SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Tulsa King Season 3, Episode 8.

Tulsa King Season 3, Episode 8 finally serves up the big, dramatic moment that audiences have been waiting for. It also pulls all the plot threads of the Paramount+ show together. “Nothing Is Over” could be even bigger and more shocking, but for what it is, it will gets viewers talking in a way previous episodes haven’t.

The biggest issue with Tulsa King Season 3 is the number of plot threads it’s left dangling; the story has wandered in various directions, starting to get fans excited about something and then forgetting about it the next time. That problem still exists in “Nothing Is Over,” which is co-written by Sylvester Stallone. The cliffhanger from Season 3, Episode 7 of Jeremiah Dunmire being arrested amounts to absolutely nothing. It’s just minutes into Episode 8 when Dunmire is seen walking out of jail. This is a huge missed opportunity; so many things could have been done in his absence or because of his absence, even if it would have meant sidelining the incredible Robert Patrick for a limited time.

“Nothing Is Over” is a clear effort to tie all of Tulsa King‘s various ideas together into one whole. Deacon, the bombmaker that Dwight is trying to help Agent Musso catch, randomly shows up on Dunmire’s doorstep and delivers a monologue about why he now wants Dwight and anyone close to Dwight dead. His method of doing this is to plant a bomb at the fundraiser Margaret Devereaux is helping Cal Thresher with. Everyone else discovers this when Cole Dunmire turns up at a party Spencer and Tyson Mitchell are throwing to expand their business efforts from the previous episode.

Deacon so openly aligning himself with Dunmire never stops feeling convenient. When he delivers a long-winded explanation to Dunmire, it’s as if the show is trying to likewise explain it to the audience. Tulsa King does finally unleash Dwight’s violent side—something that the writers build to every season—when he tortures Dexter for information and leaves him to die in an actual coffin. But that also eliminates one whole storyline. Plus, Dwight mentions to Musso that Bill Bevilaqua is still behind bars. Poor Bill has basically been left behind.

The fact that Deacon targets Thresher’s fundraiser is not a surprise. Any savvy audience member can put two and two together even before the shot of Deacon going into the hotel. It’s a big, splashy event, so it makes a big splash when the building blows up. But that doesn’t make it less exciting to watch. Most notable is that Dwight and Mitch Keller are involved with helping to evacuate the building. Of course Margaret’s presence is a factor, but it’s a nice reminder that Dwight and Mitch care about innocent people too, and do their part to prevent what could have been a horrible tragedy. (The fact that no one seems to have died is oddly heartwarming. The show could have killed off a bunch of people simply for dramatic effect, and it chooses not to.)

It would have been more surprising from a dramatic standpoint if viewers didn’t know where Deacon was planning to hit, and the bomb ended up in Bodhi’s shop instead, using the fundraiser as a fake-out. That would have been the true shock, making viewers think they knew where the bomb was and then proving them wrong. However, that also doesn’t make as much sense. Margaret is high-profile in her own right and she’s Dwight’s girlfriend, so she’s a much better target. Having to explain how Deacon knows and cares enough about Even Higher Plane or anyone likely to be there would be tricky.

The coolest thing that happens in “Nothing Is Over” is actually the pivot point in the episode. Cole Dunmire does indeed turn sides, coming to tell Spencer that the hotel is being targeted. It’s because of Cole that anyone has a clue what’s happening, as Spencer tells Tyson, who then tells Dwight, who informs Musso. Beau Knapp’s character is a hero—and a lot more interesting. At the beginning of Tulsa King Season 3, there was nothing remarkable about him. But these added shades have made him one of the most interesting characters, and his choosing Spencer (and whoever else could get hurt) over his dad turns Cole into someone to be rooted for instead of rooted against.

With Deacon no longer part of the problem, Tulsa King is back to the Dwight vs. Dunmire rivalry, but now on a much more public level. Plus, Thresher and his campaign are now connected to that, if only through the attention that’s obviously going to follow a bomb explosion. This episode does a fine job of slimming down the story so that the last two hours can get to the conclusion. Especially since the show still has to introduce Samuel L. Jackson’s character for the planned NOLA King spinoff, there’s not a lot of time or space left. “Nothing Is Over” could have taken bigger risks and delivered more excitement, but it provides plenty of entertainment while putting the series back on track.

Tulsa King streams Sundays on Paramount+. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Paramount+.

Article content is (c)2020-2025 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.