I am not really sure if this was the finale I was expecting, but whatever it was, I really enjoyed it. The last episode of Mayor of Kingstown Season 4 gave Mike and Kyle the closure they were looking for. And after a violent storm, peace was finally restored in the valley. But that doesn’t mean that this story has come to an end. There are still some monsters out there lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike back at Mike and his friends. But that’s a different story for another season. Yes, I know the show hasn’t been renewed by the streaming platform, but maybe we will get some good news soon enough. Because honestly, this can’t be the end of the McLusky brothers. We want to know more about them, especially how things are going to end for them. We want to know what happens to the King of Detroit and if he will get the punishment he deserves. Actually, this was one of the things that irked me in the final episode. It doesn’t mention Frank Moses even once. He can’t just disappear into thin air. He’s not the kind of monster who would go down without a fight, right? And what about the cartel? Will they retaliate? And how? I think I am asking too many questions and spoiling too much for you guys, so let me hit you with a spoiler warning before I dive deeper into episode 10.
Callahan Orchestrated the Attack
Yes, all of you who said that it was the Aryans who opened fire on Mike and his friends are correct. Merle Callahan sent 3 men in riot police gear to take out his sworn enemy, Mike McLusky, but as always, they couldn’t even get near the mayor of Kingstown. He remains unscathed, even though Stevie did take a bullet to the shoulder. Also, it is to be noted here that Kyle wasn’t on the hit list of these gunmen, as Callahan had no idea that Mike had gotten his brother out of prison. Actually, it came as a shock to him when Kyle confronted him in the episode’s ending, but more on that later.
So who were these shooters? Well, I don’t know about the other two, but one of them was Billy. You remember Billy, right? The bald guy who worked with Todd Shaver? Well, if you’re still drawing a blank, then here’s a refresher: he was the one who tried to grab Mike when he visited Shaver in one of the earlier episodes of this season. And later, when Callahan broke out of prison, Billy was the one who helped Callahan get rid of Shaver because he was too weak to lead the Brotherhood. In episode 8, Callahan had bid farewell to Billy before he left for Belleville, Ohio, and I thought that that’s the last that we’d see of him, but man, I was wrong. I think it was Billy who had called Callahan in episode 9 to plan the attack on Don’s Diner, which is Mike’s regular spot. The tenth episode began with Billy and two other members of the gang laying down fire on the diner trying to kill whoever was inside. The episode didn’t bother explaining how the Aryans got their hands on such expensive tactical gear and big guns, but maybe they had some hidden stash or something. I mean, you all saw Callahan stealing money from Shaver, and it’s difficult to imagine a guy like Callahan getting his hands on such arms and ammunition, so something is really amiss here. It’s possible that Callahan had shaken hands with the Colombians to eliminate their common enemy, but maybe we will find out more about this new alliance in the next season.
Coming back to the scene, while the gunmen were busy firing away, Ian sneaked out the back to distract the two shooters, giving Mike the chance to shoot them down. However, Mike and party quickly realized that there was a third shooter in the vicinity, and as soon as he stepped inside the diner, Kyle attacked him with all his might. You see, right now Kyle’s like a ticking bomb waiting to explode. He has so much pent-up anger inside him, and his demons won’t leave him alone. He even refused to see his child until he had hunted down the monster who killed his wife. And to fulfill that objective, Kyle’s willing to go to any lengths. He’s ready to kill anyone or die trying on the battlefield. Mike can definitely see that, which is why he’s trying his best to protect his brother from himself. He stopped Kyle from murdering the third shooter, as he wanted him to keep him alive for interrogation. And voila, this third gunman was none other than Billy. The moment Mike saw his face, he knew the shooters were sent by Callahan. However, before he could ask any more questions, they heard the sirens coming their way, and therefore hid Billy in the basement while Captain Walter and his team were investigating the scene.
Captain Walter wanted to know more about the third shooter, but Ian lied to his face, telling him that there were only two. Once again, Ian’s doing the dirty work for Mike, but I think this was necessary. If they had arrested Billy, he would have just gone back into the prison system to lead a comfortable life behind bars, and Mike didn’t want that. He wanted to make him suffer. Therefore, as soon as Captain Walter and his team left the scene, Mike started his interrogation to find out where Callahan was hiding, but Billy wouldn’t budge. The only thing he confirmed was that Callahan was still in Kingstown, which, ironically, Ian had been telling Mike from the day Callahan broke out of prison. He had told Mike that the guy was obsessed with him and wouldn’t leave Kingstown as long as Mike was alive. But Mike didn’t want to believe it. Well, he underestimated Callahan, as always, and it was Tracy who had to pay the price. This was the reason why, when Mike was done interrogating Billy, he didn’t hand him over to KPD. Instead, Mike shot him to death, so he wouldn’t dare come after his family again. As far as Kyle’s concerned, Mike knew the demons that had been haunting him from the inside, and the only way to ease his pain was to find the monster responsible for his suffering.
Nina Hobbs Lifts the Lockdown
So, a clash between the Crips and the Colombians was imminent, and we all would have been disappointed if the finale hadn’t addressed it. In the episode, as soon as Bunny came out of the hospital, he got in touch with Rafa and asked him to get his men ready to face their sworn enemy head-on. However, Rafa told him that they were still in lockdown, to which Bunny replied that the mayor would sort that out. Coincidentally, the Colombians had been planning the same thing. Cortez paid Hobbs a visit and asked her to lift the lockdown so that Roberto Cruz and his men could put an end to their rivals. In episode 7, Moses’ men had attacked the cartel’s shipment and burned it to the ground to settle the score with the Colombians. However, the cartel held Bunny and his men responsible for the loss of their shipment, because either they couldn’t differentiate between Bunny and Moses, or they believed they were partners, thereby implying that Moses acted on Bunny’s instructions. Whatever the case might be, when both Cortez and Mike asked Hobbs to execute the same order, she knew what was coming her way. All day long, she sat in her office with a carefully composed smile on her face, waiting for the bad news to arrive at her table. She was already prepared for this. And I think this was also the reason why she told Cindy to take a day off. She knew that Cindy was a working mother like herself, and therefore didn’t want her to get hurt or enrolled in the conflict between the two factions. Or maybe Hobbs was just being nice to Cindy and didn’t want her to go back to Ad Seg, as it would have reminded her of the traumatic experience she had with CO Breen. Hence, she assigned Cindy to the infirmary, which Hobbs knew was going to be crowded by the end of the day.
Also, in the episode, when Cortez visited Hobbs, he described in detail the dying moments of her deputy, David Torres, to not only intimidate her but also to remind her how a good soldier should act. He told her that Torres sacrificed himself for the cause, and maybe Hobbs should learn from him. We all know that Hobbs is just helping the cartel because they have been keeping a watch on her daughter. If it wasn’t for her, she would have never helped these gangsters, which likely is the reason why Cortez occasionally questions her loyalty. Furthermore, I think Cortez’s words also established the fact that Torres was dead for sure, and won’t return to our screens again. But you shouldn’t trust this sicario, not until you have seen Torres’ dead body yourself.
Kevin Is Dead
Well, this didn’t come as a surprise to me, because the moment Bunny told prison guard Kevin Jackson that it was his last day at work, I knew this was literally going to be his “last day.” I mean, the last time we heard someone talking about retiring from this line of work was LJ, and you all know what happened to him, right? So Kevin’s death was one we all saw coming. But I am a bit confused about something here. It was Roberto who killed him, which means Roberto knew that Kevin was the leak, but he couldn’t have figured that out on his own, especially when he was in lockdown. Therefore, it’s most likely that he received this information from Cortez or Hobbs. However, if Cortez already knew about Kevin, then why didn’t he just shoot him dead outside the prison? The same way he killed Carney? Maybe he had planned to kill Kevin after the prison riot, but Roberto finished the job first? Or maybe it was Hobbs who found out about Kevin and shared the news with her Colombian buddies, to prove her loyalty. And after they received the tip, they had been keeping an eye on Kevin, waiting for the right moment to put him to death. As soon as the riot started inside the prison, Kevin ran towards the restricted area and hid himself there so as not to become collateral damage in the skirmish, but it turned out his fate was already sealed, and no one can outrun their destiny, right? The moment he stepped into the infirmary, Roberto, lying on a stretcher, recognized him and stabbed him in the neck, killing him on the spot. Kevin’s last day at work turned out to be his last day on the planet. By the way, it was quite funny that we had a full-fledged riot inside the prison and none of the major characters died in it. Both Rafa and Roberto survived the day. I know Rafa was hurt, but I think he’s going to survive, and both the cat and the mouse will likely have another clash until one of them finally bites the dust.
Bunny Attacks the Cartel
I think the season finale tried to hint that after Moses’ arrest, Bunny had taken over his empire and now controls the Crips in both Kingstown and Detroit. He told Mike, “Kingstown and Detroit are aligned.” I guess this was why, after his release from the hospital, Bunny didn’t go back to his “safehouse terrace.” Instead, he set up his new base at Moses’ fortress near the rail yard, which further implied that our big man had become even bigger. And with his new powers, Bunny’s first grand plan was to wipe out his archnemeses, the Colombians, both inside and outside the prison. So while Rafa dealt with Roberto inside the prison, Bunny’s men, armed with automatic guns and grenades, launched an attack on the cartel’s safehouse, that is, the automobile garage, from where Cortez and his men were operating. But you see, Cortez is smarter than most gangsters out there. The moment he realized he was surrounded, he didn’t fight back. Instead, he surrendered because that was the only way to stay alive. Later, Mike asked Bunny to keep Cortez alive because he wanted to find out who he reports to, but before Bunny’s men could get any information out of him, this little sicario beat them to death and simply escaped. Well, it’s very likely that Cortez will return in Season 5 and may retaliate with an even bigger force to show Bunny and Mike what the cartel is capable of.
Callahan Tries To Turn Himself In
So, all this while, Callahan had been listening to the police radio to find out whether his minions had pulled off the job successfully or not. However, as soon as he heard that the police only found two shooters dead at the location, he became certain that Mike had captured one of his soldiers to get to him. Callahan knew that Mike would force information out of his fallen brother by any means possible, and would come knocking down his door, which was why he decided to turn himself in to the police, because prison seemed to be the safest place for him right now. And not just any prison. I’m not even talking about Anchor Bay. Callahan was well aware of the fact that he was wanted for Tracy’s murder, and would be charged in Ohio, which was far, far away from Mike’s jurisdiction. In short, Mike would no longer be a threat to his life, but unfortunately, things didn’t pan out the way Callahan had planned.
In episode 10, Callahan walked into the Kingstown police station thinking Captain Walter, being a righteous cop, would play by the books and protect him from Mike’s wrath, but even Walter didn’t have any sympathy for such an animal. He told Ian that prison wasn’t meant for monsters like him. He was an evil man who could never change his ways, and therefore deserved nothing less than a death sentence. In the end, Walter handed Callahan over to Ian so he could do whatever he wished with him.
Kyle Exacts His Revenge
In episode 10’s ending, Ian finally handed Callahan over to Mike so Kyle could exact revenge on his wife’s killer. He brought Callahan to the rail yard, which I think has become Mike’s new favorite spot to kill people so Bunny can easily get rid of the bodies. I know Mike was quite shaken after he shot Billy in the head, because Mike still believes that he’s not a cold-blooded killer. But I think Mike no longer needs to pretend that he’s a good guy. Well, pulling the trigger can indeed take a toll on your psyche because Mike’s no Robert Sawyer. But I believe by now, Mike should make peace with the fact that he needs to kill a few people to maintain law and order in town. Back to the closing sequence, Callahan believed it was Mike who was going to shoot him dead, but he was surprised when Kyle arrived on the scene. He tried to provoke Kyle and hurt him more by speaking about Tracy, but Kyle refused to get manipulated by his words anymore. He knew that Callahan was nothing but an animal who liked torturing the weak to make himself feel like a man. But he crossed all limits when he killed a helpless mother in front of her child. This is something only a monster can do, and therefore he didn’t deserve an easy death. Instead of putting a bullet straight in his head, Kyle shot him between the legs to give Callahan the most painful death he could have imagined. Something important to note down here, earlier in the episode, Kyle went back to his mother’s house and pulled out his father’s service revolver, which I think he was going to use to shoot himself, but then he got a call from someone, likely telling him that they’d found Callahan. So what I am trying to say here is that, in a way, Callahan did save Kyle’s life, not once, but twice. And maybe after putting this monster to death, Kyle will finally be able to put his demons to rest.
In his last moments, we saw Callahan howling like a coward, because that was who he really was. A snake who bites people in the back and attacks their loved ones to make himself feel stronger. He didn’t deserve to live any longer. In season 4’s ending, Kyle walked up to him and looked him in the eyes while he was begging for his life. And finally, he shot him in the head to end his story. Mike comforted his brother and gave his gun to Ian so he could get rid of both the body and the murder weapon so nothing could be tracked back to Kyle. Most likely, Callahan’s body will be thrown to the animals, so he’ll just disappear from the face of the earth with no one ever remembering him. The way Kyle had promised him.
Is It The End?
I think Callahan’s death mended the differences between the brothers, and finally brought the McLuskys together. By getting rid of this monster, Mike was finally able to save his brother from killing himself, and maybe it will give Kyle the strength to move on from the loss and look after his son in the best possible manner. However, the question that still bothers me is, is this really the end? To be honest, I don’t think this is how the story of the McLusky brothers should end. I know Mike doesn’t have many options at his disposal, but Kyle has the whole world ahead of him. He can either choose to stay in Kingstown and raise his kid in this godforsaken city, therefore condemning his child to the same fate as his father, or he can leave Kingstown for the sake of his kid and start a new life somewhere else, away from the shadow of his brother, Mike McLusky. Other than Kyle, the season finale also left the fate of Moses and Cortez hanging by a thread. We don’t know what’s going to happen to them, or what they are going to do next, and only the next season of the show can answer these questions, so I am just keeping my fingers crossed, hoping the show gets renewed for the next season soon enough.
