SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Mayor of Kingstown Season 3, Episode 8.

The bloodbath continues on Mayor of Kingstown, and fans of the Paramount+ show have every right to be upset. Season 3, Episode 8, “Belleville” kills off another main character. That’s not so much the problem as that it murders the main character who absolutely should have been safe—which may have been the point.

The episode focuses almost entirely on Merle Callahan’s escape from Anchor Bay, and his vendetta against the McLusky brothers (but mostly Mike). There’s one big developlement in the Frank Moses problem, yet that is secondary to having a complete psychopath on the loose. Audiences have been biting their nails over this for a whole week now, and “Belleville” lives up to the fears that Episode 7 stoked. Nobody thought that the creative team was going to bring Callahan back just to sit in prison, but his return feels so much worse than anything he did in Season 3.

Before his master plan unfolds, though—he’s certainly very quick at coming up with terrible things to do—this is also a big episode for Nina Hobbs. Her ploy of pinning everything on right-hand man David Torres apparently worked, as he isn’t seen in the episode and Hobbs turning over Torres’ nameplate implies that the Colombians killed him. (One has to feel for actor Clayton Cardenas, who didn’t get a death scene. On the other hand, based on some of what’s been seen this season, maybe it’s good he didn’t get a death scene.)

This is the first episode in Mayor of Kingstown Season 4 where the viewer finds themselves rooting for Hobbs instead of against her. It’s now very clear how for all her bluster, she’s under the thumb of the Colombians. Her vulnerability comes through loud and clear in this episode and actor Edie Falco is excellent at portraying it. “Belleville” illustrates why she was a great choice to play Hobbs; aside from being an award-winning actor, she’s able to crack a tough character’s veneer the same way she did on Showtime’s Nurse Jackie.

However, everything pales in comparison to Callahan’s rampage. The script gives fans a warning early on when Callahan has his fellow escapee light Shaver on fire for perceived transgressions. That scene is painful to watch, even moreso than the previous fire sequence earlier in Season 4. The burning down of the McLusky home is obviously more symbolic. If viewers needed any further proof that Mayor of Kingstown is wrecking Mike’s family, that’s it. Watching Mike go into the smoldering building to pull out the arsonist is one heck of a sequence, both in terms of Jeremy Renner’s performance and in how it’s visually shot. But that scene is a big, flashing sign to audience members about a terrible plot development on the way. Because the show has killed Mariam, and it’s imprisoned Kyle, so there’s only one McLusky family member left to hurt.

In fairness to the writers, one can apply the same principle about Merle Callahan to Tracy McLusky. It was highly unlikely that she was going to just disappear for the rest of the season, since actor Nishi Munshi is a series regular. Something else was going to happen to her. But viewers won’t be happy that she died, and they absolutely do have grounds to be upset about Tracy’s murder. It’s a very polarizing plot choice, and one that may turn some viewers off.

There are ways in which Tracy’s death feels unnecessary. Part of that comes from TV precedent; so many other shows use main characters’ loved ones as cannon fodder to create drama. Callahan killing Tracy to get back at Mike does seem like it falls into that trope. Plus, there’s the fact that Mayor of Kingstown has now eliminated four major characters in less than a season: Iris, Kareem, Carney and now Tracy. The golden rule of Kingstown is that people die, but there’s only so many times the show can pull that card.

In another way, if Tracy had to go out, “Belleville” handles her death as well as it can. Tracy is not a passive victim, as would have been the case on lesser shows. She tries to negotiate for her freedom and that of baby Mitch, and when that fails, she takes action to save her son—even if it means sacrificing herself. The female characters of Mayor of Kingstown need to stop dying, but at least Tracy and Iris went out on their own terms. And the writers also deserve points for not harming the baby; other shows might have gone there for shock value, but that would have been unfathomable.

But Tracy’s death is a line that Mayor of Kingstown has firmly crossed, because it’s about more than Tracy as an individual. Kyle and Tracy represented the good in Kingstown. Mike specifically called out his brother as the “one good man” earlier in Season 4, and Tracy’s been a bright light through the whole series not just for her husband, but for fans. Her assault storyline in Season 3 was so difficult because fans always wanted her to be safe from the pain everyone else had to deal with. And the love story between her and Kyle was critical in providing a contrast to all of that. With Tracy and Kyle destroyed, Mayor of Kingstown is essentially just a world of pain. Bunny and Mike’s friendship is heartwarming, but it’s still part of all this criminality in the city. Kyle and Tracy were different, and the writers will likely regret the decision to blow that up.

“Belleville” does throw down the gauntlet between Mike and Callahan with that move, however. And the murder of Frank’s right-hand man LJ obviously stokes that conflict. Plus, Mike and Hobbs are now officially on the same side, which is an interesting 180 to play at the end of the season. Mayor of Kingstown Season 4, Episode 8 packs a punch and it creates plenty of story potential. But it comes at a very, very high price and thus raises the bar for what fans will expect from the rest of the story. Tracy McLusky’s death can’t be in vain.

Mayor of Kingstown 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.