KIN Series 2 Episode 8 Recap

The finale opens right after the Glen Wright (Ben Carolan) and Clayton Finn (Kyle Bradley Donaldson) debacle. Anthony Kinsella (Mark McKenna Jr.) and Lee Reid (Matt Lenehan) race to meet Bren Kinsella (Francis Magee) at a garage, where they work to cover their tracks. Lee and Bren do most of the talking while Anthony is responsive but has that “1000-yard stare.” In the process of burning their clothes, Bren surprises Lee from behind and proceeds to choke him to death. Anthony merely watches but later helps dispose of the body.

Bridget “Birdy” Goggins (Mariah Doyle Kennedy) and Eric “Viking” Kinsella (Sam Keeley) meet with Michael (Charlie Cox) and Amanda Kinsella (Clare Dunne) to hash out the details of dealing with Bren. Both Michael and Amanda are suspicious of his allegiance until he apprises them of Bren’s threats against Nikita “Nikki” Murphy (Yasmin Seky). He also wants to reopen the houses as the boss. Birdy goes to bat for him by mentioning how beneficial that would be for everyone. The meeting doesn’t go much further thanks to the arrival of Detective Paul Breslin (David Herlihy) who doesn’t even bother alerting Viking to the search of his vehicle. Once Viking steps out with the others to protest, Breslin reveals the tracker and Glen’s death. Anthony returns during the encounter but is immediately sent to his room by Amanda.

Bren shares the news with Jimmy Kinsella (Emmett J. Scanlan) at the pub and turns the news of Glen’s death into a celebration, although Jimmy is sour that he wasn’t the triggerman.

Amanda surprises Nuray Batuk (Oyku  Karayel) with a phone call of condolences for her father and the request to deliver the next payment early. Nuray takes the news to Hamza (Kenan Ece) who appears to be in the middle of a card game with several business associates. Once he tells her to accept the early payment, she suggests doing so in person. He agrees and she says she’ll make the arrangements with Hazim Aktas (Haydar Koyel).

After overdoing the celebrations, Bren stumbles home and tries to force his way into Birdy’s room. The following morning over breakfast, neither of them mentions the event, but Frank (Aidan Gillen) and his newfound relationship with God come up. Birdy quickly ends it by claiming that he’s agreed to give it up.

Amanda visits Michael to tell him that she will handle the Batuk payment alone so he can speak with Jimmy about their plans to deal with Bren. She later meets with Rory Mayes (Cathal Pendred) and entices him with a huge payday for two days of work and the assurance that Bren won’t find out.

During a visit to Frank’s house, Bren attempts to provide Jimmy with a valuable lesson in leadership by beating Frank to a pulp for making plans to leave the family. Bren also takes his passport.

At the Garda Station, Detective Breslin receives an unexpected update from Paddy Hughes (Shane G. Casey) about the banking information containing Amanda’s prints. Although the identity of the company is buried behind shell companies, the account finally had some activity. It was a large sum transfer from Wayne Madigan (Jack Meade).

Birdy tracks Betty Duggan (Gina Costigan) to a commercial construction site where she requests a private meeting. Betty immediately becomes guarded when she learns that Birdy is Eric’s aunt. Birdy manages to calm her and keeps the discussion cordial. She ultimately pleads a case for Viking by bringing attention to some of Isaac “Kem” Kemel’s (Ryan Lincoln) illegal dealings. Birdy finishes by personally guaranteeing Jess Duggan’s (Shauna Higgins) safety should she drop her statement. Although Betty doesn’t respond, Birdy tells Viking later that she feels good about her talk with Betty.

While dropping Bren off at the pub, Jimmy receives a text from Michael, requesting a meeting. Initially, Jimmy doesn’t appear upset with Michael’s plans to eliminate Bren. As the discussion continues, his attitude changes and the two nearly come to blows when Michael insinuates that Bren’s pedophilic instincts are why their mother left.

When the Batuk’s plane pulls into the Hangar, Nuray lets Hazma exit first and approach the nearby waiting Range Rover. When gunshots from inside ring out, she orders her guards to stand down and walks over to confirm his death.

When the Range Rover pulls away with his body, Amanda approaches from the far side of the hanger.

While attending a vigil for the girl he and Lee hit, he’s spotted by Siobhan Wright (Ericka Rose), who later shares his attendance with Nellie Wright (Deirdre Molloy).

While Amanda and Nuray hash out the fine details of their new partnership, Amanda reveals that the Syrian deal with Wayne was a ruse to bring attention to his dealings. She also alludes to another pregnancy.

Thanks to a mole inside the Garda, Wayne is well aware of Amanda’s ruse and meets with the Syrians in an attempt to stop the shipment. The Syrians refuse to believe they have been duped until he sheds light on how Amanda insisted he pay with digital currency while she used cash.

Both Jimmy and Michael meet with Birdy to pick up burner phones and further instructions for the hit on Bren.

Frank is on his couch covered in his own blood when Dan Murphy (Donncha Tynan) rings at the door. Dan is nearly speechless at the sight of him and the accusations that ensue. He attempts to explain his reasoning for going to Bren with Frank’s slip about leaving but Frank practically ends their friendship. Viking attempts to mend his relationship with Nikki as he pulls into the driveway and finds her loading the last of her luggage into a friend’s vehicle. An urgent text prevents his full apology but it appears that she wants to believe him.

Viking’s next stop is the pub where Bren introduces him to Derek Ward (Jack Walsh) and extends an invitation to join them for a drink. He orders a whiskey and responds to the text but becomes panicked when he returns from the backroom to find Bren missing. He eventually finds him and tries to lure him to the parking lot. Frank’s bloodied face draws the room’s attention when he enters and shoots Bren in the head. Jimmy and Michael arrive in confusion as the patrons are spilling out of the pub.

Amanda returns home to find Anthony sitting at the kitchen table. He claims he has something to tell her although the conversation is not revealed. Instead, the episode ends with Frank shooting himself in the head as he hears the sirens approaching.

 

KIN Review

Absolutely incredible! As far as season finales go, you can’t get much better and that’s why I’ll start with giving the episode a 7 out of 10. The sad fact is, however, the finale was probably good because the entire season drug at times. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy it because I did, but I could easily see where some might have lost interest.

The Frank and Bren confrontation or the way it culminated was entirely shocking because I’ve felt his character was poised for some kind of redemption since the very start of the season. From Michael’s epilepsy to Anthony’s becoming a triggerman, every storyline is not only intriguing, but the potential impacts they offer are a true testament to the series’ creative writers.

Although I could do without Amanda’s pregnancy and her love life, even that had some appeal at times.

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