In episode 9 of MobLand, Eddie confessed to Conrad that he knew about Maeve’s involvement in the Antwerp affair, which led Conrad to assume that Maeve was also the one who had informed the police of the location of Archie’s dead body. But before dealing with Maeve, Conrad went to meet with Jaime, along with Harry, Seraphina, and Paul, and seemingly made him an offer that he couldn’t refuse. Jaime had only one condition: Harry needed to take care of the rat in their family before doing business with him. Harry called up O’Hara for a chat, thereby indicating that she was the one who was betraying the Harrigans. While all this was going on, Tattersall convinced Alice to accept Conrad’s dinner invite so that she could plant evidence and get Conrad and Maeve arrested, which she did. Harry caught her red-handed but gave her a free pass so that the old-timers could be shoved out of the way, at least for the time being. In addition to all that, Kevin killed Rusby, and Bella successfully executed yet another sting operation on her dad. Now, how were these subplots wrapped up in the season finale of MobLand? Let’s find out.
Spoiler Alert
Plot Revelation Overkill
Episode 10 of MobLand opens with the revelation that Kevin always knew that Eddie is Conrad’s son. After that, Kevin asks Harry if he knew Eddie is Conrad’s son, to which Harry says that he did. Then Kevin confronts Conrad and tells him that he knows the truth of Eddie’s paternity, and once he gets out of jail, Eddie will be Conrad’s responsibility. A few moments after that conversation, Eddie meets Maeve, who tells him that he is Conrad’s son; she even insinuates she wants to be his “queen,” in case Conrad doesn’t make it all the way to the end. So, Eddie goes and confronts Bella about him being Conrad’s son and then tries to kill her. This is what I call overkill, and it kind of reminded me of how Game of Thrones handled the revelation of the true heritage of Jon Snow. You know, there’s that amazing moment in Season 6 where Lyanna, as she is dying, gives her baby to Eddard; Eddard looks at him, and the episode does a jump cut from a close-up of the baby’s face to that of Jon’s, as the music rises. No words are needed to explain why Eddard suffered so much humiliation, even from his own wife, or the level of disdain that Jon has endured for so many years. It was subtle, and hence, really emotional. And then the show kept repeating that piece of information for 2 more seasons and ruined it.
I feel the same way about this “Eddie is Conrad’s son” situation. That “other brother” exchange between Maeve and Kevin, followed by Eddie walking into the room, was enough. After that, the show just needed to convey that information to Eddie, because everyone except for him knows who he is. So, what exactly is the point of repeating it until the disgusting nature of that fact has worn off? I have a feeling that, initially, that was the plan, which is why the conversation between Eddie and Maeve, in jail, is so quietly hilarious and repulsive, as Maeve insinuates that she wants to be his “queen.” That, combined with Eddie nearly strangling Bella to death before Kiko and Zosia come to her rescue, thereby underscoring the “nature versus nurture” commentary, would’ve illustrated how twisted the Harrigans are. After hinting at Eddie’s true lineage, it just seems like the writers felt that that’s the pinnacle of a plot twist, and that’s why they need to present it to the audience in the most obtuse way possible, just in case they missed it the first time that Eddie is Conrad’s son. I guess in the era of watching TV shows and movies on OTT platforms while you’re scrolling through your Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube FYP, this kind of storytelling is the need of the hour.
O’Hara Is The Rat
After Kiko and Zosia are done taking care of Rusby’s body, Harry has removed Kevin from the crime scene, and Paul has taken Eddie, Bella, Seraphina, Gina, and Jan to a safe house in the woods, Harry meets O’Hara at the shipping yard to confront her about being the rat that everyone has been talking about. She admits that she approached Richie 9 months ago to talk about fentanyl and “other stuff.” What’s this “other stuff”? That’s not revealed in this episode, but I’m assuming that she’s talking about leaking every single piece of information regarding every business operation that fuels the Harrigan empire to Richie. No, she didn’t tell the police about the location of Archie’s body, and she obviously didn’t botch Seraphina and Brendan’s Antwerp deal; that’s all Maeve. Once Harry has confirmed that O’Hara did betray the Harrigans by siding with Richie because she was “scared” and that Richie trusts her blindly for doing so, he tells her to leave and wait for his call. This, in my personal opinion, is a really bad plot twist. It’s supposed to be shocking for the sake of being shocking and nothing else. O’Hara was never propped up to be a vital part of the Harrigan business.
On paper, yes, she is important to the Harrigans because, whenever they get into some kind of legal trouble, O’Hara is the one who helps them out. And given how reckless the Harrigans are, O’Hara must’ve been at her wit’s end finding all the loopholes to save them from going to jail. Hence, sure, it makes sense for her to betray them. However, the issue I have is that we never actually get to see all this. O’Hara hardly has any scenes over the course of the 10 episodes. Paul has more scenes than she does. So, yeah, if the character with the least amount of impact on the plot or dialogue-heavy scenes is revealed to be a “rat,” it’s bound to be shocking. It’s like saying that you are about to bring a bowl full of apples and then waltzing in with a cup of orange juice. Sure, it’s surprising, but beyond that, what does it mean? I don’t know about everyone else, but I wasn’t emotionally invested in O’Hara’s character arc or anything like that. Therefore, her being the rat literally did nothing for me. I mean, when this information is conveyed to Kevin, he is not even surprised. That’s how blasé this “twist” is. The only person who does express shock is Conrad, but the old man is off his rocker and was under the impression that O’Hara was making a move to get him and Maeve out of jail “in two shakes of a lamb’s tail,” whatever that means. So, that doesn’t count.
It’s Kevin’s Time
After informing Conrad that O’Hara is the rat, which means that he killed Archie (his best friend) for nothing, Kevin goes on an epic rant. He talks about killing Rusby, the guy who had raped him, and how that hasn’t fixed all the things inside him that had been messed with since his conception by Conrad and Maeve. He wants to know why Conrad is the way he is. He inquires why Conrad never gave Brendan an ounce of respect or taught him the ropes, which is probably why he got himself into sticky situations. And he also wonders why Conrad has never accepted Eddie as his son. I don’t know about those first 3 points, but that last one is very interesting. Conrad and Maeve go around pretending like they can do anything they want. They act like the most debauched hooligans known to mankind because they are under the impression that they own everything under the sun. So, why did they humiliate their own son by making him marry Conrad’s former arm candy and even make him raise his son with Bella as his own? It’s not some big political move or anything like that. It’s just chaotic for the sake of being chaotic and very unbecoming of two people who think they are the “king” and “queen” of London. “Unbecoming” and “chaotic” are understatements; Conrad and Maeve are idiotic. So idiotic that they have, according to Kevin, tarnished the Harrigan name.
But now that Conrad and Maeve’s influence is limited to the prison they are in, Kevin claims that he is going to restore the respect that their last name once had, and the old-timers will have to abide by the rules that their son will set. That’s fair. Everyone knows that the Harrigans aren’t what they once used to be. I mean, Conrad is still taunting his own son by sexualizing Bella, as if he is a high school bully. Elsewhere, Maeve is still under the impression that Harry and Seraphina have been working with Alice and the police to harm the Harrigans. They are deluded as hell, and it’s impossible to run any kind of business, let alone one tied to the crime world, with such nonsensical people at the helm. Later on in the episode, you see them talking to each other about “tests” and Maeve comparing herself to Mother Nature and whatnot, as if they are in some mythological tale directed by John Boorman or Desmond Davis; they are nuts! So, it makes sense for Kevin to take the rudder from their hands and steer the proverbial ship in the right direction. However, the issue is that Conrad and Maeve have spent so much time being destructive that no amount of “talking to” is going to make them think otherwise. They either need to be discarded completely or stuck in some kind of a ceremonial post that’ll create the illusion of power. If Kevin thinks that, after all this time, Conrad and Maeve are going to “listen” to him, he is fooling himself.
Richie and O’Hara Are Dead
The “Death Conga” of this episode is apparently commenced by Tattersall having Alice killed because, after framing Maeve and Conrad for the murder of Fisk and Mukasa, she is of no use to anyone. On top of that, there’s a chance that she’d have told somebody that Tattersall, a senior police officer, was in cahoots with Richie. So, yeah, she is gone. Yes, yes, the golden rule of TV is that, until and unless you see a dead body, you can’t assume that a character is dead. But, and let’s be real for a second, I’m pretty sure Alice isn’t being taken away to meet the tickle monster. She is a “loose end” in this whole fiasco, and death is the only thing that she’ll meet at the end of the road. As Alice is taken away by a bunch of thugs, Tattersall informs Richie that the job is done. So, Richie shifts his focus to O’Hara, who has come to meet him at the Sinful Monkey and seems to be playing both sides, but the truth of the matter is that, in this episode, she is siding with Harry because she thinks it’s beneficial for her to be on his team rather than Richie’s. She convinces Richie to send one team of thugs to the safe house where Eddie, Bella, Gina, Jan, and Seraphina are, and another team to her office, as she has told Harry that that’s where she’ll be meeting Richie. For some reason, Richie fully trusts O’Hara and does what she says in the hopes of winning this war, but as soon as a majority of Richie’s men leave his headquarters, it becomes obvious that O’Hara has walked Richie and his whole army into a trap.
Paul sets off an explosion at O’Hara’s office, thereby killing off the squad that was sent there to ambush Harry, Kevin, Zosia, and Kiko. At the safe house, Bella, Gina, Jan, and Seraphina run off into the woods nearby, while Zosia and Kiko kill off all the men that had been sent there by Richie. Eddie mysteriously goes missing after this point in the episode for some reason. Kiko dies in the process. Zosia takes a moment to mourn him before taking the Harrigans, sans Eddie, and the Da Souzas to the Cotswolds. Before Richie can realize what has hit him, Kevin and Harry barge into the Sinful Monkey, kill whatever’s left of Richie’s gang, and then proceed to riddle O’Hara and Richie with bullets. I’m going to be honest, folks, this felt like the blandest way of resolving the whole conflict between the Stevensons and the Harrigans and punishing O’Hara for being a rat. Richie was the underdog in this whole equation. What’s the joy in watching the underdog lose? On top of that, it seemed like Richie was purposely dumbed down, especially in the concluding moments of his character arc, so as to make Harry seem smart. As much as I love Harry as a character, making him an amalgamation of James Bond, Jason Bourne, and Ethan Hunt doesn’t make for an interesting viewing experience. If he has a solution for everything and he can casually resolve anything with bullets, it gets boring. Some people have complained about the heavy plot armor that Harry has been wearing since the 7th episode, and after this finale, I have to agree with them. Until and unless the writers make Harry the least bit vulnerable and fallible—since it’s always great to see a character hit rock bottom and then make their way to the top, as opposed to beginning at the top and staying there throughout—he will go down as one of the most boringly written characters in TV history.
Harry Defies Kat
After “winning the war,” Harry and Kevin return to the shipping yard, where the former presents the recording of Alice, where she admitted that Conrad and Maeve have been put in jail on false charges, because of course Harry has a recording of Alice saying something that’ll set Conrad and Maeve free; the man can do no wrong even if he wanted to. Kevin is of the opinion that they should let Conrad and Maeve rot in jail for at least 2 weeks so that they are flexible enough to follow his orders. Harry does point out that, now that O’Hara is dead, they need to find a new lawyer. But, hey, this is Harry we are talking about. No task is too hard for him. He is going to snap his fingers, and a new lawyer, somehow more honest than O’Hara, is going to appear out of thin air. Do you remember a point in this show where these 2 were trying to prevent Conrad and Maeve from initiating any kind of bloodshed because it’d sully the Harrigan name? But then they did it anyway. Now, are Kevin and Harry’s actions going to scare away potential employees, like a new lawyer or a new armed guard (to replace Kiko), after they’ve killed Richie like that? Well, if this was done by Conrad and Maeve, maybe that would’ve been the case. However, since the writers and directors of this show are so in love with Harry and Tom Hardy, I am sure this won’t be an issue in the journey of the Harrigans going forward. I mean, just look at the conversation between Harry and Kat.
Despite her limited screen time, Kat has been portrayed as this uber-powerful entity who can make anyone bend to her will. What does Harry do? He says that he is loyal to the Harrigans, through and through, and he will continue to serve them until he dies. Yeah, sure, before all of this, Kat had a conversation with Seraphina about “the future.” Seraphina, after returning home, put a statue of a Greek mythological figure–it was either Ares or Achilles–on the table while sitting on Conrad’s chair to indicate that she either wanted war or she was gearing up to utilize Conrad or Harry’s weakness. So, you can assume all you want that Kat and Conrad’s illegitimate daughter are going to band together to take over the Harrigans’ business operations. From what I have seen so far, though, Harry will one-up them as well, like it’s no big deal. I don’t know if this creative decision is Hardy’s fault, because he is one of the producers, or someone else’s, but they really need to rectify this to avoid making Harry a one-dimensional weapon of mass destruction. Or maybe don’t introduce villains, who Harry can defy without a second thought, so early into the game, because it sullies the anticipation of a conflict. If he can metaphorically spit in Kat’s face after all this build-up, then why should I be scared for Harry if Kat actually decides to go ballistic on him?
Harry Is Not Dead
At the end of MobLand episode 10, Harry is stabbed in the chest by Jan while having an argument about how messed up their lives are and how they can’t experience anything that’s considered “normal.” Yeah, after all this, if you think that a knife is going to take out Harry, then you haven’t been paying attention. It would’ve been interesting if Harry’s journey ended this way because it would’ve stood in stark contrast to all his acts of bravado. But unfortunately, this is not that kind of a show. At the cost of sounding repetitive, no, Harry is not dead, and he won’t be until, I don’t know, season 7. With all that said, we do get a moment of vulnerability amidst this exhibition of invincibility, as Bella admits that she was raped by her father when she was a child. Apparently, there was no other way to get back at “Lord” Pennock, which is why she orchestrated this sting operation with Antoine’s help. Since Kevin is a rape survivor as well, they understand the pain and trauma they’ve faced, and that reforges the bond that was being destroyed because of all the family politics. It’s a heart-wrenching moment that is weirdly sandwiched between all these scenes of glazing Harry and that concluding sequence where Conrad dances to “Sympathy for the Devil” by The Rolling Stones. Well, at least the show didn’t forget to resolve Bella’s seemingly arbitrary subplot, which is a win.
If it isn’t clear already, I didn’t like the season finale at all. I thought that the writing was pretty solid until episode 7, but then the show went off the rails and never really recovered. Everybody kept talking about a war, and what we got doesn’t even qualify as a skirmish. The odds were always stacked against the Stevensons, and then they lost completely. So, what was the point? Since I have brought up Game of Thrones already, I’m going to cite it again. Imagine that the Harrigans are the Lannisters and the Stevensons are the Starks. How would you have felt if the Starks were wiped out in the first season itself and then the show became all about the Lannisters? Would that have been interesting? No, right? Well, that’s where MobLand is currently. They laid the foundations for a long-running battle between the Harrigans and the Stevensons and then ended it prematurely. Now they have to bring in new players to spice things up, rely on the messiness of the Harrigans and the Da Souzas to keep things intriguing, or dedicate a major chunk of the season to finding Eddie who went mysteriously missing after the attack on the safe house. All the best to the showrunners on that. Anyway, those are my thoughts on episode 10 of the show. If you have any opinions on the same, please feel free to share them in the comments section below.
