Mayor of Kingstown Recap: Cortez the Killer

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Last week, when I recapped Mayor of Kingstown, I highlighted some of the show’s new stars like Lennie James, Laura Benanti, and Edie Falco. However, I overlooked someone important – Derek Rivera. While he might not be as well-known as an actor, he’s quickly become a key character in season four.

The character played by Rivera is currently only listed in the credits as Cortez, a hitman. We first saw him last week when he attacked Bunny’s caravan and led the police on a chase. At the time, it was unclear if he was connected to the new character, Frank Moses. However, this week’s episode makes it clear that Cortez is working with the Colombians. Despite being dangerous and clearly having his own motives, he won’t reveal anything to the police. This means no one in Kingstown is safe from him.

It’s not certain that Cortez isn’t involved with Frank, and the show continues to feature scenes with Mr. Moses. While he thoroughly explains his plans for Kingstown, he’s still an enigmatic character. However, Lennie James delivers such a compelling performance that he makes the mystery captivating whenever he appears on screen.

Frank Moses has ties to the Detroit mafia. Though known as a dangerous figure in the criminal world, he’s able to operate openly because he owns legitimate businesses and avoids direct involvement in his employees’ illegal activities. His crew has long had a good relationship with Bunny’s, and now that Bunny – with the support of Mike McLusky – has driven out the Russians and weakened the Aryans in Kingstown, outsiders are starting to see the area as a potential opportunity. Frank wants to assist Bunny in keeping control of Kingstown.

The details of this deal are unclear, but it centers around Frank’s train yards, which he’s using to transport drugs. Mike is somehow involved, even if he doesn’t want to be.

The best part of this already strong episode is when Frank first meets Mike. Mike attempts to break the ice with a joke – “Coffee? Water? Both flammable!” – then pretends he only has influence through his connections in prison, which isn’t true. Frank quickly gets to the point, telling Mike he just needs him to tell his police officers to ignore any violence committed by people from Detroit against Bunny’s competitors.

I really liked the dynamic in this scene, especially Frank’s baseball analogy about finishing what Mike began with the Russian negotiations. But honestly, one of my favorite things about Mayor of Kingstown – even though it’s probably not the intention – is watching Mike completely fumble his unofficial role. And after this first meeting with Frank, I get the feeling he’s about to mess things up again.

I agree with Mike’s caution around Frank; it seems very likely Frank is keeping things hidden from his new business partners in Kingstown. It’s particularly strange that he immediately lowered his share of Bunny’s business from 30 to 20 percent. However, I think Frank is a more skilled businessman than Mike. If I had to choose who could best maintain order in the city, I’d go with Frank. I’m anticipating that Mike will ultimately create problems by trying to regain control.

We’re still seeing the consequences of Mike’s latest mistake, and it’s ironic to hear him cautiously allow Bunny to collaborate with Frank, while also stressing the importance of looking out for their own. He keeps repeating, “All that matters.” At the same time, Kyle McLusky is injured and isolated in prison, and surprisingly, he’s being befriended by Merle, the racist gang leader Mike desperately wants his brother to stay away from.

As expected, Mike reacts to Kyle’s attack by getting even more involved, and predictably, this only makes the situation worse. He asks Bunny to have someone attack the inmate who hurt Kyle, in return for letting Frank try to get a job in Kingstown. Raphael carries out the attack, stabbing the man in the shower, which leads to two consequences:

Merle is struck by the fact that criminals are protecting a former police officer, and this probably makes him even more determined to recruit Kyle into the Aryan group.

Nina Hobbs is furious, telling her top aide, David Torres, that McLusky has no influence within her prison.

Wow, this episode really introduces a new warden who feels as powerful and imposing as Frank Moses himself! And just like Lennie James always brings a spark to his scenes, Edie Falco absolutely nails every single moment she’s on screen. There’s this incredible scene with her and Jeremy Renner – Mike basically threatens Nina, telling her that if anything happens to his brother in prison, she’ll pay the price. It’s intense! What’s really striking is how completely unfazed she seems – it’s genuinely chilling. He tries to hold her to her promise to keep Kyle safe, and she coolly retorts, “I told you I would keep him alive. Is he?” It’s a fantastic exchange.

Nina decides the best course of action is to transfer Carney to a different assignment, thinking she should have done it from the start and believing he doesn’t understand the power dynamics at play. When Nina instructs Torres to carry out the transfer, Torres speaks to a Colombian inmate, deeply unsettling Carney, who then tries to warn Nina – but he’s warning the wrong person. That night, after preparing a meal for his sick father, Carney is ambushed and killed by Cortez as he leaves his home.

Is Torres connected to the Colombians? What about Nina? After watching “Mayor of Kingstown” for so long, I should know better than to jump to conclusions about who’s loyal to whom. However, it’s worth pointing out that Nina received a lot of messages from Switzerland on her phone earlier – maybe from a bank. It seems Mike is still in the dark about who his true adversaries are.

Solitary Confinement

I’ve always loved Laura Benanti, and I was thrilled to see her on Mayor of Kingstown last week. However, after watching her play the new prison guard, Cindy Stephens, this week, I’m starting to worry about where the show is going with her character. In her scenes, she seemed quickly overwhelmed by the difficult conditions in Ad Seg, needing help from an injured inmate to call for backup when someone was stabbed. She also easily agreed to be available for Mike whenever he needed her, even while on duty. I really hope Cindy isn’t just going to be portrayed as naive and easily manipulated.

While Mayor of Kingstown treats its female characters better than some other shows by Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone and Landman come to mind), they still often feel a bit underdeveloped and aren’t given as much to do in the plot. This was apparent in the recent scene with Mike’s secretary, Rebecca, who was understandably worried about Frank Moses being nearby. Their conversation – where she voiced concerns about his dangerous nature and Mike responded by giving her a raise and calling her ‘priceless’ – highlighted the issue. It’s good that her concerns are acknowledged, but hopefully she’ll get her own story arc soon.

Thankfully, Kyle’s wife, Tracy, is a well-developed character. She’s the voice of reason, consistently encouraging Kyle to reveal what he knows about Robert and to seek medical attention. However, she also understands why Kyle and Mike are hesitant to speak up – they fear it will cause widespread chaos in Kingstown. Despite understanding their reasoning, she doesn’t agree with it. When Mike insists Kyle is doing the right thing and asks for her belief, she bluntly responds, “I don’t.” He even asks if she can pretend to believe him.

Since I’m updating everyone on the women of Kingstown, I need to mention Evelyn Foley, as her time might be limited. Last week, Ian appeared to be pushing Robert to remove her from her position. This week, we see Ian secretly watching Evelyn, timing her daily commute – and that doesn’t look good.

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2025-11-03 01:56