The war inside the prison continues on Paramount+’s Mayor of Kingstown season two episode two, with one inmate beaten to death in the opening scene. That means chaos will continue to reign outside as gangs fight over territory without any leadership.
A voiceover by Mike (Jeremy Renner) points out that there aren’t any innocent victims inside the walls. However, “Outside, innocent victims is how you fight the war.” That point’s punctuated by the murder of an innocent woman who just happens to be in a house that comes under attack.
Ian (Hugh Dillon) calls Mike to come to the shooting, but first Mike has to drop Iris (Emma Laird) someplace safe. In this particular instance, that safe place in the middle of the night is with Kyle (Taylor Handley). Mike’s pissed – as he should be – that Iris broke out of witness protection which is where she needs to be. He reminds her that nothing stays hidden in a town. It’s inevitable that Milo will find her.
Kyle doesn’t want to babysit Iris who, as it turns out, he didn’t even realize his brother had located. The situation escalates when Iris tries to leave and wakes up Tracy (Nishi Munshi) and Miriam (Dianne Wiest). Miriam’s the only person to remain calm, and she invites Iris to stay in their spare room.
Mike doesn’t fill his mom in on everything but does admit Iris is in the worst kind of trouble.
Squad cars and a coroner’s van fill the street and Ian’s in one hell of a mood when Mike finally arrives on the scene. Ian’s blaming Bunny for the attack, but Mike’s certain the hit was ordered from inside the prison. Someone’s trying to fill the leadership void by taking out their enemies on the outside.
“Tail’s wagging the f**king dog, right, and this is the result,” says Mike.
A cop tosses his cookies inside the house, reacting to the brutality of the crime scene. It’s a slaughterhouse, with blood and bodies everywhere. Mike, Ian, and Stevie (Derek Webster) walk through what’s basically the scene of a mass execution, and even Mike’s visibly disturbed.
A uniformed officer explains they engaged with the shooters and in return the gang “unleashed hell” on them. Fortunately, while the shooters were escaping one of them dropped a weapon. A quick glance at the rifle and Ian realizes it’s not a typical gangster gun. It’s more advanced than their normal weapons and even has a muzzle brake.
Mike and Ian follow a blood trail leading away from the weapon and down the alley. They spot the shooter hidden behind a dumpster and Mike tells him his name. The gang member recognizes it and allows Mike to come over to talk. (He admits he dropped his gun and claims to be unarmed.)
The man’s been shot in the gut and probably won’t last much longer. He says everything’s going south and nowhere is safe. It’s going to escalate to the point that churches will be shot up since family members are now being targeted.
Mike figures out that based on the weapons, the Crips have partnered with the Mexicans and the Bloods are working with the Aryans. The man knows he’s dying and confirms Mike’s correct. He also reveals no one ordered the hit; the gangs are just going to war on their own.
As Mike heads off to talk to Bunny, he disagrees with Ian that the town is going to be locked down. Mike thinks if that hasn’t happened yet, it never will. He also delivers a brief pep talk to Asst. D.A. Evelyn Foley (Necar Zadegan) who’s completely over her job at this point.
Morning’s arrived by the time Mike makes it to Bunny’s new headquarters. No one answers the door or responds when Mike calls out, so he resorts to tossing beer bottles onto the roof. That finally gets Bunny’s attention.
Mike joins Bunny (Tobi Bamtefa) on the roof and immediately gets in his face about the massacre. Bunny insists it didn’t happen under his flag and he isn’t responsible. Bunny claims it came from the inside, but Mike reveals the shooter told him it didn’t. Bunny is sure it’s all coming from the prison guards. They’re behind the war and are orchestrating moves.
Mike wants Bunny to meet with the Bloods, Aryans, and Mexicans and calm the situation down. Bunny knows that won’t happen without someone doing something about the guards, and Mike promises he’ll take care of that. Bunny explains that every time a leader steps up, he’s taken down in prison. That’s got to be because the guards are pulling the strings.
If the streets don’t calm down, the National Guard will roll in and take care of it.
Bunny wants Mike to referee the meeting. Without a mediator, nothing will get done. Mike, very reluctantly, agrees. He has an idea that he thinks will work, but Bunny’s going to have to trust him. It’ll sting, but then after it’s over, Bunny won’t have to hide out on a roof.
Bunny agrees to trust Mike and to meet in three hours without an army backing him up.
Mike calls Evelyn about his idea, which is to turn over the current leaders of all four gangs to her. But they have to go to the penitentiary – not County – and they have to be arrested for felony possession of firearms. The catch: she’ll need to drop all the charges. So, what’s the point? To get them inside where they can pick new leaders and then get them back out without serving time.
Evelyn speaks the truth when she says the plan sounds insane. But Mike points out that the inside rules the outside, so it’s necessary to get the inside under control first.
Evelyn also agrees to trust him. I mean, at this point, is there really any other option?
Mike’s next stop is to meet with Captain Kareem Moore (Michael Beach) who’s temporarily in charge of the prison. Mike explains they need to pick new leaders inside so that the outside’s safe, but Kareem’s of the opinion they should let the gangs kill each other off. Mike points out that innocent citizens will die in the crossfire, and they could start shooting up schools and churches.
Kareem gets on board, grabs his gun, and goes with Mike.
Robert (Hamish Allan-Headley) is already at the meeting spot when they pull up, and he’s got his SWAT team in place. Moore’s second-in-command, Carney (Lane Garrison), shows up with a vest, a shotgun, and a bad attitude, and Mike has to remind him they’re not heading into a fight. This is supposed to be a peaceful meeting.
Bunny’s the first to arrive and Robert pats down his men and sends them off, allowing only Bunny to stay for the meeting. The remaining three representatives also show up, and you can cut the tension with a knife.
Mike announces that whatever they decide here and now has to be enforced inside. Mike declares that Captain Moore and his guards will patrol the prison again and will intervene in all conflicts. Food is an issue and Moore claims bag meals are the price of riots.
The reps are shocked when Evelyn Foley shows up and Mike explains, “She’s going to be giving you the pill you’re going to swallow.”
Sirens fill the air as Robert warns everyone to remain calm. SWAT surrounds the group as Mike explains they’re being arrested for felony possession of firearms. He adds, “And when there’s peace in the mother**king valley, charges will be dropped.”
He specifically tells the guards they need to keep it peaceful. This will only take as long as it takes the leaders to get their houses in order inside.
Bunny’s furious that he’s being placed under arrest and demands that Mike stay and watch when he attempts to walk away.
Once the meeting’s over Mike returns home to retrieve Iris and discovers she escaped through a window.
Meanwhile, Kyle and his partner, Morass (Michael Gaston), pull over a driver towing a boat going 25 in a 45 mph zone. Kyle’s irritated Morass tailgated the guy, forced him to speed up, and then pulled him over. His anger escalates when Morass refuses to allow him time to check out the guy’s plates.
Kyle’s not able to get into a position to backup his partner before Morass approaches the driver’s door. Morass is immediately met with gunfire. He goes down as Kyle unloads through the back window, killing the driver and his passenger.
Kyle calls in that Morass is down with multiple gunshot wounds. The assailant is also down, and Kyle needs EMS now. Kyle’s so shocked and upset by what just happened that he can’t even tell dispatch his location, other than that he’s on Highway 31.
He takes a knee for a minute and then jumps up when he hears a noise inside the car. Kyle discovers a baby in a car seat in the backseat and realizes he could have shot him when he unloaded into the vehicle. (Kyle needs time off and serious counseling!)
It’s nighttime when Iris makes her way to an empty church. She walks down the aisle and enters the basement. She says, “I have nowhere to go,” to a man seated at a laptop with his back toward her. He turns slowly and it’s Milo! Iris knew where he’d go to hide out and tells him that she doesn’t have a home. She kneels and places her head in his lap while holding tightly to his leg.
Milo says, “You’re home now.”
Episode two ends with the four leaders arriving at the temporary outdoor prison. The prisoners go from yelling at the bus to near silence as the four exit the bus and walk through the prisoners into the yard.
- Season 2 Episode 1 “Never Missed a Pigeon” Recap
- Mayor of Kingstown Season 2 Episode 3 “Five at Five” Recap
- Mayor of Kingstown Season 2 Episode 4 “The Pool” Recap
- Mayor of Kingstown Season 2 Episode 5 “Kill Box” Recap
- Mayor of Kingstown Season 2 Episode 6 “Left with the Nose” Recap
- Mayor of Kingstown Season 2 Episode 7 “Drones” Recap
- Mayor of Kingstown Season 2 Episode 8 “Santa Jesus” Recap
- Mayor of Kingstown Season 2 Episode 9 “Peace in the Valley” Recap
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