Kansas City Blues – As Episode 2 begins, Cowboy Art (Stephen Shelton) spends several minutes watching Dwight ‘The General’ Manfredi (Sylvester Stallone) at the Bred 2 Buck Saloon. Nothing appears out of the ordinary and it’s suggested that Dwight doesn’t even notice his admirer.
The following morning, Dwight relies on a bit of misdirection himself to make a clean getaway at the rear of his hotel where Tina Manfredi (Tatiana Zappardino) is waiting with the car. His escape doesn’t go entirely unnoticed and FBI Agents Cole (Alan Boell) and Ward (Jason MacDonald) will tail them to a meeting with the realtor. Both Tina and Dwight love the house and it doesn’t hurt that a career change has motivated the seller.
Bill Bevilaqua (Frank Grillo) doesn’t even attempt to hide his feelings of disrespect as Art conveys everything he learned from his trip to Tulsa. At the same time, Cal Thresher (Neal McDonough) meets with US Attorney Dylan McGrath (Paden Fallis) to remind him that he owes him a favor and he’s cashing in. Dylan understands Thresher’s request and agrees to personally oversee the current case against Dwight.
Tyson Mitchell (Jay Will) and Armand Truisi (Max Casella) are in the middle of debating possible schemes when Dwight shows up. Armand is no more at ease when Dwight mentions the late payment in passing. The arrival of Spencer (Scarlet Rose Stallone) followed by that of Margaret Devereaux (Dana Delany) with the need to get to court on time will take precedence at the moment.
Against the advice of Judge Mark Watkins (Kenny Alfonso), Dwight pleads not guilty and declares that he will be representing himself. His confidence doesn’t appear to falter when McGrath lets the court know that he’ll be personally prosecuting the case. Watkins schedules jury selection to begin the following Tuesday.
Tina turns to Joanne (Anabella Sciorra) for advice about moving to Tulsa. Joanne not only encourages her to take the deal, but she offers a few days of her time. This pleases Tina greatly which is practically the opposite reaction Charles ‘Chickie’ Invernizzi (Domenick Lombardozzi) and Vince Antonaccui (Vincent Piazza) have when Bill turns to him for advice. The conversation immediately goes from Bill asking for advice to him and Chickie arguing about how each feels disrespected by the other. Bill is upset that Chickie didn’t even bother to notify him about moving his operation into Tulsa. Chickie feels disrespected that Bill didn’t offer condolences for his father’s recent passing. Despite the initial riff, the conversation appears to end on good terms once Chickie agrees to pay a compensation fee.
Elsewhere, Bodhi (Martin Starr) introduces Dwight to a defense attorney program that helps attorneys choose more sympathetic jurors. This discussion also reveals that Dwight is meeting with the owner of the wind farm tomorrow. With the help of Grace (McKenna Quigley Harrington) and Armand, Tyson breaks into Donnie Shore’s (Steve Witting) used car lot to steal Catalytic Convertors. Donnie learns about this later while trying to sell a car.
As stated, Dwight visits Harlan Thibodeaux (J.D. Walsh) in prison to offer him $7.5 million for his wind farm. Although Harlan initially requested $12 million, he takes the offered $7.5 million. Dwight also learns that Harlan is being relocated to a much tougher prison in Illinois.
In an attempt to follow through with Harlan’s deal, Dwight and Tyson will visit their old friend, Jorge Gonzalez (Victor Samuel Lopez), who now appears to be the Vice President of the Bank of Tulsa. He is unable to help them with such a substantial amount of money and is forced to call in his manager, Karen Kriscoe (Joanna Walchuk). Even after a Shark Tank-type pitch from Dwight, the most Karen can offer is $3 million, and that comes with lots of stipulations. Dwight and Tyson aren’t fully satisfied when they make their exit but even worse, they don’t leave alone. The FBI is still tailing them.
After touching down in Tulsa, Joanne’s first visit is to Dwight’s hotel room where she’ll voice her concerns about him representing himself. They’ll go back and forth for several minutes until he eventually distracts her with a new Italian Vodka.
Dwight is too pleased the following morning to learn that Mitch Keller (Garrett Hedlund) has taken it upon himself to see that he starts eating healthier, beginning with breakfast. Dwight’s day only gets worse when Donnie Shore comes in complaining about the stolen converters. Despite all this, Dwight will cleverly use the situation to not only get Joanne and Tina new cars but to get Donnie to hire his guys for a protection detail.
Dwight’s next order of business is to plead with McGrath to settle his case out of court. He learns very quickly that McGrath isn’t interested in settling without ‘time inside’ and Dwight certainly does not want to waste any more of his life behind bars. During the brief meeting, Dwight will notice a memo on McGrath’s desk about a recent call from Thresher.
Mitch does a bit of dealing of his own when he surprises Donnie by returning half of the stolen converters as Dwight suggested earlier. A brief discussion about the car business ensues and Mitch will make Donnie an offer on the lot. Nothing is set in stone for the moment but Donnie appears to be open to the idea of selling the lot.
The dispensary opening is a huge success and even draws the attention of Jelly Roll (Jelly Roll) who stops by for a quick performance. Later that evening, Dwight has second thoughts about returning to the Mayo after learning that the media are still circling like vultures. Tyson offers a possible solution and Dwight is woken the following to a pile of homemade blueberry pancakes and bacon, courtesy of Angie Mitchell (Juliette Jeffers). Despite Angie’s hospitality, Mark Mitchell (Michael Beach) isn’t as receptive, and Dwight’s appearance in the morning paper doesn’t help his case.
The episode will end with a phone call between Dennis ‘Goodie’ Carangi (Chris Caldovino) and Chickie. Chickie practically tells him that he’s throwing in with the Kansas City Mob and they are coming to retake their Tulsa territory by any means. Chickie not only offers Goodie a chance to defect to their side but he assures him a seat as the head of Tulsa once the dust settles. Goodie doesn’t give him a definitive answer but tells him that he isn’t turning down the offer.
Tulsa King Review
Not a bad episode at all. I am surprised how the series has grown on me after two episodes. I enjoyed the entire theme of the episode and all the escapades that ensued. Jelly Roll’s appearance was a pleasant surprise. It was also nice to see Jorge again. Dwight’s back is against the wall and I like the conflicts that he will have to overcome in the season. I also found the prospect of Mitch buying Donnie’s lot intriguing. About the only thing I didn’t enjoy was the brief encounter at the stables.
Something about Margaret and especially Spencer rubs me the wrong way. Spencer is a horrendous actress and it’s an incredibly good thing she hasn’t been given more of a significant role. Most of the acting isn’t great in the series but I am enjoying it. I’d give the episode a 5.4 out of 10.
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