Tulsa King Season 3 Finale Finally Reveals Joanne and Russell’s Fate
Tulsa King’s Season 3 finale on Paramount+ hits like a sledgehammer, ending the bourbon wars with Sylvester Stallone’s Dwight Manfredi settling the score with Robert Patrick’s Jeremiah Dunmire in Jesus Lizard — and leaving one burning mystery: what happened to Annabella Sciorra’s Joanne?
Well, that escalated quickly. Tulsa King wrapped Season 3 on Paramount+ with an episode called 'Jesus Lizard' that finally put Sylvester Stallone's Dwight Manfredi and Robert Patrick's Jeremiah Dunmire on a collision course. Bourbon wars, mob grudges, family on the line — the whole season essentially built to this.
Heads up: spoilers for the Season 3 finale ahead.
Joanne was kidnapped. Dwight took it personally.
End of Episode 9, Jeremiah's crew snatched Dwight's sister, Joanne (Annabella Sciorra), and stashed her at the Dunmire compound. The leverage play: force her to sign over Montague Distilleries so Jeremiah could lock down the bourbon business.
Joanne wasn't playing along. Even when Jeremiah's son Cole (Beau Knapp) tried the 'just give it up and this is over' routine — complete with water and faux kindness — she called the bluff. She knew signing a piece of paper didn't magically make her captors or her brother disappear.
Then Cole finally looked in the mirror at the mess his father created and flipped. He handed Dwight a detailed map of the Dunmire estate — the kind of intel that wins wars.
Dwight and a well-armed crew rolled in and treated the compound like a tactical exercise. Security got peeled back room by room, Joanne made it out, and the job got done. The show didn't linger on the emotional fallout, but her survival keeps Dwight's bourbon plan intact, which is basically the point of the season.
Dwight vs. Jeremiah: score settled
The finale didn't just rescue a hostage; it closed the book on Jeremiah. Dwight took him out, decisively and brutally. After weeks of posturing and body blows, there was never going to be a polite handshake here.
Russell's pivot: from hit job to headliner
Russell Lee Washington Jr. (Samuel L. Jackson) came to Tulsa with orders from mob boss Ray (James Russo) to kill Dwight. Complication: Russell and Dwight did time together, and that history mattered. He couldn't pull the trigger, which instantly put him in Ray's sights.
Instead of skipping town, Russell teamed up with Dwight when Ray sent more hitters after them. Old-prison-buddy code trumped the contract. Watching Dwight run the Dunmire rescue seemed to flip a switch: this is what a boss looks like.
At a celebratory dinner at the Bred-2-Buck Saloon, Russell made it official — he's heading to New Orleans to build his own thing, inspired by what Dwight pulled off in Tulsa. Which cleanly tees up the spinoff NOLA King, with Jackson front and center as Russell tries to carve out an empire in New Orleans.
Where everyone landed
- Joanne Manfredi (Annabella Sciorra): Rescued, still owns Montague Distilleries. Expect her to stay in the mix in Season 4.
- Russell Lee Washington Jr. (Samuel L. Jackson): Sides with Dwight, then leaves Tulsa to start fresh in New Orleans. Leads the upcoming spinoff NOLA King.
- Dwight Manfredi (Sylvester Stallone): Eliminates Jeremiah and secures the bourbon empire. Next up: political complications in Season 4.
- Jeremiah Dunmire (Robert Patrick): Killed by Dwight. Story concluded.
Did the finale stick the landing for you? Joanne's standoff and Russell's about-face both felt earned — and if the goal was to clear the runway for next season and a spinoff, mission accomplished.
Tulsa King is streaming on Paramount+; the full season is up now.