SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for The Westies Season 1, Episode 3.

The third episode of The Westies may as well be called “a series of increasingly poor decisions.” The MGM+ show won’t surprise fans with how the Irish mob digs themselves into a bigger hole. But damned if it isn’t still entertaining—and then in comes Titus Welliver to steal the show.

Season 1, Episode 3 is actually titled “The Starship,” and sadly co-creators Chris Brancato and Michael Panes do not sneak in a “We Built This City” reference. The title refers to the name of a nightclub where Colombians are dealing cocaine out of the basement, and John Gotti‘s boss Paul Castellano would like them stopped. Since Castellano has something—someone—the Irish contingent wants, the episode doesn’t waste very long setting up its stakes. And once it does that, it’s very easy to predict how it’s all going to go wrong.

The thing about The Westies is it’s really leaning into the idea of Jimmy Roarke (a still excellent Tom Brittney) as the one sane, stable person and everyone else around him as a bunch of miscreants. Now there’s some truth to that dynamic, but at the same time, from a dramatic standpoint that can be limiting. “The Starship” proves that here, because it’s no shock at all that just as Jimmy gets back from the basement, his friends are getting into a brawl on the nightclub’s dance floor. It’s very clear that Jimmy can’t leave anyone unattended. Is it fun in a chaotic way? Absolutely. But it’s also a bit frustrating because we’ve already seen this same general idea twice before—first with Mickey kidnapping Vincent, and then with Pat shooting the state trooper.

Speaking of Pat, he gets an inglorious exit here, as everyone knows that Vincent didn’t kill the trooper. Glenn Keenan is able to get Pat’s name from his son Danny (after a startling use of force), and then trades Pat’s life for Danny’s safety. It’s the same deal he tried to make in the series premiere, but far more appealing now because of the spiral of chaos. “The Starship” is Titus Welliver’s episode, even if his best scenes come on late. Between Keenan’s confrontation with Danny, his tearful confession to the priest, and then murdering Pat in an alley, this episode of The Westies showcases why Welliver is one of the best actors in the business. His performance is by turns intimidating and heartbreaking, but also completely understandable.

Of course that creates another cliffhanger: how will Jimmy and company react to Pat’s death, and (if they find out) the news that Sweeney signed off on it? Jimmy already went against Sweeney to save his best friend Mickey Flanagan. Plus, Gotti will be upset that he just lost his cocaine distributor to a rocket launcher. The one genuine “aha” moment in The Westies Season 1, Episode 3 is when Bridget proposes that Jimmy’s crew use the rocket launcher that Brendan Cahill smuggled into New York. It’s a “two birds, one stone” idea, because it protects the group from the Colombians and ensures Brendan can’t do whatever he’s planning on doing, since there’s only one warhead. It’s a neat way to tie two plot points together, taking the subplot for Bridget and moving it (and her) closer to the main storyline. And no one can argue that the visual of a rocket-propelled grenade blowing up a drug lab isn’t exciting.

Brancato and Panes are keeping The Westies moving along nicely, as they have to with only eight episodes in the season. There’s no shortage of action in the series, and the actors are still a delight. At the same time, “The Starship” highlights how the show has already fallen into some familiar rhythms. How many times can Jimmy be the stable one? How many more screwups is Sweeney going to tolerate? Ironically, the chaos is the show’s most predictable element. The Westies would benefit from being able to surprise the audience more often, but it is not for a minute ever boring.

The Westies airs Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on MGM+. Photo Credit: Courtesy of MGM+.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 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.