Mayor of Kingstown Season 2 Episode 3 Review: Five at Five

In order for any deal to work, all parties have to be trusted to stick with it.

Mayor of Kingstown Season 2 Episode 3 suggests that Mike might have made a deal with parties who don’t have the fortitude to stand their ground.

That could mean big trouble for Mike McClusky.

From an editorial standpoint, it’s not easy to cover this show. Its approach is very “a day in the life.” The hours fly by while watching, but there isn’t too much to say once the credits roll.

If you’ve been reading along, you’ve been very silent doing so. Is it worth continuing the march toward the of the season, or wouldn’t you miss the coverage if it disappeared? Please let me know in the comments below.

We know Mike doesn’t sleep, but it’s beginning to show on his face. He’s always a little worse for the wear, but as he hit one wall after another during “Five at Five,” it looked like the seams were beginning to unravel.

The tenuous deal he made between the gang leaders, the KPD, and Evelyn was taking its toll on Mike as each party used various excuses not to hold up their end of the bargain.

KPD’s raid on Bunny’s home was pointless, and it says a lot about how Ian and Stevie view Mike’s mediation that they did it.

Mike has no real authority, but when shit goes south, they call him to intervene. Where was that call before the raid?

Making matters worse is Iris’s disappearance again. While Mike should be wholly in on ensuring that all ends of his deal are on track, he’s going out of his way to try to find Iris.

Let me ask you. Why is Mike so invested in Iris anyway? If it’s his savior complex in action, he needs to reconsider the profession.

There are some people you can’t save, no matter how hard you try. Iris appears to be one of those who cannot be saved. She had a clear “out” with the WitSec deal, but she spat on it. I can’t for the life of me understand why she returned to Milo.

If it really was how Mike was talking about her, as I noted in the Mayor of Kingstown Season 2 Episode 2 review, in addition to how she felt in Mariam’s home, then running to Milo makes no sense at all.

If people were talking about her as if she wasn’t a person or even in the room with them, who cares? Milo treats her like trash. I’ll take the trash talk over it in action any day.

I thought that Iris’s return to Milo would at least reunite us with Aidan Gillen, but Milo has already dumped her with Joseph to be treated as any other hooker on the canvas.

Why did we get a man of Gillen’s talent if his story is in name only? They talk about Milo all the time, but we’ve seen so little of him in action that the threat has no bite.

The city is falling apart. Even if he’s underground, it seems like an ideal time for a man of his ilk to make a play for it. So where the hell is he?

Sorry, but I don’t want him pulling strings from underground if I don’t get to go underground with him as a viewer. Let’s see his capabilities as the baddest bad of Kingstown. Bring it on.

That’s especially true since the next-level gangsters are all behind bars.

Things are a lot worse than expected if the leaders are under attack, as well. Bunny knew he had to take down someone on the inside to help stop the speeding train, but he was almost killed in the process.

Mike: Jesus fuckin’ Christ, Bunny. Looks like the plan’s workin’ out.
Bunny: I got no humor, Mike. Not a fuckin’ lick.

Mike tried to make light of it, but he was scared shitless. He needs Bunny as much as Bunny needs him. Bunny trusted his plan, and it’s beginning to go south.

A raid on Bunny’s home is nothing if all of the prisoners are being moved, scattered in different directions within the Warwick family.

Warwick is scooping up all of the prisons, and their warehouse sensibilities would change the scope of the town and the series. They use prisoners as you would any other item on a warehouse shelf — you move them where you have the room to store them.

Because what else is prison other than storing criminals for the duration of their sentence? That they’re actual people has no bearing on Warwick Detention.

But if we’re being fair, it has little bearing on whoever currently owns the prisons in Kingstown, either.

The men, especially, are chess pieces they use to keep peace with the gangs outside of prison walls. Nobody cares to make their stay more pleasant or help them achieve life skills that will make them useful on the outside.

Instead, they’re expected to be drug-addled users and dealers moving cash. It’s a nightmare.

The women at least have Mariam, but one woman cannot stand alone in the face of an entire prison system and its population.

Mike is supposed to mitigate and transition power on all sides, but he’s in over his head.

It’s a great time to bring Kyle into the family business. Right now, Kyle has left his upstate job after that traffic stop debacle, and he’s eager to get back on the KPD team. Maybe he needs to forego that and work with Mike.

Mike could sure use the help, and Kyle would have as much autonomy as anybody else in Kingstown. It would also give Mike a minute to address his other problem — he’s a federal informant who isn’t informing.

How long will they allow that to go on?

Mariam would freak out if Kyle joined Mike. His wife would, too. It probably won’t happen long-term, but if he could pick up the slack until he’s reinstated, maybe Mike could keep his eye on the ball and ensure the deal doesn’t go south, changing the landscape of Kingstown forever.

I’d ask what you think, but you probably won’t tell me anyway. Keep watchin’. Peace!

Edit Delete

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on Twitter and email her here at TV Fanatic.

You can view the original article HERE.