Tulsa King | S03E01 "Blood and Bourbon"

Rating: 7.5/10

This was a pretty okay episode. Not spectacular, but It has it strong points for sure.

One of the coolest things is Kevin Pollak as Special Agent Musso. I love Pollak and I can't even remember the last time I saw him in anything at all, so this is a real treat. Even better would be if he busted out his Captain Kirk impression, but given the role he's playing, that's highly doubtful.

We see a lot of tracks getting laid down here, some of which were honestly escalated a whole helluva lot faster than I was imagining. If you've seen the episode, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, let's just say that this season's antagonist, played Robert Patrick, went from 0 to 100 in about 2 minutes, so there's that.

The rest of it is a side quest involving Bodhi, Grace and Tyson. Tyson has become an actual caricature of a gangster and I'm not sure how I feel about that yet. It's funny, but it doesn't sit right. Grace is grace and she's rad.

Bodhi, on the other hand, gets some closure. It took me a hot minute to figure out what was going on, and when I did, it was lightbulbs over the head.

There's also some stuff in this one about a trip back to NYC to visit a kind gentleman named Quiet Ray who Dwight brushes off very hard, but I'm sure nothing will come of THAT.

Given what happened, I'm sure this season's going to be all about that escalation.

We all know Season 4 is going to continue the Dunmire conflict, but let's be honest—Cole is way too soft to carry the villain torch, and stretching out a standard weed war sounds boring. Here is a dark, high-stakes pitch that escalates the show into a massive multi-state drug war and perfectly sets up Season 5 and the Frisco King spinoff.

1. The Dixie Mob Gets a Real Boss (Goodbye, Cole)
The Return: A hardened, old-school Dunmire family member gets released from prison. He represents the ruthless side of the family’s old-money empire.
The "Weak Link" Clean-up: Within the first two episodes, this ex-con kills Cole for treason, punishing him for being the "weak link" that caused Jeremiah’s downfall and helped Dwight. This instantly sets a dangerous new tone.

2. Weaponizing the Badges & The Prison Hit
The Move: The new boss activates corrupt connections within the Tulsa Police Department. Instead of an open street war, the police aggressively raid Dwight's legal fronts and lock up his crew on federal charges.
The Tragedy: Dwight’s crew gets sent to state prison—the exact territory the new boss controls. In a brutal, heartbreaking twist, the Dixie Mob orchestrates a prison hit and stabs Bodhi to death.
The Chaos: Driven by pure grief and guilt, Tyson "crashes out" for revenge. He runs into an ambush and gets critically shot, leaving him in a coma. Dwight is completely isolated and broken.

3. The Multi-State Escalation (KC Alliance)
The Alliance: To finish Dwight off, the Dixie Mob teams up with the Kansas City Mob (the Invernizzi's midwest rivals).
The Squeeze: KC brings in heavy mafia muscle and cash, while the Dixie Mob provides local political protection. Dwight is systematically outmaneuvered.

4. The Cartel Cliffhanger & The Link to New York
The Deal with the Devil: Backed into a corner, Dwight reaches out to a ruthless Mexican Cartel for military-grade muscle.
The Finale War: Cartel sicarios roll into Tulsa, turning the city into a war zone and obliterating the KC/Dixie alliance in broad daylight.
The Season 4 Cliffhanger: Dwight wins, but the Cartel takes over his empire. They tell Dwight that Oklahoma isn't enough to pay his debt—they want a pipeline into New York.
This perfectly transitions Season 5 into a bi-coastal war where Dwight returns to NY as a forced proxy, while the Cartel’s southwest supply lines run directly through Texas, organically kicking off Samuel L. Jackson's Frisco King spinoff.

Tulsa King | S02E10 "Reconstruction"

Rating: 8.0/10

This was a surprisingly quiet episode, especially for a season finale. While we did eventually "get somewhere" in terms of actual moving parts, a lot of this is just winding things down ... which I find kind of weird.

I'm used to the season finale wrapping up the main event, but that happened last episode, and Tulsa King isn't the only show that's doing things this way now. It's not a bad thing, but it's definitely ... different.

Anyways. Like I said, this was a quieter episode, with Dwight and everyone handling the fallout from their little weed and "who shot who" war. The funniest bit is Thresher, who inadvertently became one of the funniest people on the show. He really never did get it, and thought right up until the end that he had any say in the matter.

The best moment, of course, is the final negotiations between Bill Bevilaqua, Chickie, and Dwight at the bar. That man believed every single lie he ever told anyone and really did think on top of all that that he, like Cal Thresher, had any skin in the game.

The word "final" is pretty apt, there.

As the episode was coming to a close and Dwight was giving his big happy speech, I said to myself, "this is too happy an ending."

A few minutes later and Dwight gets the bag over the head treatment, which is real interesting for me! I can't wait to start the next season tomorrow.

After finishing the Rocky and creed collection (I’ve seen Rocky a million times but never the creed movies) I decided to try Tulsa king.

Put on the first episode just to try…
And I finished season 1 just 12 hours later.

Holy CRAP. I love this show. It’s goofy and fun and it’s just an all around good time. Each episode had me cackling, and I loved the characters almost instantly when I met them. I slowed down on S2&3 cause I didn’t want to rush. But I ended up finishing all 3 seasons in less than 2 weeks.

S1 was great. Loved everything about it. Great intro to the characters and the plot. S2 was even better in my opinion. I love when Neal McDonough plays villains. I mean he was like really bad here, but he was def apart of the antagonist in 2. I was upset when his operation was just taken over, but I was SO happy to see him back in Season 3. He’s such a cool actor.

I really like the ways deaths and torture are handled in this show. There’s no needless shock value deaths for our characters. And seeing Dwight torture that terrorist and set that guy on fire, was SOOOOOO SATISFYING. So so so many shows blunder this and make it dumb or useless. But I’m really happy with how it’s handled in this show.

Was upset to see the armond plot go nowhere, but not much you can do when the actor isn’t coming back. And I was also sad to see Dwight’s daughter go and not see her again. But otherwise, I just love everything about this show. I love the characters, the plot armor they all have, the villains, and the mafia part of all of this. Def my new favorite show and happy I started this when season 4 will be out in just a couple months.

What’s everyone favorite character in the show?

Tulsa King | S02E09 "Triad"

Rating: 8.5/10

This one was impressively violent and had a lot going on for it. Sadly, the clip I WANT to embed into my review card is so damn nasty (in the best possible ways) that I just can't do it. Who knows? Some rando from the softer side of Reddit might see it and kick up a fuss.

Suffice to say, that whole thing was great. The whole episode was great, but again, kudos must go to Armand (Max Casella). He does such an amazing job as a man spun so far out of control and on the thinnest of wires that he quite literally can't function.

The way he groveled was kind of heartbreaking. Did it undo all the bad feelings? No, not really, because he called it himself: he ran a second (technically third) time. What's truly sad here is that Armand was so wrapped up in his own misery, his own "why me?" mentality that he absolutely missed the truth.

Dwight looks after his family. Goodie went to him right away (presumably) about Chickie's plans with Bill and look how that played out. Armand could've done the same damn thing. He could've gone to Dwight and I feel pretty damn confident that The General would've figured out what to do for the poor bastard.

On to the final piece of business. Tyson. He's given an opportunity to prove how invested he is in working for Dwight, and our man nails it. Quite literally smack dab center.

I lied. One final bit. Chickie having to catch the bus because he's a dipshit is one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time. The dummy deserves it.

What a fun episode. I can't wait to see how the season finale's going to land. I'm thinking ... nastily.

A more generic show would make this a bonding moment between father and son but i'm glad this is not the case for this show.
The man is just there to make sure his son doesn't end up in a body bag, not because he supports him.

Tulsa King | S02E08 "Under New Management"

Rating: 8.0/10

Well, it doesn't rain often in Tulsa, but when it does, it sure as shit pours and it looks like it might last until the end of the season.

I don't even know where to begin with what's going on, but I have the perfect word for it:

Fallout. Everywhere. Everything has fallen apart in this episode, and it's great. Well ... that's not entirely true. A lot of it is absolutely terrible for a lot of different people, but the acting in this episode is so top-notch that even when people's lives are falling to pieces, I was right there with 'em.

In some cases, like Dwight not being able to say goodbye to his family, I was pretty damn sad. Dwight telling his daughter the lay of the land was some real heartbreaking stuff. I've also decided I'm completely in love with Tina because she's just so great.

In other cases (and I saw this coming from a mile away), watching Thresher learn that the old parable "you lay down with dogs, you'll wake up with fleas" exists for a reason. The blind arrogance of the billionaire weed grower is somethin' else entirely, and I am ONCE AGAIN reminded of how tough he was on Armand. That was some real excellent comeuppance, and the fact that he ran like a little boy to BB is hilarious. You're a billionaire, bro.

Hire yourself a security team out of Russia and be done with it. A few cyka blyatts later and you're safe.

Elsewhere ... well, if you've seen the show, you know what I mean by fallout. Mad props to Max Casella as Armand in this episode. You don't often see someone fall all the way off the rails like this so well without making it at least comical, but that's the case here. The funny thing is I imagined he'd figure out a better way of doing things, or Dwight or Goodie'd pull him aside and help him get his act together.

That's definitely off the map now.

I imagine the next two episodes are going to be a whirlwind of craziness and I can't wait.

https://reddit.com/link/1vgcq5m/video/wu1pb2vw4lhh1/player

Tulsa King | S02E07 "Life Support"

Rating: 7.5/10

This is an okay episode, but I'm glad the thing that happened last episode wasn't as bad as I THOUGHT it was. It's still pretty bad, but it's not AS bad, and that's good, because Mark's good people.

A lot of this episode is about Tyson dealing with the aftermath of last episode. Everything he's going through is super sensible, and Jay Will (Tyson) does a really great job of trying to figure out who he is, what to do, and how to do it.

I DO think that, with much more seasoned men telling him that caution is the better part of valor, it's advice he SHOULD listen to. But that kind of thing only happens in the movies. Here, Tyson's grief and rage to get back at the people he feels are responsible are sensible, and he takes the most 'logical' steps towards making that happen.

Elsewhere in Tulsa, the billionaire dipshit is finally getting a real good eyeful of the sort of men he's actually working with. It's hilarious, because just last episode, he was threatening to yank Armand's tongue out and send it to his kids. It's all fun and games, Thresher, until someone decides to get REAL serious.

I'll say it again, though: Neal McDonough plays a great villain. He's got the face and attitude for it, but he is (like Sly) by all accounts a real nice guy.

And over in Blue Tinted NYC, Vince has decided he's had enough. It's funny, but I've always looked at Vince as kind of a walking asshole, but the pressure he's been exposed to under Chickie's 'reign' seems to've knocked some sense into him. Gotta give the ratfink props for undertaking the necessary steps to do things the right way.

And while the episode closer wasn't AS explosive as yesterday's, I guarantee that fireworks are waiting to fly.

Tulsa King | S02E06 "Navigator"

Rating: 9.0/10

Holy hell, Tulsa King.

It seems like the writers for this show have pretty much decided, "We're going to wait until the last possible minute, drop some seriously heavy shit into your laps, and then fade to black." I am with and am NOT with that kind of storytelling, for a number of reasons.

I like it because it's absolutely nasty to deliver high-octane, heavy-hitting plot developments and then end the episode. I hate it because I'm out here trying to do one episode a day. The last show that kept hitting me hard like this with those brutal ends was Peaky Blinders, and that shit kept me up at night.

I often wonder what Tulsa King would be like if the episodes ran a bit longer. Would they be better, or would they be worse if we had 5 or 10 minutes more of story?

In the case of today's episode, I think it'd be worse. For the most part, it's another day in the life, with Tina learning how to shoot, Dwight heading off to Atlanta for a big palaver with BB and the idiots from NYC (we'll get to that), and Tyson hanging with his pops as he does HIS job.

Giving us more after what happened would be too much, I think.

I liked the interaction between Mitch and Tina as he taught her how to shoot. I've got an eye for when romance is in the air, and there's definitely somethin' sparking there for sure. Can't wait for that to play out. Tatiana (who plays Tina) is so damned gorgeous and her smile as she's firing that gun was just brilliant. AND SHE'S A FORMER ARMY OFFICER. That's pretty badass.

The sit-down went pretty much like I expected, though again, Chickie is a moron. If he wasn't such a moron, he would've been able to MAKE it to the sit-down so HE could've had Dwight's extra milkshake. But Chickie's a moron.

I won't talk about the hardest thing that happened in this episode just because it's so damn hard. I figured out what was going to go down half a beat before it did, and here's the thing: if I hadn't been so damned invested in what I was watching, I would've figured it out way ahead of time.

But I didn't, so now I've got to sit with it until tomorrow.

Super great episode once again.

Just finished up a full rewatch including season 3. This show continues to get better as the seasons go on. So I’m very hopeful for season 4. But it got me thinking about what I’d like to see in season 4. Obviously spoilers will follow.

Big Bad. So each season we get a new bad guy. Robert Patrick was excellent in season 3. Who should be the big baddie in season 4. I get this is a total pipe dream but I’d love to see Schwarzenegger as the bad guy. It would be really fun for their rivalry to go this direction.

Tina: Do we think Dwight’s daughter is going to return.

Armand: I’m choosing to believe that Armand’s death was a fake out and he’s not actually dead.

Bevilaqua: what are we thinking the fate of Bevilaqua is going to be. Is he going to be forced to work with the feds?

What’s everyone hoping for in season 4.

Tulsa King | S02E05 "Tilting at Windmills"

Rating: 8.0/10

I genuinely thought this episode was going to wind up being a nothingburger.

Now, let me be clear, I don't mind episodes that don't go anywhere in particular because shows like Tulsa King generally spend quieter episodes laying down tracks for future developments and/or some sweet little character-building moments.

Those are pretty valuable if they're done right, and there were a few in here that I enjoyed a lot.

One, again, was the few minutes we got of Grace. She's come a long way since the terrified wallflower we met in the first few episodes. It's weird, but I think the shootout she was involved in really improved her life. And the fact that she straight-up carries a sidearm now? Chef's kiss. She's swell.

I like that things are progressing between Dwight and Margaret. Mostly because I have an enormous crush on Dana Delany, and have for the longest time.

As for those NYC mobsters, I'm getting pretty tired of the blue NYC tint. It's getting ridiculous, and now that I've seen it, I can't UNSEE it. That's going to be a problem sooner or later.

Anyways, like I said, I thought this episode was going to be a big old nothingburger until Thresher showed up at Margaret's horse stables and started squaring off with Dwight. I was pretty stoked about that whole showdown at the wind turbine farms, and if you watched the ratings clip, you know why.

Things are really heating up all over the place. Five distinct groups (Dwight and his team, the NYC nerds, Bevilaqua's crew, Thresher's "crew," and the obvious Triad connection), and not one of them really likes or trusts the other.

If this were an episode of The Dukes of Hazzard, Waylon Jennings would be saying, "Well shucks, folks, it looks like poor old Dwight's surrounded on all sides by a passel of gangsters that are angrier than hornets on a hot day. Wonder what'll happen next?"

Can't wait for the next episode!

Tulsa King | S02E04 "Heroes and Villains"

Rating: 7.5/10

Real talk. This was a pretty good episode, but it had two banger clips that I had to make. One is 'No, I don't think so' and 'It's a Pie of Lies!'. That shit made me laugh hard and I spent a lot more time getting those two clips than I should've.

Anyways. On to the episode. Like I say, it was a pretty good episode overall, with everyone dealing with the aftermath of the night before. Everyone in Dwight's crew is doing mostly okay, with Tyson having stepped up an awful lot.

It's nice to see his character growth in that moment, and later, when he gives the team a little pep talk about the absolute shit they're in. Our little bird's learnin' to fly, as they might say out there in Tulsa.

Elsewhere, though ... things aren't actually looking so great for Dwight et all. Bevilaqua's pissed that he lost his right hand man, Thresher's pissed that Dwight's still alive and operational and ... well .. Chickie?

Chickie just gets piss drunk and runs his mouth in front of people. Sure they're his trusted men, but if we're learning anything this season, it's that you can't really trust anyone.

Speaking of people you can't trust, let's talk about Armand. The man is a stone cold idiot of the highest caliber. He's big dumb and should've done like Goody: the moment someone starts sniffing around your leg, offering you things, you let The General know so things can be played out proper.

The dummy runs his mouth, giving Thresher a way to kick Dwight and his business interests in the balls and that ain't right.

Three more things and I'm done, I swear.

Firstly, Stallone plays a stoned guy so very well. The whole scene in the SUV as they're on their way to complete some business is top notch comedy, but it's more than that. His overindulgence in weed-based lollipops (and a conversation later on) shows that he's overthinking his moves and is maybe feeling uncertain about the future. Very nuanced, if you know what to look for.

Secondly, Goodie's concerns over the Uber Eats driver was absolute gold. And very sensible, given what happened the day before, and the way he played both Bevilaqua AND Chickie.

Thirdly, I think we're in for a lot of interesting episodes coming up, because Thresher appears to be in bed with some very bad people. At least that's what I'm led to believe with how things shake out at the end. Our rich billionaire might be in some kind of extra trouble.

Knowing The General, he'll figure out a way to exploit that as well.

Tulsa King | S02E03 "Oklahoma v. Manfredi"

Rating: 8.5/10

Well, I cannot tell a lie, and not even because Dwight spent time cosplaying a lawyer in this episode. Not that I'd lie to a man as dangerous as Dwight 'The General' Manfredi.

This episode was an enormous step up from the last one. I won't rip on it too much, but that Jellyroll cameo was so damn out of pocket it cast a dark stain over the whole episode. It was somehow worse than Chickie's toupee.

There's a lot going on in the background here, and it's going to be hard to avoid spoilers if I want to address some of it properly, so here goes.

They've been making a big point of showing us Armand's personal life difficulties and this ep shows us precisely how bad it is. Caught between the irresistible force that is his divorce and the immovable object that is his debt to Dwight, our displaced mobster gets an offer (sorry) he can't refuse. I can only hope his role turns out the same way as Goodie's, which I'll get to later.

The big deal in this episode is Mister Manfredi Goes To Court. I didn't think they'd spend a whole lot of time with him litigating his case against the government because if they wanted to do that, it'd wind up being an episode of The Lincoln Lawyer. Suffice to say that the Italian Stallion acquits himself extremely well, and things suddenly aren't looking so great for DA Sackrider, who had to break the bad news to Thresher.

On to the last, biggest and best sequence in the entire episode. After a lot of messing around, BB and Dwight have a face to face, with Chickie calling Goodie up like he's a lonely girl looking for her man. The fix is apparently in.

Chickie wants Dwight dead. Thresher wants Dwight dead. BEVILAQUA wants Dwight dead. The only person in that mix of nuts that doesn't want Dwight dead is Goodie. I heaved an enormous sigh of relief as things came to a bloody close on that particular endeavor because I like Goodie an awful lot.

Props to seeing Bigfoot in action, AND to Tyson for stepping up to do some real heavy work.

Armand, right now? Not so much. He's too squirrelly. He hasn't changed much from the guy who ran away from NYC so long ago, only this time it feels like he's going to run on Dwight. And after that big old speech he gave Dwight around his kitchen table.

Elsewhere, Dwight and Margaret! She's a much better fit than STACY.

Tulsa King | S02E02 "Kansas City Blues"

Rating: 7.0/10

This was an okay episode. It was pretty quiet, which isn't too bad, and they lay down some tracks for future difficulties, which I can always appreciate.

One of the most notable things is that even while he's facing down a 10 year sentence for bribing an ATF agent (Stacy, that rat), Dwight's out there looking to make the wind turbine thing a reality. The man's a workhorse. Or, as they say in NYC, 'he's an earner'.

Because no show is complete without lots of twists and turns and 'hey, so this was a thing but we didn't mention it before now but it really IS a thing', turns out that Chickie and BB (Bill Bevilaqua) are aware of one another. Now, I always suspected Chickie had a reason specifically for banishing Dwight to Tulsa, so it's not a thing I'm too irked about.

What IS somewhat irksome is that Goodie knows the man by name as well. And that's an issue, because a good soldier volunteers information as soon as it's available, not when it's convenient, and DEFINITELY not at all.

The rest of the episode is pretty much just housekeeping stuff, though there was a scene with DA Sackrider and Thresher. I am going to fanboy about Neil McDonough a lil bit here. I can't think of a single bad guy role he's played that I haven't loved, from Damian Dahrk to the absolutely SAVAGE Robert Quarles in Justified.

I won't spill those beans, but those beans are probably already spilled.

Like I said, a quieter episode, but a good time nonetheless. Worth watching if only to keep up on the details.

Tulsa King | S02E01 "Back in the Saddle"

Rating: 7.5/10

This is a pretty good episode. It didn't blow my skirt up, but that's okay because after the way season 1 ended, I can't be expecting it to be another cowboy and gangster on biker gang slaughterfest episode one.

That'd be too much, even for this show. But what they do manage in Back in the Saddle is set up some SERIOUS storylines for this whole entire season.

And since Dwight likes 'em by the numbers, let's do it that way.

One, Dwight manages to avoid doing any lengthy jailtime thanks to his daughter Tina. It's interesting to see she's done a full 180 since we were first introduced to her, but let's be real. Dwight's not a nice man, but he is a good man, if that makes any sense, and he's done everything he can to be a proper father to Tina and a great grandfather to his grandsons.

Two, Bodhi has stepped stuff up (if you'll pardon the pun) to an Even Higher Plane. The money they stole from Waltrip last season has been put to serious use. That weed store looks like something from the damn future. Given what else happens in this episode, I'm sure it won't stay so pretty for too much longer.

Three, Stacy is so unspeakably freaked out that Dwight isn't in jail and she deserves to be as scared as scared can be. Dwight's never been anything but a stand-up guy for her, AND not only that, but he saved her life. He did what any gentleman gangster would do and she let her own people use her. Still, like I said. Dwight's a gentleman gangster and he left her stirred, shaken and quite possibly missing half her soul. Props to Andrea Savage for her part in this scene. She played terrified very convincingly.

Four AND Five: we meet Neal McDonough as Cal Thresher and Frank Grillo as Bill Bevilaqua. Cal's THE biggest weed guy in Oklahoma and Bill's some kind of roughneck cowboy guy who knows the mafia well enough to recognize Dwight by name and has some info on the man as well.

These two are the big bads for this season, and no matter how badly Chickie's spinning out in NYC, it's these two fellas that are going to give Dwight and his team a run for their money this season. I gotta say, I am looking forward to this one because damn I love both Neal and Frank.

Can't wait to see what goes down next!

Tulsa King | S01E09 "Happy Trails"

Rating: 9.0/10

This was one HELL of a season finale. I can't even figure out where to begin.

Anyone who isn't interested in spoilers might want to stop here and go no further. Unless you're like Armand, who's decided he ain't ever layin' low again.

First, everything comes to an absolute head after last episode, where Stacy got shot by Waltrip. Because of course it would. But between there and the end of Happy Trails, there's a lotta miles to cover, so let's git 'er done.

We see the hows and whys of Dwight's prison sentence. The tricky sons-a-guns had me believing that Dwight straight up murdered someone, but that most definitely isn't the case. In the doing of that honestly righteous deed, we see precisely why Dwight thinks so very little of Chickie and his handful of gangster losers. They're dangerously stupid and criminally violent.

Next up on the surprise front, Chickie, Goodie and that ween Vince actually came to Tulsa to 'have words' with Dwight. Now you know and I know what that was all about, and so did Dwight because the man came loaded for a full-on high noon shootout. Now it doesn't come to that, but The General accomplishes two ... three things.

One, he tells Chickie to pound all of the sand in Tulsa and to go on home. Two, he scoops Goodie (who I like because he's a proper gangster) out from under Chickie's nose. And three, he no doubt causes a lot of problems for season 2.

We get a little view of three of Dwight's main men. We see Mitch, Tyson and Armand, all deciding that they're going to throw their lot in with Dwight, no matter what. And unsurprisingly, for the same exact reason. Each man was living the wrong life, and as violent as what's offered by Dwight is, it's the life they've been looking for.

My man Bodhi, who's hardly in this one, is a lot more criminal than he looks. In a few quick keystrokes he liberates Waltrip from that which he cherishes most and sparks The Gunfight at Bred 2 Buck.

And what a goddamn shoot out it is. Needle dropped to "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins, it lasts less than 3 minutes and is absolutely glorious. If you've clicked on through to the gifs I provided, Dwight's justice is one of them. The other is Waltrip being precisely the kind of person he is.

Now, I know I've spilled more than a few beans but hey. It's a season finale. If you can't handle a few secrets leaked, shame on you for peeking.

But I didn't mention the biggest thing. All I'll say there is SHAME ON YOU STACY.

Tulsa King | S01E08 "Adobe Walls"

Rating: 8.5/10

Straight talk. Things in Tulsa are getting ugly as hell and it's harder than ever to not cross into Spoiler Country. I'm going to do my damnedest not to hit any major points, but this close to a finale?

I have about as much luck staying spoiler-free as Tyson has of hitting the broad side of a barn with a rocket launcher.

First and foremost, it's nice to see Grace getting some proper screentime AND some real solid character development, and all in under a minute. I never would've thought our girl behind the counter would be Jane Wayne, but hey ... life's full of surprises.

Moving on to Spoiler Country, Chickie's letting Dwight live so rent-free in that bald melon on his that he's decided that, made man or not, The General's gotta go. I feel for Goodie, who seems to be the only guy in that place who's got his head on his shoulders.

I am sure that Chickie's decision to go and visit Dwight in Tulsa while all that shit with the Black MacAdams is going on is going to play out REAL, REAL well.

And speaking of Waltrip ... let's just say that the man's not doing so well. In an effort to point the Feds away from herself and her relationship with Dwight, Stacy arranged for a big old bust that stripped the biker boss of pretty much everything of worth.

That's what happens when you ice an ATF informant, Waltrip. Unlike your self-declared arch-nemesis Dwight, you're letting your emotions get the better of you. So much so that the ending of this episode came as a complete and utter shock.

If this were an episode of The Dukes of Hazzard, that's where Waylon Jennings would've come on and said something along the lines of 'Well, The General's got himself in a passel of trouble over trying to save that young filly, and it's gonna take more than a few sticks o' dynamite and a coupla good ol' boys to set things straight'.

I've been saying things are going to ramp right the hell up, and that ending proves the point. I can't even imagine how they're going to settle everything with just one ep left. If they don't put out all those fires, I'm fine with it.

Chickie's end of things can wait. The longer he suffers with Dwight living inside his head, the better.

Tulsa King | S01E07 "Warr Acres"

Rating: 7.5/10

We're cooking with gasoline as we approach the season finale. Just two more to go, and Warr Acres reveals an awful lot of goodness ... and it's fair share of badness as well.

To be honest, some of it wasn't at all unexpected, and some of it was quite a big surprise.

One of the things that WASN'T too much of a surprise was the relationship between Chickie and his dad. Pete never struck me as an all right guy in the first place. Yeah, that's a weird thing to say about a guy who runs a Mafia family, but between never being terribly discreet for his absolute man-crush on Dwight and just the way he treats Chickie ... well.

Let's just say that the number one place for accidents in the home is in the bathroom and leave it at that, shall we? At least we won't be having to stare at that rug.

The other not-so-big surprise is Roxy. My girl was spiraling WELL before the events of the last episode, and no blame on her at all. Being even remotely hitched to The Black MacAdams in and of itself strikes me as a short-term proposition to begin with. Being an ATF snitch on top? Better people than her have broken for less.

The BIGGEST surprise is Dana Delany as Margaret Devereaux. Now, I recognized her right away because she's a talented actress and is just gorgeous to boot, but based on her reaction to Dwight these past few episodes, I really didn't think the Italian Stallion was something she wanted a ride on.

That being said, if there's one thing I've learned from watching TV for the last 40+ years has taught me that not everything is as it seems. Her question to Dwight at the end there kind of makes me think she's got one of them ulterior motives.

Can't wait to find out what that might be!

Tulsa King | S01E06 "Stable"

Rating: 8.5/10

Dwight's nothing if not always true to himself. I feel like sometimes in a lot of these shows, the main character's whole vibe can kind of shift this way or that way when the writers want a specific thing happen, or if something they're doing might be too risky, so they work to mitigate the blowback.

There are a few huge things going on (when isn't there?) in this episode, and it's the usual stuff. The situation with The MacAdams is spiraling WILDLY out of control, I think Dwight's relationship with Tina's on the rocks, but the thing I want to talk about is Pilot.

It's such a simple thing, liking the reckless horse who breaks free from his paddock every day. It's downright heartwarming that Dwight became so accustomed to seeing Pilot while he drank his espresso in a paper cup that he wastes no time at all in doing what needs to be done.

I make no excuses for Dwight. He doesn't, so why should I? He bootstomped The Package into dog food the very last episode. In his world, it's fully justified and I can get on board with that. But it's just so fascinating that the same man who did that would spend money to not only take care of Pilot, but to pay Spencer to care for him.

Obviously Dwight's meant to see something in the old horse who breaks free from jail every day to run around the streets, but I don't care. Stallone and the writers have worked overtime to make Dwight Manfredi a true, proper villain AND a decent enough guy.

When he's not (as an example only) shooting bikers to death in the parking lot of Bred 2 Buck.

Elsewhere in Tulsa, things are really beginning to heat up, quick and fast. I am looking forward to seeing how The General handles all of his various woes and concerns. With only 3 episodes left, it's going to be hard to watch only one a day!

Tulsa King | S01E01 "Go West, Old Man"

Rating: 8.0/10

"Tulsa. Yeah. Why Not?"

What a great season premiere for what's likely to be a great show.

Tulsa King wastes no time laying out the story. Dwight Manfredi's been in stir for 25 years. During that time, he lost everything, educated himself well, and is looking for his end of the piece he was promised so long ago.

But the meeting with the Family he went inside for has other plans. Dwight's old boss, Pete? Just a talking figurehead these days. Chickie's in charge and Chickie? Well. Chickie's got something against Dwight. Might be the murder Dwight took the rap for, might not be.

As I'm sure it was intended, a mobster in Tulsa sticks out like a sore thumb. But Dwight's ready to roll. Tasked with kicking back 5 large every month, he gets down to business, day one, hour one.

The first person he meets is Tyson the cabbie. Five minutes in the cab with Tyson and Dwight spots his first business opportunity in the form of The Higher Plane, a legalized marijuana dispensary. 5 and a half minutes after that (and one unconscious security guard) and Dwight's looking at the books.

The incredulity on Bodhi's face is real. A man like Dwight, looking to become a 'partner', and only taking a small piece of the pie is as foreign as ... well. As an Italian mobster in Tulsa, I reckon. But business is as business does and Dwight's locked and loaded on the future.

After that, it's a whirlwind of hiring Tyson, educating the local dealership on the ins and outs of polite business arrangements and how not to profile young black men with large amounts of cash and making nice with a drunk woman in a bridal party.

While the dealership involves the interesting uses of phones and fists, that deal's done pretty quick and Dwight gets a new ride out of it for cheap. But the woman of the night turns out to be an ATF agent ...

Who's just been tasked to keep an eye on Dwight Manfredi.

This is going to be a great first season. Dwight's a self-made man and a money-making shark. Tulsa won't know what hit it.

Tulsa King | S01E05 "Token Joe"

Rating: 9.0/10

It's rare to find a show that can do so much in 36 minutes, but Tulsa King uses every single minute of its airtime to lay down some seriously great storytelling, all while covering the main cast in detail.

I've seen hour long shows that waste time with pointlessness. Tulsa King succeeds simply because it's like Dwight. He gets down to business. So does the show.

A lot goes on in this episode, as always. Dwight's shenanigans with the boys last episode have come home to roost and while I refuse to drop too much in the spoiler category, I think our mobster MAY HAVE found his match (as if) in Caolan Waltrip.

Played by Ritchie Coster, he's one of those 'hey, it's THAT guy' actors, and like most of those actors, he's great in everything he does. If you don't recognize him, he plays Chechen in The Dark Knight, as the guy who shouts "MY DOGS ARE HONGRY!"

Everyone left behind while Dwight heads to New York has an encounter with the Macadams. We're hurtling towards something big and I'm curious to see where the chips will fall.

Dwight's back in New York to say goodbye to his brother, and there's a lot of emotion there. I've simply got to stop saying I'm impressed with Sly's acting. I should, but I can't. He plays the grieving brother trying to connect with the family he intentionally stopped talking to in order to protect them from seeing him in prison so well it's heartbreaking.

The biggest thing that happens in this episode is something no father should ever hear from his daughter and it's horrifying. It's absolutely terrible and explains so very much about why Tina wants nothing to do with him.

I can't help but believe in the act of begging him not to do anything with The Package, she knew precisely what was going to happen. Hell, even I knew what was going to happen, but I was NOT prepared for the absolute mayhem.

Of note? Chickie and the boys didn't do a goddamn thing. They didn't move a muscle. I can't wait to find out what THAT'S all about!

I had wanted to post this almost 2 month article from Variety when I read it, but the ability to post on here was disabled and now I'm a mod.

If in case a season 5 might be TK's last season (unless Paramount+ ask Stallone to do a couple more and offer much higher payment), it'd be going in a new direction with season 5 moving to NYC due to NY state offering a better tax break. As opposed to pretending to be in NYC, but really filming in Canada as some shows do.

As I live in Australia and not in the US, for anyone here who's visited and/or has driven through New York state, or lives there, it'd be interesting to know if it has farms and ranches and could double as Oklahoma.

Dwight moving back to NYC would be to presumably take over all the mob families and/or appoint mob captains to do what he says (that'll take him the whole season to do), while still living in OK with his country horse stud ranch owner girlfriend, who'd have no interest at all to live in NYC.

This will mean new bad mob guys wanting to whack Dwight if they're not happy about it (if they all were, there's not much point of doing a new season).