Mayor of Kingstown Recap: All My Friends …They Died

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It would be ironic if Mike McLusky lost his influence in Kingstown to someone who legitimately holds a position of authority and actually performs the duties of that role.

The city’s new prison warden, Nina Hobbs, is presenting a real challenge to Mike. Her approach is surprisingly simple: she’s strictly enforcing the rules. Mike can no longer drop in whenever he feels like it, and now needs to schedule appointments to meet with her. It’s a completely new idea for the prison – running things like a regular, organized office.

This week on “People Who Died” (a nod to Jim Carroll’s song), Nina lets Mike come in one last time so she can finally tell him how frustrated she is. She’s kept Kyle safe, as promised, which makes Mike’s visit confusing. It turns out Mike’s friend, Doug Carney – a prison guard – was recently murdered, but the killing happened at his house, and Nina is already helping the police. Since Mike isn’t officially with the police department, Nina is left wondering what he could possibly want.

Mike was surprised by Nina’s firm refusal to cooperate. He tried reminding her of his connections with the police and warned her about a growing gang conflict between Colombians and Crips that could reach the prison, but she didn’t budge. In fact, she seemed annoyed with him, clearly stating she knew he’d been working outside official procedures to control her staff and the inmates.

It’s clear Mike is meant to be the main character, but Nina is increasingly looking like the real antagonist. She expertly switches between being a caring boss – offering grief counseling after Carney’s death – and seemingly orchestrating his downfall. We see evidence suggesting she had her assistant, Torres, plant drugs and a disposable phone in Carney’s locker to make it look like he was involved in something illegal. However, the police aren’t buying it, as Mike points out that Carney wasn’t capable of such deception. The episode concludes with Nina taking pills and ensuring her gun is within reach, confirming she’s a serious threat.

Honestly, as much as I like watching Mike try to help, it feels like he creates more problems than he solves most of the time. You can tell the people who really know this town are starting to see through him. When he asks Bunny about the Carney murder, Bunny gives him a lead – a prison guard named Kevin Jackson. But when Mike basically puts Kevin on call 24/7, Kevin gets understandably nervous and asks if that’s what got Carney killed. And you know what? That’s a really good question – it’s exactly what I was thinking!

Mike’s power within the prison seems to be decreasing, and he may also be losing control of the drug trade in Kingstown. This is likely due to Detroit mob boss Frank Moses now protecting Bunny.

I still have reservations about Frank. Bunny claims he trusts him only about 60 percent, and Frank seems to agree with that assessment. In the most compelling part of this episode, Frank openly explains to Bunny how he smuggles drugs from Canada, concealing them within garbage shipments. One of his associates points out it’s easy to hide something nobody cares about.

Frank seems impressed with Bunny’s meticulous approach to drug dealing, noting that successful dealers are observant and bosses notice such details. However, Frank appears disapproving when Bunny discusses the gritty realities of the business – the violence and problems happening on the streets – with his crew. Frank particularly dislikes Bunny’s involvement with prisons and murder, repeatedly emphasizing that Bunny is growing and changing his operation. This makes me question whether Frank genuinely wants to help Bunny succeed, or if he’s secretly planning to take over his business.

In this episode, Frank attempts to help Bunny by handling some dangerous tasks for him. When a cooler of body parts appears in a rival gang’s territory, Frank and his crew offer to deal with the Colombians, who they suspect are responsible. They arrive at the Colombians’ rundown hideout armed with body armor and flamethrowers, causing significant damage. However, Cortez cleverly manages to escape with his men through a hidden passage and then sets up an ambush, inflicting casualties on Frank’s crew.

To be fair, Frank is the one who lost here. However, I still think Mike is partly to blame for suggesting KPD let Cortez go last week. And honestly, Mike isn’t having much luck with anything right now – his other projects are also struggling.

Kyle, overwhelmed by his ongoing pain, takes the medication Merle Callahan secretly gave him. He later discovers someone restocked his supply while he was away from his cell. Meanwhile, Kyle and Merle have meaningful talks about staying true to oneself in a harsh environment. If Mike can’t even count on his own brother, he might have to abandon his attempt to appear like the town’s mayor.

Mike has consistently maintained that Kyle needs to finish his prison sentence to safeguard the delicate balance of Kingstown’s legal system. However, Robert Sawyer, one of the people Kyle supposedly protected, isn’t showing any appreciation. He remains angry about being shot and is struggling with alcohol. His family seems to have left town, and he’s openly threatening ADA Evelyn Foley, despite her being on his side. He angrily confronted her at the courthouse, accusing her of hypocrisy and expecting others to tolerate her judgment while refusing to accept criticism herself.

Over the last few seasons, Evelyn has become a warning about what happens when good people start following Mike’s lead. Similar to Nina at the prison, Evelyn prefers to do things legally – cleaning up Kingstown by arresting criminals and corrupt officers – instead of letting Mike decide who gets away with breaking the law. However, she repeatedly gives in to Mike’s arguments that his methods will ultimately reduce violence in the town.

I’m really worried about Evelyn. It feels like the city is just letting things happen, and now she’s in danger. Everyone says you can’t win against the system, but honestly, it feels like they’re not even trying to help, which gives me a little bit of hope that we might actually have a chance to make a difference.

Solitary Confinement

I’m disappointed with how the show is using Cindy Stephens so far. She spends most of the episode quietly worrying about Carney’s death, and it feels like a waste to cast a talented actress like Laura Benanti for such a small role.

The episode started with a great montage, set to the moody and unsettling song “Trouble Man” by Marvin Gaye. It showed Cortez doing the one thing he seems to do in public each day: eating at a diner. He eats quietly, neatly places his used silverware on his plate, and leaves a tip hidden under a bottle of extra-hot sauce.

Let’s be clear: the show’s writers seem to understand that Mike isn’t a brilliant strategist – he’s just a regular guy with good intentions. However, the show also suggests that Kingstown’s problems are so deeply rooted that only someone outside the system, like Mike, can prevent things from getting completely out of control. I strongly disagree with this idea. Still, it’s fun to watch and guess how Mike’s involvement will inevitably lead to chaos. I’m often surprised by what happens! This episode was a good example – even with everything falling apart, Mike had to deal with an Aryan drug dealer causing trouble, complete with yelling and gunfire. When it rains, it pours, right?

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2025-11-10 00:55