Tulsa King Season 3 Finale Review: Is Lee About to Take New Orleans by Storm?

I hit the point once a season with Tulsa King where I stop asking for logic and just let the chaos do its thing. Season 3’s finale, Jesus Lizard, got me there in the first two minutes. It opens with Joanne duct-taped to a chair in Dunmire’s office while Dwight (Sylvester Stallone) prowls around like he’s about to bite someone. It’s tense, it’s absurd, and it’s exactly this show’s vibe: criminal empires topple overnight and everyone in Oklahoma reacts like they misplaced the remote. It’s unhinged in a way I honestly find relaxing.

The setup: cool heads, hot tempers

We start with Dunmire trying to scare Joanne. He even brings out an axe for effect. She barely blinks. No screaming, no begging, just a look like she’s stuck behind a guy paying with pennies. Meanwhile, Jeremiah is coming apart at the seams. Watching her stay calm as he unravels made me realize: in Dwight Manfredi’s orbit, emotional stillness is probably the only survival tactic that works.

Then the door blows off the hinges figuratively when Bigfoot’s gigantic family shows up fully strapped, like someone smuggled a platoon into a backyard brawl. Dwight’s crew rolls in wearing matching tactical gear, marching through the dark like they rehearsed it. It’s ridiculous and somehow delightful at the same time.

The fire that changes everything

The burn scene is the moment that actually rattled me. TV audiences are weirdly fine with a lot of violence, but burning someone alive hits a nerve. Dwight’s Jesus Lizard speech has a rhythm to it, sure, but once the flames start, it’s hard to detach. The show scores it like a victory lap, which only makes it more uncomfortable. And then twenty minutes later, everyone is back at the Bred-2-Buck bar cracking jokes and housing beers like they didn’t just melt a guy. That whiplash is so Tulsa King it should be on the poster.

By the end of it, Jeremiah is dead, his operation collapses, Joanne is safe, and Dwight sits on top again.

Samuel L. Jackson walks in and steals the room

Samuel L. Jackson’s Lee is the jolt the finale needed. Every time he’s in frame, the energy spikes. It’s relaxed, charismatic, and instantly funnier. He could read off household cleaners and still hijack the episode. And that last line?

"If the General can do it, how damn hard can it be?"

Perfect button. Also, yes: the New Orleans spinoff is actually happening. If Lee is at the center of it, I’m lining up like it’s concert tickets circa 2003.

Cole’s quiet lane, Bevilaqua’s not-so-quiet absence

Cole adds something this show has needed: a softer pulse underneath all the chest-thumping. He’s damaged but genuine, young enough to offset the veteran tough guys. Dwight’s instinct to shield him gives the series a quieter thread to follow. I’d bet Season 4 bumps him up the board.

On the other end, Frank Grillo’s Bill Bevilaqua vanishes in a way you can’t hand-wave. You don’t hire Grillo, have him snatched off-screen, and then... nothing. The in-story line is that Musso’s got him stashed. The reality clearly smells like scheduling. Feels like the writers are banking on us just rolling with it until he reappears.

Governor Cal Thresher changes the math

Cal Thresher wins the governorship, which blows the world open in a big way. Margaret is standing there with him immediately, which tells you she plans to shape that agenda. With the new governor financially and politically entangled with Dwight’s world, the implications are not small. If Dwight already behaves like he’s holding a permanent get-out-of-jail-free card, what happens when the state owes him favors? Does he become bulletproof? Or does Cal try to play the moral adult and end up pretending not to see the bodies stacking up?

Based on history: Dwight is going to Dwight, Cal will think he’s a step ahead of everyone, and the city will choose not to notice the smoke.

So... is the finale worth it?

As long as you know what you’re buying. Tulsa King doesn’t care about realism, psychology, or nuance. It’s loud, wild, and emotionally unserious by design. I watch plenty of heavy dramas; this is the palate cleanser I didn’t know I needed. And I wouldn’t tweak a thing about its ridiculousness.

Your turn

• Did the finale land for you emotionally, or did the burn scene cross your line?
• Is Cal a future ally for Dwight or a slow-motion disaster?
• Should Lee lead that New Orleans spinoff, and how fast can Paramount+ make it?

Tulsa King Season 3 is streaming now on Paramount+.