Mayor of Kingstown Season-Finale Recap: This Damned Show

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The season four finale of Mayor of Kingstown delivered a remarkably satisfying conclusion with Merle Callahan’s death. While Richard Brake’s voice has been a pleasure to listen to over the past two seasons – particularly when his character discussed leadership and justice – Merle was always a somewhat absurd figure. His sole purpose seemed to be to antagonize Mike, and he pursued this role so relentlessly that it felt unbelievable. Throughout the series, Merle lacked any real motivations or ambitions; he simply existed as a device to move the plot forward, never feeling like a fully developed character.

For much of this week’s episode, titled “Belly of the Beast,” Merle remains a major threat despite already causing immense pain to the McLusky family by killing Kyle’s wife. Instead of leaving Michigan, he stays in Kingstown and masterminds an attack on Mike and those he cares about, using members of the Aryan Brotherhood. The captured AB soldiers taunt Mike, pointing out how vulnerable he would be in prison without Merle’s influence. They also brag about Merle continuing to operate actively in Kingstown, wrapping their threats in empty talk of honor, loyalty, and a criminal code.

Merle attempts to manipulate the system by turning himself in to Ian at the police station. He hopes to be arrested and sent back to prison, where his brothers will protect him and he can continue his fight against McLusky. However, Ian’s boss, Captain Walter, unexpectedly declares that someone who’s good can be led astray, but an evil person is beyond redemption, and then instructs Ian to pretend Merle was never there. Ian quickly takes Merle to the train yard to confront Mike and Kyle.

This episode features its strongest scene, and potentially of the entire season. After Merle delivers a rambling, threatening speech to the McLuskys – and darkly suggests to Kyle that he may have harmed Tracy – Kyle immediately shoots him. It’s unclear exactly where the bullet hits, though the episode title hints at the gut. Merle cries out in pain for about a minute before Kyle finishes him off with several more shots. Merle’s death is far from honorable; he appears weak and pitiful, which makes the scene incredibly satisfying.

Even just this single episode, “Belly of the Beast,” is a clear improvement over last week’s frustrating installment. The finale does offer more action, which is welcome. However, I was hoping this season could be redeemed by a strong finish, and unfortunately, that didn’t happen. The show lost its focus in the later part of season four, and instead of tying things up neatly, most of the storylines just fizzled out.

Let’s quickly recap what happened with the new characters – Nina, Cindy, Frank, Cortez, and Torres – I’ll get to the smaller storylines shortly. But first, I need to clarify something from last week’s episode. I mentioned the shooting at Don’s Diner, and while we didn’t know who did it, it seemed likely to be the Detroit mob. We’ve now seen the Detroit crew attack twice this season, and both times they wore the same black tactical gear – helmets, vests, and similar equipment – as the people who shot up the diner.

I did mention in my summary that, considering how much this season relies on misleading clues, the attackers could be either Colombians or Aryans. And it turns out I was right – they are Aryans.

Was the recent reveal meant to be a surprise? If so, it didn’t quite land, and I’m wondering why. If not, why wasn’t it obvious earlier who was behind the restaurant shooting? I appreciate a good twist, but this season feels unfocused – it seems like even the writers aren’t sure what’s going to happen next.

The way the new characters are quickly dismissed in the finale is telling. For example, Frank is completely missing – he was arrested last week and is likely in jail, though given the show’s nature, it’s possible something worse happened to him off-camera. This becomes clear when we consider what happens with Torres.

It’s unclear if the Detroit mafia is involved, but Bunny mentions an alliance between Detroit and Kingstown when he plans an attack on the Colombians, and Mike hints at a growing power base. However, we don’t actually see Bunny taking over Frank’s crew. The story quickly jumps to a shooting at an auto shop where Cortez is captured. Mike wants Cortez kept alive for questioning, but Bunny doesn’t manage to hold him. While Bunny’s away, Cortez escapes his restraints, kills two Crip members, and gets away.

Cortez speaks with Nina before being discovered, revealing that “Torres didn’t cry” and referring to him as “a dead soldier.” He admiringly notes that “a good soldier sacrifices,” echoing a bit of Merle’s mannerisms. It seems Torres was killed without being shown on screen, which is what I had guessed. We barely knew Torres, and unfortunately, that’s true.

Torres’s death doesn’t solve Nina’s problems with the Colombians. When she asks Cortez if he’ll let them know the situation is under control, he responds that he’ll update them ‘when there’s something to tell,’ implying the situation is far from resolved.

Nina has a significant scene where she checks in with Cindy after Cindy killed Breen in the last episode. Despite Breen having recently murdered a guard and several prisoners, there are no consequences or any indication of an investigation at any level of law enforcement. Everything continues as normal, and Cindy simply explains she needs to keep working to support her family.

Nina sends Cindy to work at the infirmary, but it’s unclear if this is to give her a break or to put her in danger. Nina is aware that the restrictions keeping the gangs separated will be lifted while Cindy is on duty, and she anticipates a violent clash between them as soon as they can come together.

Another standout scene shows Raphael and his rivals getting ready for a fight, using whatever they can find in prison – like taping magazines to their bodies as makeshift armor and crafting shanks. The fight itself is intense, but true to the style of Mayor of Kingstown, it’s hard to tell who actually wins.

Raph is wounded and rushed to the infirmary, where his condition is uncertain. Meanwhile, guard Kevin is stabbed inside the infirmary and quickly loses consciousness in Cindy’s arms, seemingly dying from his injuries. Kevin is the person Nina was supposed to give to the Colombians as punishment for his involvement in their stolen drug shipment. (She might have initially suspected Cindy, but Nina’s motives are always unclear.)

Mike is encouraging Nina to lift the lockdown, explaining that sometimes things need to get worse before they can get better. It’s as if the season finale of Mayor of Kingstown is intentionally creating chaos, hoping that some characters’ survival will ultimately resolve the show’s problems.

It looks like there won’t be any more seasons of Mayor of Kingstown. The show hasn’t been renewed for a fifth season, so you’d expect the fourth season finale to at least wrap things up a bit. However, that’s not what happens. Besides Merle’s death, most storylines remain unresolved, and there aren’t any big cliffhangers to entice viewers if the show were to return. It feels like the creators approached the season without a clear plan, similar to how Mike McLusky operates – they tried a lot of different things and just saw what happened.

Solitary Confinement

Also, Ian’s partner, Stevie, is shot during an attack by a white supremacist group and ends up in the hospital. Stevie often appears in the background and occasionally has small roles, but his primary function seems to be reacting to Ian’s jokes. Even while being taken away in an ambulance, he’s present mainly to hear Ian quote the movie Goodfellas, saying, “That was just a scratch. Don’t make it a big deal, Spider.”

Ian recently daydreamed about winning the lottery, and this week we see him scratching off a ticket with a hopeful expression – it looks like he might have actually won! Just then, Merle shows up, leaving us hanging and wondering if he really did win, as usual.

Merle was a goofy guy, but he had a knack for explaining things in a memorable way. Near the end, even after Mike punched him, he joked that a few more hits wouldn’t even register – he described it as ‘pounding on flesh.’ This feels like a good way to describe Mayor of Kingstown itself: the show keeps adding layer upon layer of violence until it almost becomes numbing.

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2025-12-29 01:56