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Critic’s Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
3.5
What’s worse than Tyson thinking his actions killed his father?
You’d think it would be hard to peg down an answer to that question, but Tulsa King Season 2 Episode 7 made no bones about it.
Tyson might have just slipped into the abyss of a killer, a muck he would never be able to extricate himself from, no matter how hard he wished it to be untrue.
The sad part of his new reality is that Tyson had plenty of opportunities to right the potential wrong.
Tyson was already standing on the edge of the abyss, involving himself with Dwight.
Tyson: I didn’t sign up for this.
Dwight: Then what did you sign up for?
Tyson: To be you.
Tyson saw Dwight as cool and in control, which is ironic considering the man had just been released from a 25-year stint in prison to protect a mafia family that generally didn’t give a fit about Dwight in return.
But kids can be dazzled with trinkets and excitement. Dwight rolled into Tulsa and made the town his own. Tyson must have felt like he was in on the ground floor of something big.
Giving his father Dwight’s ride was the pinnacle of his success so far. The two had struggled to find common ground before Dwight, and it was worse after his arrival. Mark is a humble man with great integrity.
He made a conscious choice to put family and hard work above material possessions. He wanted to earn them, not take them or have them handed to him.
Today’s youth is subjected to a constant barrage of influencer culture. People hawk themselves to gain power and possessions to the point it’s impossible not to want in on that action.
Mark wanted to do right by his son, and as Tyson spread his wings, he gave him room to fly, even if that flight took him a little too close to the sun.
In my Tulsa King Season 2 Episode 6 review, I discussed the possible repercussions of the explosion on Tyson’s psyche. He is punishing himself for what happened to his dad, but he’s more eager to punish those he deems responsible.
Mitch is a bright man. Despite hooking up with a genuine mafioso in Dwight, he seems to have learned from his mistakes.
He uses common sense and compassion with Tyson, knowing it might be Tyson’s last chance to get out of the life. If he murders someone, there is no turning back. He will see that life every time he closes his eyes for eternity. It’s easy to kill someone, but it kills a piece of you, too.
Tyson has learned nothing from his father, which is what’s so damned heartbreaking about this turn of events.
A real head-scratcher was discovering that Mark was awake and had heard everything Tyson said to him in the hospital room. Why didn’t he reach out to his son and tell him not to do something he’d regret?
Calling him was too late. Asking Dwight to call Tyson away wasn’t enough. That was a super weird development that I didn’t like at all. It felt contrived and awkward.
If you wondered just how green Tyson was and how out of his depth he was with this situation, look no further than the fact the kid had his ringer on while waiting to make a hit on someone.
Now, he may be in the clear. Bevilaqua’s guy may just be injured. We just had a similar scenario when we wondered if Mark died at the end of the last episode, only to learn he made it through fine.
Maybe Tyson represents what could be rather than what we expect of gangster interactions, and from this, too, he will emerge relatively unscathed.
Does it matter? He made a move that will anger a man who is not easily angered (Bevilaqua) and who was willing to give Dwight a chance without making a war of it. This can’t be good.
Bevilaqua rightly thought that to put a hit on Dwight meant the beef was personal. Discussing the situation with his partners, Bill came off as level-headed and interested in maintaining a useful and profitable relationship with Dwight.
To him, it makes no sense to kill Dwight when he’s a major earner with incredible growth. He’s not against whacking him somewhere down the line (I don’t believe him), but not now. Well, maybe now, but not when they were discussing it.
The reality is that that nutter Jackie was at the bottom of it. He’s cold and calculating, with no regard for human life. He even scares the hell out of Cal Thresher, who I don’t think stands a chance of making it out of the season alive.
Cal is small potatoes, but after this episode, I realized Jackie is even smaller. He’s an idiot. His big ideas for making the big bucks will be smashed to smithereens by his short fuse. That’s not good for the long-term success of your business.
Dwight knows that. Bill knows that. Hell, even Vince knows that. I’d be willing to bet that Cal’s business will soon be up for grabs.
In my opinion, Cal’s only move to save himself would be to ask Dwight for help. He’s in way over his head with Jackie. There’s no way out because he’s not a killer. Dwight would prefer not to be a killer, but he does what’s necessary.
Things in New York are changing, too. Vince is floating the idea of taking out Chickie. Keeping the New York faction doesn’t seem doable in the long term for Tulsa King. New York is in Dwight’s rearview mirror.
Sure, we can guess that every gangster is interconnected to some degree, but it makes more sense to focus on Tulsa and the surrounding areas, especially since Tina and Joanne have joined Dwight there.
Other than finishing out Chickie’s story, there isn’t much reason to carry on with New York.
Dwight appears to be building a solid foundation in Tulsa. He’s got his family, and he’s getting the girl — a girl who almost makes him blush.
I was shocked that Andrea Savage disappeared so early this season, but it has made room for Dana Delany to get some much-deserved screen time and Margaret to be more fully fleshed out.
There’s more to her past that I hope is uncovered as the seasons continue.
Tough times don’t last, but tough people do.
— Margaret
Dwight is puzzled that despite everything she knows about him, Margaret is willing to put the danger aside and consider a future with him. And make no mistake about it, she wants that.
Will that sentiment change as things continue to heat up through the end of the season? She seems pretty tough, but so did Stacy, and look what happened to her.
There are three episodes left in Tulsa King Season 2. All we can do from here is try to make educated guesses about what’s next.
But Tatiana Zappardino, who plays Tina, can do more than that, and she did in our exclusive interview. Her advice? Don’t get too attached to anyone because not everyone makes it out of this one alive.
What do you think is coming for Dwight and the gang? Does Tyson represent something unique on the show? Shoot me your thoughts in a comment below.
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