Critic’s Rating: 4.05 / 5.0
4.05
It’s the Mayor of Kingstown Season 3 finale, and things are crazier than ever. Mike opened and closed the episode with emotional dialogue, admitting his misdeeds and how prison changed him.
In this Mayor of Kingstown Season 3 Episode 10 review, we have a lot of trauma to unpack if we want closure. Especially since we haven’t gotten word of a fourth season. That ending may be all there is to the story.
Be sure to let us know in the comments how you think the series measured up for the third season compared to the first two. Did you find the ending satisfactory enough for that to be it?
(Dennis P. Mong Jr./Paramount+)
Things did end pretty messed up, with unexpected deaths and tested loyalties. I was hoping that Mike would find a happy-for-now with Evelyn. But that isn’t likely to happen after she arrested Kyle.
How messed up is it that the only good brother is the one who is going to jail?
I’ve been rooting for Ian and Robert to see the other side of the justice system all season. Just when we thought we would see Evelyn pursue Ian for the death of a CI, she turned her eyes on Kyle instead.
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But at least Evelyn is onto the trail of Ian’s corruptness. I’m still holding out hope for another season so we can see justice for the death of serial killer Charlie (Kenny Johnson).
Yes, I sympathized with a serial killer. Hate me. We all have our thing.
But Evelyn also knows what a narcissistic psychopath Robert is, and it seems like she wants him more than Ian.
(Dennis P. Mong Jr./Paramount+)
So, will Mike be able to use that in Kyle’s favor? Fact — Kyle did an illegal thing. He shot his brother. Also, fact — he’s a hero.
Because Robert is crazy, it’s guaranteed that he would have shot that terrified innocent man and possibly his kid.
We fully expect to see some leftover emotional trauma from that necessity. And would Robert try to retaliate, since we know he survived?
There were plenty of deaths throughout the episode to distract us from Kyle’s survival. The war on the bridge wiped out a good portion of Bunny’s Crypt gang and many Russians.
(Dennis P. Mong Jr./Paramount+)
But will that matter for them with all their leaders crossing into Hell? We saw Milo return in Mayor of Kingstown Season 3 Episode 9. He was holding Roman, Konstantin’s number two, hostage.
Things did not go well for him, revealing a deep, sadistic, evil nature in Milo worthy of Criminal Minds. I’d love to read his BAU profile.
The ick factor was the perfect farewell note for a series going off right as we start to get Fall Fever. Is anyone else ready for all things spooky?
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Speaking of gore, there’s a noticeable trend toward streaming series that are more graphic and mature in their content. This has this viewer questioning the psyche of the different generations.
We’re no longer triggered by watching a traumatized, drugged-out female blow the back of her captor’s head off. Because we can justify the death as a way for her to earn her freedom and a favor to humanity. She killed a bad, bad man.
It’s a bit depressing that despite all of Mike’s efforts and crimes to save Iris, she burns herself out to the point of OD’ing on a bus out of town.
(Dennis P. Mong Jr./Paramount+)
Will Mike ever find out her fate? He told her to leave and never look back. To forget him and all of Kingstown.
How ironic that the pills that she took to end her life first belonged to Mike’s dead mom, who also tried helping Iris before she died.
If the brain explosion of Konstantin’s death didn’t rock you, it’s likely that you cheered when Mike went Tyson on Milo after Ian took off with Iris.
Another bad guy’s death brought justice. But his death also toes the fine line that Mike discusses throughout the episode.
(Dennis P. Mong Jr./Paramount+)
Like Kyle, he did a bad thing for a good reason. Although it wasn’t as justified as Kyle’s shooting of his brother. But Mike’s revenge killing of the evil Milo brought us a peace that we wouldn’t have gotten if he’d only gone to prison.
The justice system is too messed up to leave his fate to a flawed court system. If he had any useful information, he could trade it for his freedom. His death is the only way it could have ended for a peaceful ending.
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Especially after Mike promised to put a bullet in him. Gotta love it when a man sticks to his word. But seeing him shoot Milo after he mentioned Mike’s mom does explain why we saw him with blood on his shirt.
It’s a surprise Evelyn didn’t ask about it when they talked after she arrested Kyle. It seems that those closest to Mike have a bad fate.
(Dennis P. Mong Jr./Paramount+)
How messed up would it be if Mike was the only one not in prison if there happened to be a Season 4? The ex-con is free, while the three former police officers go to prison.
It’s possible that, with the war on the bridge and the deaths of Milo, Konstantin, and Roman, we won’t see much more between the Russians and the Crypts.
But we didn’t get a resolution on Bunny’s storyline. He and Mike are on the outs, but Mike is double-crossing him by pretending to be good with him to appease the Aryans in prison.
Mike put down the Russian threat, who was in cahoots with the Aryans. Does that mean they’ll back down? Or will they continue assaulting Bunny’s business under a new leader?
(Dennis P. Mong Jr./Paramount+)
We know Bunny got away with a lot of guns. So he’s still armed and prepared for a war, even if he lost some soldiers. He was smart to send an empty truck on the bridge. The police won’t be able to charge him for anything.
We’ll have to wait and see Washington’s next move. With Kareem gone at the prison and the mole still in place, the prison is ripe for control.
Can Mike regain his legacy as Mayor of Kingstown and get control of everyone? Or will he go down in disgrace like the mayor before him?
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What’s left for him if all of his brothers are in jail (or dead, because does anyone really believe Robert could survive in prison)? His relationship with Evelyn is burnt, and Iris is dead.
Even his tedious alliance with Kareem is over now that the warden committed suicide by inmates. How will Mike react when he finds out about Kareem’s death? He sensed something was up but didn’t pursue it.
And who is up next to become warden with Kareem’s passing? It would work in Mike’s favor if it were his inside man. But it would be a smarter move for the prison to recruit from outside.
(Dennis P. Mong Jr./Paramount+)
After all his losses this season, Mike could use a win in his category. Especially if it’s someone who would work with him instead of bringing him problems to fix like his brothers.
Did anyone else get annoyed AF at how Ian and Robert constantly want Mike to fix their screw-ups? We’d expect the behaviors from the unstable Robert, especially after he and Kyle had their confrontation in the last episode.
But Ian is toeing the line of crossing into Robert-crazy territory with his recent murder of Charlie to cover his own butt.
The Mayor of Kingstown left me with some unresolved feelings and a dark optimism about its inhabitants’ potential future.
(Dennis P. Mong Jr./Paramount+)
If the show were to end like this, it would work in my favor. As is, I can imagine my own future for the characters. It would likely look different than what the show would do if it returned for another season.
But if Renner and his f’ed-up family return for another round, I’ll enjoy revisiting Kingstown for more drama and conflicting joys of illegal justice.
How about you, readers? How did the third season finale leave you mentally? Do you hope for another season to get answers? What would you want them to do next?
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Or are you on the let-it-go train and hoping Paramount moves its focus to other series, like the new NCIS: Origins, NCIS: Tony & Ziva, or the 2025 Sheriff Country (a spinoff of Fire Country)?
Leave your thoughts in our comments and share this post with your fellow Kingstown fans.
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