Episode 5 of MobLand was centered around the funeral and wake of Tommy, which was attended by Conrad, Maeve, Kevin, Bella, Eddie, Harry, and Jan. The Harrigans and Harry were expecting the affair to be a bloodbath, but Richie did no such thing, and the event was conducted pretty peacefully. Only Eddie and Maeve were hellbent on antagonizing Vron, and when Vron clapped back at Maeve, the old-timer decided to ramp things up there and then. But Kevin subdued Maeve by slipping sleeping pills into her champagne, while Conrad advised Eddie to go home. That was when Richie decided to address the elephant in the room: he knew Valjon was a patsy that had been propped up by Harry in order to protect Eddie from getting the punishment he deserved for killing Tommy. Yet, he was willing to give Eddie a pass if he never stepped out of his house ever again. Later on, when Maeve came to her senses and remembered that she was “roofied” right after Vron insulted her, she seemingly gave Paul the green light to remotely detonate Vron’s car, thereby killing her. Episode 6 of MobLand is all about the repercussions of that particular action, and it also highlights what Seraphina and Brendan are up to with their ruby business. So, let’s talk about it.
Spoiler Alert
Conrad killed Vron
Episode 6 of MobLand opens with a devastated Richie sitting all by himself with photos of Vron and Tommy covering the wall behind him. The tears of Tommy’s loss haven’t dried up yet, and here he is mourning the loss of his wife. It’s pretty heartbreaking. Even if you aren’t as familiar with Richie as you are with the Harrigans or the Da Souzas, you have to admit that this is absolutely tragic. News of this incident starts to spread fast. Harry is seen talking to that mysterious guy called Donnie, who claims to have been sent by Kat McAllister, which seemingly shocks Harry, thereby meaning that there’s history between him and Kat. However, as soon as he learns from Freddie that Vron is dead, he tells Kevin to get Bella and Eddie and go to the Cotswolds immediately. Meanwhile, Harry himself rushes to get to Jan and then Gina, both of whom are understandably miffed about this sudden change in plans, and whisks them away to the Cotswolds for their safety. Alice, Fisk, and Mukasa buckle up because they know that the Harrigans and the Stevensons are about to go to war. That said, before the fireworks begin, some clarifications are in order.
Conrad addresses the bombing and tells Harry, Kiko, Zosia, Kevin, Eddie, Maeve, and everyone who assumed that Maeve is behind it that she isn’t the guilty party; he is. Yes, Conrad says that he is the one who killed Vron because he couldn’t stand the way Richie insulted him. Kevin is rightfully angry at his dad for ruining whatever semblance of peace they had managed to achieve, but Conrad is too busy being the macho leader of the house to listen to reason, especially when he is being egged on by Maeve. By the way, I think both Conrad and Maeve decided to kill Vron, but Maeve was the one who greenlit the detonation, and Conrad is merely taking the credit to save Maeve from the blame of having not one but two Stevensons killed.
Do you know what’s worse than Conrad killing Vron? The fact that he ordered Paul (whose fact-checking in this scene is hilarious) to put a bomb in Vron’s car a whole seven goddamn days before it was actually used. So, it wasn’t even a last-minute decision. Conrad just watched Harry use Freddie to plant guns and bombs in Richie’s house if a fight broke out (which was something that Richie never intended to do) when he had bloody C4 in Vron’s car all along. Conrad always wanted to kill her; it was just a matter of when. Conrad claiming that Richie’s words were intolerable, which is why he pushed the button, is a load of nonsense. That’s the shallowest excuse in the history of excuses to kill somebody’s wife and then wage a war against a man who has done nothing in retaliation to every single act of aggression against him. Given how Conrad tells Kevin to contact the Mexicans and get them to side with the Harrigans instead of the Stevensons, it shows how out of touch with reality he is. Hence, Kevin has to remind him that Archie was the only link between the Harrigans and the Mexicans, which is gone because Conrad killed him due to some vague insinuations of betrayal from Maeve. Are the Harrigans even good gangsters, or are they just petty people with too much power and money? Well, after this next scene, I think most viewers will certainly associate them with pettiness.
The Harrigans Taunt Richie
Richie calls Harry, who passes on the phone to Conrad, Maeve, and Eddie, who take turns to dunk on the poor, grieving guy. Conrad says that he is open to sending his dogs to eat up the charred remains of Vron that are probably strewn all over Richie’s front yard. Then Eddie admits that he killed Tommy and made him squeal like a piglet and cry for his mother, while O’Hara just hopes that Richie isn’t recording all this because there’s no way in hell she’ll be able to defend all this in court. Richie doesn’t interject while the Harrigans spew absolute venom on the phone. He just listens. Finally, when Conrad asks him to show the same spunk that he displayed at the wake, where he told Conrad that he’d kill Eddie if he saw him outside, Richie finally speaks, and he just says, “Run,” and hangs up. Conrad, Eddie, and Maeve feel mighty proud of themselves, while Harry and Kevin look dejected. I just want to take a pause and talk a little about how much I hate the Harrigans at this point. I don’t know why the hate didn’t kick in when it was revealed that Eddie had killed Tommy. Maybe it seemed like he was the only bad apple in the group and everyone else was unjustly facing the repercussions of his actions. But after Vron’s death and this phone call, I have nothing but disdain for the Harrigans.
Richie’s reference to an ongoing war between two countries in last week’s episode, and how it was similar to what was happening between the Harrigans and the Stevensons, might have been confusing. So, allow me to explain why the Harrigans are the villains of the show while the Stevensons are being painted as the villains by the Harrigans. Richie has been doing his job and flourishing. The Harrigans have been flailing around trying to get a win. Instead of introspecting and figuring out where they are going wrong, the Harrigans have chosen to put all the blame on the Stevensons. On top of that, they have opted for personal attacks instead of beating the Stevensons on the professional field. While the Harrigans are straight-up murdering members of the Stevenson family, they are claiming that petty insults, the bombing of an empty house, and a car chase are reason enough to goad Richie into a battle. As soon as Richie actually retaliates, Conrad will cross all the moral and ethical lines that haven’t been crossed yet while saying that he has the right to defend his turf. This is not how gangsters work.
Conrad and Maeve are taking a page out of the books of genocidal maniacs who have time and again hurt women and children, and when faced with even the slightest backlash, they’ve doubled down on their acts of brutality to assert dominance. Of course, anybody who has the decency to not go after women and children during a war won’t be able to match up to someone whose bloodlust has no limits. Does that mean that the former is weak and the latter is strong? No, it just means one is human and the other is not. And at this stage, if you are still rooting for the Harrigans to come out on top, it makes sense why you are lapping up all the fascist propaganda that’s been peddled to justify the horrors being inflicted upon countries that have already witnessed unimaginable violence. Anyway, going back to the plot, Harry notices that Brendan and Seraphina are not at the Cotswolds, and their phones are switched off. So, he starts searching for them.
Creepy Cotswolds
While Jan talks about her life with Harry and Bella talks about her life with the Harrigans, Harry finds out that Seraphina has gone to Antwerp, that too with Brendan. They are staying at the Botanic Sanctuary because Seraphina has been there several times, and she is familiar enough with the receptionist, Alphonse, to walk in there with a suitcase full of cash that’ll be required to buy rubies and not worry about its safety. Apparently, after Brendan agreed to give Seraphina 75 percent of the profits that they’ll theoretically gain after buying the rubies and then selling them, she decided to go along with Brendan’s plans to get into Conrad’s good books while also earning a huge sum of money on the side. Maeve is concerned for Brendan’s safety, and she is angry that Seraphina is casually traveling to Belgium with cash that she considers to be Harrigan property.
Conrad orders Harry to go take the chopper to Antwerp immediately and bring Seraphina and Brendan home safely. Harry bids his family goodbye and interrupts Bella’s prattle about buying one of those mirrors that allow you to look under the car to avoid facing the same fate as Vron—lest the Harrigans mistrust her for some reason—and tells her to put a pin in her business with Antoine until he deems it safe. Bella doesn’t readily accept Harry’s advice, but what option does she have at the moment? She is on lockdown at the Cotswolds, which is far, far away from London and wherever Antoine is. I’m sure her calls are being tracked. So, there’s no point in even trying to establish contact with the Frenchman, is there? Now, while Bella hasn’t missed a chance lately to patronize Harry or remind him that he works for her because she is a Harrigan too, when she sees Harry boarding the helicopter and flying away to Belgium to save Seraphina and Brendan, she says that that’s “sexy.” I am sorry, what? A few seconds ago, she was criticizing the lifestyle of gangsters, and how dangerous it is to be associated with them, and now the sight of Harry availing a chopper has her weak in the knees? Jan is correct for calling out the fact that none of this is alluring. It’s all awful. Yes, it looks cinematic and whatnot. However, if seen through the lens of realism, it all seems unnecessary.
Kevin is correct as well for comparing Conrad’s decision to wage war against Richie to dying empires starting wars to win back the trust of their subjects. It looks cool to megalomaniacs and those who love to celebrate genocide, but for all those who just want to pay their taxes and do their laundry, it all seems rather meaningless. Something tells me that, in an alternate universe, Kevin would’ve ended up with Jan and Bella would’ve been with Harry; that would’ve worked out perfectly for all parties concerned. At least then we wouldn’t have had to suffer through one of the creepiest scenes in existence, where Conrad insinuates that he wants to be Gina’s “protector.” Thankfully, Jan intervenes, allowing Gina to get away from the old-timer. When Conrad beckons to Jan like she is a dog, she refuses to comply, as she chooses to be with a clearly distraught Gina. What is all this building up to? The Harrigans’ death at the hands of Harry? Because what father is going to tolerate this kind of behavior? Well, I’m hoping for Harry to teach Conrad, Maeve, and Eddie a lesson. What are your thoughts on this subplot? Let me know in the comments section below.
Maeve Strikes A Deal With Richie
In Antwerp, Seraphina and Brendan sit down at a diner to make a deal with Samuel and Leonard. Seraphina wants to make sure that whoever is selling them the rubies doesn’t take her and Brendan for granted. So, she starts off aggressive and continues to be so even though Brendan keeps telling her to pipe down because he is afraid she is going to ruin the business transaction. Since Seraphina feels that both Samuel and Leonard are sketchy, especially after Leonard says that the exchange is going to take place in a remote location away from the city after a certain sum of money has been deposited just to make sure that she is serious about the whole affair, she walks out on Leonard. Once outside, she calls up Lorenzo, the only guy in Antwerp who can arrange a team of security guards in a matter of hours, because she is sure that Leonard is going to agree to her terms, which are that the exchange has to happen without the deposit money. Seraphina’s gamble pays off, as Leonard decides to do the transaction on Seraphina’s terms. So, she proceeds to meet with Lorenzo, who is willing to arrange a team of armed guards for a really high price. Since Lorenzo’s fee is going to come out of Seraphina’s pocket, she uses this expensive arrangement as an excuse to hike up her share of the profits from 75 percent to 90 percent. And since Brendan is so desperate to impress Conrad, he agrees to get next to nothing out of this whole deal.
Meanwhile, back at the Cotswolds, Maeve chalks up a plan to “sacrifice” Brendan and Seraphina in order to win the war against Richie. For someone who is okay with the death of a woman and a child, Conrad is scandalized by Maeve’s thoughts. Does that stop Maeve from calling up Richie and telling him to kill Seraphina but not touch a hair on Brendan’s balding head? Nope. But why does she do that? It’s obvious. Maeve loves Brendan and hates Seraphina’s guts. Conrad cares more about Seraphina than he cares about Brendan. If he learns that Richie has killed his daughter, then Conrad is going to stop twiddling his thumbs and maybe blow Richie to smithereens with a rocket launcher or whatever will satiate the souls of Conrad and Maeve. Hence, Maeve is willing to risk Brendan’s life and part ways with Seraphina. Richie unquestioningly takes the bait and orders the Mexicans to go after Seraphina and Brendan in Antwerp.
Now, I have a few questions. Do the Harrigans really need a reason to go after Richie? They didn’t have a reason to kill Vron and Tommy, yet they did. So, why is Maeve still treating this like a chess game instead of driving up to Richie’s place and slaughtering him? Also, Richie only learned about Seraphina and Brendan’s location after Maeve told him. If she hadn’t, Richie wouldn’t have known anything about where Seraphina and Brendan were, and Harry would’ve brought both of them safely home. Is Maeve really so idiotic that she turned a non-performing asset into a bargaining chip just because she hates her stepdaughter? As for Richie, is he so naive that he has taken Maeve’s words on face value? Richie doesn’t have a lot of dialogue in this episode. It helps to show that he is so broken that he doesn’t even want to talk. However, it doesn’t really allow us to get a good understanding of what he is thinking. He has seen enough to not blindly trust Maeve of all people. That said, he isn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed either, or else he could’ve saved Tommy and Vron from dying so helplessly. Well, that’s why, for his sake, I hope that he has some tricks up his sleeve, or else he is walking straight into Maeve’s trap (which is a very stupid trap).
Seraphina and Brendan Are Captured
At the end of MobLand episode 6, Seraphina and Brendan are seen leaving the Botanical Sanctuary to meet the ruby sellers while being followed by Richie’s men. In the meantime, Harry reaches the hotel and hilariously intimidates Alphonse until he gives him access to Seraphina’s room. From there, Harry gets Lorenzo’s phone number, and since Seraphina is unreachable on her number, he calls up Lorenzo and tells him to give the phone over to her. That causes Brendan to go absolutely ballistic because he is already insecure that Seraphina is leading the charge on this whole deal. Now he doesn’t want Harry to butt in and potentially ruin everything. He knows that Harry is going to pull the plug on the transaction because it’s too risky. Hence, he tells the Harrigans’ number one fixer to back off. Seraphina trusts Harry more than Brendan, so she secretly sends the location of the property where the exchange is going to happen. Harry hijacks a superbike, as if real life is GTA for him, and rushes to the spot Seraphina tipped him off to.
As for the ruby transaction in a shady-looking warehouse, it goes relatively well. The jewels are fine by Seraphina’s standards, and the money is alright by Leonard’s client’s standards. It’s just that right when both parties are about to shake hands and go their separate ways, they are surrounded by gunmen who rain down on them with bullets. Everyone in that warehouse dies, except for Seraphina and Brendan (who, by the way, wets himself at the sight of guns and dead bodies). Harry is seen driving his bike at top speed, but by the time he is going to get to the aforementioned location, Seraphina and Brendan will be long gone. So, how is this going to complicate things? Well, for starters, Richie isn’t going to kill Seraphina and Brendan. That way, he has the upper hand on both Conrad and Maeve. If Conrad and Maeve decide to really sacrifice those two, because they are hellbent on being the king and queen of London, then Richie is going to have nothing on his hands that he can use to twist Conrad and Maeve’s arms.
However, based on the firepower that Richie has just shown, I don’t think he has to worry about a face-to-face battle with the Harrigans and their army. He has some elite-as-hell soldiers on his roster, and they have the ability to wipe out the Harrigans in a matter of minutes. That said, is Maeve going to pay the price for acting so dumb and giving up Seraphina and Brendan to Richie? I doubt it. Conrad is too forgiving of Maeve’s methods. The only way Conrad and Maeve can be forced to go on the backfoot is if Eddie is abducted, killed, or both. And since I am rooting for Richie now, I pray that he does something radical in next week’s episode and gives the Harrigans a taste of their own medicine. Anyway, those are just my thoughts on the ending of MobLand episode 6. If you have any opinions on the same, let me know through the comments section below.
