Mayor of Kingstown Season 4 Episode 2 Review: After Carney’s Death, Trust Becomes Mike’s Deadliest Gamble

Episode 2 picks up exactly where you want it to: Mike McLusky trying to plug a dozen leaks at once, and the town happily poking new holes. If Episode 1 rattled the cage, this one rattles the bars off.

Where we pick up

Mike doubles down on protecting Kyle after that prison attack in Episode 1. And yeah, it sure looks like Merle Callahan is the one screwing with Kyle from the cell next door. Mike does not know that yet. We do. Which makes every scene feel like waiting for a grenade to go off.

Allies are thinning out, enemies are circling, and the show leans into that pressure without flinching.

Enter Frank Moses

New face, big swing: Frank Moses. Old-school Detroit gangster energy, zero pretense. He makes his introduction by brutally erasing Konstantin Noskov and Milo Sunter. Not random violence; that is a billboard aimed at Bunny Washington. The pitch that follows is surgical: Moses wants in with Bunny, he can move product across borders and provide protection, and he wants 20% for the privilege. Sounds neat. Also sounds like a trap if you have been alive for more than five minutes.

I really like this wrinkle. It injects fresh threat without turning the show into a rerun. Mike is appropriately cautious. The Moses–Bunny dynamic has weight, and the question is obvious: future ally or a problem waiting to get bigger?

Family business gets messy

Mike’s crew finds and removes the guy who put hands on Kyle. It is ugly, and that is the point. The scene lands because Kevin Jackson clearly hates every second of what it asks of him. That hesitation matters. The show lives in moral grey, and Kevin’s reluctance underlines the cost of these choices.

Which feeds the bigger issue: who can Mike trust inside those walls now that Carney is gone and Kevin is wobbling? That isn’t manufactured tension. It stings.

Power meeting: Mike and Moses

When Mike finally sits down with Moses, it is not just two tough guys sizing each other up. Moses frames Kingstown as a set of streets run by gangs, where peace is something you negotiate, and the Mayor’s buy-in is the bargaining chip. Mike stays sharp, doesn’t bite on the first offer, and keeps his options close. Balancing Bunny’s safety with Moses’ 20% handshake is going to get thorny fast.

Carney pays the price

The episode’s nastiest turn belongs to Carney. Cortez shoots him point-blank, in front of Carney’s father. It is not a random hit; it is a message. And here is the kicker: Mike’s earlier moves (smart as they seemed) helped set the conditions for that execution. Consequences ripple.

My read: Nina Hobbs and Torres are quietly steering this storm. Between the pointed warnings, the reassignment orders, and Nina’s own motives, it smells coordinated. Carney’s death doesn’t just hurt; it shifts the board, leaving Mike exposed and forcing a reset.

A new ally in the halls: CO Cindy Stephens

One of the more promising threads is Mike bringing in Cindy Stephens. She is green but determined, and he needs someone on the inside he can actually trust. There are a few sparks in their back-and-forth, but the play is intel: eyes and ears on Kyle’s situation and, eventually, on Callahan. It feels small now, but it is exactly the kind of relationship that pays off later.

So where does Episode 2 leave us?

• Kyle’s attacker is handled, brutally and decisively.
• Frank Moses plants his flag by taking out Konstantin Noskov and Milo Sunter, then offers Bunny cross-border transport and security for a 20% cut.
• Mike hears Moses out but does not commit; the Bunny–Moses–Mike triangle is officially in play.
• Carney is executed by Cortez, right in front of his father, and it feels orchestrated by Nina Hobbs and Torres.
• Mike recruits CO Cindy Stephens as his new inside line, aiming for info on Kyle and (sooner or later) Merle Callahan.

The vibe going into next week

The episode closes on that lovely Kingstown note: nobody is safe and nobody is clean. Kyle’s immediate threat is gone, Carney is dead, Moses is in the mix, and Mike is rebuilding his network on the fly. Expect more power plays, compromises that curdle, and the kind of chaos that looks strategic until it blows up in someone’s face.

Quick take

Strong hour. Smart writing, great tension, and Jeremy Renner continues to carry the weight like it is nothing. It is violent and morally muddy, but that is the show’s lane and it stays in it well. With Moses stepping in, Cindy stepping up, and Carney gone, Season 4 is clearly not easing off.

Question is simple: does Mike take Moses’ deal, or is that bomb ticking already? And who inside the prison would you trust now? Let me know.

Mayor of Kingstown Season 4 Episode 2 is streaming on Paramount+.