A Masterful Chess Match Of A Crime Thriller

WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Mayor of Kingstown season 4, episode 7.

Mayor of Kingstown season 4, episode 7, “My Way,” expands this gripping crime drama series with several thrilling and unexpected developments. Each week, Mayor of Kingstown season 4 continues to put on a masterclass in tension and intrigue.

After an all-time classic in last week’s episode, S4E7 finally unleashes Merle Callahan’s methodological plan to not only get out of Ad Seg, but Anchor Bay altogether. Meanwhile, warden Nina Hobbs is revealed to be more of a victim than a perpetrator, bending to the will of the Colombian cartel and its main enforcer, Cortez, who now seeks the rat that exposed a routine drug run into the prison (watch out, Kevin).

Additionally, it’s suggested that Frank Moses wasn’t the one who called the hit on Bunny after all, since the Detroit legend raised suspicions against Lamar, who seemingly got turned by the cartel. Regardless, Mike has Moses right where he wants him, leveraging him as a bargaining chip to Evelyn on a Hail Mary toss to get Kyle back home.

Most tragically, Ian stages Robert’s death after Mike refuses to get him back into the KPD. Sensing he was becoming a loose cannon who knows far too much, Ian took him out to cover his and Mike’s tracks, marking a new low point for the most corrupt cop in Kingstown. On top of all this, CO Breen is becoming an absolute freak show, poised for some type of violent outburst before the end of the season.

Callahan Is Gunning For Mike After Escaping Anchor Bay

Jeremy Parsons / Paramount+

Callahan wasted no time getting a first-class ticket out of prison by Anchor Bay’s standards after getting lifted from Ad Seg. It seems like he might have even taken Kyle with him if Mike hadn’t convinced Nina to get him out of Gen Pop, which would have sunk another tooth into the McLuskys’ unpaid debt towards the AB.

Callahan took note of Cindy’s attention toward Kyle in Ad Seg and may already know of her significance to Mike. Getting to know Cindy’s kids in this episode – combined with Kyle’s warning to Cindy to stay away from Mike since he hurts people trying to help others – tells me that Callahan may be gunning for Mike on the outside by going right at Cindy first.

It’s also entirely possible that Callahan may be looking to hit Mike closer to home by going after Kyle’s wife, Tracy. That hopeless moment she shared with Mike in episode 5, telling him that she doesn’t believe he can make things right, could have foreshadowed how she would become another loved one lost due to Mike’s self-serving actions and “good intentions.”

With Nina now more humanized and Frank seemingly becoming a scapegoat, Callahan has emerged – more like slithered – his way to being Mike’s biggest threat in MoK season 4. Of course, the psychopathic Cortez could strike at any moment, but Callahan is much more like the CO gas that took out Robert – a silent, nearly invisible killer.

Mike’s Plan To Betray Frank May Lead To His Downfall

Lennie James as Frank Moses in Mayor of Kingstown episode 7, season 4

Whoever Lamar secretly works for, his allegiance clearly isn’t exclusive towards Frank, which could mean that Mike’s plan to hand over one of his strongest allies against the cartel right now, next to Ian and Bunny, could backfire immensely. It would be poetic justice for Mike, who relentlessly inflicts wounds in some places while simultaneously trying to patch up others, to end up shooting himself in the foot.

Kyle’s incarceration has brought out a new beast in Mike that is more impulsive, reckless, and frankly desperate than the Mike of past seasons. Both he and Ian have reached new all-time lows, betraying their kind, and have devolved into monsters. Mike had always walked a fine line between injustice and the greater good, but that line has officially vanished, leaving Mike in a total freefall.

Bunny’s blind trust in Mike should also have massive repercussions for Bunny, who, by proxy, will have betrayed Frank as well. Even if Frank does end up inside Anchor Bay, where Bunny and Mike can contain him, Frank isn’t someone who just goes away behind bars. Like Callahan, he’s a lethal combination of cold and calculated, with more experience than Mike and Bunny combined.

Mike may think he’s going for the checkmate on the King of Detroit in the next episode of Mayor of Kingstown season 4, but there are many pieces still left on the playing board – some of which he isn’t aware of, and at least one that’s already several moves ahead.