, they got themselves into this mess, despite explicit warnings from Mike. History seems to be repeating itself as the DA refuses to honor the deal he made with the leaders. The leaders have done their part in restoring peace outside by reestablishing order on the inside, and they have been, more or less, patient with the DA. Well, that patience ran out, and it’s unnecessarily cost the DA his life. For a moment, it seemed like Mike had put enough pressure on the DA to get him to sign the release papers, but in the end, it was a case of too little, too late. A final comment on the DA before moving on. His reasoning for keeping the leaders in prison was that they were dangerous criminals. He knows that similarly-dangerous criminals caused a riot and took over an entire prison not long ago. He knows that the dangerous criminals he’s crossing are extremely resourceful leaders. Knowing all that, why would he underestimate them? It’s an absurd judgement call that literally leads to his demise when it could’ve all been easily avoided if he had just kept his word. With that said, Bunny moving the hit on Mike to the DA puts Mike and everyone else in an incredibly tough spot, not to mention that it will invite even more scrutiny from above. This is a breaking point that will force Mike to take a side between cops or criminals. The writers would have to thread the needle to somehow allow Mike to maintain his neutrality, and I just don’t see a logical way for this to happen. Let’s say Mike sides with Bunny and co. (the criminals). In the short term, maybe he uses the very real threat to her life as a way to get Evelyn to sign the release papers, and maybe she does out of fear for her life. Or maybe she takes the threat as motivation to come down even harder on said criminals. If she does, she will have the unwavering support of every officer of the law in Kingstown because the murder of the DA is an act of war. If they’re willing to go after the DA, then no one’s safe. From their point of view, releasing the leaders at this point would send a message that law enforcement upholds its word only when threatened, and that’s a message they simply can’t afford to send. It doesn’t matter who put out the hit, they will have to come down hard on everyone. There’s still another four episodes to go for the season, so it’ll be very interesting to see which direction this all goes in the next episode. There were a bunch of other intriguing developments around the main plot. Despite Mike getting Bunny out of solitary, things aren’t looking good for t he Kingstown prisoners as they struggle in the new Anchor Bay environment. The guards show favor to the AB, and Kareem can’t quite get a grip on the situation as he deals with his own issues. Interestingly, the leader of the AB still allies himself with Bunny as he deems the DA a bigger threat at the moment. On the outside, Robert is under pressure for SWAT’s actions during the riot as the investigation turns towards him. He’ll need to find out which of his men is talking, but then what? Kyle proves himself useful in this episode after it’s revealed that he was the one who took the bonds out of lockup in what is a rare win for Mike. Kyle was also needed during Mike’s confrontation with Davidson, the lead guard at Anchor Bay. This was a great way to get Kyle involved after he’d spent a half season on the outskirts of the main storyline. Moving away from Iris’ subplot allowed the show to get back to the hard-hitting drama that made it a success in the first place. She will no doubt be back, but hopefully they keep her away long enough to let things play out.
Character Development (13/15)
Over the course of the season, Mike has been backed further and further into a corner by just about everyone. Well, he finally came out swinging in a desperate attempt to get Bunny out of prison ASAP. His job as “mayor” requires him to maintain neutrality, but his attachment to Bunny has caused him to burn bridges with the likes of Evelyn and Davidson. His job also requires him to remain independent, yet that’s something he’s jeopardized by offering Wendy a blank-check favor. Whether it’s with Iris or with the near-zero rates being paid to prisoners for corporate gain, Mike is bothered by the injustice even though he understands that the word he lives in is as corrupt as it gets. He’s also trying to run things as if his reputation as mayor has not diminished, as if the riot never happened. In reality, as Wendy points out, the world is changing. Mike will have to adapt or he will see his influence continue to diminish in Kingstown. Moving on, Kyle is spiraling under the pressure of impending fatherhood and mind-numbing unemployment, but if he or someone around him don’t snap him out of it, he’s going to lose himself. Right now, he just wants to be useful. That’s why he took the bonds and that why he assaulted Davidson. With that said, both were reckless actions that might come back to bite him. Tracy and Mariam are both concerned for Kyle, so when do they step in? Mariam has been going easy on Mike lately, but after seeing his negative influence on Kyle, I wouldn’t be surprised if she too snaps. She’s still trying to help in her own wishful thinking type of way, and it must be disappointing for her to realize that the only reason Jacob wanted to speak to her was so that he could ask for Mike’s help. There were developments for other characters as well. Kareem seems to be struggling to come to terms with the death of the inmate that he caused. Bunny’s stint in prison has pushed him off the edge and likely ruined whatever’s left of his relationship with Mike. Finally, Evelyn was playing her own game all along, as expected. She will have some big decisions to make that will have a major impact on how things play out. Keep an eye on her in the upcoming episode.
Theme/Messages (4/5)
- “People say a lot of things… it’s hard to tell when they mean it.”
- You can not outrun the consequences of your actions.
- Eventually all corruption turns into “bad” corruption.
Acting (11/15)
Jeremy Renner (Mike), Tobi Bamtefa (Bunny), and Taylor Handley (Kyle) had solid, if unspectacular, showings.
Cinematography (11/15)
- Nothing of note.