Caprice – As the third episode of Tulsa King begins, officers surround a house after a police officer was shot. ASAC Hendricks (Miles Mussenden) urges Edgar Dumont (Dan Waller) to give himself up. Edgar yells for them to get off of his property. A man on a motorcycle arrives outside. Keel gets off the motorcycle and tells Dumont to be easy. Stacy Beale (Andrea Savage) questions what he is doing there if he isn’t going to help. As Keel is escorted away, he yells at Dumont to tell them that they’ve left him with no choice. Edgar lets his dogs out of the house before using the explosives inside to blow himself up. After the intro, Dwight Manfredi (Sylvester Stallone) gets a drink and sees a white horse trotting across the street.

A woman tells him that the horse’s name is Pilot and he lives about a mile from there. She goes on to say that not all horses are a fan of the pasture. Tyson (Jay Will) meets up with Dwight who takes him for a ride. He gives Dwight advice for passing the road test. Dwight soon learns he is going to ask about a raise so he stops him. Instead, Tyson questions where he sees him in five years. Dwight stops the car before asking Tyson where he sees himself in five years. Tyson says a position of power like a capo, but Dwight insists he can’t be a capo. Dwight explains that although he isn’t a boy scout, he isn’t a bad guy either. Next, they head to The Higher Plane where they’re having a party of sorts. Dwight finds out that people are using nitrous before he meets with Bodhi (Martin Starr). Grace (McKenna Quigley Harrington) isn’t eager to talk to Dwight since she gets triggered easily after the attack on Fred.

Dwight promises to be more careful before telling Bodhi how the Feds raided the dispensary in Stillwater. Bodhi tells him about nitrous oxide as Dwight begins forming another business plan. Bodhi thinks they could get 350 balloons out of a tank. Later at the pub, Dwight talks to Mitch Keller (Garrett Hedlund) about the nitrous oxide. He thinks they could make more than a hundred grand by selling nitrous oxide at the upcoming music festival. Dwight tells Mitch that this is technically a restaurant so he should be able to buy nitrous in bulk. Mitch is interested in the proposal. The next day, Tyson tries to convince Dwight that he can be a capo after all. When Dwight suggests going to college, Tyson says he already did that and it isn’t for him. Dwight insists college is about proving to potential employers that you can show up, work, and not mess up the business. Moments later, Dwight picks up the driving test instructor Paul Cheevers (Mike Iveson).

As Dwight drives, Paul tells him that he and his parents were mugged by a guy with a samurai sword when they were in New York. At one point, a man in a ski mask pulls up and shoots into the passenger side window. Dwight manages to get Paul out of the way just in time to avoid serious harm. Dwight begins chasing the shooter while Paul panics in the passenger seat. After sideswiping the fleeing vehicle, Dwight tells Paul to shut up before continuing the pursuit. Eventually, the shooter gets away. Dwight uses Paul’s blood to write down the partial plate number he remembers. As a police officer approaches, Dwight informs Paul that he didn’t see anything. Dwight is taken down to the police station so he can answer questions about the incident. He refuses to give them a description of the vehicle in question.

When they bring up his prior arrests, Dwight asks if he is being charged with almost getting shot. He goes on to suggest the shooter had it out for the driving instructor since he has likely failed a lot of people. The shooter burns the vehicle to get rid of evidence. Stacy approaches Dwight who says he passed his driving test. Once she tells him he is free to go, Dwight gets up and leaves. Stacy tells the police officer that he is a part of a bigger investigation. Dwight takes Stacy out to dinner to thank her for helping. He questions why she is in Oklahoma before learning that she was involved in the explosion yesterday. She admits she thinks they’re both crazy. She tells him how she was in customers before 9/11 and got recruited. She switched to ATF and was asked to leave. She admits she lost her crap. Stacy reveals she freaked out when she saw Sully’s plane.

Stacy questions what happens in his work if someone loses their crap and puts an associate at risk. Dwight isn’t sure it’d work out so well. He asks her if she remembers the last time they were together. He reminds her that she claimed she wouldn’t be able to help if he got jammed up. Stacy jokes she might be bad at her job. In the morning at the Mayo Hotel, Stacy gets dressed while telling Dwight that this can’t and won’t happen again. Dwight asks her to let him know if she finds out who tried to shoot him. Once she leaves, Dwight calls Chickie (Domenick Lombardozzi) to see if he knows who shot at him. Chickie insists Vince (Vincent Piazza) didn’t have anything to do with it. Chickie says he’d be out of his mind to take him out because he is a great earner. Stacy talks to others about Caolan Waltrip who is the head of the Black Macadam motorcycle gang. Now, Caolan and his crew are arming themselves to the teeth.

They quickly talk about his crimes and prison stint before turning their attention to his former cellmate named Edgar Dumont who blew himself up. The other two are Robbie Trucotte and Carson Pike. Nobody gets within 20 feet of Waltrip without going through Pike first. As for Rochelle “Roxy” Harrington (Emily Davis), she is a munitions expert who did three tours in Afghanistan. She also has Waltrip’s ear. Dwight visits Paul at the hospital and gives him flowers. He sits down with Paul and says the police are coming up short because they’re understaffed. Dwight gives him ten grand to stay quiet and to compensate for his pain and suffering. To make Paul feel like he earned the money, Dwight wants him to find out information about the Chevy Caprice by using his buddies at the DMV. When Tyson meets with Dwight, he is given severance before Dwight doesn’t want him to get killed.

Dwight tells him that the car was parked outside his house all night so someone could’ve walked by and mistook his family for him. Tyson insists he is willing to pay his dues. Dwight reminds him that this is his choice. Tyson is fine with that so he gives the money back. Dwight wants him to get a new car that isn’t a Navigator or black and he wants it for free since the other one is a lemon now. Stacy goes back to Dumont’s house and notices one of his dogs hanging around. She decides to take it with her. Paul calls Dwight to tell him where the vehicle was found. When they find the car, they notice that the windows were closed so the fire went out. Dwight discovers DMSO in the vehicle. Tyson looks it up and says it is a liniment used to reduce inflammation in horses and it is highly flammable. After Dwight finds fabric with FR on it, he asks Tyson to type in FR and horses.

Tyson tells him about Fennario Ranch. Dwight decides to visit the ranch alone. He meets with Margaret Devereaux (Dana Delany). Dwight uses a different name and claims he is a private investigator. He says a client’s car was stolen and set on fire. She looks at the fabric and says it was a waste of money because they’re stolen as soon as she buys them. Dwight mentions the DMSO and questions if anyone working here is capable of something like that. Margaret tells him how many people she employs while admitting she can’t keep up with them when they’re off the clock. Before he leaves, Dwight asks about riding lessons and is told to check the ranch’s website. Tyson practices being tough in front of the mirror in his bedroom. Stacy calls Dwight to tell him about her new dog which she is going to call Chance. Dwight follows someone when they leave the ranch. He follows the man home where he hugs his kid at the door.

 

Tulsa King Review

The third episode of Tulsa King remained consistent in terms of quality, performance, and entertainment. It also did a better job of pushing the story ahead and developing new risks for Dwight in Tulsa. For instance, he has been the target of an assassination attempt and he also has to look out for Tyson who might be in over his head. He also rekindled his relationship with Stacy who adopted one of Edgar’s dogs.

The action scenes were well done even though they were short-lived. In some ways, the episodes are just too short because they end as the story starts picking up and getting interesting. It is common for the episodes to run less than 40 minutes and that is often noticeable. Nevertheless, I think Tulsa King will be an enjoyable binge when every episode of the first season has been released.

It may actually be better to wait for the entire season before watching so there are no lengthy delays. Despite some issues especially in terms of credibility, Tulsa King knows what it wants to be and that’s exactly what it is. Viewers can enjoy without being burdened by overly complicated storylines, cryptic dialogue, or confusing flashbacks. The episode scores a 7 out of 10. Recaps of Tulsa King are available on Reel Mockery here. Find our website and recaps helpful? Consider supporting our work by following this link.